What lines would the board recommend for my situation. Here are my needs:
-Family dog: great with kids
-Dog that is easy to train
-tracking for downed deer (blood tracking)
-stable in house setting "not bouncing off the walls"
-novice to gsd's
I know that my needs are vauge, but your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thank-you,

With those requirements, why get a GSD at all? You'd be better served by most of the hunting/ sporting breeds instead.

Perhaps a Lab would work out great as I have one & it has no problem in finding deer that have been downed. Plus if you think that you would ever try duck hunting you get to see him smile lol

I realize that a hunting breed may be a good choice, but that is not what I really want. I was merely wondering if german working lines or German show lines would be better suited for my situation. Also, I may ad that I would be intrested in giving schutzhund a try.
Thanks....

If your heart is set on a GSD then, with your requirements, pretty much an AKC GSD would do for you.
A Working Lines dog would be waaay overkill for what you want, and a German Showlines are often a bit nervy ( plus are usually *very* over-priced for what you get )

Well, I don't quite agree to steer clear from working lines. I also don't agree looking to an AKC type GSD as most I've seen have lost a lot of their scenting ability. I especially don't agree with getting a hunting bred Lab...that's Tigger on speed!

I'd personally recommend an East German bloodline dog, if you can deal with a slow maturing dog. They're usually not a ping the walls type that a lot of West German lines (especially bred for sport) can be. My experiences with DDR line dogs shows them to be more confident of themselves, good tracking ability, great looks...however, they do require a special understanding and patience to let them mature. Quite a few tend to be a little handler sensitive (do not confuse this with the dog not being hard...hard towards the decoy/assailant/attacker you want, hard towards the handler you don't, especially if it's your first GSD) so they can be a bit easier to handler for newer owners. They also tend to be more civil, don't care for protection games as much so their trigger threshholds aren't as low, and they make good loyal dogs.

Many might disagree with me, however I've not been one for following others. I've had good experiences with Czech & DDR dogs and like them better than WGR line dogs...others have not been so fortunate (some here have seen a lot of crap dogs and extremes from all lines).

Will. . .you're freaking fired! SHAME ON YOU!! http://tcwozere.co.uk/smileys/ac39.gif http://www.2ni2.com/emoticon/serio/seriobronca.gif http://www.iamviet.com/forum/images/smilies/smilie_nono.gif






I can't believe you suggested an American line dog.

Holy Mary mother of God, don't even THINK about getting an American bloodline dog.

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You absolutely, without question, want a working line dog.

Just shoot for something calm, with high scenting instincts, and good balanced drives. There are a lot of US working line breeders who produce exactly what you're looking for.

Middle drive level, decent scenting abilities, easy to handle, club level play at SchH type of dogs.



Don't touch a German Showline dog, don't even look at an American AKC showline dog.

I like Mike's DDR suggestion, but also would offer for your consideration this. . .talk to a few good breeders and tell them exactly what you want.

There are usually two or three nice pups in every working litter who could fit the bill.




Is it a puppy you're looking for, or a young adult?

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I second the idea of talking to a breeder of working lines. I have a Czech/W.German working lines female who is not super driven or hyper. She is easy to please...get up and go when I want her to -or- just willing to hang out with her people. We do train a lot in obedience, but just for fun. She fits perfectly into our family. I wish you luck in finding a pup that works for you <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Robert,
If people are looking mostly for a pet and have don't have much work requirements, that's what I suggest. A club level dog would be more than most people in his situation would need or what, especially as a GSD novice who may or may not do SchH. I'd send my clients to AKC obedience breeders that specialized in obedience dogs ( not that pet level GSD people even say "boo" to me <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> ).

Recommending a Working Lines dog, even a calm one, could end up making a novice GSD owner unhappy. If the new owner decides that SchH or another sport is too much work ( and let's be honest here - the drop out rate for new SchH trainers is very high when they see the time commitment involved ) the dog is not going to get the level of exercise or work that it needs, and it will not be a good situation for all.

I'm trying to be realistic for what is best for this potential owner and dog with the information that he's given us.
Hey, I'd like to see everyone with a Working Lines GSD ( since I work and breed them, of course ) but different dogs for different owners and requirements - that's the truth of the matter when dealing with various clients.