Ripley Show Thread

I'm really happy for team Ripley. All of you! And it has to be one of the best feelings when all your hard work, and occasional disappointments, pay off. Dedication and persistence and a Really. Great. Dog! During all those years when you were waiting to finally own a Doberman I don't think you could have imagined where it all could lead! :congrats:
 
Derek and Rip showed for 3 days of 5 at a big cluster for a shake at getting their majors. We entered all 5 but only 3 had enough entries to make a major. No majors for them but it was a beautiful weekend of showing. Perfect weather in the mid 70s. We invited another dobe friend to go dock diving with us the second evening (I'll post another thread). Ripley hasn't swam since last summer so she was pretty worn out the next day 😅 Some pics of the weekend.
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Excited to say Ripley will be under Paula's handling again at their next shows! Nothing Derek is doing wrong per se, she really should be winning but sometimes you just need that boost of help from someone that does this for a living. Someone that sees things like being between two over standard bitches and knows to step away from Ripley, who is within standard at 26", to make her not look smaller. Derek really has done a fantastic job over the past two and a half years learning a completely new hobby (especially at his age, you aren't as much of a sponge as the juniors 😉) He has put 6 points on Ripley all owner handled, and in the incredibly competitive doberman ring! Our goal was to have her finished by the end of 2023 and they certainly closed that gap. Now we are half way through the year and at the second half of that goal with 9 pts and looking for their (2) 3pt majors to earn her CH. Any mistakes made through learning could cost them a win so we agreed it really makes the most sense to let Ripley absolutely shine under professional hands. She loves and misses Paula and Paula is super excited to handle her again; she said Ripley makes her job look easy and calls her her little automated toy 😁

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Their next show is at the end of June and then again the following weekend at the DPCM specialties. I can't wait for the day to get here!🤞🍀
 
I've met Ripley and I'd say she's almost smack dab in the middle of the Doberman standard for a female. Phoebe was definitely smaller.
 
Interesting! Did the bigger bitches place better? Was this an exclusively Doberman judge?
Yes, the one won WB(major win too) and the larger one won Reserve WB. It was a provisional judge however...so he got his ear chewed off about it from a breed handler and told how detrimental doing that is to the breed. 😬

Ripley seems to reach Derek’s knees, but with Paula, she seems to reach her hips!
Haha Derek is 6'3 and I think Paula is closer to my height at 5'1. Paula said she thinks Ripley is closer to 26". Last I measured her she was 25.5... I'll have to check again but of course it isn't 100% accurate without a wicket.

but gosh those nuances would be frustrating when she's out there and looking so good!
So frustrating but I get it. It's about perception in those 2-5 min of time! I wish judges would wicket more or at least have an idea of what their hip height is to eyeball measure and at least be able to tell when a bitch is 29"! That's not just a little over standard... that's a little over standard for a male!
 
So frustrating but I get it. It's about perception in those 2-5 min of time! I wish judges would wicket more or at least have an idea of what their hip height is to eyeball measure and at least be able to tell when a bitch is 29"! That's not just a little over standard... that's a little over standard for a male!
If the winner was 29", I'd have to file a complaint... can that even be done? Ask for a wicket if you believe the winner is out of standard? Even in a horse race where one clearly beats another to the finish line, a jockey or trainer can call foul if that winning horse/jockey did something wrong in the course of the race... and if they call foul the stewards must investigate, watch replays and declare whether the winner stays or is taken down.

I hold you & Derek in the highest of admiration for continuing your path with Ripley. It takes so much work and dedication and I do believe you will get that championship.
 
If the winner was 29", I'd have to file a complaint... can that even be done? Ask for a wicket if you believe the winner is out of standard?
The winner wasn't 29, the reserve winner was (and this is according to what I heard). The winner apparently was a little lower but still if you look at them next to Ripley in one of those pics, they are taller than her. Yes, you can call for a wicket...... but obviously it causes a big scene and holds up the ring because they have to go find the rep table (which was inside, so a 5 min walk one way) to get the wicket. Not a good thing for a newbie to do. 😬 No one ever does this from what I've seen. It really should be the judges duty and I have never seen a judge wicket dobes but I've heard of it occasionally happening. Again he was provisional. He at least got chewed out by a handler so hopefully that will sit with him on his next judging assignment.
 
I was just now looking at AKC/protests/rules and you must call out your protest for a dog in the ring before the dogs are even gaited and shown, and it must be referring to a disqualification to show. Then I went to DPCA disqualifying factors and size is only a fault, not a total dq.
So basically yeah, nothing you can do. Oversize is to me one of the most serious faults that has happened to this breed in the past few years with more and more popularity of the overdone Euros. To see a bitch that is too tall by a couple of inches get placed is rather distressing.

DPCA:

FAULTS​

The foregoing description is that of the ideal Doberman Pinscher. Any deviation from the above described dog must be penalized to the extent of the deviation.

DISQUALIFICATIONS​

Overshot more than 3/16 of an inch, undershot more than 1/8 of an inch. Four or more missing teeth. Dogs not of an allowed color.
 
She looks so good in all the pics!

Regarding her looking smaller, Ripley seems to reach Derek’s knees, but with Paula, she seems to reach her hips!
The winner wasn't 29, the reserve winner was (and this is according to what I heard). The winner apparently was a little lower but still if you look at them next to Ripley in one of those pics, they are taller than her. Yes, you can call for a wicket...... but obviously it causes a big scene and holds up the ring because they have to go find the rep table (which was inside, so a 5 min walk one way) to get the wicket. Not a good thing for a newbie to do. 😬 No one ever does this from what I've seen. It really should be the judges duty and I have never seen a judge wicket dobes but I've heard of it occasionally happening. Again he was provisional. He at least got chewed out by a handler so hopefully that will sit with him on his next judging assignment.
I just measured Sasha and she is a bit under 26”. 29” is big! Wonder what weights were? My thought is that entry forms should state weight and height parameters, not that everyone plays by the rules. Guess my next question is were these breeders newbies? Looking at the top 2, what did you see that drew the judge’s eye beyond size? More muscle definition? Wider chest? What drew him to those 2? Or was it recognition of a professional handler?
 
Guess my next question is were these breeders newbies?
Both were handlers, one was handling a clients bitch, other I believe a breeder/handler. Not new. Wish I could give you an answer but I'm not sure the answer to your question on what drew the judge. Ripley was the most fit in my eyes, I've been conditioning her and trotting her every evening for the past month on top of her normal exercise. Sometimes the judge is drawn to handlers because they think "this one must be good" if it has a handler on it. Sometimes judges are drawn to size... some prefer big, some prefer small/refined. And everyone else in the middle picks the most correct bitch 😜 Ripley was between two large bitches and then next to Derek...so... 🤷‍♀️ probably didn't help and made her look small.

Rip has her faults as they all do, they are fairly minor and nit picky. She has the same issue as almost all dobermans today have: she could use more angle on the upper arm, putting her front legs more underneath of her. Her front pasterns could be a hair shorter. Her muzzle in the front a hair more square... she has an extra tooth. She's excels in that she is square, has a level top line, a beautifully correct rear assembly and is a lovely mover because of her overall correctness. She's really hard to nit pick but I am the hardest on her... I live with her! But that is what I've been told about her when I had a breeder judge grade her. I will also add she has one front pastern (only one) that slightly turns out, I believe it was an injury as a puppy from mom that healed weird. Easily fixed by turning her foot when stacking and sometimes she fixes it herself too so, not anything that is her fault structurally. If she was like that on both I would lean towards that's her conformation.

I've been told two things by longtime dobe people on why she hasn't finished already (and in the nicest way possible): money (it costs big money for big name handlers to take your dog and travel around) and she's "too standard" (sadly but honestly)😄 where she uh, sticks out because she looks different and isn't FANCY. It's also really quite normal for bitches to not finish until 3-4, there's just SO much competition in addition to waiting for them to mature/fill out. Paula was just telling Derek to move her to Open class because she looks very mature now. Derek joked "finally!" and a bunch ringside were sympathizing saying their dobes look better than they ever have at 5... Anyways, I could say more on what I saw but I'm not one to enjoy getting my head cut off so I'll just point out what is wrong with my dog 😜. Someone is always listening.
 
I will also add that I was privately messaged by another dobe owner handler, that has been showing a while now, that that is why they dont like to show under provisional judges. Provisional judges will have an asterisk next to their name in the judging program so people can opt to not show under them. A provisional title is "assigned to judges while they are being evaluated on their knowledge of designated breeds and or level of obedience class in accordance with the current AKC judging approval system." -per AKC glossary.
 
It fascinates me too, as I have some background in everything BUT dogs! Sometimes your animal can be too well behaved in the ring. If she is smaller, but moves better, maybe she needs to show a bit more fire. Sometimes being bad draws attention, as in “She isn’t as big, but look at that drive and fire in her eye”. Perhaps the dog world is a bit better behaved, but maybe Derek needs to put sardines in his pocket!😂 I must admit that I was not ashamed to say I moved a calf or a horse a bit forward or back in line, to show his best features, and maybe if that calf bumped the good calf next to me when we turned, then oh well!😂….and her face and muzzle are stunning! No fault there!
 

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