Forming a breed club in the US

[soniakanavle]

Originally Posted by yukidomari

No, those dogs are not in it for the work, and certainly do not conform to 'standards' (perhaps for the better..), and probably cannot do any of the traditional bite work, but they are nonetheless good family dogs.. it does no favors to the average home looking for a pet dog to buy a working line Czech bred working dog. I personally think that a select few American kennels NOT breeding to work qualities cannot be criticized any more than the next breeder.

Then what's the point in owning a purebred dog if you don't think it should live up to their standard??
I think all dogs should be bred to the ORIGINAL standard and used for what they were bred for still. It is so sad to see the difference in the original working line German and Czech GSDs and the present day high strung unhealthy American show line GSD. Of course I think some dogs can just be pets, hell my GSD and CsV are, but I'm glad they still have their natural protection and brains in them and they're doing their job everyday, being my best friend and protector. I hate the temperment in the typical show GSD nowadays and I think all GSD owners here will agree. [Another example is the Border Collie. The difference in the working/show lines is so sad to me... ] I personally think the GSD is the best family dog ever anyway BECAUSE of their natural guarding instincts and at the same time gentleness. My 3 year old niece fell in love with my GSD and would climb on her and pull her around and tell her to do things [my niece is a natural dog trainer lol] and my Shepherd would obediently follow her around, do tricks for her and not let her out of her sight. I trusted them together with my life and now my sister is getting one for her because of the bond and trust they had together. But if you want just a pet that is easy and predictable, get a Golden Retriever or Lab, don't purposely dumb down GSD's or CsV's [*shudder*] just so average Americans can have a 'pretty' dog with no real purpose.

GSD's and CsV's are both WORKING dogs and I think they can excel at conformation as well as long as we get good judges here in the US that will ACTUALLY judge their standard and temperament like they're supposed too, not based on politics or their personal preferences.
[A lot to ask/hope for I know, but fingers crossed!]

[yukidomari]

"Then what's the point in owning a purebred dog if you don't think it should live up to their standard??"


Standards are up to interpretation. Naturally... all standards differ from not country to country but from breeder to breeder. This is ABSOLUTELY true. No dog today has stayed true to 'original' standard. That is the point of a breed club, the point of shows, the point of breeders, to improve and change the breed as it is towards a better future.

Breeds change throughout time - that is indisputable, too. The GSD was built, pre-war, as a Shepherd dog, but the use quickly changed to an all around military working dog. That itself is a change and I hardly see anyone using GSDs for herding, at least as efficiently as other specialized herders. Breeds, like anything else human made, is open to interpretation and social evolution. And there is nothing wrong with that. Dogs can't all be bred to original use. That would mean that English mastiffs would still be war dogs, that Tosa-ken are still used for dog fighting, Bulldogs for bull baiting, and Chis used for sacrificial rites. Wolfhounds don't have anymore wolves to hunt; Lundehunds don't have any more puffins to catch, and many small ratters live in houses with no more rats to be caught. The last I saw a Chinese Crested used for ratting, was, well, never...

Labs and other Retrievers are not seen internationally as good family dogs either, just for your information. Field bred labs are SO different from bench bred, and it's not right to assume otherwise. Are you assuming that there aren't working labs or kennels breeding field labs and retrievers? They are actually one of the THE original breeds, before military work, that existed far before specialized police work of modern day GSDs.

IF your GSD was a true working line GSD with a working temperament, do you think you would not have had to do any work with it to satisfy it? Do you know that GSDs were one of the most popular family dogs, and were not always 'known' for their sharp & hard character? If most homes are cut out to care, instead, for 'easy' retrievers, they why are there so many labs and retrievers that are in shelters and rescues? Obviously, they are not as easy as people make them out to be.. and the labs that you think are 'easy' are just another manifestation of pet-line dogs.