Looking Back... - Page 1

Knowing now what you didn’t know in the beginning, of this wonderful breed of the German Shepherd, would your German Shepherd of choice be German Working Lines, German Show Lines, or Czech Lines/ Working.
Which of the above dog is best suited for families?
Ok 👍🏻 love to hear your interesting stories!

Dawn B.

Depends on what you want the dog for (purpose)
Depends on the family, what they like to do/how active
Depends on the age/personality/experience with GSD.

This is not my first GSD.  Currently, I have all Czech line 2, 4, and 5 GSD that is handler aggressive and very protective. Perfect for military, law enforcement, or protection.

Couldn't ask for a better dog, although she's very hard-headed... kind of like having a Siberian Husky in a GSD body, so.... she needs lots of training, attention, and EXERCISE.

Not for an inexperienced handler or a family with young children or very elderly.


 

First IMHO any GOOD GSD SHOULD be good with families. That is one of the essential characteristics of Shepherdness in my book. There should be innate understanding that small things human or animal are to be taken care of. See my post about Remy http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/community.read?post=785214-the-hallmarks-of-a-good-shepherd&p=1

Unfortunately I find few breeders choosing for such essential traits which causes a snowball effect. What you have never seen or had is difficult to choose for. Same as the folks who breed heil hilter dogs thinking that is a correct front. It's very incorrect but most have not seen a correct front or could id it if they did because they have not bothered to educate themselves as to what it is-thru picture, film, video or finding an old timer who can explain it and point it out to them.

As to what I would have - exactly what I do have http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/dog.html?id=2127142-kaiserfitz-seffe-von-sontausen  She has two different hi-lines and 2 different WGWL, a fair amount old dutch knvp lines, some old good Czech and a tiny smattering of some Belgian dogs. You may be able to perceive I believe we are breeding ourselves into inbred black holes with all the bifurcation within the breed and think it's long past time to start putting it all back together to get healthier and sounder dogs. Problem is when opening the breeding pool back up as a general rule you will have to be looking 2-3 generations down the road to find success comparable to where you are right now in terms of wins whether it be in the show ring or on a trial podium and most people simply are not willing to do that. I have seen some movement in crossing working and show from a few very knowledgeable breeders but that sad part is the GSD has become a very lucrative industry and money all too often wins over the good for the breed.

In the end it is about the individual dog and what they bring to the table. I have long been known as a pedigree nut because I love to study pedigrees and know who and what is behind the current crop and what came forward or not but I long ago learned you have to look up from the pedigree and look at the dog standing in front of you. What are THEIR good points AND bad and how can you improve the latter while retaining the former. The answer to that should be the best partner regardless of the flavor of the day or your preference for a very narrow slice of the GSD breed. 

BTW I've been blessed to have some really good GSDs over the last 55 years. And while there has been some commonalities in the pedigrees the differences are probably greater. Some have had pure hi-line pedigrees ex Nemo http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/dog.html?id=557479-nemo some mixed pedigrees as above but in the end I would own each & everyone of them again because they were chosen for who & what they were - their character, temperament, drives, skills, structure & most importantly their shepherdness - not for what slice of the GSD world their pedigree claimed to represent.

Much like Tig, I would not have swapped any of mine that I have owned or cared for, (from a variety of lines), I don't think - they have each had their good points. Were I to be starting again now and fit enough and with time etc enough to take more interest in the more active sides of the GSD breed I think on balance I would still go for the modern hi-line Show dog, as I think breed type is important, but would select VERY carefully among them to get sports / work aptitude, and a clean croup rather than a mid-spine hinge !
And before anyone shoots me down, I'm talking buying over here in the UK where both are still entirely possible !

The order I got mine in was perfect.  All but the last were working line European.  My current youngest is a working line/show line cross and a totally different experience with maturity and training (he tends to take after the working side with wanting something to do ALWAYS).  I wouldn't trade any of them, I miss my first two who has since passed (very aggressive DM at 10 and old age at 16).