Interesting article? - Page 1

 Kind of long, and I need to re-read it, but take a look and see if you agree/disagree with any or all of it.

http://www.dogmagazine.net/archives/622/goal-the-german-shepherd-dog/

Here's the line that came up in my search alert that got me reading to begin with-

>In my opinion, the FCI and the SV (the German shepherd Dog Club inGermany) are causing the extinction of breed characteristics. They hide behind tests, like Schutzhund, IPO and others, and declare them “working titles”.< 

Annette

I love your avatar as well as the breed :-)

 Thanks! That is my beloved Java, who I lost this past year at age 13. DH brought the GSDs and I brought the Beaucerons and Lancashire Heelers into our menagerie. 

We are looking into getting another GSD in the future so found this site while doing some research (I actually found the pedigree of our former "head bitch" Marek von Haus Antverpa on here!) as well as a few others we have owned through the years. 

I'm also looking into getting another Beauceron at some point, but just not ready to go there as yet. I''ve had 8 Beaucerons (not including litters) through the years and find it strange to be without one. My husband had never seen one before we met, at the Schutzhund club of course, but now admits he misses not having one around as well. They bring a slightly different energy to the place than the GSDs and we found they were a nice complement to our GSDs.

We had someone come by last week with a Beauce bitch for some training and you should have seen our GSD positively light up at the sight of her. 

LOL, excuse me while I go on and on. 

Great bunch of folks here.

Annette

So what is the point? 

The author even wrote, "sport of schutzhund".  If a breeder does not look past the title and directly at the dog, then they are lazy, ignorant, or in it for the $. 

The only people that believe that Schutzhund is percieved as more than a sport are people outside of the sport.  Most of the people I know percieve Schutzhund as just that, a sport.  Some see it as a fun thing to do on a club level and others as a competitive sport.    I've never heard anyone inside of Schutzhund state that the protection training is street worthy.  Never.  I have heard many times that if someone broke into their home, they hope their sport dog does not get injured.

In fact, if you actually hang out at numerous clubs, you will often hear the members say bitework.  Sure, many say protection, but I really don't think that the people involved believe that they are preparing their dog for a fight against someone intending to do harm.  Some trainers may, but that is not the norm. 

The same can be said about the tracking comments made.  You have to be a moron to believe that police k9s are trained the same as a Sch dog. 

Again what is the point?  To ridicule a sport or organization?  I don't hear people up in arms that paintball tournaments don't prepare our kids for combat.

Does this author believe that all police dogs are breedworthy?  I hope not.  It comes back to doing your research, watching the dogs work and not always looking at titles or scores. 

 OUCH..He is not chewing is words (i don't know if you can say that in english!). Maybe the SV wasn't alert enough at that time to be very severe about accepting the different standards (a lot of countries has its own) but you ca't blame it all on the SV.  But he is true about saying it's not just about GSD..every breeds faces the same things..Is this evolution?? Over the year I have heard again and  again breeders wanting to better the breed..now what is  that?? Aren't we suppose to keep the breed in shape?

I understand the point about schutzhund being a controle environnement event and that the routine is almost always the same but the thing about tracking is ridiculous..If a dog know how to let his nose work..you can teach him about any kind of tracking. Different situation needs different methods.

I encountered many times in my life very good dogs that are everything a good GSD should be. And I don't think GSD have lost there place to Malinois or others because you can't find one with proper temperament. With globarisation, they had access to other beeds, less heavy, more agile than GSD. I still know that there is a lot of good breeders and a lot of strong will GSD out there who are way capable of doing whatever works need to be done.

Annette,

Sorry for your loss :-(      I have wanted a Beauceron for a long time now. I just love them!!! Maybe someday(which I've been saying that for years now). It's really hard to find the right breeder too, just like any other breed though.

<shoulder shrug> So what? SchH is a sport. All I expect my dogs to do is alert me to a burglar by barking. I'm the one with the loaded gun. I want them behind me at that point. Having said that, I will say that my dogs have protected me from crime simply by being there and being German Shepherds. The reputation of the breed itself is enough most often.

Opinions are a dime a dozen including that 'zine's opinion.