Hello, It has been a while since I was involved with Sch USA But I have a friend that wanted me to put a title on his dog for him so I joined the USA club again in the first mag. I got in the mail was on the Seiger Shows ,sorry if this upsets the show people BUT, what are they trying to do I have never seen so many roach backed dogs in my life. What has happened to a strong firm and level back can these dogs work all day? I don't think so,I had a show line dog that was crippled by the time he was 8 yrs. old he was a rescue dog from some people I know and was to much for them.But maybe it is just me and maybe I need to look at the standard of the German Shepherd again. I thought the breeding of working dogs was to be for the betterment of the breed not to cripple the dogs.

KevinWood,
You can thank AKC for the situation we have in this country today. Most breeders in this country have one thing in mind in terms of breeding: appearance. Several of these breeders can't even do that well. Someone somewhere once thought that the sloping backs enabled the dogs to accelerate better because their stronger hind quarters were underneath them. They thought that it was crucial for these dogs to have a sloping back. Like you said, form FOLLOWS function not vice versa. I once had a breeder of german shorthairs, who has a very popular line of dogs(he has duped a lot of people) explain to me that he breeds his dogs to have toed out hind legs. He said that this gives them more spring in their stride,like a frog(he actually said this!). A very close friend of mine(and a very naive friend of mine) made the mistake of buying one of these dogs. The bitch that he purchased ended up having severe hip problems at a very young age. I also saw her littermates, they were almost incapable of running. All breeds should be tested in their appropriate abilities and should not be allowed to breed unless they are considered to be exceptional. There would be a lot better quality of dogs if that were the case and a lot fewer worthless, unhappy dogs.

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Originally posted by malinoisinkansas:
All breeds should be tested in their appropriate abilities and should not be allowed to breed unless they are considered to be exceptional. There would be a lot better quality of dogs if that were the case and a lot fewer worthless, unhappy dogs.

yes, they should be tested, but alas, people here in the States would balk at any kind of mandate. They don't realize how quickly breeds get ruined by "breeders" who go after the latest fad. I'll stick with my "ugly" working lines, with their straight backs, powerful builds, great temperments, and good drives to do the work.