Some of you on here know the pedigrees by name here?? I look at the names and pedigrees and all I see is a bunch of Von "Blah Blah" and Von "what-ever"??

Does this come by just being part of the Schutzhund community ofr a long time or is there serious research involved? I rember seeing a post about a Pedigree Search site here once?

Do you guys know the american, german champs and finishers and relate the pedigree to those statistics or... I guess I'm amazed at the depth of some of your knowledge.

I'm new (very New) to the whole working-dog Schutzhund scene and I just et frustrated when I don't understand somethings that seem to be simple to the rest of you??

Ok just wondering here???

Time and patience!

I'm still learning about good bloodlines just as you.

I'm also sure the experienced breeders with years of effort will tell you that they are still learning, too.

Research, watching dogs, remembering dogs, research, watching dogs, remembering dogs...

That's what I thought. I thought, perhaps, there was a site or book(s) that were published (found one website) that broke it down by line or something that people referenced??

Ok, I'll just keep reading??

Thanks

It helps to go the trials, national or world competitions, seminars ect..
You'll see dogs that you read about, hear about, or have seen on website and see for your self what type of dogs they really are and also see their offsprings , sibblings ect... Being part of a Schutzhnd club too has helped me alot, you get to see all kinds of dogs from all kinds of great and not so great pedigrees.You learn a thing or two about what "pedigree" really means.Having seminars at our club with judges that have been around a long time or great handler/competitors is a big plus, you get to talk with them and hear all about great dogs that have long passed and all about the good , the bad and the ugly..

Hi Adam!

Do you mean this website? http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/search.html

It's a great tool to follow pedigrees. I look the pedigree up there every time I hear or read something about a shepherd. You can click on the name/photo of the dog's parents or grandparents, find out about offspring, and if you go back far enough in each dog's pedigree, you'll end up on the "first" German shepherd, Horand. It's pretty cool to watch the progression of the shepherd's physique over the past 100+ years... the earliest ones almost looked like Mals, and nowadays you have a pretty big rift (obvious just by looking at the dogs) between the German show and working lines.

At first it's all just German gibberish (as you found out ) but pretty soon you'll start to recognize some names in the pedigree. Some of the larger and more respected kennels tend to pop up a lot... you'd be surprised just how many dogs go back to the same studs.
It's fun, but it's a learning process too. Reading through this forum and the Leerburg website helps a lot as well.

As the others said, if you can see these dogs working in person (or even on a video) you will find out a whole lot more than just names and pictures.

You'll also start to notice that titles don't always mean a whole lot when evaluating a dog... how many of those German showline dogs get SchIII titles is beyond me, really... lol

Happy exploring! ;-)

LOL! I am in the same boat. I researched some Dobermann pedigree and got some of the names remembered that are good for Dobe working lines, but you know how few that is.
If it comes to German Shepherds, I have no clue! I guess I haven't taken the time to learn since I am not going to get a shepherd. I tend to lean towards the getting a Dutch or Mal.. no more Dobe. Too expensive for the chance you take on getting a working bloodline that might not work. Gotta research the dutch and mal now. I am guessing it's not as easy as the dobes were.

Who out there is an "expert" mal or dutch bloodline interpreter? Teach me your ways! I have some pedigrees for you to look at too!

Alison Voore

Yuko, I think you're right, but do not believe everything you read on that pedigree search, it's not 100% valid.And like you said titles mean nothing on paper,go see the dogs if you can or find videos of competition,go to trials seminars,ect...Far better than reading about it.
I have seen studs advertised, that name wise are pretty known and when I got there to see them ,it was a joke.Looking back on the info of this dog off websites and hearing about him, then seing him in person.I was very dissapointed.Even a video can be misleading.Now a video of a competition is far better than the breeders video , unless you know the breeder personaly and know some people that have seen the dog and can tell you about the dog themselves but the pedigree search to me IMO is not that great to go buy alone..

I've seen some breeders that seem to be exclusively dealing in imports and don't seem to "work" or train their dogs?? Some sites even post dogs for sale that "are overseas for training"? I don't think that I would consider a dog from a preeder that doesn't personally work or train their own dogs.

I'm no expert here but I think that I am beginning to tell the difference between the Show and Work lines? And I think that I see some show lines that have their SchIII and other high working titles?? Seems too good to be true (but I don't like the looks of the Show line any whay??).

I like the way your dog looks there Yuko. I seem to levitate to the dogs with (not sure if I'm explaining this correct, but..) the more "blocky" or square muzzle and heads.

Thanks

 Quote: adam dorn

Some of you on here know the pedigrees by name here?? I look at the names and pedigrees and all I see is a bunch of Von "Blah Blah" and Von "what-ever"??

Does this come by just being part of the Schutzhund community ofr a long time or is there serious research involved? I rember seeing a post about a Pedigree Search site here once?

Do you guys know the american, german champs and finishers and relate the pedigree to those statistics or... I guess I'm amazed at the depth of some of your knowledge.

I'm new (very New) to the whole working-dog Schutzhund scene and I just et frustrated when I don't understand somethings that seem to be simple to the rest of you??

Ok just wondering here???

Don't feel ignorant - just join the club!! Seriously, I like to watch the dogs I like to watch, and then view pedigrees later, for my own education. When it comes down to actual breeding decisions, I look to people I've come to respect as knowing a whole lot more than me. It's a long term journey IMO, both in terms of the SchH sport work, and getting to know the blood lines involved.

Sit back and enjoy!!

Beth

ETA: I agree with others and cautions about the pedigree database web site. It's a useful website (IMO) for some things, but I would always look to confirm any info I obtained there if it was critical to a decision I was trying to make. It's pretty much a "self managed" web site - i.e. little to no monitoring or moderation to verify accuracy. One of our own dog's pedigrees is posted there, because we posted it ourselves. To my knowledge, no one validated what we said about our own dog. Let the lurker beware. It's a useful site in many ways, but I would encourage validation if you are seriously considering the info presented.

Beth