to your last reply debbie i agree strongly with that. and that was the point that i was making. we are not in it for the show status. we have had lots of comments on our gsd and have been told by a breeder that he would of made such a lovely show dog, but i don't think he would of liked it. he's more of a rough and tumble dog. and we work very hard in keeping our dogs happy and amused and have them checked out reguraly. because it would break our hearts if something happened to them