Wyn Strickland and other GSD legends - Page 4

I lived in Newark, Delaware and in the 70;s bought a wonderful long haired pup from Winifred Strickland.  Then a few years later I sold her a Lance of Fran Jo daughter.  Quality breeder, trainer, and person......

Wynn and her friend Georgia were class.  I feel lucky to have been in their midst.  As Wynn said "the dogs don't know how big I am."   The entire Diamond Shepherd Dog Club is peopled with those that carry Wynn's spirit.  Class Plus!  We should all be so lucky to carry on such a legacy of integrity and vision. . .  This was pure love for the breed.

Blitzen, I do not seek out breeders that breed FOR Police dogs anymore than I would seek out breeders that breed FOR show dogs or sport dogs. I seek out breeders that breed for the complete dog according to standard. A good breeder will have dogs in a large litter capable of LE work, as well as pups in litter that make good strong family dogs. I will not seek or recommend a breeder that I know by genetics is breeding stock that is incapable of LE work or incapable of family or other utility work. If you understand the standard, show and sport are nowhere mentioned in the document....so why are so many people breeding dogs TO DO these two venues. It's faulty logic and direction for the breed and has had devastating effects. Byb are not the enemy to this breed, it's show and sport breeders. Why? Because byb don't have the national and international influence to propagate their breeding goals( like show and sport). Two, the show and sport people just as often use breeding stock that is inferior but it's clothed in titles and certs that legitimizes the breeding. Do you know how often I have seen show males and females that are no where close to having the temperament to produce anything but other show dogs be bred because they have championship or health clearances...or sport dogs that have so many lacking physical or structural deficiencies that they should never be bred, but they can produce more sport dogs. And these are elite breeders to the uninformed and semi-informed who fashion themselves as knowledgable. Now this doesn't mean there aren't some sport/show breeders breeding for total dog, but they are few and far between. So I seek out breeders that breed for correct structure, good health, and standard temperament....which identifies the GS as a guard dog type of dog/ LE type dog among many other characteristics that also make it an ideal family and utility dog. These breeders will have some pups in a litter that can do LE work( which is what I seek), some will be obedience dogs, some rally dogs, some, SAR dogs and some family dogs. A good litter will have dogs that except for the LE work which requires a little stronger character and maybe drive, have all of the pups capable of doing the other things I mentioned if trained for them( thus utility dog), and also good family dogs. That is what breeders should breed for,imo, to maintain this great breed. Now if a specific pup in a litter is exception in sport qualities, or conformation than if the right home they should be shown or competed with by all means. But to breed TO show or TO do sport leads to where we are today with a lack of balance in both camps.

I can name great breeders today that I feel comfortable sending people to or acquire dogs for myself, and some are very prominent, but what they have in common is that they breed for balance, utility and health. They use tested stock that meets all the elements of the standard to include LE type dogs, and they do not breed FOR show or FOR sport. Hope this helps.

Cliff, I apologize for my inability to agree with your post more then once. Amen sir, AMEN!!!

Maybe someone else with LE K-9's or dogs that work in other venues have been inspired by specific breeders/trainers they would like to recognize? I assume those owners know what I mean by "working dogs". Sport dogs could be a separate venue and IMO it would be interesting to hear about those breeders too. It seems ironic that we need to think about so many "different" ways the breed is utilized, but I suppose that's one of the things we admire the most about GSD's - their versatility.

When I generated this thread the intent was to recognize specific GSD "legends" like Wynn, Ernie Loeb, et al.

Fred Lanting is another GSD person who  has influenced others. His extensive  research on HD and other health issues has benefitted many breeders. Many read his observations of  Siegers shows and some traveled with him to Germany as part of his annual tour. I don't know if he still reads here and I haven't seen a post from him for a long time, but I hope he does so he knows how much influence he too has had on the breed over the years.

Thanks to Sunshine, I had the opportunity to finally meet Wynn in 2004 and Fred the next year at NASS.