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2007 Sieger Show Impressions
by Fred Lanting
Copyright October, 2007 -
As always, my report on the international German Shepherd Dog “Sieger Show”, the main event for the breed that is held annually in Germany, consists of two parts, and you might only see part of the whole “picture”, depending on what magazine or website you are reading this on. Editors sometimes must edit, you know! In my comments, I will give in parentheses the latest Zuchtwert (ZW) hip ratings as of the time of writing, as readers expect that from the author of the book on hip dysplasia. Remember, the lower numbers are best, and anything over the low 80s makes me a little nervous.
One part of this report is my abbreviated travelogue, in which I invite you to join my non-profit tour to the show, the area of Europe, and to breeders and training clubs. My expertise as an SV judge is of help to especially the newer people in the sport, but all my group can benefit by sharing costs instead of trying to “go it lone”; I also find delightful and economical hotels that most people don’t discover. For some fifteen years I have been attending this big show, and for most of those years, I have helped novices learn more about the sport and Europe while saving them money in the process. There is something for everyone, especially those who admire “the total dog”. In regions such as 2007’s Braunschweig venue, there are few show-line breeders, but we drove some distances east and west of there to visit some of them. There are more Schutzdienst (working competition) fanciers along this old Iron Curtain area than Hochtzuchtlinie (show) people.
My 2007 group promised to be the most international ever. Unfortunately, two from Trinidad, two from the USA, and one from Canada had to cancel. But we still had two from Uruguay, two from Australia, one from Argentina, and one from Egypt. I am from Alabama, which is nominally a part of the U.S., despite rumors to the contrary. At times it was rather comical in a confused way as I switched from German to Spanish to English in my job of explaining the details of the show or descriptions of dogs. And in the van, the polyglot of languages as everyone was talking, made me think that I was driving up the ramped ziggurat of the Tower of Babel instead of along the super German Autobahns. My group this year were all show-oriented, so we cancelled the training club visit I had lined up, and concentrated on breeder kennels a greater distance away.
To minimize jet lag so that it would not interfere with the first long day (Friday) of the show, we arrived on Wednesday the 29th of August and leisurely traveled from the Hannover airport to our delightful hotel in a small village less than a half-hour from the show site. I always arrange lodging in such intimate, small family hotels and “guest houses”, and this one was operated by a fleischer (butcher) who made, in the ground-floor shop, all the sausages, chops, and coldcuts that we had in abundance. The family even took us to an American-cowboy-theme barbeque at a friend’s house one night, and accompanied us on kennel visits the next day.
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Fred Lanting is an internationally respected show judge, approved by many registries as an all-breed judge, has judged numerous countries’ Sieger Shows and Landesgruppen events, and has many years experience with SV. He presents seminars and consults worldwide on such topics as Gait-&-Structure, HD and Other Orthopedic Disorders, Anatomy, Training Techniques, and The GSD. He conducts annual non-profit sightseeing tours of Europe, centered on the Sieger Show (biggest breed show in the world) and BSP.
All Things Canine -- consulting division, Willow Wood Services Phone: 256-498-3319 Fax: 256-498-3311 E-mail mr.gsd@netscape.com
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