08/23/2021
Meet esteemed judge, Gerard O'Shea
As you have probably already understood from my last name, I come from Ireland, Dublin. There I grew up with a dog from childhood - or rather, I made sure early on that it became a dog in the house. My first dog Peppe was a mixed breed between German Shepherd and Dachshund. Peppe followed me in wet and dry and taught me the joy and the special relationship you can have between dog and human. One day 12 years old, I sat on the bus on the way home from school and saw the most beautiful, most impressive dog I have ever seen. I jumped off the bus and ran after the owner. Respectfully, I asked what kind of dog it was. He called me from head to toe (he probably thought… not a dog for a little guy like you anyway ..) I held my breath when he answered. "It's a Rottweiler." From that day I was sold. This was the breed for me. It took me over two years to save up for my first Rottweiler, but from that day on, they have been a part of my life, my heart and soul. Many would probably say that I breathe Rottweiler. But over the years I have also had many other breeds at the same time as my Rottweilers. Poodle, Akita, Tibetan Spaniel, Chihuahua, Grand Dane, Affenpincher, Xoloitzcuintle to name a few.
During my dog years in Ireland, my interest in breeding and show developed. I had the privilege of having fantastic mentors early on (from other races in fact) who guided me in the jungle of breeding, pedigrees and anatomy. To this day, I still have the most successful Rottweiler in the history of Ireland, Byron Jack. As a breeder, I was the leading kennel prefix Everready in the country.
I also quickly developed my interest and talent for showing and showing dogs. The opportunity to also help others to show dogs from other breeds took off and I soon became a Professional handler for a large number of breeds. It was wonderfully instructive and rewarding. And the feeling of being at a big show with several group winners before the BIS final and trying to solve who could help me show the different winners in the Best in show final was a pleasant luxury problem….
My great interest in dogs extends far and wide. I am still completely fascinated by the anatomy of dogs, why dogs look the way they do and what the original function of the different breeds is. It also led to me training as an FCI judge for a number of breeds and also ADRK breed specialist Rottweiler.
My great passion for the Rottweiler made me quickly start going to the breed's homeland, Germany. Especially to their largest and most important exhibition per year - Zuchtschau Klubsieger. I have visited that exhibition every year for now 35 years. And it's always fun to see beautiful dogs and meet Rottweiler enthusiasts from all over the world.
I will soon finish my first book "The Rottweiler Standard". After that, I hope that there will be more books on the various topics around dogs and shows that I am passionate about spreading knowledge in.
I have now lived in Sweden for 25 years and have for almost as long trained other dog owners in the art of showing their dog in the best way at a show. I also hold courses in Dog management (your and the dog's relationship) and the dog's anatomy. It is a job that takes me around the world - where there are dog people, there is also a desire to learn more. Our company O´Shea - Your Dog Sweden is now facing an exciting development that you will be able to follow.
https://justask.skaffahund.se/sidor/startsida
