Those awful-looking slopeback GSDs are all over the place in Finland.

The first time I saw one, I wondered if it had super-bad hips or something. Then, I kept seeing more and more of them, and some of these were young dogs that shouldn't have been dysplastic. It was then evident to me that this defective-looking shape was being bred on purpose. The animal just looks so weak like that, like you could step on its rear end and kill it instantly or something. As they walk along it's as though they are slinking in a less-than-attractive way, and the rear end is almost being dragged along by the front.

When I kept seeing dogs like that, I said to myself: if that's what german shepherds are like these days, I never, ever want one!

Fortunately, it turns out that there are still people breeding real ones! =p

http://westminsterkennelclub.org/videos/largeplayer.html?xml=wkc2006.xml&video=herd|germshep
That's a video from the 2006 Westminster Kennel Club dog show of the German Shepherd Dog breed judging. You can clearly see the troubles these dogs have with turning and stability in the rear. Even when walking they're really shaky. It's so sad. I want to cringe in pain whenever a dog stands with the hock flat on the ground. If they're OFA passing or better, their ligaments must be shot.

I just watched about half of that video.

That was just.... WRONG. I feel like I could go on and on about how weird and wrong those dogs look, both while the dogs are standing and moving.

They could replace the music in that video with circus music and it would work better.

Totally disgusting, & to think that is supposed to be AKC's finest. Hocks on the ground, paddling in the front & fat as slugs. I guess it is a good thing the rings are too small to properly gait a GSD because those dogs couldn't make it once around anything larger.

Those dogs look like two different breeds stuck together in the middle, GSD in the front and ???????? in the rear. I have pictures of West Coast Shepherds from the 50's, 60's, and 70's (my aunt owned a breeding kennel). What some breeders have done to the German Shepherd Dog is sick and wrong.

I also had a hard time telling who was male from female, aside from catching views of packages. From the face, they all look bitchy. It's a shame. To be fair, some of them had really nice color. I know it's the last consideration but they did look well pigmented (black and tan-wise, not black and red) and shiny. Pretty much all they had going. You could tell a lot of dogs got a bit worried when the judge bent over them to give them hearty scritches. Lots of lip licking and anxiety. That was disheartening. I also noticed how chunky they were, unfortunately it's a trend in all show dogs. Thick and stocky and solid is the norm, a lithe, agile dog is seen as thin, weak, sickly. I know of several American line breeders that title in AKC herding and agility and it's amazing these dogs can even move. Kudos to them for trying to keep some intelligence in the breed, but a healthy working line will still be begging for more long after the American line tires out.

The other sad thing, no gripping in AKC herding events. Pfsh. Why is there only *one* HGH place in this whole country!?

You know what I really love? "Oh I don't want a high energy dog, I don't need a working line or German show dog or anything like that, just a pet." Okay, well.... get your grubby paws off the GSD breed, there are some lovely toys and nonsporters over that way, even retired racing greyhounds would be thrilled to become couch cushions. It's not just the AKC, it's them and the oft-clueless pet mentality. The sporting dogs got ruined quite thoroughly; on a non-dog forum, someone lamented about his labrador killing his pet birds. Gee, I wonder why that happened?! <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

Bravo Diana, well said! There is another forum which posed the question, "What is the role of the modern GSD?". It seems an alarming number of people want a dog that looks like a shepherd, but acts like a golden. I think this is a problem perpetuated by American line breeders. They want to & have succeeded in watering down the breed to appeal to the masses. Between that & exagerated features (refined heads, elongated necks, extreme angulation), they have turned the dog into a different breed. I agree with those who want to change the name & sepereate into a different breed. I remember when the Border Collie people campaigned for AKC membership. I knew a lot of people who fought against it, & they were right. It didn't take many years for there to be a huge gap between working BC's & showline fluffball BC's.

GSD-German Shepherd Dog. ASB-American Slope Back

 Quote:

It didn't take many years for there to be a huge gap between working BC's & showline fluffball BC's.

Ah, the magic of AKC. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> It'll be a sad, sad day when an AKC border collie won't know what to do with sheep. I still can't get over what they've let happen to setters and spaniels.

How can this floppy jowled, melty-headed, cobby dog really be better than
this?

I like what someone else here invented to call the American GSD- the "American Show Shepherd." Great abbreviation. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Ahh yes. The name "American Show Shepherd" does have more style. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />