just testing

[xSilverPhinx]

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WOW! & WOW! SP. . .Thats just GREAT! Many thanks, you are a diamond!

No problem! The image links are working now!   

Kai is indeed a beautiful dog. I especially like the last pic with the expressive eyes, quietly watching his human.

Reminds me of my dog that we had to euthanise about two years ago. Kyra (pronounced Kai-rah, not Kira) was a German Shepherd dog, very clever, who also had very expressive eyes that seemed like they were very tuned into my thoughts. I miss her very much.



This is my favourite pic of her:

[Red_Cloud]

Kyra does indeed have beautiful eyes SP, and the German Shepherd has always been a breed I love. In my youth I knew this as the Alsatian, The breed was officially known as the Alsatian in the UK from after the First World War until 1977 when its name was changed back to German Shepherd. I have a copy of the 1945 edition of "The Observers Book of Dogs" which shows the GS like this>



But here is the of "Best of Breed", at Crufts 2014, for the fourth time. Note the downward slope of the hindquarters. This is deliberately bred by the dog breeders. To me, it looks wrong, but the hierarchy at Crufts say this is correct.



When I phoned the dog breeder to get Megan he invited me to come and see the new litter of 6, of which I could choose from 2, a dog, and the only bitch in the litter, Megan. He said on the phone that if he deemed I was not worthy to become the owner of a Welsh Springer Spaniel, I would not get one!
He appeared to me to be "very full of himself." In the 3 rooms I went in, shelves were adorned with silver cups, the walls displayed award certificates and a whole plethora of various coloured rosettes. But there were no pictures of dogs. On my second visit to collect Megan I took my two daughters with me. They  both  agreed that he was overbearing, arrogant and vain, and he proudly stated that his dog breeding business  was his soul source of income which was very lucrative. My daughters surmised it was a "Puppy Farm!"   

Click here - https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/sep/16/animalwelfare 

[xSilverPhinx]

I only had that one GSD but I fell in love with the breed. She was a great dog: intelligent and easily trainable, loyal, independent, sociable but at the same time protective. When I have a house with lots of space I'm going to get a couple -- one black and the other white.

Probably going to name them Yin and Yang. 

Ok, probably not. 

Anyway, as far as I know, GSD with a greater downward slope of the hindquarters are more of the German variety, whereas the more natural-looking hindquarters are American. I prefer the latter, and think the former borders on cruel deformity.

When my girl died she was suffering from hip dysplasia, very common in the breed. She was more like the straight-backed dog in the first pic you posted, and even so had hip problems and lost all movement of her hind legs due to nerve issues, also common in the breed. I imagine those with the sloping back must suffer from those even more.

When I phoned the dog breeder to get Megan he invited me to come and see the new litter of 6, of which I could choose from 2, a dog, and the only bitch in the litter, Megan. He said on the phone that if he deemed I was not worthy to become the owner of a Welsh Springer Spaniel, I would not get one!
He appeared to me to be "very full of himself." In the 3 rooms I went in, shelves were adorned with silver cups, the walls displayed award certificates and a whole plethora of various coloured rosettes. But there were no pictures of dogs. On my second visit to collect Megan I took my two daughters with me. They  both  agreed that he was overbearing, arrogant and vain, and he proudly stated that his dog breeding business  was his soul source of income which was very lucrative. My daughters surmised it was a "Puppy Farm!"   

I would guess that guy is overcompensating for something.

Puppy farms are a sad reality. Every now and then we hear something about raids on puppy farms in the news.

Click here - https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/sep/16/animalwelfare 

There was a documentary on Youtube a while back, called 'Pedigree Dogs Exposed', on that very topic. I can't find it now (they must have taken it offline). 

[No one]

F-

See me after class.