Preparing and Showing Your Rottweiler in a Sieger Show

September 2, 2009 by admin
Filed under Dog Shows, Featured

Preparing and Showing Your Rottweiler in a Sieger Show
by Fred Alimusa

Rottweilers are magnificent working dogs originally bred by German butchers for performance and usefulness to drive and guard cattle; pull carts laden with vats of milk and other produce to market; protect his master’s earnings going back home; and guard his family. From this function developed a proportioned, compact, powerful form that denotes great strength, maneuverability and endurance coupled with nobility and a self-assured, steady, fearless and alert character. As such, the Rottweiler is exceptionally well suited as a Companion, Security, and Service Dog.

In Germany and other European countries, Rottweilers are shown in conformation rings to exhibit and evaluate these traits that are important to maintain and improve the breed. Knowledgeable Rottweiler judges evaluate and provide critiques of every dog based on the breed standard. From these critiques, owners, handlers, breeders and every Rottweiler fancier in that show learns about every dog’s conformation (good and bad traits) shown in the ring. The critique is recorded and signed by the judge, which gives him a higher sense of responsibility and accountability for his critiques and placements. From this information, breeders are provided with a valuable tool that can be used as a basis for breeding programs to better the breed.

In the Philippines, the English style, or more popularly known as AKC style, shows are the norm for showing Rottweilers. Although it has its own merits, this system is usually viewed as judging a dog against the other dogs in its class. Judging dogs based on the competition is subjective. In German style shows, the dogs are judged in accordance with the breed standard; therefore it is more objective. Everybody sees the dog in front of the judge and hears what the judge is looking at and critiquing. Along with the critique, the judge assigns a breed-standard conformation rating: V (Vorzuglicht or Excellent), SG (Sehr Gut or Very Good), or G (Gut or Good) for the dogs 2 years old and up. Only after these ratings have been provided will the top dog of the class be chosen to compete for the Sieger (Champion male) and Siegerin (Champion female) titles.

German style shows are fun, exciting and very informative. Because of its objective nature, many Rottweiler exhibitors in the States have opted to show their dogs exclusively in Sieger shows. How does one prepare for and compete in a Sieger show?

A month or two before the Sieger show, the dogs are trained and conditioned. Since the dogs should show themselves naturally – no hand stacking or pulling up on the lead – they are trained to alert and focus on toys held by a second handler, which I shall term assistant. The dog should stack naturally; four feet planted firmly and straight, ears forward showing alertness and noble expression, and stand squarely with a proud and powerful carriage. The Rottweiler’s dentition is important in the breed standard—42 correctly placed teeth. The judge will inspect them closely, together with the pigmentation of the gums and lips. The handler should be able to quickly show his dog’s front bite, then the teeth on both sides of the mouth, and open its mouth so the judge can inspect the molars and the inside mouth’s pigmentation. The judge is very keen on checking the presence of the P1s (premolars behind the canines), so the handler should learn to manipulate his fingers and the dog’s tongue and flews to uncover those little buttons of teeth. Training the dog to accept these manipulations of the mouth by its handler is necessary.

The Rottweiler’s physical condition is essential in the German style show. Dogs are made to run many times around the ring—which is so much bigger than the AKC ring—to test their endurance, gait and soundness of structure. Remember, these dogs were bred to drive cattle and pull carts over long distances. The Rottweiler should possess and display the willingness to keep working for its master, and the strength, agility and condition to go the distance in the conformation ring. Hidden faults, underlying problems of the joints, tendons and muscles start to surface when the dog exerts more effort to sustain a continuous trot. Furthermore, structural faults manifest when dogs are tired. Needless to say, a handler should be running with the dog in the ring. Unless the handler is a strong athlete, he should practice how to hand off the leash to another handler without breaking stride. Several handlers running the dog, one at a time of course, is allowed in the ring.

A day or two before the show, a good bath, brushing and nail clipping is all the Rottweiler needs. The judge will also appreciate looking at a clean set of teeth. Since the Rottweiler should be shown in its natural state, trimming of the coat or any artificial coloring is not allowed.

Once you, your dog and handlers are trained and conditioned, it’s time to head for the Sieger show.

A Sieger show is a casual event that promotes camaraderie, fun and learning – a day for the dogs. Dress code is casual comfort – no suits, dresses or leather shoes. Sports apparel and sneakers are the preferred attire. For the dogs, fur savers and 6’ leashes are favored. Show leads will just present a problem with control.

Classes in Sieger shows are 6-9 Month, 9-12 Month, 12-18 Month, 18-24 Month, Open, Gebrauchshund (with working titles like SchH or IPO), and Sieger/Siegerin Class (champions) for both males and females. Once your class is called, attach the leash to the dead ring of your dog’s fur saver making sure that he won’t be able to slide his head out of it. Enter the ring by catalog order or when your number is called. You don’t need to make your dog look super good at this time since the judge will not be looking, maybe just checking armband numbers and annotating them on his clipboard for later use. But if you notice that the judge is already observing each dog as you enter the ring, by all means have your dog strut his stuff.

Inside the ring, first thing the judge will do is check each dog’s mouth and the presence of two testicles for the male classes. Hopefully, every dog has been trained for this and will just take less than a minute to check each dog. You can just relax and put your dog in a sit or down while you wait your turn or after all the dogs’ mouths have been checked.

The next part of the class is the evaluation and critique of each dog. When it’s your dog’s turn to be evaluated, move your dog to a spot the judge indicates. This is the time your assistant, who is positioned outside the ring, should attract your dog’s attention to a toy you’ve trained the dog to alert on. In Sieger shows, double handling is allowed and is in fact encouraged. This is also the time to make your dog look its best for its critique. Let him move to the end of the leash while you hold the leash up and out in front of you and wait for him to naturally stack himself in an alert, square and correct way. Do not hand-stack him because it is the dog’s natural conformation that is being judged, not your handling expertise at hiding the faults. And you can’t really hide a dog’s faults from a knowledgeable breed judge. If your dog breaks the nice natural pose, you may walk him forward or around in order to get him to stand nicely and squarely again.

While the judge is evaluating your dog, he is giving an oral critique over the public address system while a typist records each word on a form to be signed by the judge after the show. The critique usually starts out with an overall impression of the dog, then a descriptive narrative of the dog’s conformation from head to toe (or tail). You will also be asked to gait your dog (usually in a triangular pattern) to evaluate its natural movement. You should do this on a loose lead so that the judge can observe a gait that should be “harmonious, steady, full of energy and unrestricted, with good stride.” Do not lift your dog’s head up with the leash like how some handlers do in AKC shows. This method restricts the dog’s movement and harmonious stride. Let your dog move naturally and freely.

After your dog has been critiqued, you will be directed to go to the end of the line. You can now just relax and put your dog in a sit or down while you wait for the whole class to be critiqued. Once every dog in the class has been critiqued, the judge will ask every one to walk their dogs around the large ring, making sure they are evenly spaced around the entire perimeter of the ring. Then the running starts. Keep the pace constant and if the dog in front of you lags or keeps your dog from trotting freely, you may pass him. If you get tired and have to bring in another handler to run with your dog, do so without breaking the dog’s stride or causing a traffic jam behind you. Remember, you should have practiced this leash hand-off before.

While the dogs and handlers are running around, the judge may start pulling dogs to go to the middle of the ring. These dogs were not picked to win but may have been eliminated from placing. This is when the training and conditioning pays off. The weak are taken out; the strong remain. Once the judge has observed the condition and heart of each dog, he lines up the dogs for final placements.

The circus begins. Assistants will position themselves outside the ring in front of their dogs trying to get their dogs to alert on them or their toys and to look their best. During this cacophony, the judge is going down the line, evaluating, and this time comparing each dog to make the final placements. After the noise dies down, the judge may explain why he made the placements compared against the breed standard.

Only dogs that are rated V or SG in the 2 years old and up will be awarded a placement. In the young dog classes, SG is the highest award, and a G-rated young dog can be awarded placement. For classes under 12 months, the ratings are VP (Very Promising), P (Promising), S (Satisfactory) and NP (Not Promising).

Sieger shows are a great way to have fun and learn about the Rottweiler breed and the quality of dogs in the country.

Tags: preparing rottweiler for sieger show, rottweiler sieger show