xavierandrea Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 A few weeks ago Ro went for a drive with Free and Asim. He had them in the bed of the Suburban. Well the dogs never bark but this one time Ro said they were barking as if someone was about to attack. He looked in the rearveiw mirror and this man was waving for him to pull over. Something told Ro to pull off to the side. Well this guy happened to be a breeder, trainer of Rottweilers and was very interested in Asim. ( Poor Free ) He said that Asim has all the qualities of a show dog. Good this and excellent that. Anyways Ro came home with his number and said that he was interested in working with Asim and we should show him. Apparently Asim has an excellent Pedigree. Champion lines, herding and police work are some things that his parents and grandparents did. This breeder wants me to join the NERF and send Asim to training, but first check his hips. Not a problem but I have a question for the breeders on this board. How much time will this take away from my family. I work full time, I own a few multi family homes, I have a 10 year old and a baby on the way. I was thinking, the breeder offered to train Asim and show him so of coarse I will be the owner while he is the trainer / handler. Maybe we can go that route? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsefeathers! Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 First off, keep in mind that I know nothing about showing, but am a lifelong cynic. The only thing I can suggest before moving on is to do a lot of homework to see if this guy is legit. Check with whatever breed clubs and make sure it's not just a cell number the guy gave you. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I'd hate to think it was some miller or scam artist that flagged you down and gave a really convincing display just to get your dog away from you. I've heard of people doing some strange things and cons are usually at the top of their game and it's their "job" to be convincing. It's probably a legit offer, but Aunty HF just had to raise her little red warning flag just as food for thought. :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SizzleDog Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 Be prepared to pay a lot of money - no one in their right mind would offer to show a dog for free. If I were you, I'd contact a Rottweiler club and get an unbiased critique. Many uneducated people have said that Ilsa is the most beautiful Doberman they've ever seen... I point out her faults, but they still don't "get it". I think you need the opinion of someone who has been in the breed for a long time. Showing a dog - and training - takes an enormous amount of time and money. When I was showing, I was bust every weekend - in the car constantly... I never had time for other activities. Training took a lot of my time - 1 to 2 hours each day. That hasn't changed though - I still spend that much time training. Another thing to think about is Asim's age... most show puppies are started in conformation training at around 3-4 weeks of age. This guy seems "off" somehow... without getting a good view of Asim - including feeling him over, assessing movement, dentition, etc. ther'es no way to point out a dog as a "showstopper". Personally, I would never send my dog away with someone like that - I'd probably never see her again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_nea Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 Showing a dog doesn't [i]have[/i] to take alot of time, energy or money. You could always go to a few shows a year, there isn't anything that says you have to show so intensivly (although it does seem fun too.... :wink:) Training for conformation doesn't have to take that long either (at least in my very limited experience!). Just 5/10 minutes a day for a while and the dog should be able to trot nicely and stand still. I don't know what its like there, but here you can feed the dog while its being shown too which makes it LOTS easier! You could always enter a show and try it out, see if you think its fun. Part of the fun is showing your own dog, watching someone else do it doesn't seem that exciting.. Also, Webby's breeder told me that often the dog will look happier if its with its beloved owner, and therefor do better, than if its with some stranger. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SizzleDog Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 But you do have to keep a dog in coat - yup, even rotties. I keep my doberman in show coat (even though she's spayed), and she's due for an oil treatment and a whisker/stickie outie/ear trim. I'm not sure, but I think Rottweilers are qute a political breed - jnot as bad as poodles and dobes, but close. Bait is usually allowed, but there's always jedges that disallow bait. Training an adult dog to stack and gait can be a real chore - especially if they haven't ever been stacked before. My neighbors have a three year old RR that is still a holy terror in the ring - they started conformation late. Rocket was 18 months olf befor ethey did anything with him. They had to work his nails back, get him in coat, and start training. The main reaosn why he isn't finished is because he acts like a dork in the ring - many judges have commented on this. Here, the costs of showing add up... camping or hotel fees, grooming supplies, entry fees, travel expenses, etc. If you hire a handler, the costs are significantly higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsefeathers! Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 [quote name='SizzleDog']But you do have to keep a dog in coat - ... I'm not sure, but I think Rottweilers are qute a political breed - jnot as bad as poodles and dobes, but close. [/quote] Just rambling here, but that's exactly why I'm kind of put off about wanting to show Standard Poodles, though (love ya, Rocco et al, but...) they are truly "my" breed. I don't mind the work and have the coat keeping thing down to a science (though you can't always tell it by looking at mine :oops: ), could afford to do a few shows (wouldn't be the diehard campaigner that many "professionals" are), but I've heard soooooooo much about the politics that goes on ESPECIALLY with Poodles. I've seen enough to believe it's true and I just know that an unknown Poodle newbie (in the ring) like me wouldn't stand a chance against a well known handler, no matter how spectacular my dog might be. Instead, I've chosen to become more involved in competitive grooming and may eventually get involved with something like competitive obedience. Still, I'd LOVE to be able to show and handle my own Standard Poodle in the conformation ring. As far as gaiting, I'm certainly no pro at assessing (as referenced above :wink: ), but sometimes I think a dog either has it or they don't. At the very least, some dogs have to work much harder at it than others that it seems to just come naturally to. My Perry... gotta love him; his gait is AWESOME. His movement is flawless and he just struts his stuff like one of the bigtime show winners. I can just sit and watch him move all day *dreamy sigh*. He was never taught that I know of, but then he did originally come from a show kennel (though not shown himself), so maybe he was. Heck, he couldn't even walk up and down stairs when I first got him (seriously... had to physically put one foot in front of the other :o). Pauly, on the other hand, moves soundly, but doesn't have that "flash." Most people wouldn't know the difference, but it's there. Perry's primary faults are that his nose is not black (and DAYUM he has a nice showy head aside from that) and he has a horrible tail set that makes him look sway backed. Enough hair can fix that, but to me it would kind of defeat the purpose of showing (aside from the fact that he came from a rescue and was already neutered, but I was just musing 8) ). Oh, I'd love to be able to show Standard Poodles and know I'd have a snowball's chance in h*ll at a fair judge. Durn politics!! :evil: Ok, back to reality and back on topic... [quote]This guy seems "off" somehow... without getting a good view of Asim - including feeling him over, assessing movement, dentition, etc. ther'es no way to point out a dog as a "showstopper". Personally, I would never send my dog away with someone like that - I'd probably never see her again.[/quote] I think this is what I was trying to say, but I wasn't quite as articulate. Something about the dude and the whole situation in general just seems off to me, too. :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xavierandrea Posted May 18, 2004 Author Share Posted May 18, 2004 I have done my homework on this "guy" and this is what I have found. First I asked Ro what did the guy do when he approached you and the dogs. He said that he petted Asim. Look at his teeth and in the ears. Ran his hand up and down Asim's legs and feet. Well I called our trainer who is also a breeder and has been involved with Rotties for over 20 years. She said that she knows this man and he breeds excellent dogs. She said the dogs he shows are very nice looking. I then called Free's breeder to inquire about this guy. She too is familiar with him. She says that he is known for breeding Rotties to German standards and he has very nice looking dogs. I researched a little more and found out that he's been breeding for years and is a member of USRC, ARV, NERF, USA and AKC. I also discovered that when we were looking for our 1st Rottie I called him first because he is the next town over, but I decided not to go with him because his next litter would be a year from when I wanted one. I then came across Free's breeder who was the 4 hours away and the litter was ready to be released to buyers . Both were great breeders from what I researched. What a coincidence!!! So now what???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kendalyn Posted May 18, 2004 Share Posted May 18, 2004 It depends on you I guess. What does he want from you? Would he require that Asim come live with him? Most likely this will be a big financial and time commitment from you if you are the one to be doing all the showing and what not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtnek Posted May 18, 2004 Share Posted May 18, 2004 [quote name='Horsefeathers!']First off, keep in mind that I know nothing about showing, but am a lifelong cynic. The only thing I can suggest before moving on is to do a lot of homework to see if this guy is legit. Check with whatever breed clubs and make sure it's not just a cell number the guy gave you. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I'd hate to think it was some miller or scam artist that flagged you down and gave a really convincing display just to get your dog away from you. I've heard of people doing some strange things and cons are usually at the top of their game and it's their "job" to be convincing. It's probably a legit offer, but Aunty HF just had to raise her little red warning flag just as food for thought. :wink:[/quote] I'm with Aunty HF....maybe it's just us, but I find it EXTREMELY suspicious that some handler would show up out of the blue and want to show your dog. There are usually fees involved for the handler to train. I dont know...this just makes my spine tingle, not a good sign....I would definitely check with the breeders clubs, the AKC, whoever, get all the info you can on this guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtnek Posted May 18, 2004 Share Posted May 18, 2004 Oh good. you already checked him out **whew** I just dont like it when my spine tingles..... :D :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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