# Separating the breeds gene pool?



## hauntrah (Nov 11, 2016)

Only posting this is get up my number of posts (I really want to change my avatar picture!). Feel free to say your opinion even if it's totally different than mine. I'm still learning and have open ears.

I keep seeing working line breeders saying all other GSD breeders dogs are ruining their working lines. And they want pet/show GSDs to be registered as a separate breed. 

Or like the case (in Australia at least I don't know about the rest of the world) of the Long Stock Coat being reconsidered as a separate breed on a separate registers. Yet the only difference is one (well a pair) recessive gene that have been part of the GSD since the start. Yet now you can't breed a LSC to a normal GSD and have them on the LSC register (I'm thinking a sub register for short coated carrying long coat gene for the benefit of the LSC breed)

So we currently have so much variance within the GSD. Even within one field, for example I guess some working line breeders would consider other working line dogs to be too high drive for their personal taste. What's wrong with that? Why do we need to separate the gene pools? Accept that other breeders in your register might have different goals than yours. I'm not a GSD breeder but if I was I would like to know I could breed a working line girl to a show dog that I believe complimented her well. It might not be the exact result I wanted within a single generation but it well could be the best practical match. Splitting the breed would limit gene pools on all sides of things. And it would probably stop the show people trying to correct over exaggeration in the show ring. 

To me another line can't dilute the amount of working dogs available. Just as the number of chihuahuas bred doesn't change the availability of finding your perfect Doberman. Yes if you are searching through both ads for Chihuahuas and Dobermans it might be more Chihuahuas than Dobermans. But the total number of Dobermans weren't affected. If you can't find your working line GSD it's probably because of a lack of breeders. I can't see how splitting the breed would increase the amount/quality of working line breeders.

I do believe we need to educate the general public into understanding just because its such a such of a breed it looks/acts this way. At the dog park the other day this lady was trying to tell me her GSD (that she knew nothing of the breeder) was a working line because its back wasn't as slopped as the image she had of show GSDs. That was the only reason, and she knew nothing about different drives and her dog acted just like any other show/pet bred GSD.


----------



## cliffson1 (Sep 2, 2006)

Obviously, that Lady really only knows what she read or has been told, likewise when it comes to breeding I think your synopsis sounds good but is pretty naive.


----------



## WateryTart (Sep 25, 2013)

hauntrah said:


> (snip)
> 
> I do believe we need to educate the general public into understanding just because its such a such of a breed it looks/acts this way. *At the dog park the other day this lady was trying to tell me her GSD (that she knew nothing of the breeder) was a working line because its back wasn't as slopped as the image she had of show GSDs.* That was the only reason, and she knew nothing about different drives and her dog acted just like any other show/pet bred GSD.


Um, my show line GSD doesn't have a back as sloped as what people think of (they think of a frog). She's still definitely a show line.

She kind of hits this weird in-between spot. Show line people tend to like her even if they say, "...but she doesn't have the angulation." Random people out in the community will say things like, "Wow, your dog looks just like a shepherd is supposed to look" and I'm thinking, _No she doesn't, she doesn't have the angulation._


----------



## hauntrah (Nov 11, 2016)

I defiantly agree WateryTart

I'd love to see more "not overly exaggerated behind" dogs in the show ring. I guess its only a stereotype because that's what people see showing. Too bad that includes the next generation of judges. In Australia at least some top winning GSDs aren't heaps overly exaggerated. But there are defiantly the frogs here too. I find in the all breed rings they aren't as extreme, and some all breed judges will place more modest dogs well. Guess it's a hard world to get into to for somebody not following the current fashion. I'd assume there's been heaps of people wanting to show their more modest dogs but get discourage by all the politics & effort required to change/go against the status quo 

Thanks Cliffson 1. Yes exactly what I mean by we should be educating the public! I don't mind sounding Naive, I'm still learning.


----------



## CatChandler (Jul 25, 2016)

EVERY breed of working dog has show lines and working lines. And EVERY breed enthusiast seems to think in their breed, the difference is the most pronounced. 

Have you seen Labs bred for conformation vs field trial Labs? They're commonly- and incorrectly - called English Labs and American Labs. Completely different body types (short/stocky vs tall and athletic), completely different energy levels (show Labs are L-A-Z-Y). 

That's the sad fact of kennel clubs - due to 'breed standard' focusing on appearance, and working lines focusing on the dogs performing the tasks the dogs are bred to do, there's always going to be that difference. Ideally show dogs should also make good working dogs, and that's what the best breeders strive for.


----------



## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

Great read on the subject 

Bred for Perfection https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/content/bred-perfection 

https://books.google.ca/books?id=Hv...IPTAJ#v=onepage&q=bred for perfection&f=false 


follow the money !


----------

