as a newbie to schutzhund and working line gsd's I have beentold to avoid Link/Mink/Fero linebred dogs due to some issues of dog aggression/fight drive/handler aggression.I am not sure what to think about this.Could someone here educate me on these dogs general traits they pass on as well as why they are so frequently used and linebred?

well......my 6 mo old female has link 3 times on her pedigree. my 3 yr old female has mink and fero on hers. my 1 yr old male has link and fero on his. i have not experienced any handler aggression what so ever, nor do i expect to. i think whoever told you this is in danger of making too broad of a statement. some folks seem to believe that it makes a difference which offspring of mink and fero a dog comes from. i would be inclined to agree with that notion as some are obviously going to produce better than others. there is also the matter of training to consider. a dog that is trained by motivational methods, with quick rewards and fair corrections would be less likely to take a chunk out of the handler than one that had suffered abuse. i would be reluctant to say that link/mink/fero = handler aggression. its just too broad of a statement and does not account for individual differences in dogs. there are a lot of other folks with these bloodlines, so it will be interesting to see what others have to say. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I totally agree with Patricia
Ron

this was more than just a couple of people and over a period of time.I honestly have been scared away from getting any pup or dog with them in their pedigree as I have cats and 15 an d9 year old kids and have no place for the possibiity of handler aggression because of the breeding of the dogs.Obviously no one can say no dog will ever bite, and especially if abused but why start with a line that may be predisposed to have traits I can not deal with? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

i don't get it! why do people bother posting if they have already made up their minds. the obvious would then be that they are looking for others to agree with them.

If you are getting Link/Fero/Mink from parents that are not handler aggressive I seriously doubt you will get a handler aggressive pup.


Look for a pattern of handler aggression, just having those dogs in the pedigree doesn't mean anything.

You're likely not going to linebreed on Mink down through three generations of nonhandler aggressive dogs and get a handler aggressive dog.

It will also come down to pup selection. Don't go for the dominant pups, choose others who are more submissive and passive in their pup tests.

I have a 7 month old mink bred female, with one of minks harder son crok, she has no problem with that, I also have a fero bred male and he is great with my kids who are 6 8 9 14, I think you should get a fish or stay with the cats, because none of my dogs are bad with my kids, but im a very responsible working dog owner, my kids no what they can and can't do with the dogs!!!

carolyn, in another thread you expressed your dismay at a well known trainer making generalized statements about czech dogs. it appears to me that you have made the same sort of statement about certain bloodlines in this thread. i'm just saying that it is never good to make such generalized statements about any bloodline. heck, dogs vary greatly within a single litter let alone an entire bloodline. if it were that easy to pigeon-hole dogs it would be a cinch to breed and train them because they'd be carbon copies of their ancestors. it just doesn't work that way. VC offered some sound advice on choosing a pup. i would suggest you use his advice whether you decide on a czech, german or belgian pup.

boy just like with hotrse forums you cant sayanything without having someone get touchy about their chosen lines.I personally do not see why people can't be objective about their own lines. The fact that a couple of you came back with some rather rude replies makes me wonder if thereis not some truth with what I had heard or you would not be so quick to get defensive! My horses were not perfect and I know their strengths and weaknesses and they are not for everyone.Does not mean they are poor quality nor does it mean better either.I have seen some Fero line dogs that looked nice.But if you were new like I am had had heard what I had you would be asking questions like crazy too.Would yourather I just get the dog and place him a few months down the road due to not doing my homework first? At this point I am looking at czech/ddr lines but does that mean never a dog from other lines as that would be very short sighted and narrow minded from a breeding perspective. And if you think czech/ddr dogs are junk fine that is your right too but people please stop taking things so personally or we can't learn.

Carolyn,

I think what you will see is that, for specific reason, some people like specific lines. And will stay with those lines no matter what, for whatever reason.

And then there are those who look at what the dog has to offer. And might change their opinion on the lines.

It also depends on who the dog comes through. A dog from Fero, not through Troll would be a different dog than through Troll. And what about the dam side?

We have two males, one from Mink and one from Fero. The Mink one (Dax) is Mink - Jago- Rosko and is a schmooze. He wants to please the handler and pushes to work - I am working him now and love it. And he is Grim on the bottom. No handler aggression at all.

we have one from Fero through Troll and one from Fero through Cliff and Illo