Some Rambling Thoughts.......

There are a lot of reckoning attributes that goes into the making of a top performing German Shepherd Dog. The breeder, before breeding of certain individual dogs, would have studied the bloodlines and take into account the linebreedings involved and he/she would have project in the mind how the puppies would eventually turn out in its physical shape and  its mental toughness....the German Shepherd Dog is a working dog...full of courage and strong nerves.

The neck of the GSD is connected with the back at the wither. The wither must be sloping and not flat....a flat wither will entail the dog to have a tendency to "fall on it's forehand" while gaiting.

The back must be strong as it is the connecting point of the front and the back of the dog.

The loin should not be too long and neither should it be short.

The croup should be long and the lay should not be flat. The croup is the starting block of the kinetic energy and power from the rear that propel the dog's movement forward.

The balance of the upper thigh and the lower thigh is important in the generation of "power" from the rear that propel the dog forward.

The hock should be short...a long hock will lend the dog to be "cow hock" and that affect its movement.

The shoulder should be well laid back as it will help in the extension of the front quarter of the dog.

The upper arm should not be steep and connect to the shoulder at a right angle. The angle of the upper arm and the shoulder dictate the distance of the "far reaching gait" .

The pastern of the dog should not be low as a low pastern will entail the front legs to "flap" when the dog gait.

The front leg should be straight while in a standing position...poor nutrition and slippery flooring and sometimes genes does affect the front leg to grow "east-west". The dog standing "east-west" will run with the front energy distributed sideway whereas the optinum "front energy" should be directed forward.

The chest of the dog should not be narrow as GSD are working dog and a narrow chest will not be abled to accomodate a decent size lung.

Putting it all together, a well built German Shepherd with proper balance taking into consideration all the "sum of the parts"...the dog will gait tirelessly with a far reaching gait in a "harmonious" manner like Dingo vom Haus Gero in the video.



Rambling on Ranchus.......

How much do we know ranchus.... irregardless?

For me I know myself....I know very very little, but should I dwell on my limitations? I collect ranchu articles(tho not many), I surf ranchu videos on Youtube, I try to visit as many ranchu farms as possible. I breed...I share my breedings so that others (1)can enjoy my breedings and (2)can help bring up my spawns so that I can understand my breedings better. Most important of all I try to mix with "like minded" ranchu keepers ... who also know their limitations, but are courageous enough to share and try overcoming those obstacles

I tried studying the tail of the ranchu..transposing and juxtaposing with my understanding of dog angulation and movement. I try understanding why certain angles of the tail core affect the swimming in a certain way. I look at the Oza, Ozara, Ozuke etc  and I try to understand their functions.

I tried studying and still I am studying the anatomy of the ranchu and its various functioning attributes that constitute how well the ranchu swim....I want to understand how/why.

I look at the ranchu features from the top and I look at it from the side....there are so many features like German Shepherd Dog's anatomy that affect its movement. I am still trying to learn and as I lay bare my ranchu journey for all to see...I hope many realise that I am just a ranchu student on my ranchu journey....never along my ranchu journey have I share anything that I do not understand myself. Hope not to lead hobbyists astray with my posting and sharing....the basic tenet of my ranchu philosophy still is "I am just a student of ranchu".

References:
Youtube.....Der Deutsche Schäferhund - Anatomie und Bewegungsäblaufe
http://xitahausberg.com/INFO/FCI%20BREED%20STANDARD.htm
eXtreamRanchu...Structure holds the various parts of the run.