How many of you think Working Lines are ugly?

This is a placeholder text
Group text

by GoldenElk on 21 November 2007 - 16:11

'Guess there's no hope for Captain Mike then, is there? lol

LOL!

SS - that was really frank and honest. I gave up trying to have the "perfect" mate years ago. I'll take somebody ugly and smart over a beautiful idiot any day.

by Shelley Strohl on 21 November 2007 - 17:11

I grew out of the Boy Toys stage with the first bottle of Premarin some time ago.

by allaboutthedawgs on 21 November 2007 - 17:11

The whole point is that a doctor and a cowboy will not look alike or act alike. The cowboy will look and act like a person who can withstand physical rigors and perservere through them for the sake of completing a job. A doctor will look and act like a person who can complete a job in a more sterile and insulated environment. Which dismantles your entire arugument.

It has been my observation that the majority of women are not gold diggers who are making the choice of a mate based on money.

I've said my piece and am not willing to pursue this conversation further with you as it will spiral downward.

by Two Moons on 21 November 2007 - 17:11

GoldenElk,

Its hard to stay on point with your original question. I'm a little fuzzy this morning. But I want to say this, I think what Stephanitz had in mind was the total dog.. Not what it looked like but what it was made of. He knew what they were made of because he lived with his dogs, worked with them, day in and day out every day. He didnt keep 40 in a kennel and pic with his eyes what he thought would make a good breeding pair. He didnt care which one had a good bite or which one looked good freshly brushed or what the paperwork said. He had the time to know his dogs, find that communication between dog and man that Shepards are so good at. Just like knowing your own child it can take a life time. And then make choices based on real knowledge of what he was striving to produce. The all round dog.

Herding, protecting, and working all day, guarding all night. Surviving sometimes harsh conditions, sickness, accidents, living off whatever food his owner could provide. Being a companion and truely a mans best friend, unconditional love.

So smart that they know not just what your thinking but whats in your heart. Knowing good from bad by scent. And doing all of this naturally from instinct, not because of countless hours of training. It was on the job training, learn as you go day by day. Learning something new every day just like us in our dayly lives. Having a reason for being.

You ask people what they think is ugly, or not. You should ask what is a German Sheherd Dog.

I know very few still herd sheep, and that the old ways of life are gone forever. But making a dog part of your life and living with it, knowing it like you know yourself is the only way to judge the dogs true self. There is no better test than the test of time.

I dont think breeding for money, or breeding for sport, show or any other endevor will improve the dog. Only breeders who know they're dogs and see the special ones and have the care and concern that comes from love for something special.

A few breeders may actually be thinking this way, I hope they're numbers grow.

I lost a dog a few years back, he wasnt anything to show, he wouldnt have gotten any titles. He was just a common dog of the German Shepherd breed. But he was truely special. He had every quality that max would have loved. He was like my brother. I would wish every dog owner whatever the breed could know such an animal.

He was shot by a human.

Working or show a dog is never ugly, he is only in search of real and meaningful life. Kinda like us.

Uhg!

Thats my two cents.

by GoldenElk on 21 November 2007 - 18:11

Thank you Two Moons for giving this thread a more emotional and meaningful element.
Indeed the question that I posed at the beginning of the discussion was purposely superficial, as under regular circumstances I would never deem to diminish this great breed of dog to mere appearance (though many many do). I could wax rhapsodic forever about the gsd’s I’ve owned…no other breed comes so close to matching human whit and emotional depth. So on a spiritual and philosophical point, I do agree with your sentiment that no dog is ugly. On a more practical note, there are dogs being produced with serious structural flaws that have literally caused me to gasp upon seeing them and their pictutres litter the ad pportion of the database. Would I describe them as ugly? I try to restrain myself from using the term, but their creators should be ashamed of what they have produced.
I also want to say I’m sorry that you lost your beloved companion in such a violent matter, I won’t even ask how it occurred, I’m just sorry that it did.

by Two Moons on 21 November 2007 - 18:11

Thank you GoldenElk,

Sorry bout spilling out, was just one of those moods.

I too see serious flaws in mind and body, nothing to do with what I might have said before ya think?

I think some breeders will help, but many more will harm. Theres not alot that can be done to control this except to maintain rigid standards. And include a way to really judge the animals total worth, someting new that could be added.

by 4pack on 21 November 2007 - 19:11

VA Erich vom Grafenwerth 1920 Seiger To-FAst Enzo ugly working dog

by wanderer on 21 November 2007 - 19:11

I used to love the showlines, but found out after a few years that there is usually something wrong with either their body or their brain or both. Also realized after a time that many show breeders at the top have to breed 100 plus puppies a year to get about a half dozen that are truly show worthy. The rest go to pet homes. Then I discovered that working lines can be just as beautiful. What a revelation, and the temperament! Note the dogs below, just a few examples. I rest my case. (I now have a daughter of the first dog listed below and I love everything about her. She has it all.

http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/pedigree/123867.html

http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/pedigree/340916.html

http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/pedigree/404530.html

http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/pedigree/99686.html

by DDRshep on 21 November 2007 - 20:11

I like the direction that wanderer has taken this thread..let's all post our personal favorites of gorgeous working line dogs to forever lay the myth of "ugly working lines" to rest