The decline of the German Shepherd character - Page 82

character can not be seperated from conformation in a correct breeding program. Who would want a great dog who could not get out of his own way? Who would want a great looking dog who will not work? That dog don't hunt! [ blitz, if you are going to kill all of the show dogs please let me know where. I do show all of my dogs for their conformation rating before their breed survey. I would hate my dogs to be collatoral damage when you start your mission.] 

but seriously about propaganda of SV, do you know how many people I meet that bought a showline shepherd and are dissopointed afterwards because they are nothing like Rin tin tin or Commisar Rex

I dont have a problem with show dogs at all, but cancel the bitework and stop pretending and run in the showring hapily ever after

"Who would want a great dog who could not get out of his own way?"

why would you call it a great dog if it "could not get out of his own way"?

makes no frikkin sense.

"I dont have a problem with show dogs at all, but cancel the bitework and stop pretending and run in the showring hapily ever after "

that's what blitzen doesn't get and why she keeps thinking people are having a go at her. enjoy whatever dog you like, just don't make the poor things out to be something they are not because that is not good for anyone or the dog.

Haz - What impressions you get about anything are in your mind. I am not trying to impress you, or, anyone else. I know what I have done and I am satisfied with that. Like everyone else you are entitled to your opinions, even when they are wrong.

Your comment "Word games are fun but we both know you thought Mentos was impressive ;" is incorrect, again. All I have said is "For me, this is a dog that went about his work in a quiet competent manner and with a minimum of fuss". I believe credit should be given where it is due. Once again you have a preconceived idea of what I said and meant. I have no further comment to make on this dog. You are just talking out of your rear orifice again.

I appreciate that your focus is on the working side which is really only one aspect on the breed as a whole. I take a much broader view but in doing so does not mean that I do not appreciate seeing good dogs working or a show dog who are very good anatomically. Let me tell you once again to make sure that you understand me, I am only interested in dogs with a good character as a starting point. If this criteria is not met then my interest stops there and then whether or not it is the best worker in the world or the absolute perfectly constructed dog that I have ever seen.

Mackenzie

"I am only interested in dogs with a good character as a starting point. If this criteria is not met then my interest stops there and then whether or not it is the best worker in the world or the absolute perfectly constructed dog that I have ever seen."

er excuse me, if it was the "best worker in the world " IT WOULD HAVE GOOD CHARACTER.

please do not breed any more dogs or teach people what you know about GSD's.

vk - character is one aspect of work, even dogs with weak characters will bite.  

nobody is claiming work = biting, nobody at all has said that in the last 103 pages.

In the seventies I liked winning show dogs in Germany, worked them, bred them, and produced dogs for military,LE, and seeing-eye programs from them. My values about a good looking working dog has not changed....trust me! Today, I will not touch a winning show dog for a breeding program, because they have neither the aptitude or structure to work in general. More importantly, if you find one of the exceptions that can does have both aptitude or structure, they CANNOT consistently produce such traits when bred.( and please no straw man arguments that not ALL this or that is possible, I'm talking about consisting producing what should be, which should be any reasonable person's goal). I have not changed my likes about the breed,( that is good looking dogs that can work, thus my use of SL dogs in my breeding program in seventies), but the SL dogs cannot CONSISTENTLY work anymore, or produce such dogs consistently, so they are not good looking to me. My point is that many people are not against SL or the showing of their dogs, the SL have changed drastically, and the rules for competing in shows successfully have been changed dramatically, and these occurrences have GENERALLY led to a non working dog. So serious proponents of this breed understand this and will not compromise the breed or their integrity by creating false premises that people don't like SL because they are SL. No, people don't like German Shepherds that don't mirror the expectations and legacy of this breed. I guarantee you, if a high percent of SL dogs could stand the structural and mental stress it takes to be a good working dog, you would see them in real life in military, LE, and seeing-eye programs consistently. It's not about these vocations exercising choice, it's about the low percent of these dogs that are successful....plain and simple. And if this is the case,( and it is), then the serious breeder who requires structure and character, will not look to these dogs. This is self inflicted, not a result of people not liking the "poor" SL dogs, they have changed and the change is not compatible with purpose of breed. You cannot breed for perfect GS, because their is not a perfect GS. The breed was made to work, not to show, so those two priorities cannot be equal, why that is difficult to grasp escapes me. And that doesn't mean that working dogs can't be shown, they can,( another straw man premise) but people are wise enough to not waste their time showing their dog in a biased setting against color and moderance.......this is not complicated!