Silho shepherds - Page 1

Anyone owns a silho shepherd here? how are these giants? heatlth problems any? Is it a good idea to keep one as a pet?

Oh please, a Shilo Shepherd is nothing more than an oversized long stock coat with a short steep croup. They probably have the same health problems like other oversized dogs. If you like them and feel that you have to own one, oh well. I personally wish these people would stop breeding animals outside out breed standard. Chris

Same thing with King Shepherds. They are nothing but Long Coat German Shepherds. Go to www.excaliburkings.com. This lady is a fraud, she buy's long coat german shepherd puppies from German Shepherd breeders and sells them at ridiculous prices as a "rare breed". These "champions" as she claims them to be are titles given by the American Rare Breed Association and their own made-up club American King Shepherd Club. Apalling isn't it!

Are these as huge as they claim, like 31 inches & 150 lbs

Actually, if you get technical Shiloh shepherds originated as a bastardization of the GSD breed- someone decided they wanted bigger dogs, smaller ears, etc. and mixed a few breeds to create the Shiloh. YES, they do suffer from many of the same health issues too, especially joint issues, ear issues, etc. And I see many of them with the same sort of temperament and also inherent temperament issues as our beloved breed. If yo like them, great. But they should never be confused with a GSD! These are two different breeds of dogs, with shilohs NOT being recognized by the major breed organizaion in this country.

The things people do for money.....sad

As I recall, at one point the Shiloh's had absolutely *horrendous* hips as a rule. That was the result of the 'inventor' of the 'type' (I can't bring myself to call it a 'breed') naming herself as 'breed warden', and *insisting on reading the hip x-rays and assigning ratings to them HERSELF*. She wasn't a veterinary radiologist, she wasn't a vet, she wasn't even a vet tech...she was just someone who'd created a cash cow (or dog) and was keeping a tight rein on who got to make money from it. Unfortunately, since she didn't have the faintest idea as to what she was looking at, she gave passing ratings to dysplastic dogs on a regular basis, and these dogs were used for breeding. It's my understanding that this woman's rule was broken a number of years ago, and the Shiloh fanciers set about improving the temperament and hip soundness of their dogs, using OFA ratings as a basis for breeding and not accepting spooky behavior in the show ring (it apparently used to be overlooked and excused as being 'cautious'). When I want a mixed breed dog that has some GSD traits and looks sorta like a GSD, I'll go the my local animal shelters and adopt one. There still are, unfortunately, plenty of GSD/Golden crosses, or GSD/Collie mixes looking for good homes, and it won't cost me thousands of dollars, either.

What are these dogs mixes of?

I never heard that they were mixed with anything - but what do I know ? -- The only story I knew was that she was banned from the AKC so she started her own registry and her own "breed"- yeah right !! Shame on the RARE BREED ASSOCIATION for accepting it into their fold !! What's rare about it ?? Nothing !! The few pedigrees I've seen (if they are valid) went back to "regular" Amerian Show stuff-- perhaps on the larger side - and as we all know, it's real easy to get the size UP in GSD'S -- easier than to get it back into normal range. Just keep breeding the biggest to the biggest -- If you want a dog that big - move into Neuf's, Leonberger's, or Dane's and Mastiffs. Why would you want to spend your good money on that stuff.

Pine, my guess would be the same reason people spend good money on White Shepherds, long coated shepherds and the like.If you breed it they will buy,if enough of them are made the breed registeries will eventually accept them in one way or another.The AKC did not always register Ausies (Austrailian Shepherds) but they do now.......anything that money can be made on is ok as far as they are concerned,just make sure your check clears. People can be very odd at times