German Shepherd / Crufts Showing

Three years ago & as I regularly see show, pet & obedience bred GSDs I know what they look like

Don't presume because I don't currently own a GSD I no longer know what the breed is like.

When I get my next GSD he will be like all my others from working lines, I have never owned anything else. Some of my dogs were successful show dogs(shown mainly under SV judges)& all did well in Obedience & were Schutzhund trained.

I know that all the pet/BYB/puppy farmed GSDs are getting worse from a health point of view, from poor construction to severe health problems-including terrible temperaments & aggression in young dogs.

Not a lot has changed in the show world-the Alsatians are still dreadful & the International type still need improvement in movement & heads as well as other obvious faults.

The working world now include VPG here in the UK which is an improvement as SV trainers & judges are coming over to improve training & control. The type hasn't changed at all & they are still bred for temperament, health & drive.

My next GSD will from Germany now they have aligned UK Pet Travel rules with the EU & a puppy can come into the UK at 4 months of age

I would never buy a GSD in the UK as the breeding regulations are nowhere near strict enough for me

Doh the domesticated dog doesn't have to live & survive in the world so being compared to a wolf is a waste of time

Having read through most of this thread, I can see that this is always going to be an immotive and interesting subject. I walked around crufts all four days this year. I was stunned, surprised, pleased and aggrieved at some of the changes in breed 'spec' if you like, that has occurred over the years. We all have our own 'type' that we prefer and mine has probably been shaped from what I used to look at in my twenties. Twenty years on head shapes have changed, weight is now an issue on shorter legs, backs slope more and more, eyes dont open properly but there are still some absolutely brilliant examples of many, many breeds who are loved by all and sundry. I'm, as ever, looking forward to the next Crufts and the one after that, and the one after that!!!!

you made the comparison first.. thats why i brought it up!!!
try and keep up.

Er you stated that the best movement for any dog is the same as that of the Wolf

You are missing the point---a breed is a dog and that is what it should be about.

Rather like the clumber spaniel woman saying that the vet couldn't examine it properly because she didn't know the breed----you don't have to know the breed----you have to know dogs!

rune

not me, sorry.

but i dont see why the gsd's would have to be any different really to that of a wolfs(like my breed)

Are there any other breeds of dog that are bred for the same kind of conformation as the gsd?

I've not yet come across any.

Given how long we've been domesticating wolves, id have thought if it was such an efficient, desirable style, it'd have been done already.

The ability to trot tirelessly over distance, is not a unique requirement of the gsd, several breeds had such a requirement in their development, none I've found share the gsds conformation, ESP with that of the types found in the show ring at any rate.

Very interesting.

Your point being? (That's a genuine question by the way, I'm not trying to be clever! )

Do you disagree with the way Zak is constructed (as an example of a nicely constructed, breed standard conforming GSD)? I'm not sure how long ago this breed was first created (cue Joedee!), but I'm sure the original creators had a reason for it's conformation. Given that a dog like Zak seems perfectly able to function in every day life, I don't understand why the sloping topline is a problem for some?

Yes some show breeders have exaggerated the breed standard to produce what we see in the ring sometimes, but as I've said before - just because these extremes exist doesn't automatically make the breed standard wrong. I don't understand why people are insisting on questioning the creation of a breed when the correct type, bred in correct proportions to the actual breed standard does not suffer at all. Coupled with the fact you're asking questions you'll more than likely never get the answers to, I'm just a tad lost!

Every breed is put together in a different way to do the job it was originally created to do, if the dog does not suffer in anyway through this conformation then what's the issue?

I was musing out loud lol. Zak's a nice looking dog IMO.

I'm genuinely curious if there're any other breeds constructed like the gsd, for comparisons sake alone.

The reason given for the breeds conformation on this thread was as I stated above, again, I was wondering why go with that shape, rather than the tried and tested ones, that evidently work.

Of course that question may never be answered, won't stop me contemplating it though.

The dog that got BOB wasn't my cup of tee personally, but there much worse there on the day, I know, I saw some of them.