hi We are considering buyng a german shepherd puppy from working lines. I would like to know if they make good pets or should we stick to showline. i have been told that a vast majority of them can be quite nasty even if well socialised. Does anyone have experience of this, any advice would be great. The pup will be brought up in a house with young kids a cat and another dog. We have had akitas before and have quite a good knowledge of how to bring up and train young pups. Thanks mike
If you only want a pet, I wonder why you want a dog that wants to work? To me it is a bit like choosing to buy a Ferrari when you only drive to the village and back; a waste. The vast majority of working line GSD I know have super social, stable and confident temperaments, that is not to say that the nasty ones do not exist just as they do in Show line or in any other breed. I am also not sure what you mean by "nasty"? What may well happen is if you cannot provide suitable outlets for working bred dog, it will get frustrated and frustration leads to unhappiness. If you can provide sufficient mental and physical exercise for such a dog then they make good pets, but as I said, a dog which is bred to work will WANT to be "doiing" which can result in difficulties for the dog and the owners. Comparing a Working Line GSD to an Akita is really pointless as the only thing that is vagulely similar is their ears. Not sure if that is of any help?
Hi And thanks for getting back so quickly. We decided to go for a GSD because it ticked a lot of boxes for us. the dog will be able to come to work with me every day as I work as a groundsman and as long as I can train it to stay with me that should be ok. We live in he middle of nowhere and it would be nice if a dog would bark to let us know that someone is coming up the drive or through the woods towards our house. We also do quite alot of camping and canoeing so want a dog that can put up with the cold. After researching the breed a little bit we were told that the working line suffer from less health issues and are generlly a lot fitter. And truth be told we actually prefer the look of the working line. However a lot of the show line type breeders have told us that there is a lot of temperement issuses with working line dogs I was not comparing akitas with german shepherds. Thanks Mike
There are some poor and lovely temperaments in both lines. If you want a dog to bark, then practically any breed can be trained to do that. I always urge caution to those who "live in the middle of nowhere" and want a GSD. They can become VERY over territorial and they need to be super socialised and habituated as youngsters AND especially during the difficult adolescent months in order to be a well rounded, confident specimen that you can take anywhere. Take care
Well I should be able to answer your queries in the coming months ;-) I have had GSDs from obedience lines, show lines and a police reject of mixed lines over the years. I am about to welcome a working line pup of 8 months into my home and life and I can't wait My dog will mainly be an active companion although I train all my dogs to a good level of obedience, as well as dabbling in agility and train in tracking and searching. However, I don't compete. My dogs also get around 3-4 hours plus of off lead exercise every day, as well as plenty of time with me out and about on the farm. I too live in the "middle of nowhere" and the only GSD of mine who has been brought up here is a West German show line and I have to say that even though he wasn't socialised as much as I would have liked (due to the fact I had a six month old baby at the time - bad timing I know!) he is a dog I can take just about anywhere without issue. However, I have to say I am pleased that the older pup that I am getting in a few weeks time has been well socialised prior to coming here and will have seen many more people and situations than I could hope to expose him too. So socialisation is definitely something you would have to bear in mind. Whereabouts in the Highlands are you?
From all the people I spoke to whilst looking into the working lines it seemed to be the general consensus that a working line GSD can fit happily into a companion/pet home so long as you give them plenty of your time and do plenty with them. They are not a breed to just sit by the fire and have a quite walk around the block once a day ... but that goes for ANY GSD and not just the working lines.
Thanks for the answers. Hi Moobli we live in Nethy bridge. I assume that Moobli is a reference to Mike Tomkies dog and book. The best dog book ever written in my opinion. Thanks
Hi JBoo you made me smile your the first person Ive come into contact with from the "Nethy" region, as my family originate from there infact my maiden name was Abernethy..."from the mouth of the River Nethy" Back on topic I wish you every success ib looking for your GSD pup Jeanette
Lucky you Jboo - I love the Highlands Yes, Moobli is my username due to the wonderful book by Mike Tomkies. It is one of my faves too Have you had a think about where you might like your working pup to come from? Do you know of anyone with a WL you could get to know?
I have a working line GSD and a rescue (highly strung) showline. I would say that the working line is by far the easier dog, even though he is high drive he is more stable and balanced. I do work him in Schutzhund but I think he would be fine in an active home, although I think its important to have a good level of obedience anyway.
We have searched and searched the net for good working line german shepherds breeders but have not yet settled on a kennel, but we have spoken to Elmhaus and Marjuke as well as a man in leeds who has a litter. The Husky was a foster dog who is now with her new owners. and we stil have a gsp. Hi JBoo you made me smile your the first person Ive come into contact with from the "Nethy" region, as my family originate from there infact my maiden name was Abernethy..."from the mouth of the River Nethy" Back on topic I wish you every success ib looking for your GSD pup Jeanette Nethy is a great place to live especially with dogs. lots of forest and not many people. We cross the river nethy at least once a day.
Off topic I know, my dad's second name was Abernethy... he died when I was two. Sadly I don't know that side of the family at all... Never new anybody else with that 2nd name.
Who told you that the VAST majority are nasty ? Obviously someone you knows nothing about Working line(as opposed to Obedience LC)GSDs Is this to live along side your rescued 16 month old Sibe bitch ?
