Capt. Stephanitz - Page 2

I did not mean to waste bandwith and print this twice. My apologies!! Moderator.. Could you get rid of one of these? I hit ENTER once?? Dawn B.

Dawn sounds like a broad assumption. I have seen some good Am bred dogs. Germans are not the only ones who can breed a great dog. That would be like me saying it's the showline breeders faults for exploiting the breed. Us working line people just want the dogs we can use for a purpose.

Does anyone know what year the good old Capt. had to put in the temperment test for the annual show in Germany? It seems to me about 15 years is all it took for the conformation gang to screw things up in the beginning. ---Bob

Realcold That was when the Rittmeister noticed a severe fault on ERIC GRAFENWERTH // a very hard working dog... altough not to pleasant to be with... History explains that Germany was hesitant to sell such a very TOP PERFORMING dog. But when they already had good specimens, it was sold to the U.S. // Curly coats are being banned from breeding (ERICH coat) I was able to see one live specimen, a German import here in the Philippines back 2002. The owner was also trying to bring back the GSD to its historical roots, probably was CURIOS wether there really is an ERICH phoenomena... Some more dogs were exported to the U.S. in the earlier times with very clear faults that the German were trying to rid of from their breeding lines and was also sold at very high prices... I noticed they place the breeding UNDERSTUDIES somewhat lower than VA1 or Vice seiger because they know that the siegers would probably end somewhere else in the world... Some even manipulate the Breeding because you must be coming from a V or VA family on both sides and must be KOERed before being considred among the ELITES. Most Seigers dont produce as good as they are because the phenotype already had been EXPOSED so they rely on the Genotype and what they presume can produce better and continue the quality they keep to themselves... Or else the breeders will not gain profit. I remember they really wanted to show their dogs to sell them afterwards.. Sell it to the world ...but they will still try to keep some for themselves

The german shepherd will make a come back the more people utilize the dog for what they were intended. The Capt. will disagree with the way alot of thing are done with the breed today especially here in America. From training, breeding and the overall titling of the breed.

bump

I don't think ole Max had a clue what was instore for his beloved breed.

No he dis not know what was coming!  From what I have read, and his book is sitting right next to me, he was not concerned with the beauty pagents.  He knew he could not stop people from doing it though so iniitally he was the judge, to try and steer breeders in the right direction.  How things got to the point they are now?  In my opinion, it is the judging. 

I also understand that initially, he wanted to create a great hearding dog with high intelligence and great temperment.  Manwork came later when there was more of a need for police and military type dogs.  It was the high intellegence of the military dogs that made them popular with americans after WWI.  As mentioned above, they sent the "bad" ones to America and they were bought up and overbreed as everyone one wanted a Rin Tin Tin at the farm and in the home. 

The gene pool for the American lines stymied after WWII and the stock in Germany was corrupted by Nazi take over of the SV, a problem that almost but Max in a concentration camp, according to some accounts.  In an American book published in the 1950's that I read, most Americans acutally thought they had the best bloodlines at that time.

Germany rebuilt the dog, in actually three or more seperate areas, the West German Show and Work and the East German DDR dogs. 

Do we actually have more than three "varieties".  Can we with carefull breeding bring the dog back to what he created??  One would need to use all the genetic material avaiable as the isolation of certain genes in all the areas needs to be accounted for.  Folly some will say, lies others will post. 

I don't know that the REAL GSD will ever stand up again.

It would take a simple plan, but many years of devotion.
And someone who could stand up to the establishment.
Its not impossible, only impractical.
His dogs died with him along with the times.

The fix is in the mix,.the show people and the working dog people need to come together with a productive breeding plan .This is not an overnight cure for the ills of the breed.It is the solution.If every one would take off their blinders the breed can still be saved and healthy.Start mixing up those blood lines and put the dog back together.How many more bloodlines have to be lost or so closely related they all look like weak and have no nerves .