Xeph
Posted : 7/3/2007 8:27:44 PM
Xeph, do you have any links for good breeders of American dogs that would make good companions?
That I do
[link
http://www.victorygermanshepherds.com]Victory German Shepherds[/link] - Kathy and Ken Tank. Likely where my next American Line dog will come from...haven't decided yet. We have many talks online, and she's a sweet person as well
[link
http://www.candiasgsd.com/]Candia Shepherds[/link] - Candy Zumwult. This is the woman I was going to purchase Sadie (the black and tan bitch in the other thread). I roomed with her at the GSD Nationals in '06 and I would NOT hesitate to purchase from her! She is sweet, she is knowledgeable, she is
supportive she has nice dogs that aren't extreme. She is just an all around GREAT lady!!!!
[link
http://www.tsalishepherds.com/]Tsali Shepherds[/link] - Suzanne Kapp. She is the one that owns BIS BISS Ch Adelgard's Yancy D von Marquin HIC CGC HT PT RA CD TC BH (That's right,
BH). She also has Aussies. She is extremely active in GSDs and is ALL about the working aspect as well as the show aspect. She wants a GSD that can win in the show ring and win in the performance ring, and this crosses over into ALL her dogs, not just one. I met Yancy personally at the Nationals that year, and he was one HUNK of a dog! Correct in temperament, aloof but accepting, discerning, quiet, all male, nicely put together. Suzanne is a lovely lady as well
Are you saying the American dogs in general have better temperaments as companions?
No. When I recommend a line to somebody (and please keep in mind I don't know everything, I'm still a beginner, I just study carefully), what I am thinking about is activity level.
A German Shepherd Dog as a whole should be able to do any task you request it to do, including being "just a pet" and lounging on the couch. However, that is the thought process of an idealist, not a realist. The reality of it is if you're somebody who sits on the couch all day and has no real intention of getting your butt up off said couch, I wouldn't recommend a Czech dog. That's just cruel xD
I'm not saying American dogs don't require exercise and mental stimulation, because they do, but the degree to which they require it is substantially different from an East German, Czech, or West German dog.
Basically, as long as the dog has enough black on it, I will fall in love no matter what! (I don't like GSDs that have no saddle and/or too little black on their face).
That's poor pigment, and is actually a fault as per the standard xD
ETA:
I can tell you that I like the bigger dogs.
I only touched on the surface of this before, but wanted to add to it. "Big" is all a matter of perspective. My Old Man, Ranger, is 25 3/4" at the withers, the top end of the standard, however, he is not "big". To me, big = substance (How much body/bone the dog has). To others, "big" means tall.
My young male, Strauss, is "big". He's also tall (out of standard by an inch), but quite frankly, even if he were 4 inches shorter (making him SHORT for a male GSD), his substance would make him appear large.
Czech line males seem to be 24/25" tall, but they've got a LOT of body and a LOT of bone. They also don't have a lot of leg and can be a little long, which makes them low stationed, so they appear to be short, but they are still big.
East Germans tend to be more square, so they appear taller than they really are. They also have a lot of bone and substance (though not quite like the Czechs).
The West Germans are stacked so they appear short in loin (which is why some look so terribly roached...lots aren't nearly as bad as they appear in stack) and long in leg, so they look taller than they really are when in actuality their proportions are ok.
Follow?
Clear as mud right? xD