Proper Showing Guide 1: Poses
Written by: Vreselijk
The staff have noticed many people use a pose that I've nicknamed the "leaning pose" for their dogs, mainly the bully breeds. I thought it was time that people know how the SKC staff/judges view this pose and how it can affect your conformation score.
This pose is typically seen in extremely conditioned American Pit Bull Terriers that are not your classic show dogs. They seem to be geared more toward weight pulling and a show dog would never be this conditioned if seen in a UKC show. The UKC standard exemplifies one type of American Pit Bull Terrier and that is the one that the SKC judges by.
The breed that most commonly uses this pose seem to be American Pit Bull Terriers. These aren't accepted by the AKC, which is the first and foremost showing organization that we follow, so I'm going to go with a similar breed that is accepted by them, the American Staffordshire Terrier, as a reference.
The breed that most commonly uses this pose seem to be American Pit Bull Terriers. These aren't accepted by the AKC, which is the first and foremost showing organization that we follow, so I'm going to go with a similar breed that is accepted by them, the American Staffordshire Terrier, as a reference.
The dog is stacked normally. In the first shot, the dog may even be free stacking, as it's known, as they are required to do this after they demonstrate their dog's movement. The dog looks like you might see it when its standing outside in a backyard or at home, particularly in the last one. It is not exaggerated.
The first example is cropped however it is of an APBT winning Best in Show at a random show. The second one is how the dog would be seen standing naturally and the third is stacked but still, the dog is not exaggerated. This shows off the conformation of the dog nicely and this is how we would expect to see an APBT in a conformation show.
Remember, the SKC goes by official showing organizations so in the case of this breed, we would go by how UKC American Pit Bull Terriers are shown off. The examples I have provided are what we expect to see when a member is showing an American Pit Bull Terrier that is geared toward showing. If you want a working American Pit Bull Terrier, by all means pose them however you'd like.
I am going to make this clear so that there is no more confusion as to why your dog placed terribly in the conformation portion of a show when it was judged: if you use a leaning pose for any of your show dogs, you will score 5/10 or less on conformation. There have been occasions where a member has scored 0/10 because the SKC judges can only judge what you provide them with and if it is an unflattering pose, we cannot judge the dog's structure accurately. You could have a 10/10 conformation dog but if we cannot see that in the stack you provide us with, we cannot give the dog a 10/10.
Thanks for reading this and I hope it helps you in the future if you've ever wondered why, when you use this pose, your dog does not score well in conformation :)
Remember, the SKC goes by official showing organizations so in the case of this breed, we would go by how UKC American Pit Bull Terriers are shown off. The examples I have provided are what we expect to see when a member is showing an American Pit Bull Terrier that is geared toward showing. If you want a working American Pit Bull Terrier, by all means pose them however you'd like.
I am going to make this clear so that there is no more confusion as to why your dog placed terribly in the conformation portion of a show when it was judged: if you use a leaning pose for any of your show dogs, you will score 5/10 or less on conformation. There have been occasions where a member has scored 0/10 because the SKC judges can only judge what you provide them with and if it is an unflattering pose, we cannot judge the dog's structure accurately. You could have a 10/10 conformation dog but if we cannot see that in the stack you provide us with, we cannot give the dog a 10/10.
Thanks for reading this and I hope it helps you in the future if you've ever wondered why, when you use this pose, your dog does not score well in conformation :)
Our Questions When This Was First Presented To The SKC
Please Click The Pose Name/Number To View Example images
Regarding this,
Some of the poses we have out there for confirmation shows do not suit the APBT breed...
This is how one of the other conformation poses looks with my APBT Bella...
Pose 1
♠ The way I look at this pose is the dogs head is jerked back a wee bit to far and makes the entire dog look boxy(Correct me if I'm wrong)and it appears as though it has no neck at all.
Pose 2
♠ I believe this is the pose you consider a "leaning pose" I could be mistake however.
Pose 3
This pose I'm not quite sure how to call it but it looks like another version of the leaning pose I am also unsure about having an open mouth within conformation shows.
Nopose
♠ Using zero pose can be a trick at times in game as between pausing your game once you've moved a dog and what not(I think this is zero pose I can't get in game currently to sort out) but you have avery small window before the dog moves.
Which of these four would be considered acceptable for the breed in confo shows. I ask this because, not only do I run the breed club and would like to possibly use your guide here (With credit) on the club prage, but also to make a reference on the club site and on the news board of what poses are acceptable in confirmation shows
I've actually been wondering about this for some time as there aren't a lot of poses out there for the APBT and a while back I was looking for a pose creator for breed poses that would work very well in the breed that could be hosted on the club website.
Some of the poses we have out there for confirmation shows do not suit the APBT breed...
This is how one of the other conformation poses looks with my APBT Bella...
Pose 1
♠ The way I look at this pose is the dogs head is jerked back a wee bit to far and makes the entire dog look boxy(Correct me if I'm wrong)and it appears as though it has no neck at all.
Pose 2
♠ I believe this is the pose you consider a "leaning pose" I could be mistake however.
Pose 3
This pose I'm not quite sure how to call it but it looks like another version of the leaning pose I am also unsure about having an open mouth within conformation shows.
Nopose
♠ Using zero pose can be a trick at times in game as between pausing your game once you've moved a dog and what not(I think this is zero pose I can't get in game currently to sort out) but you have avery small window before the dog moves.
Which of these four would be considered acceptable for the breed in confo shows. I ask this because, not only do I run the breed club and would like to possibly use your guide here (With credit) on the club prage, but also to make a reference on the club site and on the news board of what poses are acceptable in confirmation shows
I've actually been wondering about this for some time as there aren't a lot of poses out there for the APBT and a while back I was looking for a pose creator for breed poses that would work very well in the breed that could be hosted on the club website.
Vreselijk's View Point/Answers to the above poses
Pose 1: This is something you have to look out for when picking a generic pose to use. It's a problem with all breeds, not just APBTs, and it does look a bit stiff but it's not that bad. It shows off the dog overall much better than the leaning pose so I'd consider it "acceptable" if you cannot find a better pose
Pose 2: Yup, that's the leaning pose. People also seem to use the wrong lead, they use the standard "handler standing in front of the dog" but the dog would tip over if you pulled the lead forward. The handler has to be behind the dog, which they do not do in proper shows, so it's more than likely a BYB style pose.
Pose 3: Also a BYB style pose, it's much more "recreational" and not a proper show stack or free stack. It would be used moreso in competitions that aren't conformation shows and I wouldn't recommend using it.
Pose 4 (No Pose): Looks fine, similar to Pose 1 so I'd consider it acceptable, like I said, if you cannot find a pose that suits the dog.
There's a gap between the larger dog with the small dog height slider and the smallest large dog that these dogs would probably fall into so I'm debating on if it should be a large dog or a small dog as a template. I'm testing this out in game right now.
Pose 2: Yup, that's the leaning pose. People also seem to use the wrong lead, they use the standard "handler standing in front of the dog" but the dog would tip over if you pulled the lead forward. The handler has to be behind the dog, which they do not do in proper shows, so it's more than likely a BYB style pose.
Pose 3: Also a BYB style pose, it's much more "recreational" and not a proper show stack or free stack. It would be used moreso in competitions that aren't conformation shows and I wouldn't recommend using it.
Pose 4 (No Pose): Looks fine, similar to Pose 1 so I'd consider it acceptable, like I said, if you cannot find a pose that suits the dog.
There's a gap between the larger dog with the small dog height slider and the smallest large dog that these dogs would probably fall into so I'm debating on if it should be a large dog or a small dog as a template. I'm testing this out in game right now.
White Harbor Kennels View Point/Answers To Our Above Post
Pose 1, while not perfect for the breed, and causes some conformational issues, would not have too many points deducted.
Pose 2, is the pose we are speaking about. This sort of pose is reserved for working dogs, and many BYB shows, and while it is rampant within the ADBA, it is not an adequate stack. We work using UKC, FCI, and AKC showing practices, and this stack is neither conducive to the breed or professional.
Pose 3, is a take on the leaning stack, but appears as a much more stylized show stack. In fact, while APBTs and Amstaffs should be square stacked and have one leg out and back slightly, this pose looks like a dog taking liberties with a free stack, and therefore, would not be too heavily penalized. though the judge may prefer a traditional stack; this is up to them. The open mouth is not a huge issue, as some dogs are excited in the ring. (Vreselijk and I differ on this front slightly.)
No Pose, as this breed, as stated above should be square stacked, with a slight pull out from behind, the neutral in-game stand is your best bet. There is also a pose by Sharon Emmons, which would suit the breed as well.
Pose 2, is the pose we are speaking about. This sort of pose is reserved for working dogs, and many BYB shows, and while it is rampant within the ADBA, it is not an adequate stack. We work using UKC, FCI, and AKC showing practices, and this stack is neither conducive to the breed or professional.
Pose 3, is a take on the leaning stack, but appears as a much more stylized show stack. In fact, while APBTs and Amstaffs should be square stacked and have one leg out and back slightly, this pose looks like a dog taking liberties with a free stack, and therefore, would not be too heavily penalized. though the judge may prefer a traditional stack; this is up to them. The open mouth is not a huge issue, as some dogs are excited in the ring. (Vreselijk and I differ on this front slightly.)
No Pose, as this breed, as stated above should be square stacked, with a slight pull out from behind, the neutral in-game stand is your best bet. There is also a pose by Sharon Emmons, which would suit the breed as well.
American Pit Bull Terrier Confirmation Poses - APPROVED POSES
Creator CreditThese poses have been created by Kennel Von Herrschaft all credit belongs to them for creating these lovely poses. The mentioned above poses will NOT be accepted within confirmation shows without penalty. The poses created here are currently the main approved poses for any and all APBT Club confirmation poses, and possibly the SKC itself(Do not quote us on this as we could be mistaken on their approval)
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