Aww.

My dog was a rescue.

He adored me.

Good stuff.

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Colombiana

Donate your organs.. you could be the match I'm searching for.

Aww, that's sad.
Reminds me of a beautiful black Chow I used to know... The owners found him, and gave him to their kids. The kids, however, weren't responsible, and the dog got out of control, and ended up being chained out in the backyard. I don't know what happened to the poor thing...

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MOVED. New Account is ~BlauShepherd

Sad indeed.

A lot of places won't let you adopt a dog unless you have a "fenced in back yard", like that somehow means you're going to be a good owner. Lots of people with fenced in yards tie their dogs up outside because they don't want to bother working with them, they don't want dog hair in the house, etc. Why these people even have dogs is a mystery to me.

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"Riding is the art of keeping a horse between you and the ground."

My dog is, too. ^^ They're the best dogs. Ever.

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"Riding is the art of keeping a horse between you and the ground."

Most dog owners in the area I live in leave their dogs in the back yard all of the time, only bringing them in if they're sick or something. We don't have a good fenced in yard (very small, and filled with weeds and leaves), so my dog only goes out there when we're playing, but at least I'm knowledgeable enough to know that she needs to be walked at least once a day (she's an "inside" dog).

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MOVED. New Account is ~BlauShepherd

They should be ashamed of themselves for leaving their dogs outside.

On a side note, I'm not sure that walking once a day is enough for a Shepherd, unless she's a total couch potato or you do a lot of obedience training (mental stimulation) at home in addition to the walk. I try to walk mine for at least 30 minutes twice a day and let her run off-leash if I get a chance. She's very low energy, though ... so if I had a working line dog, I'd probably go for more exercise than that.

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"Riding is the art of keeping a horse between you and the ground."

Yes, we go through a routine of commands (both English and Deutsch), and she's walked for at least 2.5 miles, depending on the weather; however, like I said, we also play in the back yard (about 30 minutes), so she gets plenty of exercise.

As I've said before, she doesn't exactly match the standard- she's much leaner (but still a healthy weight) than most shepherds. She is of German lineage (sire's pedigree was mostly von Weiss Blau and other German-breds), so she does have a high working drive, but with her temperament, I'm afraid I can't give her a real job to do. She would have made a wonderful herding dog, and she has plenty of Sch3's in her pedigree, too.

But other than that, she's a laid back dog. I find that as shepherd age, they get more mellow... Er, perhaps that's just the maturity. She's 22-ish months old.

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MOVED. New Account is ~BlauShepherd

Unfortunately, SchH3 in a dog's lineage does not mean the dog has any real working ability. They dog might get pushed through the Schutzhund sport and develop some kind of bite and drive, but the dog's not necessarily suitable for any real work such as police, military, search and rescue, etc. Especially with German bred dogs you want to bear that in mind as they push their dogs through their Schutzhund titles in order to make money on stud fees / breeding.

German line also does not mean working line. You have East and West German working and show lines just in Germany, and they both differ greatly in structure, build, and temperament - and, of course, in workability. Though some showline dogs can produce a dog that has good working ability and two working line dogs can produce a pup that's only good for a pet home as well. It's never a given.

Abby's sire is Kuran vom Fiemereck. Looking at the other dogs vom Fiemereck has produced, one might assume that this automatically means she's suitable for some work, even "sports" work like Schutzhund. She's not. While she matches the standard, she does not have the necessary drive and focus to work. Were she not spayed, she would probably show well in the rink - but what's the point of showing a dog that does not have the temperament to pass on to created pups suitable for more than couch potatoes?

Lean is not necessarily "outside the standard", either. A lean dog is a healthy dog. If you look at working Shepherds or sports dogs that do agility, you'll see that many owners keep their dogs lean and healthy. Show rink dogs are generally overweight, and the "fluffing" of the coat just adds to that impression in the rink. And don't get me started on American bred dogs. The show lines are overbred to a point where they couldn't do the work the breed was originally created for (herding), and the working line dogs ... well, there don't seem to be any worth a damn in the States except stock that was imported.

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"Riding is the art of keeping a horse between you and the ground."

I know, but I've personally seen the Weiss Blau dogs, and they are of working ability. My dog's breeders, unfortunately, were probably not educated in the correct breeding of GSD's, and didn't even bother to socialize her for the first 4 months of her life (it's a miracle she was friendly to us...).

And yes, I know about East and West German lines. My shepherd has both working and conformation lines; why they crossbred, I don't know (crossbred the German with American, that is). I believe that American conformation has completely ruined the breed...

[link]
That is what shepherds are becoming in the USA, which is why I so highly prefer German and Czech lines. I'm not too sure what my dog's dam's dogs looked like, but I know for certain they were all of American lineage.

I've seen Seigers produce both excellent workers, and dogs that purely ruled in conformation; I know there is much controversy over "working" and "show" lines, but I believe that a working dog should be what the standard (FCI/SVeV) looks for, and not these American dogs with such extreme angulations that they can't walk right, or German dogs with backs so roached their gates are extremely thrown off.

As for breeding, I'm a fan of the Germans. The best producers (and conformation dogs) are almost always first required to receive a Sch3 title, which includes being temperament and health tested; like I said, a Seiger may also be a top working specimen.

Anyway. Really? Most [working] shepherds I see have much more muscle than my dog; I know that German dogs can reach weights of up to 140 pounds, though I'm sure most of those dogs are just overweight... Hmm, I thought it was the American dogs that were too underweight (I found a breeding video with "champion" dogs whose rib cages could be easily seen). Really, the only American lines I trust are Covy-Tucker Hill and whatever dogs James Moses breeds (though I don't know if James Moses has working dogs like Covy-Tucker Hill).

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MOVED. New Account is ~BlauShepherd