Please critique this 8 year old male - Page 3

He is still intact, has 99% motility, has not been used

Nobody will use him, either. He's not a VA dog, he isn't a national schutzhund competitor, and he's a cross line dog. He's also a damn solid dog in working, is trustworthy in all situations, has excellent nerve, and is OFA Good with normal elbows

Here he is doing a bite of bitework.  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zb3eITCl4Q&feature=player_embedded

Please forgive his tail!  That is NOT how he carries it.  The tail had was actually broken (two of the vertebrae snapped clean in two) by a hotel door.  Though it may not say much to others, I was VERY concerned about his tail, and have several people take a look at it.

Many people basically mashed all over his tail only to tell me that it wasn't broken.  Strauss never offered a lip curl, a growl, a whine, nothing.  The most he did was shift away as if to say "Please stop, that's uncomfortable".  When he was put out for his hematoma surgery, they also xrayed his tail, found that it was indeed broken, and they set it for me.

LOL @ that fun video !  Yay, Go Strauss !!!
Yes Xeph its a VERY interesting pedigree;  obviously I am most familiar with tail-male behind his sire WG dogs in gens 4/5/6, being a Brit & that much closer to Germany ...  but what tickles me about the 'click'
is that he went so much in that 'international' type direction, when your other photos show you so embroiled with ASL type  ? Huh ?  What happens in the UK often is people breed 'alsatian' bitches to
Germanic studs, then keep and show the deeper, heavier, longer-backed pups and let the others go to
pet or 'working'(Ob) homes.  Is that what happened here , & why you didn't pay a lot for him ?  Or was
the price to do with his 'Service Dog' role  ?  What sort of assistance is he trained for, and at what point was he trained ?  Sorry to ask so many questions, but I'm fascinated .
Also, is he a bit of a 'klutz', what with his tail and his ears ?  He's had more than his share, hasn't he ? 
Linda.

I bought him when I was 18 years old.  He wasn't from a very good breeder (she doesn't even breed anymore), but I knew enough about titles and pedigrees to get what I wanted.

I knew nothing else much about structure at the time.  Everything I've learned, I've learned on this dog.  He is my first dog that is just mine, and not the family dog, he is the first dog I have trained for sport/competition, my first titled dog, and, most unexpectedly, my first service dog.

He is a mobility dog.  I have a neurological disorder that causes my legs to buckle/walk in an awkward manner.  I can run/jog just fine (if you forget about the multiple times I've broken my ankles xD), but walking is....well, it's hysterical to watch, lol

Long story short, I got really lucky with this dog.  He is one of a kind.  I have had many people who have been in GSDs for 20+ years comment on his excellent strength of character, nerve, and work ethic.  Had a couple suggest breeding him if I could find the right bitches, because "sometimes you need to look at the dog, not just the pedigree".  One person called him a diamond in the rough :)

I will say that he is a bit handler hard, which can be frustrating for competition training, but is actually quite useful for his SD work.  He does leak drive in OB, but is clear headed in the bitework.  Has great toy and food drive as well as high prey drive.  He does not have a natural retrieve.  I would like slightly higher biddability, however, some of his OB issues were caused by my inexperience.

This is the kind of dog I wish I had as my 5th or 6th dog, so I could have maximized on his potential, but when regret and guilt set in about all the things we "could have done but didn't", I remind myself that if it were not for this dog, I truly wouldn't even be able to be independent.

Also, is he a bit of a 'klutz', what with his tail and his ears ?  
No, he's not.  With the ear that is flopped, he had a rather large hematoma that had to be corrected with surgery....twice.  Hematomas can occur just from a dog shaking its head too hard or scratching too hard.  The ear with the broken cartilage?  It was always broken, I was just too inexperienced to know that.

With his tail, I was at a dog show in Harrisburg, PA.  We went through a hotel door that happened to be faulty....it slammed on his tail.  He screamed and screamed, but had pulled it out before I could really even register what had happened.  It was broken at that point, but I was unaware, and the vet on site said that Strauss likely just had some bad bruising.

So, for Mouse, it was all bad luck rather than klutziness.

Thank you.   I knew theoretically  it was possible to get a 'cauliflower ear' (!) from just shaking the head,
but never known a dog where that happened; its always been due to itching from  a severe ear infection,
or getting into fights,  the three or four times I've known it happen.  Its a complete pain-in-the-a, whenever.
So it sounds as though you bought him first  then trained him/got him trained for mobility work ?  (Hope Fawndallas is following this thread - are you aware of her posts ?).
But when you first got him, did you intend to have him as a Showdog ?

the head shot is distracting of course, but otherwise I think a very nice looking dog.

I knew theoretically  it was possible to get a 'cauliflower ear' (!) from just shaking the head
Luckily, his ear isn't crumpled :)  I mean, you can feel the scar tissue in the ear when you touch it, but it's not one nasty looking piece of flesh.  The surgeon did a great job :)

So it sounds as though you bought him first  then trained him/got him trained for mobility work ?
Correct.  When I got him, my issue was then undiagnosed/not as severe.  Again, I got VERY lucky with this dog that he was suitable for the job.  He was put into service at approximately 3 years of age, after I obtained help with task training.

(Hope Fawndallas is following this thread - are you aware of her posts ?).
No, I am not.  I like to try and help people when I can though, so if you have more info for me, feel free to send me a PM :)

But when you first got him, did you intend to have him as a Showdog ?
Yes indeed :)  And I always intended to do performance with him as well.  He has trained/competed in flyball, agility, schutzhund, obedience, tracking, and rally.  Tried herding...he wanted to eat the sheep :p

Flyball practice:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs53r8Odg74