Why buy Working Bloodlines?

Copyright 2001

We have built our reputation by breeding quality working dogs and backing them up with a fair guarantee. One of the ways we have maintained the working ability in our bloodline is through German working bloodlines.

The Germans have maintained working ability in their bloodline through the sport of Schutzhund. In Germany you cannot register a litter of pups unless it has a Schutzhund working title. In Europe, a working title is either a Schutzhund title, a Herding title, or a Police Service Dog title. This means that if a dog does not have good enough temperament to obtain a title it cannot be bred. In addition, the German dogs are also required to get their hips x-rayed before breeding.

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Here in America, if your neighbor has an AKC registered dog and your other neighbor has an AKC registered dog, they can be bred and their pups can be registered. It does not matter if they are both dysplastic or if they are both fear biters that cower in the corner when a stranger approaches.

The German Shepherd Dog Club of America is as much to blame as the AKC for the downfall of the working ability in the American breed. While the people that are members of the GSDCA are very nice people, their only interest is in producing a dog that can run in circles and look pretty. They pay lip service to the temperament of the breed and the majority have no concern about the working ability in their breeding program. In my opinion the GSDCA are directly responsible for breeding the working ability out of the American Bloodline German Shepherds. They should rename their breed and call it the American Shepherd.

There is NOT ONE American bloodline that can consistently produce a police service dog. That is a very sad statement, but it is true. You can occasionally find an American bloodline breeder who will brag about having some of his dogs on a police department some place, but the sad truth is that if the dog is working as a patrol dog it does not belong there.

Most police departments don't have a clue in how to selection test a patrol dog. So when a local breeder offers to donate a dog (or sell a dog cheap) they jump on the opportunity. These dogs are taken through some form of training and then labeled "a police dog." The fact is that these dogs will not protect their handler if their lives depended on it. What's really bad is that many times these uneducated officers don't even know that if the going gets tough - their dog is not going to be there when they really need him.

Unfortunately the Germans seem to be moving in the same direction. The Germans have 2 separate sets of bloodlines in their country. They have their show lines and working lines. The 2 hardly ever cross. With 120,000 members of the German Shepherd Dog Club in Germany (the SV), there is a Schutzhund club in every small village.

These people are excellent trainers. They work their conformation dogs in prey drive from the time they are small puppies. This results in the show dog being titled in Schutzhund, but the titles are all done in prey drive. These dogs lack "fight drive." Basically, this means that the dogs look at Schutzhund as a game and the helper as a buddy to play tug of war with. The German show dogs lack "fight drive." They have had the fight drive bred out of them. They do not look at the helper as a fighting partner; they look at him as a buddy.

A Police Service Dog or a personal protection dog needs to have "fight drive" in his temperament. Fight drive is inherited; it is a genetic factor that cannot be trained into a dog. An animal either has it or it doesn't. Our dogs here at Leerburg Kennels are bred with fight drive in mind.

It is important that a new comer to the breed does not confuse "fight drive" with "bad temperament" or "handler aggression." These three are totally separate issues in a dog's make up. A dog can have excellent fight drive and still be very safe around children and in many cases even around strangers. A dog does not have to exhibit its fight drive until it is attacked or its owners are attacked. When that happens these dogs show the self-confidence to enter a fight with the knowledge that they can beat their attacker.

Dogs can have no fight drive and still have bad temperament. You only have to look at the American Shepherd to see this. Dogs can also be handler aggressive and have no fight drive. Many handler aggressive dogs show aggression through fear. This means that they have learned to show aggression when they are placed in a position that they are a little stressed. They don't understand what they are expected to do. They react to stress by biting the handler. This is not fight drive.

Our kennel is not the only good breeding kennel for working bloodline dogs. If you cannot afford one of our dogs, at least make sure you are buying German working bloodlines and not German show lines, and for sure, not American lines.

President of the German Shepherd Dog Club of America
If you would like to read an interesting letter of criticism about this article that I received from the President of the German Shepherd Dog Club of America (Daniel Smith), CLICK HERE.

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I had a customer send me the following e-mail. Nick is a professional dog trainer in Canada. His e-mail kind of goes along with this article:

My name is Nick Zevgolis and I'm a pet dog trainer in Montreal, Canada with a special interest in working dogs (police, search and rescue, narcotics detection etc...) Over the years in my practice, the most disturbing part is having to evaluate what is commonly known as a "fear biter" and recommend that the owners put the dog down, knowing that the poor dog never had a chance. Most of the time this could have been avoided had the people bought their dog from a breeder who emphasizes a proper temperament among other key characteristics. My point in writing this is to inform you that this will almost always come from a working dog breeder and rarely from a "show breeder."

In a working dog most breeders are mainly looking at Temperament, Drives, Nerves, health, train ability, and a willingness to please (depending on the specifics of the task intended). I will now explain these terms and explain how they differ between "show breeders" and "working breeders." If I offend anyone I'm sorry, that isn't my intention.

Temperament is what we could loosely define as the dogs day-to-day attitude. In a working dog most breeders want a Rock-Solid temperament. If a police dog is not stable around other officers on a search , of what value is he?? By contrast the only test of temperament that a show dog must go through is "stand for examination" by the judge. Even a spooky dog can be conditioned to pass this test with enough work (believe I know of many such cases.)

Drives are a dog's inherent desire to do, or perform something. A working dog must have these in abundance or he cannot ever be a reliable dog. A show dog has no need for any drive, all he has to do is be "baited" by liver while he is in the show ring.

Health is a major concern of any good working breeder. This is self-explanatory, if a dog is in poor health he cannot be used to perform the task at hand for any length of time. Why would department (who are all on a limited budget) invest money into an animal who cannot provide them with years of work. Believe me these dogs cost a couple of bucks, so they need to last. A show line German Shepherd Dog is so angulated that his chances for having hip-dysplasia are much greater. Just imagine the stress put on the dogs rear with that amount of angulation.

NERVES... Here is a key difference!!!!

A dog's nerves are important regardless of what function he will fill (pet, working dog...) if his nerves are shaky, he is at the least a difficult animal to live with, and at the worst a potential danger. A show dog's nerves are never truly tested so how can someone truly claim that their dog's have good nerves?? By contrast a working dogs' nerves are tested on a daily basis in training, competing, working, and changing environments in which to work.

Train ability, for a working dog is essential. Why would a trainer spend hundreds of hours on a dog , when the training time can be cut in half with a dog who isn't a knucklehead? Ask yourself what a show breeder ever had to train a dog to do other than be baited by food. Now to the average dog owner if your dog lacks true train ability, this isn't the end of the world, but why do it the hard way?

A pet dog owner does not need a dog with all the drive of a working dog, but a good working breeder can help you choose a pup in the litter that is a little more "toned down" and would make an easier house dog for your family. At least you can be assured of getting all the other positive traits.

Consider all this when looking for a dog and understand that once you've found the "perfect pup" it's easy to ruin him if you are careless in how you raise the dog. Get professional training and make a real commitment to your animal.

I just placed my female German Shepherd Dog into a new family because she lacked the drives I wanted in her in order to go on to "Doggy Ph.D.." work. But she is extremely stable and trust worthy and is living w/3 young boys in the house ( and all the friends that 3 young boys bring over!!). I do not have children, but I exposed her to them at an early age, and she is now a treasured companion and "Ice cream taste - tester" extraordinarily.

Do your homework and be careful. Best of all ask for trainer referrals, and try to find a private trainer to help you in selecting a pup from a litter. Train and socialize the heck out of your dog, and remember it's a lifelong process. It takes the right breeder, the right pup, the right owners, and the right trainer. If you get all this it should be an extraordinarily rewarding time for you and your family.

TESTIMONIAL:

November 2, 1999

First I would like to thank you for sending me the catalog of your videos we had discussed in earlier emails. My only problem is deciding where in my house I can make space for the complete collection!

Secondly, I want to applaud the article I just read on the conformation problems in the American GSD. I might have mentioned to you that I had and showed GSD's some 20 odd years ago and have just gotten back into the business in the past 2 years. I went to several AKC shows, and even showed my male, Eiko, a few times. (Eiko is line bred on Uran and Quando). The judges would complement him, but he was always passed over for a dog with extreme angulation and a flowing side gait. I've seen people bring young puppies to the show that stagger in the back because their angulation is so extreme. I've been appalled at the difference in the dogs I see today compared with those I saw so many years ago.

After reading a couple of the responses to that article, I would have to point out something that some of those individuals might find odd....if I have one of my dogs out with me in public, I get stopped constantly by people wanting to look at them, talk to them, touch them... The theme of their conversations is "wow, now that's what I thought a German Shepherd was supposed to look like. Why do you see so many that have hindquarters so much lower than the rest of them." I'm sure you can imagine my response to that.

In closing, I echo the comments I hear on my dogs when I look at the photographs of yours. Congratulations on developing a fine line, as well as for taking the time to publish so many educational articles. I look forward to reading more.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth Dunn

TESTIMONIAL:

September 21, 1999

Ok, I did receive your e-mail after you returned from your trip, thank you. I have read every article that you have, they are good and I am competent enough to understand each one of these. I do have experience with dogs. But!!!!!! in regard to the puppy I wrote about, I am very confused still. He is male, 5 months old, German Shepherd, Working/show line both. Not American, but German. He is huge, 60 pounds already, huge head and chest for his age. The neighbors call him little Grizzly. I wrote that some trainers said he looked fearful and too aloof and some who know Shepherds more said he looked Aloof, Confident and very Independent. I am having trouble deciding what work to do with him. I find him aloof, somewhat independent (but more of a don't bug me type attitude), very good with dogs, cats, kids and now most people he meets. But, he keeps popping up with this unsuiting behavior sometimes. He will choose a person he does not trust or like and really do something about it. First he just shows displeasure that they are close, then he barks, then he faces them and moves ever closer. When he was 11-15 weeks old he would keep running in, bite and retreat for another run in. He did his best to make them leave, of course not succeeding but would not give up or make friends. The person could be just sitting there minding their own business or even offering food. Of course he would take the food and go back at them again. No intention of making friends. Now at 5 months he likes way more people and is really great in obedience and general character everywhere he is. But, he still hates the same people he did when he met them before. He is not afraid to show it at all. Last night when we walked, this little boy in a battery type car was driving around the road outside by his house. Picture a real car but small and going about as fast as kid on a bike. He drove at us and veered enough to miss us as a joke. This little brat kept doing it even though I stepped onto the grass and told him nicely that that was rude and dangerous to do. The puppy had it and began to bark at the car, then growl, then he bit it on it's way by. He did not stop there, he was pulling and biting it very aggressively and turned and snapped at me for holding him back. He put his hackles up, and had a very deep growl and he was not himself anymore. The boy obviously left us alone. When I got the puppy to walk along again I could not touch him, he snapped 3 more times at me until he calmed down. What the hell is this? This is a dog who is really good except for his annoyance at certain individuals. It's like he has a level of patience, which comes to an end when challenged too much, by something he does not love or respect. Please give your opinion on this, I have a lot of work to do with this dog, and I need to place him in the right direction.

Thanks,
Liz

TESTIMONIAL:

October 31,1998

Ed,
I just read your commentary in response to Smith's letter condensing your stance on American bred German Shepherds. I don't know how long it has been on your web page and I am probably months, maybe a year, behind. But never mind.

Mr. Smith's defense of American bred German Shepherds and that AKC organization that is the registering body for them, is.......well, indefensible. The fact is, that you are right in your assessment that these people would not recognize a real 'pronounced' working dog if it bit them in the ass.

I constantly have this same argument with the counter part breeders to the American bred German Shepherd, the show bred German Shepherd that comes from German show lines. Because these people are constantly surrounded by other people with weak and inferior show line dogs, they do not know the difference. If all you see at training are weak dogs, that's all you have to compare your own dog to.

If you have ever seen the dogs that compete in our USA Sieger show, and I doubt that you would waste your time, you would know what an embarrassment the dogs are. These dogs are afraid to engage the decoy and they bite mostly out of fear. In the more than 30 Schutzhund trials I have attended, and I have been to local, regional, National, and World Championships, I see these show bred dogs go into the blind, back out, look for their handlers to come help them, not bark at all or if they do bark, it is an in convincing stress bark. On the courage test, they slow down before impact or veer off to the side to avoid the charging decoy. Their grips also deteriorate under the stick hits.

In the recent past history of the USA Sieger show, a highly touted dog was purchased from Europe for thousands of dollars. And I mean thousands. This same dog was run off the field, not once, but two consecutive years in a row, during the wispy courage test they do at our Sieger shows this occurred in front of God and everyone.

But what occurred after seeing this was even worse. People continued to breed to this dog. What possible type of logic could a person use to breed into this weak representative of the breed? What's more, how could the owner of this dog be so irresponsible as to keep breeding this animal? Unfortunately, this same mentality pervades the show breeders and perpetuates itself. For those of us in the 'working' corner, it's going to be a long uphill battle to educate those people. With people like Mr. Smith defending their position, I doubt if we ever will. To underscore my point, within the last month, I was having a discussion with a local show breeder. That person told me there was no such thing as 'working' lines or 'show' lines, and that it was all one breed. AAAAAAugh !!!!!

Anyway, you know by now that you are not alone in your opinions of the show bred German lines or the American bred Shepherd. Keep defending our position and informing the uninformed.

Your friend in Working Dogs,
Al Hudson
Southwest Dog Sport Asso.

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MORE COMMENTS:

Hi there,

I've been reading your site for only a short time now, just got the Internet a while ago. I love it!

I've been involved in the breed for around ten years or so and I am still learning more all the time.

I have how ever owned several dogs out of German Show/Working lines and they have always been very livable family dogs, no bouncing off the walls, but full of energy nonetheless. Very smart and no over angulation etc.

I have had many friends with dogs from the working lines, some of your dogs included, and when not bouncing off the walls they are asleep. I know that they must be high drive animals to do the sport etc., but to the general public, those not involved in the sport, most of them, I included, could not live with these dogs. Don't get me wrong, I love your dogs, I've seen many of them work. But I guess what I'm saying is, doesn't the show/working dog have it's place as well as the strictly working lines do?

I "baby sat" a litter of working lines for a friend of mine when they were from 3 to 8 weeks old, at her kennel during the day, and every time I came out of the kennel area I would come out bloody, and it wasn't from their nails being too long. They turned out to be excellent working dogs, a lot of them went on to get their schH titles etc. But again the general public who want family type dogs and who do not plan on working them, most likely couldn't live with them. So there must be the dogs for people who want a more laid back temperament. Am I wrong or don't I just get it? I hope not to offend you, only to inquire and get your valued opinion. I really do respect what you have done for this breed, and all that you have accomplished. Thank you for your time. If you would like to answer please feel free, I do value what you have to say.

My Reply:

I think that you need a little more experience with working dogs.

• Not all working dogs bounce off the walls. My stud dog (Otis) is certainly one of the best producing working dogs in this country or Europe. I have not seen any better stud than Otis. He is calm in the house and even gets along with my house cats. So do 2 of his sons that I am raising who are now 2 years old, (one being my current police dog), so you want to be careful about generalizing.
  
  
• You ask if there is a place for people who don't want working dogs. My answer is "yes" - but it should not be an American bloodline German Shepherd. There are other breeds (Golden Retrievers, poodles etc) that make excellent pets.
  
  
• The German Shepherd was designed to be a working dog. So in answer to your question about toning down some parts of the breed to make them better pets, do I agree? Absolutely not, you are talking to the wrong guy!! I have this in the same category as someone who goes out and buys a used corvette, which has an old Volkswagen engine in it.
  
  My wife drives a Volkswagen. She is not a dog trainer (although she loves dogs), she is not capable of handling some of my dogs. We accept that and don't try and push the envelope. More people need to realize their limitations. The bottom line is that most people can handle a female from working bloodlines.
  
  Not everyone can handle a strong male from my working bloodlines. I took two males back last week that were 2 years old. These dogs were sold as puppies. When they reached maturity the owners were not skilled enough to handle the rank issue with their dogs. Rather than risk a problem, they were wise enough to ask if I would take the dog back.
  
  
• In my opinion, dogs are a lot like kids and owners are like parents. The problems with many dogs are their handlers. There are a lot more handler problems than there are dog problems. Many people own dogs that should not. Just like many people are parents who should not be. To be critical of working dogs because of the people that own them are not good handlers is unfair.
  
  Would these peoples with a "lack of handler or training skill" be better off with a different dog? In some cases "YES," in some cases they would be better off not being dog owners.
  
  
• As far as working puppies drawing blood on your ankles - my advice is to wear pants. The mouthiness goes away at about 4 or 5 months.
  

I have always loved German Shepherds, owned one years ago, also owned Rotts, I purchased two pups this year, one all German from Von Waldenhaus lines and one that was about 75% German, her father all German (VA lines) mother about half German, well I am selling the all German female, she is six months old and too much. I have four kids and this dog is relentless. You may be right that they are working dogs but how many people want a german shepherd as a police dog. The other pup is wonderful, I think the American blood is not a bad thing. I have talked to many breeders that breed American and German bloodlines for a reason, not because they have to but because they believe it makes for a calmer pet. My breeder told me she used to do all German but quit because people were returning the dogs, they just couldn't handle them. I am sure these dogs were originally bred just for working but not everyone that wants this dog wants to do Schutzhund. I am sure you breed good working dogs, but these animals just are not calm enough to hang with children, and be calm. You also said if you want a calm dog then buy a poodle. Give me a break, most breeds were originally bred for another purpose but lifestyles have changed. We don't live on a farm, or need the dog to protect the flock. This doesn't mean we can't have a good shepherd as a family pet, to protect our homes, play with kids, and be a part of the family, all German Shepherds do not have to be police dogs, that kid of drive just doesn't work in the average American family. I don't support what the AKC has done to the breed but there are some good dogs, it is not fair to knock all American lines. Like I said, the pup I am keeping is mainly German but not 100% for a reason. My six month old German is driving us nuts, we don't want a working dog, the breeder should have been honest with me but I believe he just wanted the money. I also have heard of German dogs having hip problems, psycho, etc. Give me a break, all German dogs are not perfect, all American dogs are not crap.

Sincerely:
Mike Shive

ED'S RESPONSE:

You have a lot to learn – normally I would not bother responding to such an uninformed email.

To begin with, German VA lines are only slightly better than American lines. They are garbage – not one dog from any VA bloodline could ever do police service work and what you see in temperament from a VA bloodline is certainly not working bloodlines. I would not feed a dog in my kennel that came from VA lines. So it does not surprise me that you want to get rid of this dog.

Breeders that breed part German and part American bloodlines are nuts. This garbage breeding and it produces garbage, so you base your opinion on the German breedings on GARBAGE. Plus, you offer your worldly advice on the basis of two or three dogs – I have bred over 340 litters. I have slightly more experience than you.

I laugh at dummies that breed American bloodline dogs that say how hyper the German dogs are. What they are really saying is that “I am not much of a breeder – when I try breeding I breed dogs that have problems and I don’t know how to fix it.”

I am not stupid enough to say that the dogs I breed are for everyone. Not only that, I pick the litters that certain people get dogs from. The ONLY thing that you said that makes any sense is that not everyone needs or wants or can handle a dog that has the drive to be a police service dog. That is 100% accurate.

QUESTION:

Mr. Frawley-

I am part of an e-mail list, and I recently started a discussion about the AKC's affect on the working ability of the American bloodlines in some breeds. I was surprised to find out that none of the people who have so far responded are with me. My question is this; one of the members of the list said that dogs could be trained to do bite work, even if they were from a lousy bloodline. I maintained that that was impossible, or very difficult. Which of us is right? My other question is do you agree with me about the worthlessness of many American bloodlines?

Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,

Christian

ANSWER:

There is no American bloodline that can constantly produce a police service dog - not one. I have never seen an American bloodline dog that can pass a legitimate selection test. There are American bloodline dogs working on police departments that do not belong there. They would not protect their handler if the need arose. So when people say they know of an American bloodline dog that is a police dog - I will guarantee you that it falls into this category.

What you have found out is something I tell a lot of people - that is "EVERYONE HAS AN OPINION ON HOW TO TRAIN DOGS - THE PROBLEM IS NOT VERY MANY PEOPLE HAVE THE EXPERIENCE TO OFFER SOUND ADVICE - WHICH RESULTS IN A LOT OF BAD INFORMATION BEING PASSED OUT"

A dog can be trained to do sport work if it has good nerves and good prey drive. It is not uncommon to have a Schutzhund dog that only works in prey and has no defense.

Any dog can be trained to bite someone. All one needs to do it tie them to a fence and put them in fight or flight several times a day. The end result is a neurotic dog that will bite everyone. This was the kind of stupid training used 50 years ago.

Post this to that board and let the nay-Sayers sing. Post my name with it.

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