P.E.T. G.S.D - Page 4

The breeder I got my GSD from would sell the long or plush coats for almost half price. She has great dogs with very good German showline pedigrees for $1500.00 and the long coats are $800.00 not a bad deal since my long coat is very intelligent and does not have an agressive bone in his body. He is not a chicken by any means. He plays well with other dogs and loves people. I am his favorite  andhe  lays out by the gate when I leave for work even when my wife is home. He comes when called in the dog park. great pet and  obediance is comming along great and has an excellent sit stay or down stay.

What I am saying is that showline breeders if they are good and reasonable will sell great dogs for less. I don't want to show so I got a better looking dog for less.

If a breeder doesn't give you a break on pet quality then go someplace else.

Great post, Sparrow.

rant maybe sparrow, but a good one.  and just to be a goober isn't it "give me a break" and "cut me some slack"  lol, j/k and frankly I dont consider an AKC title stupid.  I have 3 dogs who have UDs and 2 who have agility titles and frankly, the people are fun, it's relatively relaxed and the amount of back biting and slander is small considering my experience with the schh club I attended for 3 years (and yes I do realize not all clubs are like that, simply my sole experience).

anyway, I agree with your post whole heartedly.... I think I'd like you!!

Lisa

I personally, think the working dog that isn't also a pet doesn't have much of a life.  This meaning that the dog should first and foremost be a pet or "family member" then, the working partner, champion,  or what have you.  So, in essence, a good dog will always be a "pet" first.  If this dog does not fit into a family, how then do you expect him/her to fit into society even in a working scenario?  Jusy my 2.

Thanks Blitz and von symphoni,

LOL about the break, ranting takes its toll on the words coming out just right.

Now that my rant is over let me state that I posed a question yesterday that only one breeder dared answer, but an honest answer was given.  The reason I asked the question of how many working dogs go only to working homes was to make a point that if this were truly so, why does everyone have to "travel" to get to the nearest Schutzhund Club?  If there are so many working dogs out there, why aren't there multiple clubs in every city?  Just one breeder alone can put many dogs out there in one year and if that's the case where are they all working?  I figure we could get a club from every breeder's output, anyone else care to crunch the numbers?  I'm not saying ALL breeders make these claims and I'm also not saying that EVERYONE who makes the claim is a liar but do the math.  If all are telling the truth, where are all of the clubs these dogs are working in?  Not pets, Huh?

The majority of the dogs are what you make of them. if you treat them like a family member and expect/show them to follow the rules of the house, take them with you when you can. Have people over to your home and not hide them away. expose them to other animals. You will most likely end up with wonder dog (always exceptions to the rules). If you get a puppy and then remember what it is like to have a baby in the house, and decide you do not have the time and relagate the pup to the back yard. You are going to have a problem on your hands. I get so darn tired of seeing dogs that are given no attention, and then one day the owner gets a wild hair and decides to do something with the dog and does not understand why it is a nut case, and blames it on the breeder/pedigree.

But, why do the two have to be mutually exclusive? Seriously? What would Max say if he knew people could not conceive of the GSD being both a family do and working dog? I really don't get that.  I've seen many more nervy pet dogs I wouldn't trust because they are insecure and have not been exposed to stresses that would build confidence when faced and overcome. Part of any job training should be a chance to see if the "eat your face off under stress" trait exists in the dog's makeup. Would you agree that with a pet this may not be exposed until after the fact?

Just throwing it out there.

If the pet is in a home where time is taken with the dog to socialize, train (even if just good house and people manners) then I think the bad temperment would show at a fairly early stage.  If you spend time with your dog, you know your dog.  The same could be asked of someone who sends their dog out for training and actually, since they don't have the "hands on" with that dog, the chances are better that they wouldn't know the true temperment.  I have a tendency to believe that if you know dogs you can tell a bad temperment from the first time you meet the pup.  Shyness, anxiety, aggressiveness can be seen at 6 weeks of age.  Some of these traits can be overcome but some are innate and will develop into worse as they mature.  I am far from an expert and no breeder but I have spent my lifetime with canine companions and I can read dogs pretty well.  I'm sure I'm not 100% accurate but I've only owned one dog with a bad temperment and I knew that possibility going in (dam was nasty).  All other dogs I've chosen from my non-professional position have turned out to be more than JUST pets, they've all been important family members and earned it each in their own way.

I ask again, of any schutzhund or working dog enthusiast out there.  Would you allow your children or grandchildren to play with the most titled dog in the world, in the backyard, fifty feet away from you, but in your site?  If you did and something did happen, I assure you, you would be under the suspicious eye of the authorities for your negligence and bad judgement.  No matter how many times you tell them that the dog had always been such a trusted and great companion to your children.  If, on the other hand, something happened between your children and a non titled pet, then it would be looked into but you would not be under the microscope, the dog would be.

I am NOT putting any dog down, just trying to make a point.

I would and have trusted my own children in the care of several of my dogs, and never had a mis-hap.  Because I knew those dogs.

As a side note.  Everytime the term working dogs is used, more often than not, it is being confused with sport dogs.  Ain't the same.  I have trained dogs for the personal protection of others (clients) and those dogs did not have titles.  But they were actual working dogs.  I have stated on this forum before, I stopped doing that job because of the mistakes the owners of those type of dogs, made.  Sport can be used as a test of abilities and traits, but they are not jobs, in the true sense of the word.  An argument could be made that someone who plays baseball for a living is working, but then the same argument could be turned around and made that a family companion and pet is working.

Look.  I am not against working dogs or schutzhund, but it is on the way out.  You can't even find a schutzhund club anywhere near your house, unless you are very fortunate, and then the odds of it being a decent club are slim, so it will die, much the way of children playing outside on the sidewalk has died.  It is a different world.  The AKC, for all of its faults, understands this.  You die hards out there better get used to it.  In Germany, well, that is a different story.  It is nationally instilled.  Here in the U.S., it is like soccer.  Ain't ever going to catch on.  We are about non-biting sports and pets.   Like it or not.

Do right.... I believe you are right, I am not always happy about situations like that, but whether we like it or not, understand it or not, agree with it or not, some things happen on a societal scale that we are not wholey in control of.  People outside the world of dogs are still voting members of the public at large and we deal with society or we become criminal. 

again, I think you're right ..... can I call you dudley?  just seems to fit somehow... dudley do right and fear no one.....