Wolf Mask GSD Littlest Hobo Lookalike - Page 2

No, I don't know of anyone who specifically breeds for the reverse mask.

Emoryg, all Czech dogs have DDR blood in their pedigrees if you go back far enough, and as I said above, the reverse mask was quite popular with the DDR breeders. I remember seeing a video of East German soldiers training their dogs, and a very high percentage of their dogs had reverse masks. Unfortunately, I can no longer find that particular video, or I'd post the link.

I'm with Rik, I cannot see the sense in putting such importance on the head markings when there is so much else to be prioritised, bred for and bred against.

I can however just about understand how a breeder who sincerely thinks they are already 'doing it all' and only breeding the best to the best might then want some trait to emerge which is consistently recogisable through their kennel bloodline. We had a couple of breeders in the UK who had dogs with very distinctive head masks - one, for instance, had dogs which more often than not had a very dark & solid 'cap' across the forehead between the ears. So if you saw it you could guess it was one of their dogs, or one of their dogs was involved in production.  That was not always 100% accurate, it does crop up occasionally in unrelated stock.  But these breeders have gradually died off, and the legacy has dissipated as their kennels have fallen out of use.

Something else I suggest the OP remembers:  just because a dog some 12 or 20 years ago [let alone 40] had certain markings does not mean you would find the same character in a modern dog that had similar markings. Even if bred by the same breeder.

@Rik, @Hundmutter: Despite my initial post specifically highlighting the reverse mask GSD, I'd like to emphasize that although I'm looking for a GSD with specific facial markings and color, I am by no means doing so by neglecting everything else that encompasses a well-rounded dog which would include overall build, health, temperament and a multitude of other factors.

Sorry I should have mentioned this earlier.

To me, all that comes first and the specific facial markings (which were nothing out of the ordinary going a few decades back) and color come next. I would never sacrifice all these for a GSD that has a reverse mask, but nothing else going for it.

This actually summarizes my viewpoint perfectly and is the type of breeder I have in mind: "I can however just about understand how a breeder who sincerely thinks they are already 'doing it all' and only breeding the best to the best might then want some trait to emerge which is consistently recogisable through their kennel bloodline."

@emoryg: Thanks for the detailed response! I will contact Duke1965 through PM.

Thanks everyone for the input and feedback!

There is a German Shepherd Rescue in Florida that has a young female, (Cookie 0934) that appears to have a reverse mask. shepherdhelp.org

https://www.shepherdhelp.org/animals/detail?AnimalID=15467984#

https://www.shepherdhelp.org/animals/detail?AnimalID=15467984#prettyPhoto

Ohh, pretty girl!

I bred several dogs with reversed mask, old Czech lines usually, but no one I know specificly breeds for this trait that I know of, but you can check @ weberhaus, she bought my full czech male Frodo od janice and he can, with right females, produce reversed mask IMO as we had some from him

http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/dog.html?id=2457560-frodo-od-janice

One of the reverse mask that I trained.  He sometimes looked like he had a smile on his face.    

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ye0hujdhbyli7le/K-9%20BenyWork.jpg?dl=0

 

Thanks everyone for your insights!

After doing more research on this website and elsewhere on the internet, it seems like breeders with a successful track record of producing reversed-mask GSDs (let alone Littlest Hobo type GSDs) are much harder to find than I thought they would be.

I've found a few breeders on the internet but they don't clearly mention anything about dog's pedigree and just appear unprofessional in general.

I think the best approach for me would be to get in touch with @weberhaus as @duke1965 suggested: "you can check @ weberhaus, she bought my full czech male Frodo od janice and he can, with right females, produce reversed mask IMO as we had some from him" to inquire about a reversed mask GSD.

Elsewhere from posts on this website, people asked about The Littlest Hobo's bloodlines and we know Chuck Eismann kept them a secret to prevent the dog from commercial exploitation, I think he did the right thing.

Could it be possible that Hobo's bloodlines are now extinct?

Also, is there a place on this website where I can place a Wanted/Looking for Ad?

@Bevsb, @emoryg: Cookie and Beny are both very beautiful dogs!

Could it be possible that Hobo's bloodlines are now extinct?

Yup. Chuck tried to revive them during the 1990's, but was not successful. Tina Barber had incorporated his lines into her Shiloh shepherds, and tried to breed one for him, but being a recessive gene, the reverse mask wasn't very co-operative! She never did succeed in getting a decent reverse mask in any of her dogs.

Not long after that Chuck suffered a stroke, and had to go into a nursing home, and that was pretty much the end of it.

Tina said Chuck was so determined to keep people from exploiting his lines, the way they'd done with Lassie and Rin Tin Tin that he wouldn't reveal what they were. She did tell me the name of the kennel the original London was from, but he was born during WWII, and I can't even find any reference to the kennel anywhere. It's obviously long gone, and so is the chance of resurrecting this blood line.