Well, no matter what he is, American\German, he is a great dog.. I suppose that is all that matters at this point. If I were wanting to work him as a police dog etc, i suppose it would be an issue.

Thanks everyone for your response.

Amber et. al.,

The breeder I bought my dog from imports and sells German working line and show line adult dogs. So far, he only breeds the working lines, but he sells both. On his site he has videos of his dogs, and in a couple of the videos of GSDs he identifies as from German Showlines the sloped back is very evident. So I don't think it is just American lines that have this characteristic.

Rich, it is most likely the way your breeder stacked the dogs giving them the appearance of a sloped back. The true sloped back GSD is peculiar to the American lines & is disdained by just about every German breeder (show line or working line). The slope is caused by extreme angulation.

I'll send you a PM with the link to the videos so you can watch them yourself. The dogs are shown walking and running, not stacked.

Susan and Rich, just so you aren't disappointed, here's a picture of a horribly sloped/angulated American show shepherd. Yeah he's stacked pretty extremely, but you can clearly tell how he's built despite that: http://www.gentlesoulsshepherds.com/deformities/americanshowline1.jpg

And an American show female: http://www.gentlesoulsshepherds.com/deformities/americanshowline2.jpg

(Didn't have to go far to find those; they're both from breeders right here in my city)

 Quote: susan tuck

The true sloped back GSD is peculiar to the American lines & is disdained by just about every German breeder (show line or working line).

Um, American show shepherds that tend to do well in the show ring are horribly angulated, yes. However, many of the successful German show shepherds are equally hideous in their build. Their trademark is the atrocious roach shape in their backs. It looks like a dog in the front end connected to a toad in the back end.

All the dogs pictured below are German show lines.

Here: http://www.gentlesoulsshepherds.com/deformities/germanshowline1.jpg (The dog isn't even stacked here, it's moving freely... look at that back!!! How is that not a deformity?)

Another one, looks like a slope to me: http://www.gentlesoulsshepherds.com/deformities/germanshowline3.jpg

Just as weirdly angulated in the back end as the American show shepherds: http://www.gentlesoulsshepherds.com/deformities/germanshowline4.jpg

Another one, again this is the dog's shape, not the stack: http://www.gentlesoulsshepherds.com/deformities/germanshowline5.jpg

...and more roaches: http://www.gentlesoulsshepherds.com/deformities/germanshowline6.jpg

http://www.gentlesoulsshepherds.com/deformities/germanshowline7.jpg

It's sad to see puppies this young so badly deformed: http://www.gentlesoulsshepherds.com/deformities/germanshowline8.jpg


You get the picture... amazing how these terrible deformities become so ubiquitous in shepherds as soon as they start getting judged in the show ring! Aren't these dogs supposed to be bred for looks? Who finds THAT attractive, exactly?

The odd thing is that I didn't even go out there looking for deformed shepherds. I just did a quick search on German shepherd breeders on Google and clicked on all the breeders who say they breed for "looks" and "conformation" and from "German working lines" (yeah, apparently the roaches are called working lines by these people).

Then again, when a site advertises "Shepherds for work, pet or show", you can kinda see what's coming

Yuko,

I see the angulation. What is meant by "roach"?

Roached dogs look like they have a hump in their backs (almost like a camel).

American show dogs have straight sloping backs and the German show dogs have a weird curvature in their back (kind of like a banana shape).

http://www.gentlesoulsshepherds.com/deformities/germanshowline1.jpg

You can see that their spine isn't straight, it's curved downwards (high in the middle of the back and very low in the back). It makes the dogs look like they're trying to poop all the time (sorry, that's just the image that comes into my mind as a dog owner )

I'm no expert on angulations and such, but those dogs certainly look deformed to me.

If anyone has any insight as to why any breeder in their right mind would choose to breed such dogs, please explain.

 Quote: yuko blum

You get the picture... amazing how these terrible deformities become so ubiquitous in shepherds as soon as they start getting judged in the show ring! Aren't these dogs supposed to be bred for looks? Who finds THAT attractive, exactly?

The odd thing is that I didn't even go out there looking for deformed shepherds. I just did a quick search on German shepherd breeders on Google and clicked on all the breeders who say they breed for "looks" and "conformation" and from "German working lines" (yeah, apparently the roaches are called working lines by these people).

Then again, when a site advertises "Shepherds for work, pet or show", you can kinda see what's coming

That is what I meant when I said this:

 Quote: Amber Morgan

It is my opinion that SOME breeders of working lines here in the states DO put a little emphasis on what the dogs look like because more and more working line dogs are becoming popular as pets, because they are becoming known for their good qualities (such as health and temperament).

And when people are looking for pets, looks count to many people. So, in an effort to sell pups, *some* working line breeders that I've seen on the internet are emphasizing the dog's looks.

As the working lines are starting to get their much deserved applause, it's important that breeders remain true to what got them the applause in the first place--or the working lines will slowly suffer the fate of the American show lines.

My comments should have included the German showlines as well. But I don't think that in Germany, their showline dogs were roach backs. Some breeders in the States are mixing the German and American Showlines, and breeding to appeal to the AKC eye, IMO.

I hope that real working breeders wouldn't start mixing with show lines, that would be a waste if they had good working bloodlines to start with.

Actually, those German show dogs in the pictures I linked to are all pure German showline - none of them have been mixed with American lines. I've watched a few sieger show videos from German competitions and I definitely see the roached backs. Again, I have no clue why the judges keep selecting those dogs as winners...

Amber, when I said "German working lines", I was just poking fun at the breeders who advertised that despite breeding showlines

They were NOT working line dogs, they were all 100% German showline. Not saying there's anything wrong with the showlines as pets, but I think it's misleading for the breeders to say that they are breeding from working lines just because of the schutzhund titles. The dogs are clearly show lines.

So far the real working line dogs are the most beautiful and impressive ones I've seen. Funny, they aren't bred for looks yet are the best-looking of the bunch.

Beauty in function...? Is that how the expression goes? :-)

Well this clears things up about my rescue too....he definitely has a roached back.....hence the description of him as something out of a Tim Buton movie......'sigh' well he is at least a sweetheart and I'd rather have him living here than put down for getting frustrated by life in the shelter. :-)