# Looking for a breeder with 80+Lbs GSDs



## JKX813 (Aug 8, 2018)

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on good breeders that breed female working line GSDs that are 80-100Lbs. I love my current girl but she will probably only be ~65 pounds and just seems so small. Looking to get another girl that ends up being a bit bigger. Any suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks!
Jeremy


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## Beau's Mom (Nov 9, 2017)

Your girl is a fine size for a well-bred female GSD. See

https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/german-shepherd-dog/

and

https://www.germanshepherddog.com/about/german-shepherd-dogs/breed-standards/

for the breed standard. You’ll see that females within standard range from 50-70 pounds.

Enjoy her!


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

You will not find a reputable working line breeder with females thst oversized. I've seen larger females at 75 lbs but those aren't common, nor should they be.


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## Slamdunc (Dec 6, 2007)

There are no "good" or reputable breeders of working line GSD's that would purposefully breed a female to be 80 - 100 lbs. 

Run from any breeder that brags about the size or the oversized dogs that they breed. If all a breeder can sell or promote their dogs on is large size, well they are not a reputable breeder. It raises all kinds of red flags in my mind when a breeder discusses size as it is a good thing. A GSD is a medium sized dog and a 65 lb female is perfect. Males should be in the 75-85lb range. Breeders that breed for size are just appealing to a buyer's ego. 

With GSD's bigger is definitely not better. 

Best of luck in your search for a puppy.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

I ran into an oversized breeder when I was looking and would not recommend her for any reason. We had a dialogue going because she seemed to produce dogs that have very balanced temperaments. She asked if I wanted to join a private group to meet other owners of her lines, and I said I was interested in seeing what kinds of activities people are doing with their dogs. I never heard back from her and never got the link. I concluded her dogs don’t work or do any kinds of sports. It seems from reading her website and from our early conversations that she has taken dogs and bred them to be so heavy they aren’t suitable for anything but as pets. She said they are large boned, therefore heavier than average. That is not good breeding. When they breed for size and weight they lose other qualities. I explained this because it’s important to understand why size matters. If you really want a large dog, you are looking for a pet line dog, not a working line. Then you lose the traits that make WLs what they are.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

And consider a male as well. Better chance for a good match. Female GSDs can be bitchy or worse. My female is 60 lbs, gorgeous, agile and fast. Wouldn't have wanted her any other way.


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## tc68 (May 31, 2006)

Yeah, I agree with everyone. If you do find one, please don't buy it. You are justifying the reason these "backyard" breeders continue to breed these dogs. (Because they are backyard breeders if they don't conform with the breed standards.) And if you do buy one, please spay it. We don't need these genes in the pool.


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## McGloomy (Mar 13, 2018)

Honestly I don't understand people. If they want a big dog and size is really what they care about, get a rott. A Great pyrenees, a bernese mountain dog, a dane, a mastiff, irish wolfhound, newfoundland. Dogs that are BREED to be big. Don't make a medium/large breed bigger for no reason other than 'People want big dogs.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Sounds to me like the OP didn't know 65# was the norm for a female. American show lines run larger with females around 75#. HE didn't ask for backyard breeders. HEe asked for a good working line breeder who breeds this. Now they know. No reason to bash him.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

All my ASL girls have been 65 lbs. Well, a couple of times we’ve gone overboard on the food, and diets were in order. They are show dogs, so size matters.


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## Ken Clean-Air System (Feb 27, 2012)

If you want an 80 pound GSD you should be looking for a male, not a female. Larger females pop up - I have one - but they aren't the norm and no reputable breeder will breed for 80+ pound females.


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## dkallas (Jul 29, 2015)

I have a male puppy that is 6 months old and is 60.2 lbs. He's very long and lean and is the same height as my female golden. He is also the only one of the litter of 7 to be this large. We weren't looking for a large GSD, just a wanted another male GSD. I'm told his father is around 96 and grandfather 116. BTW my other shepherd is around 80 lbs at 4 years old.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

dogfaeries said:


> All my ASL girls have been 65 lbs. Well, a couple of times we’ve gone overboard on the food, and diets were in order. They are show dogs, so size matters.


The ones I know are larger. Around 70-75. I think they have heavier bone than most. But still no where near the OP's weight range.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

Russ is 90 lbs, heavy boned, and I keep him lean. He’s much bigger than either parent. I don’t like his size at all, and don’t know why anyone would want a GSD this big.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

Ken Clean-Air System said:


> If you want an 80 pound GSD you should be looking for a male, not a female. Larger females pop up - I have one - but they aren't the norm and no reputable breeder will breed for 80+ pound females.


With a young female already... should be looking for a male anyway


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## WateryTart (Sep 25, 2013)

Jax08 said:


> The ones I know are larger. Around 70-75. I think they have heavier bone than most. But still no where near the OP's weight range.




Jax mine just weighed in at 73, and my vet said she wants her more toward 80. I disagree and so does my breeder, but she’d be downright gaunt at 65. She’s just long and tall. Between 73 and 76 is good for her.

ETA she is a bit on the large side (25” tall). Most of the ASL bitches I know are the size of dogfaeries’ girls. Mine takes after her sire, who is a larger dog. I’m happy with her size TBH, because I like having a bitch and also like having a dog with the added visual effect of being a little big, but I wouldn’t buy a dog intentionally created oversized. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Mary Beth (Apr 17, 2010)

So, you've discovered this is a hot topic  By working line, I think you are referring to the straight back. I would suggest RoyalAir. Her website is:

Breeding Oversized, Large German Shepherds. big dogs in the mid-west family.

Good luck in your puppy search!


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## GypsyGhost (Dec 29, 2014)

No reputable working line breeder who breeds to standard and breeds for a dog who can actually work uses “straight back” to describe what they are producing, in my experience. 

Breeders who use these buzz words and intentionally breed to produce dogs outside of the standard typically do not breed dogs that have the temperament or drives that should be present in a well bred GSD. Proceed with caution, if you go down the oversized, straight back road.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

JKX813 said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on good breeders that breed female working line GSDs that are 80-100Lbs. I love my current girl but she will probably only be ~65 pounds and just seems so small. Looking to get another girl that ends up being a bit bigger. Any suggestions are appreciated!
> 
> ...



I understand where you are coming from. My Sabi was 82lbs in working condition, little miss Shadow is around 45-50 and I refer to her as my mini mutt.
That said Sabi was horribly oversize for a female and while I give her due credit for being a great dog and an honest partner she would have been much easier to lift if she had been smaller, definitely easier to carry and almost all of her work related injuries were strains. 
You are going to be hard pressed to find anyone breeding properly that will have a female near that size. A well bred female MAY hit 75, but that's going to be an anomaly.


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## huntergreen (Jun 28, 2012)

My working female was 75 pounds, and no, she wasn't over fed.


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## Slamdunc (Dec 6, 2007)

GypsyGhost said:


> No reputable working line breeder who breeds to standard and breeds for a dog who can actually work uses “straight back” to describe what they are producing, in my experience.
> 
> Breeders who use these buzz words and intentionally breed to produce dogs outside of the standard typically do not breed dogs that have the temperament or drives that should be present in a well bred GSD. Proceed with caution, if you go down the oversized, straight back road.


This is good advice and very true. ^^^^^^^^^


If a breeder uses "oversized" or "straight back" to describe their dogs I immediately see red flags. This is a huge warning to look else where. If a breeder talks about the "old style" GSD's look else where. This is what the FBI calls "_Clues!_" I avoid any breeder or person that talks about "how big" their GSD is. When a GSD breeder has a stud dog that is 130 lbs, I am done.


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## cdwoodcox (Jul 4, 2015)

My female Athena weighed in at 77.5 at her last vet visit. 2.5 yrs old. She does looks much smaller than that. She is agile and has excellent endurance. While I agree that 80-100 is extreme and not something I would look for even in a male. I will take above average size and conforming everywhere else. Better than a lot of the German Shepherds I see walking around within breed standards for size; but, scared of their own shadow, could not muster up aggression if their life depended on it. Talking working lines here. The bad showlines have these issues plus their own additional problems.


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## MOJO9913 (Nov 13, 2017)

I also was looking for a "larger" GSD for future consideration and came across two breeders: Royal Air in Iowa and another. I've heard a lot of good things and few negative about the first. The latter got upset when some members posted about their experiences and or opinions and this site removed the comments for fear of lawsuit. That, to me, is a red flag.....complain about comments instead of addressing them, as they can be subjective and not everyone's true experience.


I think both have stipulations that in order to keep the guarantee, there are supplements you need to purchase and give the dog for an amount of time. Maybe that's how they get so big???


Those are the first 2 to pop up on a google search. I know there's a few more out there but don't recall details of them, like; Wolfgang haus, Pioneer Shepherds and Rosehall.


I would also like a "larger" GSD as a family pet and understand it gets away from the breed standard and they would not be as agile or fast for "working" but I don't want a pet to work or breed, just be a pet. I understand and appreciate both lines of thinking regarding wanting size for pet dogs and then the breed standard size for working dogs. Good luck in your quest and please advise what you wind up doing.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

MOJO9913 said:


> I also was looking for a "larger" GSD for future consideration and came across two breeders: Royal Air in Iowa and another. I've heard a lot of good things and few negative about the first. The latter got upset when some members posted about their experiences and or opinions and this site removed the comments for fear of lawsuit. That, to me, is a red flag.....complain about comments instead of addressing them, as they can be subjective and not everyone's true experience.


The board can not allow negative comments that could be considered libel. That holds them legally accountable. People are welcome to share that information privately. If the comments were untrue, I would want them removed as well. You can't win an internet fight of he said/she said.




MOJO9913 said:


> I think both have stipulations that in order to keep the guarantee, there are supplements you need to purchase and give the dog for an amount of time. Maybe that's how they get so big???


The breeders are SELLING the supplements. They are making money and forcing the buyers to buy these supplements from them (how else to prove you gave them, right?) or void the warranty. How unethical is that? 

Then, these supplements have added calcium. Added calcium is bad. I've looked at the content of the supplements. I would never give them to a growing puppy.

These dogs are large because of genetics. It's that simple. The breeders have chosen oversized dogs and bred them to oversized dogs. Then sell them as "old fashioned". Except "old fashioned" was the size of the working lines and also the conformation of them.




MOJO9913 said:


> I would also like a "larger" GSD as a family pet and understand it gets away from the breed standard and they would not be as agile or fast for "working" but I don't want a pet to work or breed, just be a pet. I understand and appreciate both lines of thinking regarding wanting size for pet dogs and then *the breed standard size for working dogs.* Good luck in your quest and please advise what you wind up doing.


The breed standard is the breed standard. It has nothing to do with the line or "working dogs" It is the standard for the breed to maintain the working ability. 


There is no reason these dogs can't be healthy and great pets. I question the selling tactics and the supplement extortion. To me, that makes them unethical. I would rather they were honest.

"Our dogs are oversized and we love it. We are making you give these supplements because we make money off them. And we are going to charge staggered fees based on an 8 week old puppy who may or may not have any potential to do anything other than lay on the couch. So the range is $800 to $6000" 

I could at least respect that.


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## CometDog (Aug 22, 2017)

I have an unexpectedly big boy. Hey sometimes genetics just throw a curve lol Both of his parents and rest of his litter are to spec. He is 27.5 inches and 92 lbs. Went to visit his breeder 2 weeks ago and he just said...."whoa". 

That said, it is best to be within standard. A lot of thought went into these standards. Combining one of the highest pound for pound for pound jaw strength with a swift, strong, agile sized body was no accident. They are supposed to fly over car hood and fences and stuff to get the bad guy. In the military sometimes a soldier has to carry them. Why mess with such balance?

If you get a well bred working line male, you will get an 80 to 85 lb dog usually. Plus male/female is better for home harmony. Bitches are like people..boys will brawl then go to the playground together the next day, but bitch fights are forever. 

If you are craving just a larger heavier boned German working breed, I'd say go Rottie. 

Good luck, hope you didn't get scared off


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## Slamdunc (Dec 6, 2007)

MOJO9913 said:


> I also was looking for a "larger" GSD for future consideration and came across two breeders: Royal Air in Iowa and Another. I've heard a lot of good things and few negative about the first. The latter got upset when some members posted about their experiences and or opinions and this site removed the comments for fear of lawsuit. That, to me, is a red flag.....complain about comments instead of addressing them, as they can be subjective and not everyone's true experience.
> 
> 
> I think both have stipulations that in order to keep the guarantee, there are supplements you need to purchase and give the dog for an amount of time. Maybe that's how they get so big???
> ...


It is probably best that you avoided the ones you mentioned. I certainly would.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

MOJO9913 said:


> I also was looking for a "larger" GSD for future consideration and came across two breeders: Royal Air in Iowa and another. I've heard a lot of good things and few negative about the first. The latter got upset when some members posted about their experiences and or opinions and this site removed the comments for fear of lawsuit. That, to me, is a red flag.....complain about comments instead of addressing them, as they can be subjective and not everyone's true experience.
> 
> *
> I think both have stipulations that in order to keep the guarantee, there are supplements you need to purchase and give the dog for an amount of time. Maybe that's how they get so big???*
> ...


Just wanted to make a small correction in the interest of fairness. Royalair suggests supplements and does sell them, they are not however a condition of the guarantee and the only thing mentioned about buyers purchasing NU-VET from her is that her puppy buyers get a discount on them.


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## Whiteshepherds (Aug 21, 2010)

What people need to be mindful of IMHO is when a breeder uses "straight back" to describe their dogs and that's it. If that's all the breeder has to offer when talking about their dogs there's a problem, but the term iself is right out of the standard. 

AKC Breed standard, Topline - The withers are higher than and sloping into the level back. *The back is straight*, very strongly developed without sag or roach, and relatively short.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

SV German Standard:

"Neck – The neck should be strong, well-muscled and without loose neck skin (dewlap). The angulation towards the trunk (horizontal) amounts to approx. 45 %.

Body – The upper line runs from the base of the neck via the high, long withers and via the straight back towards the slightly sloping croup, without visible interruption. The back is moderately long, firm, strong and well-muscled. The loin is broad, short, strongly developed and well-muscled. The croup should be long and slightly sloping (approx 23° to the horizontal) and the upper line should merge into the base of the tail without interruption."

Which, just for information, reads exactly the same GSDCA reads which is the breed club in the U.S.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

The problem is that “straight back” does not mean parallel to the ground, which is how people looking for this “straight back” dog interprets it.


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## Slamdunc (Dec 6, 2007)

dogfaeries said:


> The problem is that “straight back” does not mean parallel to the ground, which is how people looking for this “straight back” dog interprets it.


Yes, A certain amount of angulation is needed. This angulation provides propulsion and power. Extreme angulation is not needed. Reputable breeders understand this and would never advertise their dogs as straight back or "old style." Any breeder that advertises "straight back" or "old line" or "old style" GSD's has never worked a dog or at least not in the past 30 years. I would also add that any breeder that says they have been into working line dogs for 30+ plus years but has not out put any title on any dog from their breeding is a huge red flag. All you will get from these breeder is BS and excuses as to why they can't or won't title their dogs.


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## huntergreen (Jun 28, 2012)

Jkx,. How is your search going ?


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## MOJO9913 (Nov 13, 2017)

huntergreen said:


> Jkx,. How is your search going ?




I also am interested. Any luck?


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## Tennessee (Apr 13, 2017)

LuvShepherds said:


> I ran into an oversized breeder when I was looking and would not recommend her for any reason. We had a dialogue going because she seemed to produce dogs that have very balanced temperaments. She asked if I wanted to join a private group to meet other owners of her lines, and I said I was interested in seeing what kinds of activities people are doing with their dogs. I never heard back from her and never got the link. I concluded her dogs don’t work or do any kinds of sports. It seems from reading her website and from our early conversations that she has taken dogs and bred them to be so heavy they aren’t suitable for anything but as pets. She said they are large boned, therefore heavier than average. That is not good breeding. When they breed for size and weight they lose other qualities. I explained this because it’s important to understand why size matters. If you really want a large dog, you are looking for a pet line dog, not a working line. Then you lose the traits that make WLs what they are.


"Mom says I'm not fat, I'm just big boned!"

Those poor dogs, I hope one day they conquer their issues with self esteem and learn to love themselves for who they are :frown2:

lol


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