If
it looks like a German Shepherd, it must be a German
Shepherd.....
Don't be fooled by
imitations....!
There are
currently this many GSD lines that I can think of:
The West German
Show Lines (the ones I breed)
are the
most popular in the world. Bred for protective
family companions and super looks. Referred to as
the "Red and Blacks" Visit the GSD Breed
Standard Page.
The DDR/Czech
Working Lines:
Superb
specimens, bred to work, not for looks, but difficult to
live with. Always ON ;) Great for Serious
Sport and Work, but as a family pet, you better have a
lot of time to exercise them.
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The Old 'World'
Lines - visit my GSD history page >>>>
Some folks
continue to stick to the Old World look. Not
allowed in the show circuit.
The Long Coated
Lines which come from the West German Show and the DDR/
Working Lines.
Depending
the genes they come from, this 'type' is great.
People LOVE long coats in the USA. They are
conversation makers and people pleasers. Can't be
used for breeding or show, but, those that have had them
stick by the long coat for life and swear they have
different temperaments!
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The
American/Canadian Lines
A split from
the original German Import lines, with a completely
different look, coloring, still, strangely enough,
trying to stick to the German Shepherd standard as set
forth by the Germans. Crossing German and
American Lines is a complete waste of time for neither
can improve the other lines' flaws. Which is the
intend of breeding, 'to improve the breed' It's
like breeding a poodle to a golden retriever.
And no reputable breeder of either line would attempt
it. A high ranking American Line at left with a
high ranking German Line at right.
The White German
Shepherd:
The White GSD faces a problem with a small gene pool
worldwide. It was an anomaly from the GSD, either
German Import Bloodlines or the American, where
occasionally a white pup would be born and thereby a
'new' idea. They are in Europe too, claims to have
originated in Switzerland, but more popular here in
North America. In and of itself, not a bad
dog, of course, but working with a small gene pool, is
bad. That encourages inbreeding and breeding stock
of lesser quality to perpetuate the white line.
The Shiloh
Shepherd, and/or King Shepherd:
What is this? Many breeders of the
German Shepherd Dogs get extremely offended by the
Shilohs and Kings. I could care less what those breeders
do, however, they can not compare them to working dogs
as the True German Dogs are. The Shilohs
originated in the 70s and the King's, I have no idea.
I just wish they wouldn't call them Shepherds.
Simply because a shepherd is a dog with a medium built
and bred to work all day chasing sheep around, and being
Police Dogs in modern days. Shilohs and Kings are
better just named, well, Shilohs or Kings, but leave out
the shepherd, as those large boned, 120lbs and more
weighing dogs, can not run all day.
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