** Steep croup/top line from top breeders ** Is this normal? - Page 5

Croup is slightly short but by no means steep.

I agree, VERY nice looking male!  I am guessing he has Ursus v. Batu not too far back in his pedigree?

Thanks for your critiques and comments.  This is the first time I've owned a dog of breeding caliber and his first litter on the ground.

Ibrahim, thank you for the comment.  Either way, I do not mind.  I think my male is "male" enough but personally am not a fan of the latest fad of GSDs with humoungous, droopy bear heads and I do not like excesses of bone, coat, or anything really. Extra bulk just gets in the way for serious sports and training. A GSD should have a strong head with a pronounced muzzle and a definite stop but nothing overdone.  My male's head could be a bit more "cheeky" but overall I actually like it and enjoy looking at him in profile.  Most people guess his size 10-15lb too heavy.  I like that he has the appearance of being larger and more substantial than he is.  He is 24.5" and weighs 70lbs give or take a few pounds depending on what we're preparing for (conformation more like 73, sporting events 68-70).

Khalid, this is my dog that I posted. http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/dog.html?id=699492-altatollhaus-bono I have owned him since he was 7 weeks old and put many (more than 20) titles on him and still going (we just did an SV conformation show last weekend, then we have a UKC conformation and lure coursing meet May 8-10, a flyball tournament June 6-7, the UKC Premier event (all sports/performance events) June 12-15, then a flyball tournament June 27-29 and I haven't thought much past June, lol).  My friend bred her WL bitch to him.  She was a maiden bitch and got pregnant with 12 puppies (unfortunately one got stuck during birth so a few passed away and there were 9 very healthy).  I was sent two males to choose from so I made my pick and then helped place the other male in a sport/competition home nearby.  I picked the sable because I liked his conformation better and at the time I was not sure whether the dog would eventually be sold to a good friend who is more of a pet home (the other male had more drive, better for sport/work so I placed him with someone who is training him). Also the pick bitch is owned by other friends of mine and lives in my city so I can see these dogs develop.  My male was VP rated by Herr Scheld last weekend.  He's going in for his hip and elbow prelim x-rays May 21 (he will be 1 day shy of 7 months).  So this is a WGSL/WL cross litter.  My puppy is 6 months and 40lbs.  He seems on the smaller size but Herr Scheld called him "upper medium" sized.  What I hoped to improve about my male: better ears (his aren't terribly but I prefer them slightly smaller and set up higher/not so wide), slightly darker eye, and even at maturity he is still slightly east/west in his stance (feet point out).  My puppy already shows improvement in all three of these areas so I am very pleased. Here are some photos of my puppy so far:

This stack is not so good :(

Dad and son together yesterday (both are obsessed with playing fetch)

 VKGSDs  

A really great dog .. a good example of why the GSD is such a versatile breed and why the concept of show line and working line is bad designation for the breed.  While it is true the so called "show line" type dogs can go too far it is equally true that the so called "working line" dogs can go too far just as well.  I have mostly solid black Czech type dogs but one of the top two or three dogs I have ever owned was a pure W German Trienzbachtal bitch.

http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/dog.html?id=26381-ulla-vom-sofienwald 

Ulla wasn't perfect and had fast normal hips but she was the definition of what a great gsd is and taught me that being great doesn't mean being perfect.  She only had one litter of 4 puppies and two became working police dogs.  

Bubba, my first GSL was sired by a Trienzbachtal male (Cago x Puppe). I believe he would have been at least a half brother to your Ulla. Do you know if that kennel is still actively breeding? I have asked that question a number of times and no one seems to know.

I think my male is "male" enough but personally am not a fan of the latest fad of GSDs with humoungous, droopy bear heads and I do not like excesses of bone, coat, or anything really. Extra bulk just gets in the way for serious sports and training. A GSD should have a strong head with a pronounced muzzle and a definite stop but nothing overdone.

I couldn't agree more with this statement, VKGSD. I hate an overdone GSD, they lack the agaility needed to tend or work in any sport requiring endurance. They can get IPO titled, but IMO that's not a huge challenge to the dog's physical abilities.

Any, yes, GSD's can be manipulated in such a way to make their toplines appear to have a roaches OR the toplines are photoshopped to look that way. I am posting an Urma photo of one of my GSL's. I gave her a retirement home and when I saw this photo in her album I had to ask who that dog was. I'm sorry I don't have a photo with her standing naturally, but I assure you she had a flat back, no hint of a roach and stood well above her rear pads, not squatty as shown here. I"ll never understand what that's all about.

@ blitzen i actually like this pic. Her croup is of normal lengt in my opinion. You make mention that she had no hint,of roach, i think in this pic i topline

Is 'clean' and cannot see what u seeing?

Honestly you don't see the slight roach in her back? It begins just behind her withers. This is a GSD with a flat back. No roach anywhere.

Blitzen    

I believe Triezbachtal aged out and the next generation did not continue the line .. ie Trienzbachtal is no more.  This is what I read and it was confirmed but as with all things internet and human it could be wrong.