Let's Talk Shepherds for a moment

Looking past the long coat (we all know it's faulted, but that doesn't stop em from being gorgeous xD).

 Nice tight feet, good angulation in the pastern, though a degree or two more wouldn't hurt.  Moderate and correct in the rear, proper short hocks.  Short upper arm, which will limit the opening of the shoulder in movement (he is also a bit straight in his layback, but the pics are on an angle, which skews the view).  Absolutely stunning headpiece.  Blocky and undeniably masculine, good stop, perhaps a little more length in the muzzle would be nice, but that is a matter of preference.  He is not coarse.  Absolutely lovely ear set as well.

Color and pigment are superb, croup is long and well placed, if not a bit steep.  Good tail set.

Short loin, topline looks solid, nice and level.  Nice chest for his age (Jaia looks young...how old is he?), doesn't appear to have dropped or his ribs to have sprung.  Nice length of neck for his body proportions.

Overall he seems to be a well put together animal, though a more "official" stack would give a better view.  I'd definitely call him Balanced :-)

What did Mary have to say about him when she sold him to you?  Anything along the lines of "If only he hadn't been a long coat!" ?
 

Thank you for your comments! I really appreciate it! I am going to have to read the standard and perhaps look up some words before I understand it, but I really, appreciate it!

Xeph

Jaia looks young...how old is he?

In the walking picture he's one year exactly. In the standing picture, he's 11 months. He's now 13 months.  

Xeph

What did Mary have to say about him when she sold him to you?  Anything along the lines of "If only he hadn't been a long coat!"

LOL. No. I requested a long coat and since they're really of no use to her, she was happy to have me choose him out of the coats in that litter. I've just always wondered if his coat would have been the only thing keeping him from being a pretty good show dog.

Xeph

What did Mary have to say about him when she sold him to you?  Anything along the lines of "If only he hadn't been a long coat!" ?
 

 Funny! I've heard that's not unusual - that one of the coats in a litter WOULD have been the pick pup except for that durned coat, lol!

I'm curious about how mine would "stack" up (pun intended!) if they weren't longcoats, but I've never been able to catch them on camera in anything remotely resembling a stack. They'll stop and stand there in a perfect stack while walking around, but I never have my camera handy. I can get them to stay put and not follow me while I go get it, but inevitably they've changed position by the time I've gotten back. Lots of good head shots though, but most of them are when they're all wet.

 

Cassidys Mom, I have the same issue with Kord, by the time I click and shoot the booger has moved.

I have seen the beautiful pictures of your dogs, you take fantastic shots! And now that you mention it they do always seem to be wet.

Tru

I've just always wondered if his coat would have been the only thing keeping him from being a pretty good show dog.

That's why I asked if she'd said anything, because he looks pretty darned nice :-)

And Cassidy's mom, you know I think Dena and Keefer are sexpots xD!

Xeph

That's why I asked if she'd said anything, because he looks pretty darned nice :-)

Thank you! I think he's pretty incredible, but I don't have a clue. I'm going to TRY  to get some pics of B'asia this weekend and I'll post them here. She has the same sire as Jaia. 

Xeph

And Cassidy's mom, you know I think Dena and Keefer are sexpots xD!

Me, too! They're very hot, wet doggies!  

FourIsCompany

 

Xeph

And Cassidy's mom, you know I think Dena and Keefer are sexpots xD!

 

Me, too! They're very hot, wet doggies!  

Well no wonder - their dam is Jaia and B'asia's great-grandma!
 

I looked through my thousand or so pics, and it's confirmed - they almost NEVER just stand around. Grr! I've got lots of sitting pics, pics laying down, a gazillion running pics and swimming pics, but just standing there? Not really. So what can you do with a head shot? How about some dripping wet head shots?

This is the best I can do with a standing normally shot, not that great, Dena on the left:

Pretty good motion shot of Keef:

[

Standing Dena at agility class, two weeks past her first b'day: 

Dual profile, Keefer on the left:

Dual head shots - dry, Dena on right:

Wet Keef:

Wet Dena:

And here's B'asia's pedigree and some pictures.

http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/pedigree/517800.html 

So all you TeMar people got me curious.  I checked out their site.  Nice dogs!  I wonder if they ship?  I'm assuming you both recommend them? I've got a short list of some nice kennels a lot closer, but I think most of them have dogs that are a little over the top for me (great for working, SchH, that kind of drive).  These TeMar dogs are good companions?
 

I'm trying to get DH to want a GSD.  He gets to pick the next dog.  He wants a Beagle.  I've got nothing against Beagles, but.....just dunno if I want one!  He doesn't like black shepherds and he doesn't drool over sables like I do.  I'm randomly leaving web sites with little black and tan puppies up on the computer screen... 

Liesje

I'm trying to get DH to want a GSD

 keep workin' on it! i've got my man wanting a dobe now then next maybe we'll see about a red and black longhaired shep, another black shep, or a very very dark sable... man, i'm gonna live in a zoo!

Liesje, Mary shipped Keefer to me, and I believe Carla's dogs were shipped too. We flew up there to pick up Dena because I wanted to meet Mary and the dam Teela. My hubby has family in the area, so we rented a car in Portland, spent the night at his aunt & uncle's house, and then drove Dena home the next morning.

Dena & Keefer are fabulous companions! Keefer has much higher drive than his half sister, who is very calm and laid back, well unless you've got a ball, and then she's obsessed, lol! He's a Triumph's Gucci grandson, a German showline dog well known for his working character. He's extremely energetic, ridiculously happy all the time, and very outgoing and confident. They both have an off switch and are great around the house. They LOVE people, not an aloof bone in their bodies, and they get along great with other dogs too, very social. We take them everywhere we can - you can see some pictures of the off leash parks we go to every weekend on the recent dog park thread, and I posted some pics of our trip up to Medocino with them a couple of weeks ago on gs.com.

I'm totally happy with them, the best dogs either of us have ever had, (hubby grew up with shepherds), exactly what we wanted and more. NO "issues"! But there are some things you should know if you're considering a TeMar dog, you can PM me or KathyW on gs.com, and Carla may have some comments too.

 

Both my dogs were shipped to nearby cities, as we live far from OR. No problems whatsoever.

Both of my dogs are perfect companions. They're wonderfully healthy, have great temperaments (Jaia is PERFECT, laid-back and loving. B'asia is high-energy, extremely intelligent and responsive) and they are physically very sound. I have NO complaints about our dogs.

Cassidys Mom

I'm totally happy with them, the best dogs either of us have ever had ... exactly what we wanted and more. NO "issues"!

I can agree with this statement 100%! We are more than thrilled with both of our TeMar dogs.

Those long-haired shepherd are gorgeous! Must be tough to clean up all their shed. We have just one dog and I've decided to invest in a Roomba.

Here's my little girl, Isis, in action. Usually, when she runs, she has a soccer ball in her mouth.

Keneumey, Isis is just beautiful.

I love the soccor ball in her mouth, here it is the frisbee!