I can’t believe I have such a nice dog.
The eyes pretty much say it all.
I never thought I’d like a dog of this breed, much less consider one my best canine companion.
I think I’m always going to have at least one Deutscher Schäferhund in my home. They are that much fun to train and play with, and they are so clownish and loyal. Plus, they are great watch dogs that can easily be trained not to bark excessively, and the best ones are not vicious.
She is stable and attuned my mood. She is sensitive and eager and quite brainy.
Which is a good thing, because she is built like a body-builder, with massive muscles in her hind quarters and forelegs.
I would not want a dog like her if it was a crazed lunatic that went around randomly attacking people. She could do a lot of damage, but she’s docile and domesticated.
I have, however, seen that demure clowny coyote suddenly become all business when she thought her job was to be the protector.
Anka is what I like in a dog. I’ve always been looking for that perfect balance of drive, good sense, and intelligence in a dog, but it’s harder and harder to find in golden retrievers. It still exists, but it is something one must seek out with a great deal of rigor.
And even then, you may be turned away.
Working German shepherds are really common, and because people often don’t know what they are getting when they purchase a puppy– “I want one of them straight-backed ones” is a common idea in the public mind– they often are in need of good homes. What most people don’t get is those straighter-backed Rin Tin Tin dogs have far more drive than most people are accustomed to having in a dog, and they would be be better suited to buy an actual show-bred dog.
Living with both forms of this breed has given me a deep appreciation for each type. I can’t say that I am as fundamentalist against the show dogs as I once was. I had to change my mind, because I was wrong.
And yes, we can have all these debates about functional conformation in this breed. We can post that image that shows the horse with the extreme rear angulation. We can show photos of Hektor Linksrhein/Horand von Grafrath all we want.
But i have changed my mind about what breeds I do like to have. One of these days, I’ll probably up my game with a Malinois or a Dutch shepherd, which are like five or six clicks more driven than a working German shepherd, but for right now, I enjoy what I do have.
A good dog.
I don’t doubt your expertise about this dogs, but my comment is related to the Show dog breeding of German Shepherds.
My comment is that the fashion of breeding show Shepherds with the sloped back has ruined the German Shepherd breed in America.
The slope back has nothing to do with less drive or willingness on the part of the dog. It was done for fashion. A Working Breed show dog like the German Shepherd must be able to perform the tasks of the breed outside of the ring. That stands as a criteria for show dogs. ‘Roach backed’ Shepherds suffer back pain and are hardly be able to walk properly. Let’s hope that this practice of breeding will be addressed soon.
“A sloped back can effect a great deal when it comes to orthopedics and therefore it can have an overall effect on the dogs health. With the back curved, the dog’s hip and knee com closer to the ground causing the dog’s hindquarters to become more angulated. These dogs often shuffle when they walk and after years of wear and tear and they become prone to serious complications that can negatively affect their quality of life.”
Quoted from Dog Discoveries: “Why Do German Shepherds Have Sloping Backs?” It’s a good article that explains how this breeding came into the show ring and why it should not continue.
Beautiful dog you have there. Thanks for your post
The problem is that those show line dogs aren’t “ruined.” They just are a different form of German shepherd. Anka is way too much dog for the typical pet owner. I co-own and live with a show-line male pup. He’s far less insane than she is, but he is just as biddable. He is not in pain, and if someone wants a lower drive pet, I’d point them in the direction of those lines. Getting a dog that, I suspect, descends from ancestors bred in Communist Czechoslovakia to guard the borders probably isn’t the dog I would recommend for someone who has a house in the city and not enough time to train them. There are extreme show-line dogs, especially from West German show lines and British Alsatian show lines, but it ultimately depends upon what you want in a dog. If you want the dog that will work its ass off for you and requires you give it that much training and exercise, get one of the working-type dogs. But you can’t have a breed that is as common as GSDs without having type variances, and the way I see it is that the breed is big enough for all types. All of this Quixotic “Shiloh Shepherd” and alternative white GSD attempts really aren’t that helpful. The whole breed has limited genetic diversity at its foundation and creating your very own breeds is a bad idea. And yes, I do know people who breed sound show dogs in this breed. The backs only slope because of rear angulation, which does need to be watched. Those show-line dogs, though, tend to be better herding and farm dogs than those insane working-line dogs, like mine.
Thanks for your reply.
I have this fascination with “working” protection breeds but the reality that they are probably, as you say, “too much dog” for me makes it sadly unlikely I’ll ever get one. I’ve lived with dogs over my life, and walk and take care of my dad’s current dog (I’d like to try one of those DNA tests on her actually. I find her to be an interesting dog. She came from down south and I sort of suspect her litter might have been someone’s attempt to produce some hog hunters or something) and interact with her on a regular basis, but never actually had my *own* dog. I would like one some day, not just to have one for the hell of it but I legitimately feel like a dog would be beneficial to the already multi-layered security arrangement of my household, which I’m always seeking to improve. I don’t necessarily want a dog as an attack animal, because not every dog is cut out for that, and getting a dog to that point is from what I’ve gathered a tremendous investment of money and specialized training, but more as an early warning system with some more generalized protective behavior. Trying to zero in on a breed that would fit the hypothetical bill is something I do from time to time, but I do have a certain “look” of dog I gravitate towards as well. I currently have two older cats though, and I won’t turn their lives upside down by adding a dog to the house now anyway, so it would likely be years before I ever get a dog….if ever. It’s nice to think about though.
i dont think anyone should be advised to buy a sloped backed dog,people need to be educated on the drive in any dog that they are buying , a dogs brain and body is designed to release energy , now if the new owners of their chosen breed cant exercise it properly as required, then i dont think its fair to take on an animal that has been designed in a way that it cant move properly hence dogs with straight backs tend to be more agile and have more drive physically than sloped backed ones, but this doesnt always mean that the sloped backed dog, mentally doesnt want to do the same as the straight backed,its just that it cant
You live in the UK (by your email) address, and over there, there are quite of few West German showline dogs and general English Alsatian types that have that sloping back, which is also associated with an ataxic gait. Quest can do everything that Anka can do, except we don’t let him do the crazy jumps. He is just much more laid back than she is. His mother is a long-coat AKC champion that does herding and dock-diving (and is OFA excellent). AKC show dogs have sloping backs but it seems the genes that control the actual conformation genes that they have are different from the West German show and UK type dog, because when cross them you get something like Anka with black and tan. BTW, I am going to keep on advising that people get show-line GSD if they want just a pet that is fun to train. If you want the crazy working dog, those strains exist. And if you just can’t stand to look at the rear, then you can buy a Shiloh shepherd, but I don’t particularly like a dog that goes over 100 pounds in weight, especially if it’s a German shepherd.
Sounds like you’ll soon be changing your website and name to shepherdman.net. Ha!
I own two working German Shepherds who are from West German showlines. My female, Nara, is out of Ursus con Batu (year 2000 World Sieger–a million dollar dog) lines. I don’t care much about show dogs, but I do care about their working drives and overall health and temperment. I am like you, after owning our first GSD, we’ve agreed to always have at least one in our home. My Nara was a search and rescue dog in training out in Oregon. She will be 11 in November. She’s never had anything wrong with her other than getting Pannus in her eyes from the high evelvation (3,147 ft above sea level) of moving to Idaho after living in Virginia (0 ft) and Oregon (50 ft).
Neither of our GSDs have the slope/roached-back. People comment positively on them all the time that they are so happy to see “real” GSDs with straighter backs. It’s also sad how many people approach and ask how bad their hip and elbow dysplasia is, automatically assuming all GSDs have problems with it. Neither of mine do, nor do they walk as if there is anything wrong. People can be so strange when it comes to dogs.
I also wanted to write in hopes of connecting with you about wolves. I’ve been studying dogs and wolves for the last ten years, and am working on my degree that will enable me to work with wolves the rest of my life. I’ve already had experience volunteering at wolf sanctuaries in FL and OR. You write a lot about wolves and I like your dedication to educate and advocate. I think it might be nice to talk offline or through email or however. We might have a lot in common on this level of dogs and wolves.
If I can figure out a way to post pics of my dogs, I will.
Kevin of counterWULF