Improving the breed - Page 8

Oh yeah, they do vary.  But if I bought a puppy tomorrow, it wouldn't be
a coated one if I could help it.  [Bearing in mind the difficulties we sometimes
have in telling which pups will turn out which coat-type & length.]  On the chance
that the one I bought would be bound to turn out to have one of those coats which
mat & knot & collect everything. LOL !!   And unfortunately that is not confined only
to dogs with softer coats or single coats ... I've spent HOURS on LSH coats, with
harsh guard hairs and undercoats,  and then had to do it all over again 24 hours later.

It is so true that the coat length is a very minor factor in any questions of
"improving the Breed".   But it has to be said that it plays a role, often one
of more importance than it deserves, simply because it's "where the profits
are".  Given that more pups bred go to 'pet' homes,  i.e. more than ever get to
be seriously worked or shown,  and given how much Jo Public is such a
sucker for "fluffy puppy syndrome", is it any wonder that there are less
scrupulous breeders around who argue that they are 'improving' on GSDs
by churning out as many longer coated pups as they can ?  [ IMO,  it does not
really matter whether LSH show classes are in or out of favour, that still applies.] 

While there IS mass production and puppy farming, there is no real hope for the
overall betterment of the GSD.  All we can look for is what has already been
described by some posters above:  to do the very best you can within your
own breeding programmes, having regard to all the health tests available, and
trialling your dogs to the best of your & their abilities, taking a good hard look
at your animals and mating them to give you improvements on their weaker
points, having good knowledge both of the whole breed since its origins and of
modern bloodlines in your preferred sector.  Ideally, trying to KEEP on producing
good  'all rounder'  dogs;   bearing in mind Von Stephanitz said we should keep it
foremost a versatile working breed, but also continue to work towards a beautiful dog,
and a dog which can fit in with its owners' family and lifestyle.

and a dog which can fit in with its owners' family and lifestyle

That is something good to take into consideration.What is the point of producing dogs that can not fit in normal ordinary homes when biggest number of dogs go to those homes?
There should always be dogs that are suitable to be raised safely round children at homes, that have good nerves to withstand modern city life and have lower drives (comparatively) to not get bored and cause damage to property and in house furniture etc. At same time those "home dogs" should be able to do active deterrence when need arises and protect their owners and property. They should be smart to know the difference between real and false threats. They should be healthy and good looking too. That is a good useful breeding that is wanted by the mass. Bottom line, nerves, health, smartness, beauty, loyalty, medium balanced drives...........

At the same time, also offsprings should always be produced by breeders to more suit specialized sectors like Police, Military, SAR, Seeing-Eye ....................
I do not think the breed is in too bad a shape at this time, there is a GSD to suit any type of job or duty of today's human needs.
Breed problem comes from breeders who produce either
1. Poor nerves
2. Poor health
3. Cowards
4. Structurally incorrect GSDs
​.
.
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It is ok to make profit, it is ok to advertise, it is ok to compete, but there should be minimum commitment towards produced offspring and buyer, plus taking all measures to understand the breed, its uses, genetics, bloodlines, history, health issues and follow up on generations produced to monitor strengths and weaknesses. A breeder should be ambitious but yet humble and realistic.

Ibrahim


 

@Hundmutter- I really don't care if you agree with me or not, you don't live at my house, you don't take care of my dogs like I do, and I can ASSURE you that I've only had to brush out Betoven once all 4 months since I've had him, and he's not had any mats/tangles to work through, no hair balls in feet, or anything else that my SCs don't have.  But again, he's really not what I'd consider truly "long coated". He has no ear tufts nor feathers off backs of legs, only a slightly longer hair coat on his body.

CMills, your dog sounds like it has a much shorter and harsher coat than my longcoat had.

CMills. I wasn't calling you a liar !  I believe you,  some of the other
longcoats @ the same estate did not take half as much trouble to
groom.  That's why I started my last post with "They do vary." !   I just
meant no one can GENERALISE about ALL 'coats',  just 'cos the one
they own does not give problems ...

Given the specifics of your pup's coat, as detailed on your earlier thred,
I'd say it was hardly surprising that particular coat brushes out just like
a stock coat.

I also have long stock coat dogs.
I almost think they actually shed less! Yes,they blow their coat and you got to help with the massive hair coming out,but other than that...
To say a dog got sick with fever because of his coat ,in the woods is....ridicules!
Sorry say SM but your dog must have been 'under the weatherr' to begin with.
I also livve in the country,.horses,ducks,dogs,deer,the whole 9 yards.
My doogs are out hiking, romping and rounding up horses in all types of weather, and they do not get sick from it.
To say they are not as good as a standard coat is IMO, just stupid! EVERrY single dog I own,would bite someone.
WHY a. Dog has to be tough as nails to be a good protection dog,is also beyond me.
My dogs will go above and beyond the call of duty,regardless of what that duty is!
They also live WITH me,not kennel dogs,and never discarded after their usefulness is over either

Ibrahim...YOU hit the nail on the head.Max said; "I NEVER met a German Shepherd that did not love children!

kitkat, she was not under the weather - the natural immune response to spear grass is an immediate high fever and puss where the spears penetrate the skin. 1 or 2 spears will not cause this reaction, but i pulled 50+ out of her skin. her body reacted exactly the way is was supposed too -  i called a specialist who confirmed this.

yes, gsd's should not be aggressive to children, unless of course the dog is in pain and has no place escape the child's constant abuse. IMO, small children can be so cruel and too often the child's parents think its cute.







 

I dont understand why the discussion turned into a coat debate, either, but I will say that it sure seems like some folks have had LONGCOATS and have been calling them long STOCK coats. A long coat, devoid if the proper amount of insulating undercoat and harsher guard hairs, h
as always been considered a fault in this breed that's supposed to be an all-weather breed. 

Long, soft coats are a fault for the reasons illustrated these last few pages. Long stock coats should be virtually no different than stock coats in terms of care and weather-proofing. 

Ive bred a few lsc dogs, and have gotten no reports of any of the issues mentioned, and no, they're not all pampered house pets. One girl is an outside dog on hundreds of acres with zero issues. The key is equal undercoat and equal guard hair texture to a stock coat, just a bit longer. Silky is always going to bring problems!  Jmo. I'm far from an expert, but my experience has shown more long coats in show lines and more long stocks in working lines. I can only surmise that show breeding for a type of coat has altered the genetics to the point where you can get a recessive popping up that adds length to a coat that is already softer than ideal. Of course the same could happen in working lines, but I see way more "plush" show dogs than working dogs.