Hi {{first_name}} ,
People ask me which German Shepherd to get as if there is one answer. Over 20 years in, the line a dog comes from still tells me more about how his life will go than his looks or his price tag.
Here is the part nobody wants to hear: most of the trouble people have with this breed was decided before the puppy ever came home.
In This Issue
Why the breed standard was built around work, and who built it
What separates a show line dog from a working line dog once he is living in a house
What a pet line German Shepherd actually is, and where to look instead
The sable, the white, and why breeding for color alone backfires
Reading time: 3 minutes
The breed was built for work.
The German Shepherd Dog came out of Germany and was originally called the Deutscher Schäferhund. Max von Stephanitz is credited with founding the breed on one belief, that a dog should be bred for working.
He started the SV, the society for the German Shepherd, which has run continuously since 1899 and still stands for proper breeding of the breed.
Show lines and working lines are two different animals.
The AKC and UKC type show dogs are known for extreme looks, run larger, some nearing over a hundred pounds, and tend to show over angulation, the slope through the lower back. Those dogs often do little more than their conformation shows and some basic obedience, and they are not cut out for the hard work this breed was intended for.
Sieger type show line dogs are bred for temperament as well as looks. Less angulation, more moderation in size, and they have to show protection skills along with obedience to earn their ratings. The SV regulates those ratings tightly in Germany, as does the USCA in the USA, and a good breeder will only breed a titled and papered dog.
Working line dogs are bred for temperament and workability on top of solid conformation, and in my opinion they most closely resemble what von Stephanitz would have bred. They run higher in drive and energy and need a working home. Socialization is the key to preventing dog or human aggression here, and they require a strong handler plus structure and regular training to thrive. Put one in a non-working environment and he can turn destructive.
Show line dogs are often softer on their nerves and may not handle the stresses of a working life. They should never be placed into a situation that will cause them to fail. For most homes they make the better pet, since their need for stimulation is drastically lower.
The pet line dog comes from one of two places.
Either unregulated backyard breeding, or fallouts from the working and show lines. I would much prefer someone look at a dog from a solid line who did not make the cut over a dog bred in a backyard.
That washout puppy still carries all the good genetics he was bred for. What he lacks is the ability to cut it in the show ring or the working ring. Breeders sell those puppies to pet homes and often ask the owners not to breed, since that dog is not a proper continuation of the breed.
They should ask the dog to be spayed/neutered to prevent carrying the genes onward.
Color is the last thing to pick for.
The black and tan saddle, the Rin Tin Tin look, is probably the most popular. The sable, a mix of silver, gray and tan hairs tipped with black, is considered the original dog and shares DNA with the breed's wolf ancestors.
White German Shepherds are banned from registration in Germany and seen as a flaw there.
Breeding for color alone is a bad idea because of the inbreeding and genetic issues that can come out of it.
Take the whole ten years into account.
Unless you are going into an active dog sport like herding, protection or agility, skip the high drive working line dog. Whatever your activity level, a German Shepherd needs good socialization early on, then training and structure for his entire life inside a balanced active lifestyle. Good places to look are a local German Shepherd club or an IGP club.
Remember that taking the puppy home today means a ten plus year commitment to that dog.
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Until next Tuesday,
- Robert
