# Help understanding pedigree



## tolbert (Oct 27, 2015)

I have a 1 year old GSD named Dirk and would like to be a little more confident in my understanding of his pedigree (working line, show line, CR, DDR, etc). I was under the impression he was a working line dog until I sent his pedigree papers to the local Shutzhund club and they informed he was mostly show line. I'm a little lost on this. If any of you have a minute to take a look at the links below and offer some clarification it would much appreciated.

I have the Sires pedigree and 3 of the 4 grandparents of the Dams. I couldn't find the Dam using the name on her AKC papers on pedigree search-I did find 3 of her parents. A picture of Dirk is below if that is helpful. Thanks.

Sire: 
Erik Rivie

Dam's paternal Grandfather:
Rosecrest Dakota

Dams Maternal Grand Parents:

Sire:Vox Von Hess Haus

Dam:Vswans Nikki Vom Fluss Tal


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Sire is show line
Dam is working line that looks like it's turning into BYB without any titles.


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## tolbert (Oct 27, 2015)

Thank you.

The sire came from the Rivie Kennel in the CR that breeds service dogs for the police, military, protection etc, Also, as you can see in the link, most of his line were shutzhund level 2 or 3 or IPO. Here's where I'm confused...the Shutzhund club looked at the pedigree and said that it would be a long shot for a showline GSD to possess the drive to compete in the sport- but that there are some exceptions. I really don't care about his Shutzhund prospects- I just want to understand the disconnect.

Sorry, what's BYB?


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## cliffson1 (Sep 2, 2006)

I actually like the genetic diversity in your dog. All Showline dog,imo, should be bred to dogs like dam line to infuse genetic temperament, traits, and drives. 
As to whether he would be good candidate for sport, depends on which puppy he was in the litter. Some in litter will do fine, some may follow the genetics of the sire which isn't know for sport work regardless of the titles on ancestors. Don't worry about identifying whether he is all working lines or about terms like BYB.
Your dam's genetics for working (without titles )is far stronger than your sire's genetics for working with all the titles. Trust me on that!
He is not going to receive his temperament from his parent's titles but rather his parent's genetics.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I hate when clubs blow off new people without ever seeing the dog. We all start somewhere. If you want to do IPO, then go do it.  Find a club that supports learning and supports your dog. They can't tell anything for sure without working the dog.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

In Germany, all GSDs, both show lines and working lines, have to have earned working _titles_ in order to be able to be bred and their offspring registered, thus the SchH and IPO titles in the pedigree. The lines are determined by the pedigree and the breeding of the dog mores o than the titles.


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## tolbert (Oct 27, 2015)

Cliffson, thanks so much for your input. Its still a mystery to me how the "show line" pedigree of the sire shows the shutzhund, IPO prowess. 

Dirks temperament is terrific for my purposes. He's a calm, confident dog that would run through a wall to please me -and have fun doing it! All of this just so I'll throw him a ball to chase. Love him.


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## Deb (Nov 20, 2010)

BYB means Back Yard Breeder, breeding dogs for money, not for specific traits like for show or performance.


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## tolbert (Oct 27, 2015)

Castle-got it. That explains things. Much appreciated.

Yeah, the club I sent the papers to didn't have much interest in me getting involved after just a brief email. The Shutzhund training for me was simply a way to have fun and develop my dog to his potential with the mental and physical stimulation it provides. If on the off chance he had an aptitude for it all the better. I'll look around for a better fit.


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## tolbert (Oct 27, 2015)

Ouch-gotcha. Dirk came from Wayne Simonovich -not exactly a BYB by that definition.


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## mycobraracr (Dec 4, 2011)

Where are you located? Maybe someone can recommend a club for you if you're still interested.


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## tolbert (Oct 27, 2015)

In Dallas-thanks


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

I agree with Jax though - if a person is interested, they should at least meet the dog and do an evaluation, but different clubs have different goals and focus. Some are very competitive, and won't accept members unless they have dogs that have the potential to make it to the highest levels, and others are more easy-going and accepting of newbies and a variety of dogs.


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## tolbert (Oct 27, 2015)

I think this club falls in the highly competitive category. But hey, Its their club and they make the rules. Dirk turns 1 next week- How much time do I have to get started in this? 

FYI: He is already trained in the basic IPO obedience commands and is just now starting protection work. We've been working with the head trainer of the DPD's K-9 division but am sure that their methods won't conform to those in competition work. I'm hesitant to go much further down this path until I try the other.


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