As I've said, Beti is a tad cow hocked, obviously not as extreme as the photo, to be honest it's hardly noticeable these days, but I'm aware of it especially when her father is so correct.
Siska toed in as a youngster, but with muscle and maturity it sorted itself out. (No one ever seem to notice!) We do have to be aware that a lot of things that we see in young dogs do improve with maturity. Sickle hocks often, but not always, are in conjunction with cow hocks, but a lot of dogs at this years Sieger were reported to be Sickle hocked, interesting! 
By simply looking at a GSD's head, we should easily know whether we are looking at a male or a female. I guess a female with a strong head is more pleasing than a male with a weak head, but I'm fussy, I love a feminine female and a masculine male. You simply could not make the mistake with these two - could you!
On the topline, the back is always a bone of contention in the breed. The back should be straight but not level. The back is in two sections, the thoracic vertebrae (there are 13 in total) and 7 lumbar vertebrae. The back begins at the 7th thoracic vertebra, as the 1st to 6th thoracic vertebrae form the withers, and extends caudally to the 7th lumbar vertebra (L7) and into the croup. According to the experts (!!) the breed topline has evolved from perfect to a current exaggeration. Well, I beg to differ, and seeing the above diagrams showing overbuilt and weak backs "in the good old days" is indeed interesting. The third dog has the perfect back .. and I honestly think we have more dogs who look like this these days than we ever have done. Yes there are curved spines in the ring, one top winner comes immediately to mind, and without doubt there are examples with downward lumber bends! (Ross for one in my opinion) I am pretty happy with the spines of the Blanik line - I think they are all straight, though wither height and croups could be better on some of them.
A lot of "anti show line GSD" folk accuse the international/German type of dog of being "roach backed." To be honest, I have no memory of seeing more than a couple of roach back GSD in the ring, ever! I have a photo of one in recent years, but I do believe it would be unfair of me to share it here.
A "roach back" refers to an abnormally arched or convex spine, creating a raised, hunched appearance instead of the usual straight back, though of course this is natural conformation for sight hounds.
As distinguished as a GSD's head is, this breed isn't just about a "head," and so many, mainly but not exclusively males, are over done. The head should be in proportion to the body with parallel planes, a moderate stop and tight-fitting lips. It's not a Mastiff or a Great Dane, but neither should it look like a Rough Collie or a BSD! I'm pleased to say we haven't had any over done heads here, though Jake did have a pointed head which lacked stop. (My Jake from the C litter as opposed to Linda's Jake from the "E" litter)
