Gsd with 'curved' spine? Controversial

Ok Im not posting this for an offf topic debate ,
What i would like to know is , I met a guy a few days ago while i was walking my mum Jr ,He had two beautiful gsd , 1female and 1 male , Both from the same dam ,and sire both aged 11 months old ,He has now since retired from showing and breeding gsd, His female though looked like her spine was curved , (like a bananna shape ) sorry dont know how else to describe it ,.But the male spine looked straight or at least normal .
When I got chatting to him I said how we had gsd when we were growing up as children and I have never known any of ours to have the same shape of spine ,As his female , And he said her spine started to go this way at the age of 8 months ,I never got chance though to ask him what was wrong with her spine and tbh I didnt want to sound insulting to him, As he was a really nice fellow ,He did tell me though some of the puppies he bred were trained for search and rescue and sniffer dogs ,And the other ones went into the showing side of there breed ,But he had choosen this time to keep two, As he would no longer be breeding or showing ,
My query finally is what was wrong with the wee female spine as it did seem rather curved , Her back end was very low to the ground but she walked fine no limping or anything
all replies gratefully welcomed xdk

Nothing "wrong", the female has taken after one of the parents & the male after the other.(or ancestors)
The germanic lines have a more pronounced silhouette.

As far as i know this is typical of how GSDs were 'supposed' to look before it was realised that it completely wrecks their hips. If I am right (and anyone correct me if im wrong) it is so that they can keep low to the ground and move carfully and quickly when working - shepherding etc.

I dont know if you saw the GSD on crufts but it looked exactly like this... it was awful and i dont think thats how any dog should look. Sory if anyone knows the owner or dog but I hate it so much.

Yes Stolen- wing It looked very similar to the one on crufts ,I too thought it looked awful tbh ,Thanks for your reply hun, It makes more sense now xdk

Thanks for that *Loraine* xdk

The dog at Crufts, who is in my eyes absolutely beautiful, has excellent hips. He came to the show from Germany where he had come first in the main German Shepherd show in Germany, where GSD's from all over the world compete. He is an excellent example of what a German Shepherd from Germany is like. The shape of the topline nor the angle of the legs have any thing to do with hip dysplacia. The worst hips I've ever seen were on a chow. & I've seen shepherds of all shapes & all degrees of hip dysplacia & I can asure you there is no way of telling from the shape or even with certainty from their movement what their hips will be like.
Having said that the dog at Crufts did not have a banana back when stood or moving the highest point of his back was his whithers.There was a fashion a few years back for some dogs to be bred where the highest point was in the middle of their back & it dropped down to the front & back. This was a fault but it did not affect the dogs medically & the shape of their spine made no difference to their chance of hip dysplacia. In Germany dogs with poor hips can't be shown, or bred from & registered.
I must add my main reason for going to Crufts on Saturday was to see this dog in the flesh.

I stand corrected.

Though I still dont like the way they look like this. To me it doesnt seem right and the way the dog moves looks uncomfortable (i know it is not so dont worry). I just dont like it, the shepherds ive seen all have normal spines or just very slight curves and to me this looks much better.

Thanks for that Gsd Sue , I found it very interesting , And it has certainly has answer my query ,xxdk

he was stunning though wasn't he? he is Seiger and my pups Grandad is the Vice Seiger , agree with you on this one Sue xx

Its a shame this breeder could not give you a more detailed explanation on the conformation of his home bred dogs... I would have hoped someone who has been in a breed and shown said breed,would know his linage a little better , than just giving a statement of the above.

They are not my breed, but I understand there seems to be two types, one more straight backed than the other.

Just a thought I wonder if the conformation was down to something else. that banana shaped back, make sme wonder ...maybe way of the mark here...but Bandits back is banana shaped, his is down to Spondylosis????

Just thinking out loud;-)

I saw him on TV , and have to say I loved him, whether he is type for the UK, I dont know, but I though he was stunning.

I too would have liked to know more , But he was a stranger to these parts and I didnt want to seem as though I was questioning him or his dogs , Though he did seem slightly evasive on his replies,And slightly annoyed when i asked why her spine was that shape ,Though as to your thinking aloud I think it has been posted above that the origins of her ancestors could be the reason for the curved spine but im no gsd expert .
Here is a qoute posted by *Lorraine* that might help Nothing "wrong", the female has taken after one of the parents & the male after the other.(or ancestors)
The germanic lines have a more pronounced silhouette.




xxdk

"Zamp Vom Thermados" a truly beautiful German Shepherd. I watched him at Crufts, his movement was effortless, everything you could ask for in a Dog.

Im not sure where people get the impression the correct shape has bad hips from, but they dont. IMO you are far more likely to get it in a longer, heavier dog, but in all probablility, no more likely than any other dog.

Yes you could be right, but would have though a breeder specailly one who shows would know the conformation of his own stock.

It was the "gone like that at 8 mths" that got me wondering....surely a puppies conformation will be at 8mths the same as at 8 wks...ok, we know puppies change over time, they may not grow into the dog you expect. but basic conformation will stay the same,....bad feet/to long/to short/roached back , will be the same whatever the age....so for it to happen at 8 months , made me wonder thats all.

Like I said, maybe way of mark...

Dont get me wrong I thought the dog from crufts was a very nice looking dog , But It spine shape did put me of slightly and thats what i thought looked awful not the actual dog , If that makes sense xdk

I found that strange also tbh, xdk

To be honest its something that you assume. You look at a dog that is that shape and then your told that the breed has a hip problem. What would you assume if you knew nothing else?! ;-)

Regardless of what the hip action does for the dog or whether or not it is harmful - i just dont like how it looks at all. It seems unnatural to have a dog bred like that. The dog himself looked lovely and i dont doubt why he won best of breed. But not for me im afraid.

As Sue has already said the conformation of the West German lines as nothing to do with HD, some of the worst scores you see in the GSD is in what I term as pet lines and also some work lines, Metpol are about the worse for worklines.
And has Borderdawn says if you see Zamp move in person as I have many times in Germany he moves realy well, he has A stamp hips, clear elbows, a SchH3 qualification, clear of Heamo, DNA tested etc.

Good job you don't know Malamutes then Most still give you surprises at 4 years with regards to 'things' happening that you don't expect Malamutes heads change shape often til they are 3 or 4, a tail can 'crank' at 2 or 3 etc etc, and it's stuff you wouldnt expect when you see it at 8 weeks ;-)

I think GSDSue was prbaby right, in that she was a normal bitch that took her topline from a parent.

Also, many times people stop us and ask about the dogs (why is their tail like that, why is that one ginger, why don't they bark, why, why, why !!!) and to be honest, we often give 'short' versions of things, because most people aren't really 'that' interested and want a quick fix answer, so maybe this guy (after many years of showing etc) just didn't want to/never had time, to explain the conformation of his dogs and what the differences are ;-) It's very common for people to 'shorten' their answers.

Where did I mention heads??,

When accessing an 8 wk old pup, and hoping it will grow into what we would like at 6mths...5yrs , is mostly down to hope/ good judgment, but there are certain things that will not change.... heads being not one of them.

If a puppy at 8wks has a ,short neck/ roached back/to long in the back/to short/ flat feet (can be improved a little with road work) you will still have those faults at 6mths...3, 6, 7, yrs.

As h/she matures , you may be able to disguise said faults, and it not be so obvious.

Heads take on a life of their own, a fabulous head at 8wks can develop into a not so nice one. and boxers can be the worse for that. although in saying that, a bad head will not grow into a good one, a good head can disappoint you slightly as it grows.

I also think you are right, it was the dogs conformation, and as someone said the owner just did not feel like explaining himself to strangers!!!!!