After reading about the white GSD and establishing that they are not good working dogs, I was wondering about the black GSD. I've seen quite a few in schutzhund work and wondered how you rate them.
The same as for any other GSD. No-one, except for a few nutso breeders, breeds specifically for black dogs, so they're no better and no worse than the rest of the GSD population.
Ed Frawley Administrator Reg: 07-11-2001
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Eric - where did you hear that breeders do not like solid black dogs because they hide pigment problems? I have bred my share of blacks and never heard or saw this in any of my litters.
I have not only never heard this but I just bought a solid black as my next stud dog ( a Sch 3 Pike son http://leerburg.com/aiko.htm ) I have looked for a year for a new stud dog. I turned down more dogs than I can remember. The fact that he is black was of no interest to me - his genetics were the most important feature.
I will say that the biggest issue is that a lot of people simply do not like solid black dogs. I know people who would never accept a black puppy. Thats a personal decision on their part.
Eric- If this is a showline breeders mentality, it serves as another small example of why there has been such a major decline in working ability of Am bred Shepherds. This statement is not meant to be a personal attack. The publics desire for pigment over charactor is the issue.
Some people breed to black dogs thinking they will get better pigment. This is not necessarily true. If there are light dogs in the pedigree the black will be black regardless and hid the loss of pigment. If you then breed the black with light ancestors to a black & tan, a bicolor that is light or a light sable your very likely to get very light dogs. Most working dog breeder still want well pigmented dogs. If the black has well pigmented dogs behind it you have nothing to worry about. If you don't care you also have nothing to worry about. I must confess I would rather breed darker pigmented dogs of course not at the expense of working ability.
Breeding to a black often improves the black mask and saddle. I have also seen the show dogs that have red all through their saddle produce lighter dogs.
Some breeders feel you get the best transmission of pigment from having sables, bicolors and black and tan's in the pedigree. Continued breeding of sable to sable or black and red to black and red slowly decreases pigment. To mix it up improves pigment. I don't know if this is true.
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