DDR dogs, what is the difference between them and other shepherds - Page 6

I think there is a lot of people who write with not a lot of knowledge. Nerve was always a issue in east dogs. I have and breed more more ddr lines then most people you can find. And the truth is they are not ever meant for show dog and are not very good sport dogs. People can believe what they read here but you just don't know who is writing that. I sell pups but always tell the people the problems they should know and except them or i don't sell the pup. These dogs need to be saved regardless because they always gave some diversity to other lines. If you watch the leerberg videos you can see they just don't cut it. John

 Oh one other thing i get a lot of email from people asking about their bloodline a great many don't even know the pediree have west or czech lines mixed in.

@ Johnsk9

If as you say nerves are a problem and they don't make good sport dogs, what would be your reasoning for breeding them ??

We try and keep the bloodlines on the earth longer. I am not into sport. And i am not the only person doing this

Well maybe we should pose this to Werner Dalm ,Werner Schulz., Jürgen Opitz. and some of the other breeder's, Judges, and handler's who bred, judged and trialed them when the wall was up and after it came down.  I'm doubt very highly they're still breeding, showing, trialing the DDR lines because they lack nerve or can't cut the mustard. 

Who are you addressing?

It's a general statement but as I do communicate with them, I intend to ask them

Nerve problems have alway been a issue with these dogs. That does not mean they all have them or it is just in one line.

I looked at this dog Joe T bought and wants to sell. Why one testicle is says. Now that is because of the the combo of lines/dogs which are he the ped. He is not the person people should be taking advise from. It is just like i said people don't know who is giving advise. I owned and bred ddr bloodline long before the domburgerland list and all the new breeders cropped up. I just wanted to set the record straight and make sure you were not jumping on me. for writing what i know

This was a broad question!  I believe the person was looking for a broad answer.  The person is asking us to stereotype the different lines as a whole.  I think when you loop them all as a whole they are a bit different.  So I am going to give my 2 cents.

As a whole, I think that the DDR dogs are less drivey, a bit more sharp, and tend to be better at home protection and personal protection than they are at SchH and ring,etc.

You have to look at why and what the lines were bred for.  I am going to take the Czech kennel, Pohranicni straze, as an example.  Their breeding program was to produce dogs for the border patrol.  I don't think that they were too worried about a genetic full grip, insane drive, and a retrieve that was fast from start to finish.  They started their base from DDR dogs.  Dogs that had a good balance.  Dogs that had a bit of sharpness to them.

It all depends on what you want.  Myself, I like a good mix of mostly Czech dogs with a few DDR dogs in a pedigree.  Look at a lot of what the Czechs are doing with their breedings.  I'm seeing more and more west German working lines being thrown into their breedings.  

As to the question someone asked of why Johnsk9 still breeds them, the answer is simple.  Not everyone wants or needs a dog for sport.  Everyone wants breeders to put titles on their dogs.  I think that is great.  But what about the person that just wants a good shepherd that doesn't cost $1000-$2500 for a pet puppy.  Anybody who's anybody is going to charge more because their dogs are titled.  So it's a catch 22.  We look down on people for breeding great lines that are not titled.  We tell them they shouldn't be breeding.  So they don't.  The people look elsewhere and find some peice of s#it in the local paper for $300 from a breeder that doesn't even know what DDR stands for.  This is not a way to better our breed!  I've gotten off the subject a bit so I'll shut my mouth and get off my soap box.    8>) 

Nerve problems have alway been a issue with these dogs. That does not mean they all have them or it is just in one line

I know that they don't all have them or that it's just in one line.  but by posting   Nerve problems have alway been a issue with these dogs.  Gives people the impression  The DDR breed as a whole has poor nerves.

Nice post, Don!

Hi there, thanks everyone who answered my post on ddr dogs,  I m still a bit confused cos everyone seems to have different views, but I reckon I m learning fast! I went onto the ddr.legends site and saw a very different type of shepherd than the ones we see in the breed rings at our shepherd shows in the u.k.  The ddr dogs have a whole different look to our uk sieger show types, alot of our dogs have got their ScH qualifications as well, so they can actually pass these and still excell in the show ring. I don t see any ddr dogs in the show ring here, do they show them anywhere,  or are they only used for working? I d be interested to see which type is the most sucessful for dual working/show/family pet, cheers Lissa.