My German Shepherd

[Scute Mob]

Well, I am a newbie to torts but not to dogs! Here is my male at various ages. Jesse James vom Rebel Yelle. He is now 20 months. I am EXTREMELY active in Schutzhund. I am also a huge advocate for proper breeding practices of the German Shepherd. In Europe, every German Shepherd must have a working title (ScH/IPO, Herding, etc), Conformation rating of Good or better, Passing Hips/Elbows and a Breed Survey from an SV recognized judge describing the dog and its suitability for breeding. This means that the temperament and structure of the dog in question has been tested. Not only are his parents titled, but every dog in the pedigree has these qualifications. The breeder I am very good friends with and my Schutzhund club closely follow these guidelines for breeding. Schutzhund itself is meant as a way to evaluate German Shepherds for Companionship, work and breeding.
Unfortunately, the AKC only requires a dog to be registered to be bred and register the puppies. This is why the structure and temperament of the American line German Shepherds differs so heavily from the European bred. I very much support GSDs as working dogs and pets, but my number one priority is preserving the German Shepherd as a well rounded dog capable of doing BOTH.
dogs.

 

[Team Gomberg]

Beautiful dog and great philosophy on breeding.

 

[wellington]

I agree, beautiful dog. I do wish the U.S. And AKC would put stricter rules on breeding dogs. License and penalties to those without a license. Start eliminating the back yard breeders and all the oops. However, I wonder, what happens to the dogs that don't pass Europes requirements? I'm not for culling because a dog isn't perfect.

 

[Marivladi]

What a beautiful dog! Totally agree with your point of view. Hubby's grandfather had German shepherds and was always taking him to shows. The dog was so proud when he got to wear his medals! I think these dogs are awesome, maybe we will have one someday...

 

[Scute Mob]

I agree, beautiful dog. I do wish the U.S. And AKC would put stricter rules on breeding dogs. License and penalties to those without a license. Start eliminating the back yard breeders and all the oops. However, I wonder, what happens to the dogs that don't pass Europes requirements? I'm not for culling because a dog isn't perfect.

If a dog does not pass the requirements then it is simply not suitable for breeding. This doesn't mean it does not have a purpose! They can still be pets, companions, herding dogs, police dogs, schutzhund dogs, etc. The requirements mean that the dogs need to be stable, have working ability, correct conformation and passing hips and elbows. If a dog doesn't pass one aspect, it can certainly still do the other things well!
Quite often, the Schutzhund drop outs are either too laid back or too edgy to title. The relaxed dogs make dynamite pets and the edgy dogs will sometimes become police type dogs.

People pay a pretty penny for decent pets, so culling would not be beneficial at all.

 

[Yvonne G]

I love GSD puppy ears!

 

[Scute Mob]

I love GSD puppy ears!

I was lucky! He came to me at 10 weeks with them up! A female I had was almost 6 months before hers stayed up regularly! She looked pretty goofy for a while