Max is a 4-year-old Rowdy son out of Rowdy's last litter. Max's formal name is Beachwalker's Rowdy To The Max and it appears that Max has taken the name literally. He's right at the top of the Standard at 27 inches tall and tips the scales at around 145 lbs. He actually could afford to lose 10 or 15 of those lbs. His owners have treated him VERY WELL!

He's been staying with us this week while his parents take a vacation -- a word I'm totally unfamiliar with. So, with our handler Kimm in town, I asked her to set him up for us so we can see how he looks as a potential show dog. Oh, and I also asked if she thought he could finish a Championship. These photos are for documentation more than for pure portraiture but I thought you might enjoy them

Max Stacked:



Compare that with Rowdy stacked in his last show, last December in Miami at 11 years of age.



Max headshot:



Compared with a recent Rowdy headshot:



Now, comparing a strapping 4-year-old in the prime of his life with an old man like Rowdy is a bit unfair. However, the similarities of structure and the look -- especially around the eyes -- clearly shows the family resemblance. Our hope is that Max's owners will agree to show him and to get him his clearances so that we might be able to collect him for future breedings. Max is one of Rowdy's prettiest and most structurally correct offspring and it would be nice to be able to bring that back into our line at some appropriate point in the future.

So, please enjoy Beachwalker's Rowdy To The Max. We've certainly enjoyed his stay with us. Oh, and BTW, he's just as sweet as Rowdy. OK, well almost .

Jim

What a beautiful boy Max is. I like his head shot, it highlights his sweet disposition. Was he self stacking or was Kimm stacking him? He looks wonderful.

Pj

Hey Jim,

Welcome Max!!! The third photo and fourth photos are my favorite of the series (one of Max and one of Rowdy). It must be a bit overwhelming handling both him and Rowdy right now...though I guess at 4, he should be pretty calmed down. :P

James

James,
Max is with us only for a week. Along with Jag who is a Cassidy son out of her second litter and is 14 months old. And, of course, there are the regular 6-dog members of the family with Cassidy in heat and Rowdy dealing with his issues. Oh, and I shot a show in West Palm Beach yesterday and drove back last night in pouring rain with Jag who showed. I really need a vacation!!

Max is actually pretty easy to manage. He's as large as Sundance and as sweet as Rowdy so he doesn't have dog-aggression issues. Jag, the puppy, is just a sweetheart so both he and Max are in the studio with me. Rowdy is feeling pretty good so he gets the run of the house right now. Cassidy is in a crate in one of the back bedrooms. Sundance and Marion Louise are in the kitchen and Crash and Harry Potter have the family room most of the time.

We only get to see Max about once a year when he stays with us and right now, he's looking very good. We need to convince his owners that he should show and get his medical clearances even though they have no intention of breeding him. We don't have any frozen sperm of Rowdy's so having some of Max would be really nice down the line but only if he can clear Hips, Elbows, Eyes and Heart. Oh, and if he can finish his Championship. His owners have the financial ability to finish him if they so choose. It's up to us to convince them.

Being able to bring Rowdy back into our breeding line is important to us and Max represents the Rowdy offspring with the most Rowdy-type body as well as temperament. And Max's mother is a half-sister to Annie so he carries both sides of our breeding program. Besides, he's gorgeous and he's sweet! What more can you ask for?

BTW, on Rowdy's 7th Birthday, Max's litter was just 14 weeks old and we brought Rowdy over to Max's house along with the rest of the litter for some play time. At one point, both Rowdy and Max decided to take a "time out". Here's a photo of the two of them then. They've always been very good buddies.



Rowdy and Max still like each other. That makes things much more manageable in the household.

Thanks for your comments.

Jim

PJ,
Kimm hand-stacked him but keep in mind that Max has never shown so he's not all that used to being hand-stacked. His front is very nice and his rear is excellent so he free-stacks better than most Rotties. Because he's a bit over-weight, hand-stacking allows us to take the roll out of the area behind the shoulders -- something that will go away once he actually gets into show shape. The main difference between him and Rowdy in terms of topline is that Rowdy's topline is level all the way to the tail and Max's drops a bit at the croup. Both are correct but our taste is for a more Rowdy-like topline.

Max's headpiece is very much a Rowdy-type head with a shorter, wider muzzle and a bit more cheek fill and backskull. In short, he's an improvement on Rowdy in many ways which is always the objective of a breeding program.

If Max has a downside it's his size. He's big! His proportions are excellent so you don't really notice it until he's standing next to another Rottie but he's almost a 1/2 inch taller than Sundance and Sundance is very large. Sundance has more bone and a bigger head but Max is just as impressive physically. Put him in the ring with a bunch of much smaller males and he'll look positively enormous!!

I must admit that I don't mind larger Rotties. I don't want them over the Standard but I don't mind them crowding the 27-inch mark. As long as they are structurally correct. Max has very nice structure and he moves like silk. When he's moving, you don't notice his size at all. Like Rowdy .

Jim

Nice boys! I'm sorry, not a rottie fan, but these guys are adorable.

We just received Max's OFA report and he's Hips Excellent, Elbows Clear, Heart Clear. All he needs is his CERF eye clearance and he'll be Rowdy's 7th CHIC/Full Clearances puppy out of only 3 litters. But, more importantly, Max can be a part of our long-term breeding plans which will allow us to bring Rowdy back into the line at some appropriate time in the future.

Max's owners also have agreed to let us show him toward his Championship. I should be able to have him trained and in condition by November. We are very excited. BTW, Rowdy is still with us and he's very proud of his kid, Beachwalker Rowdy To The Max .

Jim

Hey Jim,

That is spectacular news. Congrats!

James

I am very happy for you, Jim. I had read the early posts so I know how important it is to you. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.


Margaret