In ten days my first GSD will be comming from Germany. From those of you more experienced I was wondering what to expect from my new companion. As far as attitude and handleing comming out of the crate. He is a Schutzhund1 black and red out of the Altenberger Land line. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

German showlines. Were you specifically interested in competing in schutzhund or a working dog in general? You're probably getting a dog that will be fine to play in schutzhund, nothing serious, but one that would be better suited to the show ring. I checked out their website, they do have beautiful dogs, and if you're interested in working ability I sincerely hope they still have some!

Diana,
What did'nt I see for a serious Schutzhund dog? His father is a schutzhund3 and sieger champ for 2005 and 2004

He's a serious show dog. By German SV regulations, all dogs going in the shows have to have some sort of schutzhund title. In order to go for VA they must have SchHIII. Do some searches on this forum and you'll sadly find that a showdog's SchHIII is like a walk in the park (or worse) while the working dog's SchHIII is considerably more strong, however the sport has been dumbed down a bit for the showdogs. I've been doing a lot of reading on it myself.

So you know what showdogs look like as you've already bought one (you've seen one, you've seen 'em all), look at the dogs on this website that Ed Frawley has and also look at these:
http://www.eurosportk9.com/ourdogs.asp
http://www.k9imports.com/Our%20Dogs.htm
http://www.kraftwerkk9.com/dogs_at_stud.php

Those are working line dogs. Unfortunately, there is a huge rift in the German shepherd and that's to say nothing of the American line dogs. There are some showline dogs that can do decent work, but for *real* work, serious work, you want to kick some arse and take some names in Schutzhund or dabble in more true-to-life sports, you need a working GSD.

You'll likely have a nice pet, a dog to play in SchH with, and probably a show prospect.

EDIT: I'm going to post some links for you of previous discussions regarding show vs working so you have your info coming from real experts. Here's an informative one that melts away into a soap opera of sorts, but it's still a good one: http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/4140783/page/0/fpart/all/vc/1
More slowly on the way, unless others beat me to it.
Another: http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/97919/page/0/fpart/all/vc/1
http://leerburg.com/germblod.htm Good article from Ed Frawley himself on the American showlines and a bit on the Germans, and how the real German shepherd dog really is intended to be.

Diana,
Can you suggest some sites that are strickly working GSD only

This one. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I would strongly suggest you post where you are so people can perhaps point you to a schutzhund club where you can go and meet some dogs and see them in action as well as talk to very knowledgeable people. I'm still learning all the ins and outs and am still learning the various dogs so I don't want to point you in the wrong direction. Hit up a club in your area and talk to people working the dogs. Nov. 10-12 in Gadsden, AL will be the Schutzhund USA Nationals. That would be a good one to go to for experience and exposure as well as see some (hopefully) good dogs.

Hi Charlie. Congratulations on your new dog! Hubby and I have two show line shepherds and we adore them (just like we adore the Beagle and the Mutt). Information others have shared is true in my limited experience. I think it is very fair to say that on average, the drives in working line shepherds are much higher then the drives are on average, in German show line Shepherds. That being said, every dog is still different. And quality training makes a huge difference.

Based on specific examples I have seen over the last couple of years, I think there are plenty of show line dogs out there that ARE capable of good Schutzhund work, but often the "race is on" to get the titles on paper. Sometimes short cuts are taken and sadly, I do believe some "cheatin" sometimes goes on. I really believe that this "race" overshadows the true potential in some of these dogs. Or maybe we just got lucky with the two we have. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Our male has turned out to be a perfect first SchH dog for my husband. His drives are decent, and his nerves are very strong. Will he ever be at the Nationals? NO. Will Gary learn a lot with him, and have strong potential to trial with him at the club level? Absolutely. Are we having fun? You bet!

Our showline female just earned her SchH1 right here in the USA, in the bright light of day, in public. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> She earned what to us are respectable scores of 88/85/86. Will she be a national contender? Nope. Am I looking forward to her coming home, and learning how to handle her? You bet!! Our next goal will be a SchH2 if both of us live long enough. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Will Gary and I ever have a working line Shepherd? Most likely some day!

SV style conformation shows are fun too - at least for us...

Enjoy your knew dog! I second the motion to find a good training situation as soon as you can.

Beth

Beth,
Thanks for the encouragement, this is how new I am I did'nt know there was a difference between a show line and a working line of dog. But as you say this dog being my first will be forgiving while I learn the sport.

 Quote:

Beth,
Thanks for the encouragement, this is how new I am I did'nt know there was a difference between a show line and a working line of dog. But as you say this dog being my first will be forgiving while I learn the sport.

When we got our female, we not only didn't know a show line from a working line (or that either even existed separately), we hadn't one single CLUE what Schutzhund was. We are just glad that we found a journey to enjoy together (me and Gary), with our dogs.

Dave said something on Saturday that I thought was very eloquent. This is probably not an exact quote, but it's close. "The Title should not be the end all goal. The Trial should feel like a celebration of the journey you have taken with your dog."

After two years of figuring out what this is all about for us, we have settled into enjoying the journey. The journey has become way more important than the titles or the trophies. (But titles and trophies are still pretty cool - like a good dessert!)

Enjoy the ride!!

Beth

Beth & Dianna are right. I think most of us probably started with a german show line or even american bred dog. The most important thing to do is have a lot of fun & learn as much as you can. You will be amazed at the bond you develop with your dog.