Quote: carol boche

Nahhhhh, not when you have good ones (GSD's that is).

I will say that they very well might be great "all around" dogs, but you have not had a real dog until they have eaten your couch....although stealing your pants is a close second....

How about raiding your laundry basket because you didn't put it away right away and eating your thong? How's that for teaching you a lesson? Not to mention waking up at 5:00am to the pre-puke chugging when he decides that that snack doesn't agree with his stomach! They never fail to humble you.

GSD's can do everything a Mal can do.

They just do it a little slower and dopier

It seems like a mal would be far too much to handle for me. I enjoy training my dog but I also like him to relax and settle down once his work is done. I'm sure even a workingline gsd will be a huge step up for me but maybe easier if it's a bitch?

I think if there was a FR or mondioring club nearby that might sway my decision to the mal but there's not so I think a gsd will be best for the next few years. The mal still seems like something special as nearly everyone here who has one says they won't go back to the gsd....

I'm sure even a showline gsd will seem like a ball of energy and drive in comparison to my lazy showline rottie.

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I'm sure even a showline gsd will seem like a ball of energy and drive in comparison to my lazy showline rottie.

As long as you don't get a showline GSD to do work with you'll be fine

I'm definitly aiming towards workingline but there are tons of them showline breeders about all trying to persuade me that their dogs can work(sch3 titled) and workingline will be too much for me. Hopefully logic will conquer emotion!

Don't listen to them. They are full of ****.

There are a few that can do it, but they are few and far between. I would never take the chance on a showline puppy to actually grow up to do the work.

There are plenty of working GSD's out there all across the range of energy and drive. The problem with the showlines is not so much the lack of drive, although that certainly is a huge factor, but the lack of will-to-please, focus (attention span) and most importantly: nerves (or lack there of).

 Quote: craig brown

I'm definitly aiming towards workingline but there are tons of them showline breeders about all trying to persuade me that their dogs can work(sch3 titled) and workingline will be too much for me. Hopefully logic will conquer emotion!

I have two workingline GSDs - Our training focuses on obedience and agility. My older girl, Grace, was great for a first time handler. She is easy going, pleasant to train, and thinks I'm the best thing on earth. She settles easily in the house, is friendly, and can truly go anywhere and do anything. On the other hand, Kira is a fireball. Very high energy, super intelligent, very fast learning curve, a little sharp...and yet, she can still settle in the house after appropriate exercise (usually "thinking" exercise works...) She was a challenging puppy to raise, but I just kept telling myself that she was going to be the best dog I've ever had and she is fantastic, really. SO...my point is...don't listen to those showline breeders lol! Workingline is the only way to go!

Tearing into the couch is fine but tearing into the bad guy/decoy is what it's all about.

Craig, I vote for the working line GSD (of course ). People may like their Mals but there's nothing like a GSD for oh so many reasons. There is someone here that currently works with Mals in real life work, dangerous work. He has also worked with GSDs. He told me he wants to get a GSD for a quality he doesn't see in the Mals. Namely the loyalty and deep bond that you get with a GSD. So from him, someone who has worked extensively in real life scenarios with both breeds, he wants a GSD.

As a long time GSD owner, it doesn't surprise me. There's a depth to a GSD that I love. They're also great communicators with their owners (if you listen and pay attention). And, they can do the work too!!! So get yourself "man's best friend", in more ways than one - the GSD!

 Quote: Craig Brown

I'm definitly aiming towards workingline but there are tons of them showline breeders about all trying to persuade me that their dogs can work(sch3 titled) and workingline will be too much for me. Hopefully logic will conquer emotion!

The difference between show line and working line GSDs work ethic is most evident in the joy and intensity displayed by the working line dog on the schutzhund field and in life in general. The show line dogs are more easy going and laid back.

Keep in mind working line GSDs are not for everyone just as Malinois and Dutchies are not for every one. If you only have time to work a dog on the weekends, you will most likely end up with a bored GSD who will find something destructive to do with his spare time. If you want a dog for the weekends a show line GSD would be better for you.

My current 2 year old working line GSD is very typical - at least when compared to all the working line GSDs I have had in the past. If I cannot work him for one day, he doesn't like it....if I can't work him the second day, he becomes very vocal and antsy and is starting to look for trouble.......if for any reason I can't work him come day three, he must be kenneled because he will begin to destroy things.

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He told me he wants to get a GSD for a quality he doesn't see in the Mals. Namely the loyalty and deep bond that you get with a GSD. So from him, someone who has worked extensively in real life scenarios with both breeds, he wants a GSD.

I hear that from a lot of people, I get why some people think that, but it is a horrible generalization. Not only do you have to take the individual dog into account, but also the handler. I don't like Pitbulls or Rotties, other people think they are the greatest dogs in the world. Is that to say that the GSD is better than a Rottie because I feel more in touch with a GSD?? Not at all, it is just the type of personality in a dog that I get along with better. I feel more in tune with a quick thinking quick reacting super agile dog.

Because someone does "real life dangerous work" with the dog doesn't make their opinion more true than anyone elses, because it is individual taste. I know people who have trained GSD's, Mal's and Dutchies, they prefer Dutchies over all other breeds. They do "real life dangerous work" too. So which of these people that do "real work" with their dogs is right??

Selecting a dog breed is a very personal thing and nothing irritates me more than people who make that same statement you just put forth. I hear it all the time and its incredibly misleading.


Edited by Mike J Schoonbrood (12/31/1969 06:00 PM)
Edit reason: Added PS