I just wanted to know what are people's experiences with the old z Pohranicni straze dogs and the fact that they are not being bred under this name anymore. It seems to me that this great old blood line is sadly disappearing.

I haven't heard of it before. Where did you learn about the breed?

It's not a breed. It's the old bloodline for the Czech Republic border patrol dogs (Gsd's).

Yes, it is sad in a way, but keep in mind that there is probably a great deal of difference between fact and fiction re: these dogs, and I think many times, "legends" are just that.... Sure, there were some great dogs, but talking to people who actually met them and competed against them "back in the day," many, if not most, were not all they were cracked up to be. And there are still great dogs today. I think we tend to romanticize the past a bit more than we should sometimes. JMO.

Besides, if you don't "refresh" or expand a bloodline, you are inviting trouble after a while...see the Am GSDs.

I'm actually lucky enough to own one and, I may be a little biased, but I believe she is awesome.

I also have seen video of some of the "legends" like Norbo, Gep, Chuligan, Balli and OMG! They seem fearless, but that's JMO, since I'm not an expert.

Just wanted to know what have been people's experiences with them .

The z Pohranicini straze was a government controlled kennel before the wall came down and the Czech Republic and the Slovic (sp) Republic were one and the same. (aka the Communist government)
Many of the Czech dogs still have that breeding in their background.
When the wall came down, that's when the Czech dogs became popular. (over popular)
Wish VC was watching. He's a wiz on the GSD history. Probably slap me for mistakes I just made in trying to explain the Czech dogs. LOL!

Both of my GSDs have a lot of ZPS dogs on their separate dams' sides.

Didn't the AM bloodlines get watered down because they started focusing more on exaggerated form than function and working ability?

Since you say the Czec became overpopular, do you feel they are suffering from some of the same circumstances as the AM? I ask since my current dog is an AM/German cross (love her!) but I was leaning heavily towards Czec for my next one.

What criteria needs to be met to determine 'good' working bloodlines in the Czec dog? Is it just lineage or what else is being looked at?

The problem with Czech lines is the same problem as with every other line of working dog, of any breed.

Lots of idiots breeding dogs that shouldnt be bred.

Why? Because most people dont know squat about breeding ("professional" breeders included), and are thus churning out dogs that are nothing like they should be, because too many people are looking for a "working puppy" that can be "the perfect house dog". Just look at the abundance of posts on this forum over the years of people complaining that their working puppy bites. Well, yes, that is what they are bred to do. I wouldn't want to own a working puppy that didn't want to maul me for the first year or so. Unfortunately, the vast majority of working dogs in the US are sold to pet homes. I know of a breeder in the US that produces what I consider to be phenomenal "only for the experienced handler" type dogs, and in order to place all his pups he has to accept non working homes. People want to put the dogs down thinking there is something wrong with them because they are so intense. This is actually the primary reason why one of my friends in Holland won't sell their pups to the US -- they are worried that people will put the dogs down instead of shipping them back.

These are the types of dogs that need to be bred to keep breeds strong, unfortunately there are not enough people doing this and not enough people willing to own these dogs. There will always be pet quality dogs out of working litters, what disappoints me is when a working litter is bred with the GOAL of producing pet quality dogs. That is where things start to go wrong.

I have an all Czech dog with recent zPS lineage (Maternal grandfather- Grim) and could not be happier. I am not sure what the Czechs were up to *over there* but most the ones I have met in the past 5-6 years have been solid dogs with good working temperaments.

I think they did a pretty good job of *not* inbreeding too much becauase the ones I have known seem healthier in general.

 Quote: Mike J Schoonbrood

Lots of idiots breeding dogs that shouldnt be bred.

You can say that again...