Old VA's vs New VA's - Page 6

I have a show line built like the more modern show line dogs...and a working line that is built more like the dogs of 40 years ago.

The working line is just coming up on a year old...but I can say she can out perform the show line physically in every way....faster...jumping....cornering....almost no comparison.

I cant see where the changes were any improvment at all.

I grew up on a workng farm and we did have working dogs to work with the cattle.  I know that my working line would stand a better chance of surviving because she can move much better than the show line.   

talk about a courage test....let a 1200lb steer come full speed at  a dog and if it has the physical ability to get out of the way.. see if it has what it takes to get back in there and work.

Just my opinion on the dogs I own. 

Unfortunately a SchH3 title does not, in and of itself, guarantee that the dog is capable of "real" work - patrol K9, bomb detection, drug detection, or even serious sport work.  If only it were that easy! 

Granted, having the title is better than not, but Schutzhund is only a proxy for "real work".  It's a great sport and I love it to death.  However, it is a choreographed routine.  Surely some of the folks here have seen their share of dogs that have been pattern trained to "go through the motions".   Believe me, I think it's a great sport, and many sport dogs have produced working service dogs, and are capable of service work themselves.  On the other hand, we shouldn't completely lose our perspective either.

The same goes for the AD.  Passing the AD is a modest accomplishment, and I believe that any dog that can not pass the AD should not be bred.  However, having the AD does not prove that a dog could work a herd of sheep all day long.  Sorry, but it's just too easy.  Only 25 km over typically level ground (usually for the handler's sake), with rest breaks in between.  If I remember correctly, there's a temperature limit too - judges won't allow the AD to be run if ambient temperature is over... 20 C? 

For protection work, I admire what some of the Ring dogs and PSA dogs have to deal with... helpers throwing around barrels, squirting water at them, screaming like a real person in pain and anger, dragging them through tangled curtains of clattering bottles, etc.  This is just my opinion, of course, but I like to see a dog that can handle the unexpected.  Kudos to the SchH handlers who also "stir things up" in protection training to challenge their dogs!

For endurance work, I got my own spin on that.  Just got back from three days of backpacking with my GSD in the Otter Creek Wilderness area, scrambling over fallen trees, jumping from rock to rock to cross creeks, scrambling up steep pitches covered in loose rock and gravel, 6+ hours on the trails each day in 30-35 C temps with high humidity.   I encourage all handlers to give it a try - challenge yourself and your dog with strenuous terrain.   It's great conditioning, both physically and mentally, for you and your dog.   It's great fun too!

So, Sumo, to get my opinion on "movement" in GSD's... come visit us in Wild, Wonderful West Virginia and we'll go mountain biking on 20 miles of gnarly, steep single track, with our dogs running at our side.   No level ground or even terrain, just roots, rocks, mud, and hard pack.   This would sound distasteful to some, but this to me is "movement" in the real world, not in the sterile environment of a field or ring.

Actually I'm out of shape compared to my cycling buddies.  Bill runs his Aussie 40 miles in a day over hilly wooded terrain when he goes mountain biking.  Yikes!  Chaco and I have got looooong way to go before we do that, but that is our goal that we are working up to.

Yvette