Why can North American GSD breeders never seem to breed world class dogs?? - Page 41

Blitzen, that's the next chapter of my life.....I've got the first chapter for the book still fresh in my mind.
Gotta go feed now; pictures will have to wait.

Joanro, wow! Awesome!  Ride them bulls!
Lol@Blitzen!

Joan,
However, the BEST gsd police K9s which are not breed worthy does not say much for the requirements to be the best LE k9.

IMO, it is very simple...not all dogs are breed worthy even great working dogs are not always breed worthy.  There is more to the GSD than just working ability alone.  A dog needs to have correct structure and conformation, correct dentition, good hips and elbows, proper temperament and working ability and no other disqualifying faults.  No dog is perfect and we have to make some allowances for weakness and strengths in the dogs we pick to breed to or work.  

Because a dog makes an excellent Police K-9 does not make it automatically "breed worthy."  I have an excellent GSD (one of my favorite dogs) in our unit that can run at 32 mph's, has extreme aggression, great tracking and explosives detection, great in building searches and does fantastic obedience. The dog could be a National Level Sport Dog as well.  The dog's grips are outstanding: full, crushing, hard and calm.  However, the dog is very aggressive and can be rather scary when let loose.  He is not friendly and just social enough to be around the guys with a toy.  All of this is great and by itself is why I chose him when I tested dogs for this handler.  However, this dog has terrible conformation, cow hocked, poor structure and is rather ugly.   For a Police dog his structure is functional and he can jump like a kangaroo and work all day, for a stud dog his conformation is poor.  I'm sure many people would want to breed to this dog, but I wouldn't.  There are better stud dogs out there.  

Joan, my requirements for a Police K-9 are all about drive, aggression and working ability.  I want a sound dog structurally that will work all day and bring serious aggression when needed.  I also want the dog to be clear headed and social enough to be neutral around other Officers or the SWAT team.  I don't care what the dog looks like, it's color or the slope of it's croup.  I don't care about the length of the forearm or the angulation of the dog.  A great working dog that meets my requirements for a Police K-9 does not automatically meet my requirements for a stud dog.  A stud dog must be even better.

BTW, fantastic pictures and very interesting life story!  
 

I understand what you're saying, Slam. But "the Best" ? I don't know... takes a lot more than being perfect, conformation wise, to contribute to the breed. But their are limits, like you mentioned.

But Slamdunc:  Without the conformation how does the dog hold up physically in a long run or a fast pursuit?  Without the conformation it makes the dog's job, whatever that might be more difficult and less probability of holding up for his job and endurance long term.  This is a question for you, not an assumption on my part.  Thx  Nan

Look at some of the great race horses, Seabiscuit for example. He was so buck kneed he looked like his legs would buckle under his weight.
"Correct" conformation is mostly an aesthetic preference more than functional. Never saw a wolf that is not cow hocked. Sorry, I just couldn't help it. :-)

I have an ASL friend that placed a dog with a county Sheriff's office in our area. This dog started out as a very promising pup from one of the better known kennels and would have done well in the shows, but developed a spine issue that caused his tail to go dead and ended his show career. By the time he was 18 mo. he had become very aggressive, was not safe around kids and the best way I could describe him is just all around a rough customer. Not typical at all of most ASL.

My friend stopped by the SO and asked them if they would be interested, the trainer and two other officers came out and spent a couple hours testing the dog, accepted him. The dog passed training and as far as I know is still working. They never mentioned the extreme angles, the ski slope croup or that the dogs tail didn't wag, all they cared about was that he passed their tests, but he is not a good candidate for breeding even if he is a working LE dog.

 

Rik - do you think that dog could have had some pain issues,
that made him turn 'bad-ass' ?

Joanro, I want to order a signed book...
Tuff life...amazing.
And I´ll never ever argue about working abilies, selection, and training of any animals with you - only about conformation and standard

Slam: " A great working dog that meets my requirements for a Police K-9 does not automatically meet my requirements for a stud dog.  A stud dog must be even better. "