I was told the breeder I'm getting my puppy from that dogs from the German kennel of the pup's sire has a characteristic temperament: calm and stable but still maintaining high drives. Is this true? Can one actually predict (roughly) how a dog's temperament would be just by looking at the general temperament of his/her lineage or pedigree?

I'd say YES within some basic framework. There are some VERY good experts on this board that are 100's of times more qualified to speak on this than me, but personally I'd say that the claim has at least SOME credibility, depending completely upon which specific line, and from what specific kennel. What kennel(s), and what lines?

I think you're right kevin, some stud dogs are reproducing themselves for every litter ,therefore people& breeders know that yes for a fact they are reproducing the temperement of those dogs.My young male was told to me by the breeder what to expect with him and he was right on the money,he described what he would be like as a dog from the time he was pup.You can't say the same for every dogs, but if the breeder is honest , knows his line, has good breeding(match the mate well) than you can go by what a breeder tells you about what to expect out of his pups.

I can remember my father noticing the simplest things concerning what people were breeding. Such as a man who bred Drahthaars in the VDD, he built a wonderful concrete kennel for his breeding program, beautiful, well thought out kennel, yet less than 3 months later my father noticed that he had began placing wood flooring over the concrete runs, when asked why, the man stated that his dogs were wearing the nails down to the quick on the concrete. My father pulled me aside later that day and showed me the scores from the man's dogs, and what the scores were for about 70% of what the man was producing, and they were OUTSTANDING.
But THEN he pointed out what the man had said about the wooden flooring. Those dogs were excellent, but were also pacing in the kennels to the point where they were literally wearing thier nails to the quick, which to my father brought up the question of how would it be to live with a dog from that line, and just how stable were the nerves of a dog that it paced like that. I personally, would never have thought to be that observant, the dogs were beautiful, the scores were excellent, to my 14 yr old mind the deal was about sealed, everything was a go with a big GREEN light on it. To my father, there was ALOT more to the picture, 3 tours of K-9 handler in the Army from WWII through Korea had taught him a few things, and he probably forgot more than I will ever learn.
To this day I still pay attention to the details when looking for myself, or helping someone find a solid dog.
We in the Navy have an old saying;

"You get what you inspect, NOT what you expect."

---

If everyone is thinking alike, then someone isn't thinking.

Gen. G.S. Patton

In fairness to the dogs who were wearing their nails down... I honestly believe that most dogs become a bit neurotic if kenneled a lot. Some are extreme and some are mildly affected but every one of my dogs will act completely different when kenneled. So different, that many of our staff here don't even know who my dogs ARE when they are kenneled. The best house dog I have would probably wear her pads off if left in a kennel.

This is why we don't keep our dogs in kennel runs that much, and why we place our females in foster homes.

Nature vs. nurture.

Genetics give you the raw material to work with, but environment can make or break a dog.

I also think you do get what you expect in many cases, think about it. I once sold a pup that I didn't think had enough drive to do AKC obedience at any level, and the owners had such great expectations and put in the time with the dog (nurture) She became a national level SchH 3 FH competition dog.

I find that with my horses if I expect a certain behavior (bad or good) I typically get it. lol

Thanks for the advice guys. To Kevin, the dog I'm getting has lines predominantly from the Von Arlett kennel in Germany (Ulk Von Arlett line). I've seen the sire and dam and both are high energy dogs with Schutzhund titles. Guess I'll have my hands full preeeetty soon.

You are aware that those are show lines right? Is that what you were looking for?

Hi John, i own a showline dog and we love him, he's a big goober who would hate to do sport, doesn't have it in him. On the other hand i own a grim ps grandson (working lines) HUGE difference. Get what you're looking for the first time or you'll end up with a pack like i've got ,
AL

My own showline has Ulk von Arlett in his lines... n while I think one of two of his littermates would have potentially been good prospects for Schutzhund, I just don't see the point in buying a showline dog knowing you are going to do Schutzhund, unless you really really know the lines well n know how to pick a puppy. If you don't know these things and you are aiming for a working dog, then I would steer away from this breeding. If you want a cool family pet n do some bitework that may or may not ever result in a title, then showlines are a good option. I love my showline, but I don't expect anything from him, so what he gives me is all a bonus.

John,I think with a showline you can have a good Schutzhund dog and get some titles in your club trials ,have fun.Don't expect anything "extrodinaire" but a showline can definetely do Schutzhund but it's a combination of a good handler and a good dog to ge there.My showline tha tis now retired due to health issues was a Schutzhund 2 could have earned his 3 before he got sick. He was not an intense dog but he had enough to do the sport .I have all working lines now but I still like showlines.