Old fashioned straight backed GSD's Controversial

are there many still around? im really not keen on the slope that so many seem to have nowdays! does anyone on here have a straight back?

Jess has a pretty straight back, and my friend's dogs Apollo and Luna have pretty straight backs.

I think the long haired ones generally have the straighter backs from my experience. There are obviously exceptions though.

I don't like the slope either. I think it makes them look unhealthy. A reason they look so sloped though is the way they are put to stand.

Do you mean dogs that have a level(i.e. parallel to the floor)in the show stance ? If that is what you are looking for is not a GSD.

For a GSD to be able to trot tirelessly, the withers must be higher than the hind quarters, which is why the breed standard requires pronounced withers & a slope from withers to croup. As the dog trots & the forelegs move forwards the forehand lowers, so a dog that has a level topline will effectively fall on forehand & the hindquarters are then higher than the forequarters & this results in the dog not only using excessive energy in movement, but also means stress is put on the spine.

This dog has the correct topline & is correct to the breed standard & also is a working dog. He is stood here in the accepted show stance, he hasn't been stacked(placed into position by the handler)he has been called by the owner & has stood himself(which is why he is slightly over stretched) He's not all black, but there are similar all black GSDs

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i like the way jess looks. to me she is a true german shepherd.

helena54's zena is another straight backed dog. again that is the way they should look in my opinion.

Thank you

When she stands or strains to get somewhere, her stance goes relatively close to the picture above.

I think it is really sad seeing really sloped backs

he is stunning! and i love when they stand like that.

my straight back GSD Bailey

Doesn`t it depend a lot how they are standing?
I mean if Daisy had her back legs extended in the pic below her rear end would dip

However, I have seen dogs with banana backs when they were standing normally. It`s difficult with the show stance to get an idea of what the dog looks like when in a `normal` position.

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A judges view !

As Joedee says sometimes it's the show stance, but I've seen a lot with really exaggerated sloped backs even in normal movement and stance. The withers should be higher, but some are so sloped it makes the movement look ungainly. I don't like the way people have them straining at the leash in the showring either. I've seen some really awful practices in GSD showring, and although I love the heads and expression of GSDs, many are so unsound both in temperament and conformation it would put me off ever owning one.

i dont mind a slight slope, my gsd isn't completely straight but i wouldn't want anything like the ones in the link and this is what puts me off having a show strain gsd

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU1IZyUv6Yk

sorry to be thick, but what is the judge looking for in these? (I know nothing about showing)

The slope from withers to croup, the shoulders should be made up of the triangle, there should be a vertical between the withers & the elbow, there should a a right angle where the line from the withers to the forechest crosses the line from the elbow to the forechest. This conformation allows the dog the maximum fore reach in the trot. Deviation from the right angle changes the fore reach, too narrow an angle produces a short striding dog & too obtuse an angle produces a longer fore reach, causing the dog to"fall on forehand"(i.e. the front of the dog becomes lower than the rear)

LOL that just the fore movement of course !

I've not seen many nervous or aggressive dogs of the international type & certainly not amongst the VPG(working)dogs.

However I've seen way too many fear aggressive & total nervous wrecks in the "other side"

Conformation par say cannot be unsound, conformation can be incorrect & this produces some unsound movement, which combined with poor physical condition & this adds to the unsound movement.

The UK"working"type(i.e. long coated dogs from parents that do Obedience/working trials as opposed to the VPG dogs)range from totally unsound in movement & lacking the correct conformation to sound & fairly good conformation. Being both an Obedience & a breed judge, I'm often horrified at dogs movement in the Obedience ring, cow hocks, loose elbows, bouncing toplines accentuated by the fashion for the hackney leg lift of the forelegs, from the side it can look very stylish, but from the front & rear Argggggh it is horrendous(this goes for other breeds too. If you think some show dogs are trained to move incorrectly, they have nothing on some Obedience dogs !

Some day I need to upload a bunch of pictures to a photo host so I can show things. The shepherds the dog guide school breeds for health, intelligence, long working life, and temperament don't have those sloping backs.

Oh so glad I came in here, otherwise I would have missed my Bailey fix

Sorry I got waylaid there, it's all Bailey's fault!!!

Zena is more of an "arched" back, maybe she's half puddycat or something, especially when she stretches like one! Lol! However, I have seen her standing like that dog of Dyanne's there and she looks to be about the same, otherwise she looks straight like Claire has said. Georgie has too much coat to actually see what his back is like, but I remember when I first had him I thought he was very slopey on his back, especially the way he walks, he drives from behind and wiggles his bum and it's definitely low that end, compared to Zena anyway. Having said that about Georgie, to get to the ripe old age of well over 11 and no hip problems or arthritis it can't be such a bad thing if they're slopey? I dunno though!

I saw that for the very first time ever with Zena's mum at the obedience show I went to, and I was quite gobsmacked to see a shepherd moving in that way I do, however, love the light bouncy movement of Zena when she's trotting along beside me, it's like poetry in motion to watch and I've never had that before in any of my others!

Well the US version of the GSD has the most unsound hindquarters of all & if they have withers at the same height was the croup they are more like Labradors than GSDs. I don't like GSDs being bred to be guide dogs as their natural pace is not a walk but a trot. They are not really suited to a life walking. The GSDs bred by Guide Dog organisations are bred to be suited to walking & they would not be able to do the work the breed was developed for-i.e.shepherding sheep & cattle.

Don't try to teach me about long lived GSDs all of mine made it into their teens, not had wobbly back ends & oh yes DM is wide spread in the US & not just amongst the show dogs) they are also failing to screen DNA their dogs for DM too. All my GSDs were direct from German bloodlines.

Which service dog organisation do you work for ? Is it Seeing Eye, Eye Dog Foundation, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc., Guide Dogs of America, Guide Dogs of the Desert, Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, Inc, Freedom Guide Dogs, Inc., Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, or amother Service dog provider ?? Be interested to know

Most Guide dogs only work for 6 to 8 years

Dont hold your breath for an answer to that one ;-)