# Playdate pics of my 3 with an English/German lines GSD pup.



## counter (Feb 20, 2009)

Please meet Ozi, a male GSD we are trying to adopt. Enjoy the pics, and if anyone knows anything about English lines, I would love to learn. My Nara is the smaller GSD female in the photos, and she's West German showlines.


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## KathrynApril (Oct 3, 2013)

Beautiful dogs. Love the names of your current dogs!


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## Rinegunner (Apr 20, 2013)

Looks like he fits right in. good luck.


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## counter (Feb 20, 2009)

KathrynApril said:


> Beautiful dogs. Love the names of your current dogs!


Thanks! I love history and culture, and normally choose rare names from eastern cultures. We also have 5 cats: Geisha (Asian), Bhakti (Sanskrit from India), Arctica (made up name for our all-white kitty), Midnight (all black cat) and Simpkin (from Beatrix Potter's "The Tailor of Gloucester"). 

My children's names are Kaulini Priya (Sanskrit from ancient India), Eirinn Ciara (Irish/Scottish Gaelic), and Lucian (Latin) Donovan (Irish Gaelic).

As for the dogs...

1. Nara Simha Devi is Sanskrit from India. I just altered the name from Deva (male) to Devi (female) since my GSD is a girl.

2. Paw Paw was a name "borrowed" from one of Martha Stewart's chow chows: Kublai Khan Paw Paw Chow Chow Chow. My wife is a big Martha fan, and Paw Paw's name fits his personality perfectly. 

3. Beowulf was a name taken from one of my fav childhood poems that I read in school as a kid.


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## Nickyb (Jul 11, 2011)

counter said:


>


Typical female GSD face haha


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

many of the recent "English" lines are basically west German show lines , as this one appears to be.
Long gone the days of the Alsatian which were longer bodied , and all round softer in temperament . 
I have all the Malcolm Willis books where he writes at length about them , and was a member of The Alsatian League of Great Britain receiving there annual year books . The name was correctly changed to German Shepherd - 1990? 
Easing of the quarantine regulations has opened up access to continental European breeding stock.

you have to evaluate this dog for what he is and whether he suits your needs and abilities.


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## Bridget (Apr 5, 2004)

You have gorgeous dogs. Looks like the beautiful white GSD is dominant, judging from his stance with your present dogs.


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## HarleyACH (Feb 19, 2014)

Amazing dogs and pictures! 

Can't advise on anything; but not sure what makes the difference between straight and sloped backs? Could that be linked? I love straight backs personally. Wish they had never sloped them. Ignore this if it's irrelevant.


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

I was kind of thinking the dude in the hooded sweatshirt looks to be the dominant one.

SuperG


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## DonnaKay (Jan 20, 2014)

counter said:


>


This one needs a caption!

"Wait! There's a bug on your head! I'll get it!"


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## counter (Feb 20, 2009)

Bridget said:


> You have gorgeous dogs. Looks like the beautiful white GSD is dominant, judging from his stance with your present dogs.


Haha thanks! He's actually a husky mix and not a GSD. That's my Beowulf playing with Ozi. Speaking of Ozi, it's been confirmed as of today that I will indeed get to adopt him on March 28th. The countdown begins! 15 days and counting. I'm restless...


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Hi Kevin,

It looks like your pack will be happy to have a new playmate. And it also looks like Beowulf is blowing his coat! 

Good for you for giving this guy a new home!


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## counter (Feb 20, 2009)

Nickyb said:


> Typical female GSD face haha


Agreed! She looks so evil, but he had it coming to him! And I was right there to ensure they remained civil. Ha.


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## counter (Feb 20, 2009)

carmspack said:


> many of the recent "English" lines are basically west German show lines , as this one appears to be.
> Long gone the days of the Alsatian which were longer bodied , and all round softer in temperament .
> I have all the Malcolm Willis books where he writes at length about them , and was a member of The Alsatian League of Great Britain receiving there annual year books . The name was correctly changed to German Shepherd - 1990?
> Easing of the quarantine regulations has opened up access to continental European breeding stock.
> ...


Thanks for the details. Ozi is very long and has HUGE paws. No joke. He should be fully grown now that he's 2 (born in Nov 2011), but his body doesn't fit his paw size. He's funny. They look like wolf paws. You can see in the 8th picture where his paw is on the concrete border thingy, and his toes are all stretched out. When I get him permanently I will measure and weigh him to see if he falls within the GSD standard. I think he will, but at the higher end of it. He's slightly underweight, as you can see his ribs in some of those pics. When he stands side by side with my other 3, they are all about the same height, within 1-2 inches of each other, but for some reason Ozi has a giraffe neck. When they are standing next to each other outside our back screen door looking in, Ozi's head will be about a head above my other 3. We say he must have Great Dane or horse in him. We jokingly call him Mr. Ed. His tail is so long it touches the ground when he stands still. He certainly doesn't seem to have a softer tempermant, so not an Alsatian, as you mentioned they're long gone. He has very high drive, and I'm thinking he'll be a great SAR dog once properly trained.

I've already decided that I'm going to change his name from Ozi to KamiKAZE, and just call him Kaze, since it is close to his original name. It should make for an easier transition and for obedience training and commands. Plus, I want to personalize him to our family and make him ours! I have a thing for Eastern cultures. Ha.

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.


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## counter (Feb 20, 2009)

HarleyACH said:


> Amazing dogs and pictures!
> 
> Can't advise on anything; but not sure what makes the difference between straight and sloped backs? Could that be linked? I love straight backs personally. Wish they had never sloped them. Ignore this if it's irrelevant.


Slowly trying to get back to everyone who replied...

My Nara is West German show lines, and she looks straight-backed to me. Ozi has a slight slope (as compared with Nara), but it doesn't look too awful. I've been watching his back end when he runs with my dogs to make sure he doesn't and won't have hip dysplasia. So far, so good. He looks to have no issues. I'll obviously be taking a lot more pics once I own him permanently on March 28th. I'll try to show the difference between Nara and Ozi's sloped backs.

I keep calling him Ozi still. Should be (Kami)KAZE. I guess I shouldn't make it official until he's officially mine, just in case anything happens between now and then.


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## counter (Feb 20, 2009)

SuperG said:


> I was kind of thinking the dude in the hooded sweatshirt looks to be the dominant one.
> 
> SuperG


Agreed, SuperG, agreed!


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## counter (Feb 20, 2009)

So good news! I was able to get my Kaze early. He's been here with me for 3 days now, instead of waiting until March 28th. Anyways, I've been feeding him 3-4 times a day to help put some weight on. I measured him yesterday, and great news: I am not an owner of an oversized dog (yet)! Kaze measured 26" and 86 lbs. He probably needs to put on 5-10 lbs to get those ribs to stop showing. But he's right in the middle of the breed standard for height (24-28") and once he fills out with meat and muscle, he will be slightly over the breed standard for weight. He's laying here next to me while I type this. I'm about to take all 4 dogs out for another daily bikejoring adventure to help build that muscle mass, and then I'll take him running with me this afternoon. He's named KamiKAZE for a reason! He's a whirlwind of energy who bounces off the walls all day long, no matter how much exercise I provide him. Crazy boy! I love him so much already. I'll post new pics once I take some.


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

Great photos and happy dogs. Kaze is one lucky dog!


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## glowingtoadfly (Feb 28, 2014)

You have a wolfdog? That's great, I love woofers!


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## VTGirlT (May 23, 2013)

Aw love the photos! Looks like SUCH a fun day for those guys!!! Wish i was there with them!


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

counter said:


> I am not an owner of an oversized dog (yet)! Kaze measured 26" and 86 lbs. He probably needs to put on 5-10 lbs to get those ribs to stop showing. But he's right in the middle of the breed standard for height (24-28") and once he fills out with meat and muscle, he will be slightly over the breed standard for weight.


The GSD breed standard is females 22-24 inches and males are 24-26 inches so your male is at the highest height for the standard. They weight for that size should be about 85-90 pounds. Keep him lean, you want to be able to feel his ribs.


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## counter (Feb 20, 2009)

LaRen616 said:


> The GSD breed standard is females 22-24 inches and males are 24-26 inches so your male is at the highest height for the standard. They weight for that size should be about 85-90 pounds. Keep him lean, you want to be able to feel his ribs.


Thanks. I went from (obviously rusty) memory on the breed standard. I've only had a female GSD up until now, so consider me a newbie when it comes to the boys and their standard. Ha. I remeasured Kaze with my wife's help, and we got him between 25-26", so either way, he's not an oversized GSD. He has an enormous head and wolf-sized paws, but the rest of him is long and lean. You can see his ribs in the photos above, and some of those are even when he is just standing still. So yeah, he needs to gain weight and build muscle to fill out and get better proportions comared to that Mr. Ed head and wolf paws. I love him no matter what though!


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## Rei (Oct 10, 2008)

Really beautiful group of dogs! Did not know you moved out of Oregon - hope you are enjoying the new place. The dogs certainly look like they're living the life, no matter where they are


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