Non Alsatian/GSD owners, your opinions appreciated please Discussions

Magic when I state bred for the pet market I mean by people who put any bitch with any dog regardless of pedigree, health issues, conformation, working ability etc.
Yes when bred for show not all will make the grade just like those that are bred specificaly for working not all have the potential to work.
It will depend on the mating whether 1,2,3 or even 4 go to people who want to show or compete at something else, as you know litters can vary from 2-12 pups. Also the same for working, the difference is some of the workline are not suitable as pets.
Take a look at any GSD rescue site and look closely at the dogs, the majority are badly bred or workline not showline.

Wildmoor thanks for the reply. As I am aware, many showline pups go to pet homes, in fact I suspect that considerably many more end up as pets as opposed to being shown, whether they do ob, agility or companion - still pets. I distinctly disagree with your reference to dog rescue, I visit many sites on a very regular basis and indeed at one point had been looking to acquire a working line from rescue - they were are rare as hens teeth. That trend has changed in recent months quite considerably, there are now many in there, plenty of badly bred looking animals too, but also showline! Anyway, I take your point with your ref regarding pet market as those bred without due care to health and temperament.

I guess you may be right.. still, not what I would call a good example though...

Evolution of the German Shepherd

Very interesting link, if Horand V Grafrath was used to write original the breed standard, he doesn't look like the dogs we have today.

mmmm...I don't think any breed looks the same as it did 50/100 years ago.

Totally agree with you on that,

but IMO not always a change for the better, some are unrecognisable as the same breed

Humm.....think a lot of the sighthounds are very similar.

Similar yes...but not the same.All breeds evolve...wether for good or bad

Not sure what you mean Tassle, do you mean that a lot of sighthounds have changed in the last 100 years or do you mean that a lot of sighthounds are like the GSD?

Or do you mean that sighthounds look like one another?

I'm so glad that a Border Collie now still looks like the Border Collie I grew up with, many moons ago! King of Pooches.



Snorri

personally i'd rather have a dog who had a poor ear set than looked like his *rse was melted away, i really really cant see the aesthetic appeal or balance in dog b, less so than in dog a certainly zamp looks like he's far too long and weighted at the front with a bowed spine, to me the naive pet owner

I know I am biased as she is my dog, but I look at this pic of Jess and think it is how I would like GSD's to look (with regards to their back)

We have a fantastic old encylopedia that has some great old pictures of dogs in there. A lot of the breeds have changed a lot, but on the whole the sighthounds seem very unaltered.
Also looking through pictures I could find on the web they seemed very similar to ones found today.....maybe it is because they tend to be 'older' breeds who have already gone through the changes that we are seeing in the more recent breeds.......just my audible (or readable!) ramblings

I have voted A, it seems a much more balanced dog than B. Although I have to say I prefer the head and colour of B.

If you stood her in a show stance she would have quite a slope(depending how 'exagerated' it was)!
Shes lovely!

yes I love the BC, I hope that as it is a quite recent KC recognised breed it won't be changed too much for showing in the future

Sorry a bit OT as this thread is about GSDs, but Artic the show collie in general is a far cry from the working animal :-(

Never owned one but prefer the hindquarters of the first dog so voted for dog A. Dog B I prefer the head.

Dog A here, looks a better balanced dog

dog a for me, i don't like them with the slopped backs and i have never owned either.