Compilation of several Posts I have been watching from the Bouvier Guy - Page 1

I know this is a GSD Forem and that is cool.  I have had shepherds and love the breed even though I will never own another.  As a lot of people understand once you have had the best its hard to settle for less becuase your always going to compare to the one you had that is gone and thats not fair to the one you have.  I have been guilty of that and I would guess others have been as well.  What I am reading time and again is how people think the sun rises and sets with the GSD.  Fact  is, one of the reasons it is so popular is the sheer numbers that have been bred over the years.  That is why you see so many that look like they are roach backed or even have lameness in their back ends, especially in the hocks..  That is reason I got out of them.   Its the same thing with the Bouviers.  Breeders have tried and succeeded breeding into lines that had faults and a lot of the dogs go back to the same dogs 5 or 6 generations back.  The dogs were beatiful dogs but they had hereditary faults that at the time were not being tested for and these faults were carried forward out of just not knowing at the time.  Now breeders are trying to breed these faults out which as most know is a long and arduous task to say the least.   Same as with the GSD.  Every time I take one of my dogs out I am asked what they are becuase so few people really know or have never seen one.  I have been asked if they are snausers, irish wolf houds or even scotties. lol  When I tell them what they are and what they were used for people are not only surprised but become interested.  I have heard people say here that GSD's are the best protectors and I would agree up to a point but if you want a dog that is gentle, good with families but has an intimidation factor then Bouviers have GSD's beat hands down.  Plus they can back it up when the occasion arises.  So for those who see nothing else perhaps you should study some of the other breeds and what they can offer as well becuase there are a lot of breeds out there that people are not aware of that are just as good but not as well known.  Remember with the Bouvier they were almost killed off in both ww1 and ww2 becuase of thier abilities on the battle fields.  If it was't for a few people then the breed might now have even survived.

      sjbo659.....Your point is well taken by me....: )

            Folks are very loyal to the thing they love......: )

            Deanna.....: )


         

This isn't a GSD forum. This is a General Topic forum. You'll find the GSD forum link in the table on the left side of the website :)

it seems the dutch shepherd and malinois are less effected by the faults you mention.  their breeders focus more on function which is something we could all learn a bit from.  by breeding for function, the undesireable traits will naturally fall away since they are not bred in.  it is jmho that if we bred for true working dogs, we would still get sport and show dogs, but by breeding for function, we would eventually rid ourselves of the nerve issues and genetic flaws that haunt us.  dogs with character flaws and health issues simply would not be bred since they could not perform adequately.  breeding for sport and breeding for show has done much to ruin the gsd.  breeding for true working ability is the only way to redeem it.  show and sport dogs will still come along, but they will be much much better dogs - healthier and stable because they have been bred from different criteria. 
pjp

The numbers being bred are a result of the popularity, not, the other way around as you suggest.

I am sorry OGBS but I do not buy that premise.  Popularity is the result of numbers.  If you put enough of something out there then everyone thinks it is special.  You buy becuase everyone else does and that has allowed less then scruplous people to take advantage of that.  One reason for a lot of the genetic problems we all have to deal with in our chosen breeds.  If everyone took the time, did the research and were ethical in their breeding programs then all of us would be spending less on health checks, vet visits and the dogs would all be healthier.  I am not saying one breed is less then another but to be fair each should be taken on its own merit and not promoted just becuase there are more of them.

sjbo , there has to be demand first , in the 1980 there were years were holland alone produced over 10000 bouvierpups , german sheps are still popular now , bouviers maybe 500 a year

this has to do with the versatility of a breed

GSD  can be found as police ,patrol,narcoticdogs , personal protection , search/rescue , guiding blind , etc etc etc ,   bouviers are mostly found on the cauch or in the showring , few in sport but thats it

as far as health goes , I know all american breeders and bloodlines(and all european) , and there are almost no bouviers in the states that are geneticly clear of most problems available in bouviers

There again your making asumptions.  My Bouviers have all had all tests done and all are clear of genetic problems.  Knock on wood.  Not saying there are not problems, just as there are not problems in the GSD.  I can trace my dogs back to the early 50's.  Any one of them. Soewm even further back.  My female has many working dogs in here pedigree as early as three generations back and a number currently working.  Tomba V Assenrade KNVP PH 1 with honors, Brazil Donna Van T Hangijzer IPO 11, UV, CQN BDDSG 92 to name just two.  But can I depend on famous dogs that were never tested for hips or elbows.  They may have been carriers and no one would be the wiser.  That is why research is so important and so are ethics when it comes to any breed.  In Holland the number one dog is then Bouvier, not GSD's.  But does that mean your going to get a better dog there?  Not neccessarily.  It means there are more there and they are popular but that is not a reason to buy.  Research and I say it again becuase there are to many people out there who talk a good line but sell less then stellar dogs.  I think we are saying the same things and approaching it from different directions.

"If you put enough of something out there then everyone thinks it is special."

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IMO, that is not true.  Also, people tend to "throw around the word everyone"  -- that just ain't True.

I favor the GSD over ALL other breeds -- They are Intelligent, Versatile, and "Drop-Dead Gorgeous" -- in my opinion, they are the Total Dog. 

sjbo , is your dog an overstort dog you bought from louise , I can tell you there are not many workinglinedogs in your ped , maybe only tomba , brasil is a showline , he  is a hosky dukke son

second , if your dog is free of something doesnot mean he is geneticly free of anything