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Please be sure to visit our Photo Albums for lot of pictures of the 2006 Sieger Show in Germany

Can you remember Christmas Eve when you were just a tyke and the thrill and anticipation of waiting for that Jolly Old Soul to arrive?   If you answered “ yes” then you have some indication of how I felt on Thursday night when we arrived in Oberhausen, Germany. I couldn’t wait for 5:00 am to arrive as that was the “ wake-up” call for breakfast. Protection work started at 7:00 am and we were going early to get a good seat and watch as many of the dogs and bitches as we could.

We had “ done a rekkie” the night before to find the stadium and so had purchased our three days tickets to get in without being in the line-up every day. At that hour of the morning the stadiums, one on each side of the field, were only starting to fill up and we were lucky to get some exceptional seats. (I kept pinching myself because it seemed impossible that I was finally at the Sieger Show.) There were German Shepherds everywhere, in the stands, walking on the grounds, on the field, EVERYWHERE!!!  The weather was fine and I had my catalogue and was ready to start watching. The dogs came in one by one and the show was underway. As the day went on, more and more people started to fill up the stands. It was an international gathering with people from all over the world. Just around me several different languages were being spoken. Yet most spectators seemed to have a smattering of English when it was necessary.

Around noon it was time to go and get something to eat and tour the booths and stores. There was a little village behind one of the grandstands and the atmosphere was festive and exciting. I think that you could find anything you wanted that pertained to German Shepherd Dogs, dog training, dog showing, traveling with dogs, bling, and food. The smell of the bratwurst was so enticing that it wasn’t to be resisted and of course that needs to be washed down with a cold beer. This little colonial was surprised to learn that beer could be purchased and consumed in the stands! The only thing that I would complain about is the endless numbers of people smoking. I couldn’t get away from it and I developed a cough that lasted until two weeks after I came home. But, that was a small price to pay for a trip to the Sieger Show.

All day Friday we watched the individual work of each dog. It started at 7:00am and we left the stadium at 7:00pm. One thing that was difficult was trying to watch the males and females at the same time. The testing took place at the same time for both sexes and we were sitting directly in front of the males working area. That meant that you needed to strain to look over to the other side to see the females. Sometimes there was a lull in the male line-up and then it was easier to look over and see the females working. You really needed binoculars (I had mine) and a camera with a major zoom.
I thought mine was good with the 3x zoom but I soon saw that Jim with his 12x zoom had the most awesome pictures. Bummer! I knew that I had to have a new camera for the next time!!!(Note, new camera has been purchased here is what we recommend).

I was disappointed with the caliber of the obedience and protection work. Some of the obedience work was dreadful and I can’t imagine taking a dog to the biggest breed show in the world with such a weak foundation. Also, much of the protection was sadly lacking with shallow bites, unwillingness to “OUT” and runaways. Many of the better dogs had working lines in their pedigrees and a few stud dogs stood out as contributing to the breed for both looks and attitude.

The next day we were back. Now that I had the lay of the land it was easier to get around and review everything that was just passed over the day before. The group went their separate ways because we all had different interests. Because the announcements are in German it can be difficult to know what is going on where. While I stayed in the main stadium all day, others in the group went to watch the young dog classes, which were held around the outskirts of the stadium. I didn’t know that these classes were going on and so I was disappointed at the end of the day to realize that I had missed these as well as the HGH classes. Oh well, it is very difficult to see everything. Instead I chose to stand down beside the barrier where the progeny groups were lining up to proceed onto the field. I was about 5 feet away from all the top dogs in the show. Talk about being a “ Groupie”. I was able to take many close up and candid pictures of the dogs and I couldn’t have been happier. It is one thing to look at the pictures of these dogs in the URMA book but to see them informally is much more educational. If you plan to go to the show then be prepared to make choices about what to view. My friends from Hawaii took pictures of the upcoming young males so at least we were able to look at them at night on the laptop that they also brought with them. This is also an excellent idea because your photos can be downloaded and saved while your camera is at the ready for the next day and you wouldn’t have to have so many memory cards. I also went through four sets of batteries for my camera during the trip.

The show on Saturday was over by 5:00pm and the group met up at a prearranged spot and headed home for supper and rest for Sunday.

Wouldn’t you know it!!!!!!!! Rain, rain and more rain for the big day. But, we were dressed for the weather and our spirits were still high. I left the group and went over to the other side, as I wanted to be closer to the dogs as they went by the stadium. It was serendipitous to end up sitting next to a very nice family from Poland who spoke no English but had a Zamp puppy lying right beside me. The father took my catalogue and showed me his pup’s listing from Saturday and he was very proud of him. When Zamp went Sieger, he pulled a ball cap out of a bag that had ZAMP written across it and put it on the pup’s head so that I could get a picture. It was very nice to be patting a Sieger son. The stadium that I chose to sit in was not facing the wind direction so no rain came under the roof and that was really good for the spectators. At times, the sky just opened up. I wished that I had someone sitting next to me who could interpret and I would have been able to follow along better. But, as I said earlier, you need to make choices. Truthfully I like Quantum better and would have taken him home in a minute. It was also a big surprise to see a full brother(V.Arex vom Herbramer-Wald SchH3) to my VA2 Timo son( Adam vom Herbramer-Wald) in the show. There were a handful of sables and a couple of blacks but the majority of the critters  were black and red. The lighter pigmented dogs stood out in this crowd. I guess the most thrilling part for me was to see the handlers change and all these dogs to be gaiting at a full trot off lead each within a couple of feet of each other. People in the crowd wear jackets with either their kennel names or the dog’s name on the back. This is a great idea if a person wants to find a particular person. In the distance I saw an older gentleman with Timo on his jacket but wasn’t close enough to stop him and ask questions. Timo was my pick for a few years and I was lucky enough to purchase a puppy from Gerd Dexel. Personally, I think that I got the pick puppy, as Adam is beautiful with a temperament to die for. (Back to the show) Quantum was out in front for most of the time and then finally Zamp got the sign to move up and that was that. Apparently, everyone “knows” who the Sieger will be so it really wasn’t a surprise. Once the order of dogs was finalized, the group met and we left the arena before the award ceremony due to the expected traffic problems.

Attending the Sieger Show was everything that I had imagined it would be. I had more fun and laughs with our group than I have ever had before. It is wonderful to be with people who love this breed and are just as dog crazy as you are. Would I go again??????? Try and stop me.