Quote: Mike J Schoonbrood

they require a working title on the dogs to breed, but they don't require a show title, requiring both will destroy the breed.

The SV does require the dog to have at least a show rating of G to be bred.

Interesting, had never heard that before. What is G? Based on the working line GSD's out there I'll bet it can't be too tough

Ohhh...let me see if I get this. I'm talking about this within the context of the SV-Sieger Show. In order to breed, the dogs must pass working titles. Check. After that, if the dog ALSO LOOKs GOOD, they get the VA and so on and so forth? So, the working lines don't get to become siegers 'coz they do great work buy they don't look good is that it?

G = Good
SG = Very Good
V = Excellent
VA = Excellent Select

Example of a SG dog

"G" just means good, in terms of conformation.
"V" is excellent and "VA" is even better, I believe.

Again, this is from the SV people's (judges') point of view. Frankly, unless you're used to seeing the extremes in structure of the showline dogs, your first reaction to seeing a champion showdog is usually along the lines of "What's wrong with that dog's back?!?!?!?".

Applies to both the American and German showlines... granted, the German showlines look nicer than the ugly American show dogs, but the bizarre structure with the roached backs and curving spines is still not structurally sound.

Working shepherds are the most beautiful dogs to look at. They move freely and powerfully and have much better balance, agility and fluidity in their movements than the oddly shaped showline dogs

For breeding, the GSD must earn a Conformation Rating of G (good), SG (very good), V (excellent) or VA (excellent select), this is the letter before the dog's name. They must also earn a SchH title before they are granted a show rating. For the Breed Survey (Kkl), the dog has to have it's hips certified, dentition noted and have the AD (endurance title).

Showline breeders breed with the emphasis on conformation. They breed in hopes of producing dogs of excellent conformation hoping they can pass the minimum working requirements for breeding.
Working-line breeders breed with the emphasis on working characteristics with the goal of good health, solid temperament and strong drives, and if the dogs have good conformation, great, if not, oh well.

There are working-line dogs that go V rated, and some working line breeders use V-Rated dogs in order to improve/mainatin the correct conformation of their lines. Here is a good example of a V rated working dog:

V Andy vd Bildsaule SchH3, FH, DH2, WPO

He was a V rated (conformation) SchH titled Police Dog with the Ddvanced Tracking Title.

Really, tell me what's prettier than a working line dog barking at your face.

 Quote: Kristine Velasco

Really, tell me what's prettier than a working line dog barking at your face.

You mean like this? http://www.vonsidener.com/fetzbarkandhold.jpg

That picture of Fetz was taken at the last Flinks seminar that Ed held - it was a great experience for all!

Will, do you have videos of Fetz that you could post? Would love to see him in action.