# Best working line puppy for...



## J and J M (Sep 20, 2013)

I'm looking into getting a working line puppy and was wondering which type would be best. Actually I have my own opinion but kinda wanted others to either prove me wrong or right. Responsibilities of dog will be first and foremost a family companion. Two is jogging partner and official ball or frisbie catcher. Three is possible club level schutzhund. Medium drive and again good family companion. So which is better WGWL, DDR, or Czech?


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## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

Czech lines in my experience tend to be the highest drive. Great sport dogs for experienced handlers, can be very crazy and too much for the average home.

West german lines if you find the correct ones seem to be the hardest dogs. Best true working lines/protection lines, but a lot harder to find those decent ones.

DDR more medium drive. Slower to mature generally, can be more standoff towards strangers. Keep in mind these dogs were largely an intimidation factor - mostly chained along the berlin wall to ward off anyone thinking of crossing it. In fact I read a journal entry from a soldier that sat only 16 dogs in his area were actually "working" dogs and the rest were just chained along the wall. Interestingly enough all 16 of those dogs were female. More medium drive can mean not as good at sport.

Personally I love my pup. Sire 100% DDR, Dan mostly czech with some WGWL. The ddr makes him a nicer balanced pet dog because more medium drive, yet I think the czech and WGWL adds just enough drive to make him do good at what IPO training he's had so far.

Keep in mind these are just generalizations I've always noted. I think I will always prefer ddr/czech line mixes for both sport and home companion

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## pets4life (Feb 22, 2011)

Anibus strange info but someone also said female gsds all else being equal (lines) are more likely to bite for real in protection without training than males. Not sure how much truth there is to this because they are not used by police for patrol as much as males.


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## mycobraracr (Dec 4, 2011)

I don't really know if you can say there is a "best line". All have their strengths and weaknesses. All we can do is try and generalize lines but really the individual dog and how it's raised play the biggest factors. I was really into the Czech dogs for a while. I love my girl she great, but as of late I have been leaning more towards the WG side of things. The Czech dogs do seem to bring a different level of intensity to me that I love. But they can also be a bit sharp. So... it really is personal preference.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

I'd stop focusing on specific lines and focus more on the dogs and the breeder. All of these lines can produce a sound pet. If schutzhund is your goal, find a breeder and dogs that are actively participating in the sport.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

Lucy Dog said:


> I'd stop focusing on specific lines and focus more on the dogs and the breeder. All of these lines can produce a sound pet. If schutzhund is your goal, find a breeder and dogs that are actively participating in the sport.


:thumbup:


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## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

Anubis_Star said:


> Czech lines in my experience tend to be the highest drive. Great sport dogs for experienced handlers, can be very crazy and too much for the average home.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Well I don't know about all Czech lines, but my boy is Czech lines drive is not a huge issue for my couch potato.


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## Courtney (Feb 12, 2010)

Lucy Dog said:


> I'd stop focusing on specific lines and focus more on the dogs and the breeder. All of these lines can produce a sound pet. If schutzhund is your goal, find a breeder and dogs that are actively participating in the sport.


Paul, I love when you swoop in with your common sense comments


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## boomer11 (Jun 9, 2013)

Anubis_Star said:


> Czech lines in my experience tend to be the highest drive. Great sport dogs for experienced handlers, can be very crazy and too much for the average home.


Here's my mostly czech boy being too crazy and high drive










it doesnt matter what line you go with. in each litter there will be super high drive ones and some mellow ones. find a really good breeder and tell them those 3 things you want and they'll match you with a dog that fits. imo a dog with a mix of all 3 lines is optimal. people worry too much about lines.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Courtney said:


> Paul, I love when you swoop in with your common sense comments


lol... thanks. My sister got all the book smarts in the family... i got stuck with the common sense.



boomer11 said:


> it doesnt matter what line you go with. in each litter there will be super high drive ones and some mellow ones. find a really good breeder and tell them those 3 things you want and they'll match you with a dog that fits. imo a dog with a mix of all 3 lines is optimal. people worry too much about lines.


Should there really be that wide of a range in a litter? I'd think every litter should have some kind of goal or direction. To go from extremely drivey to extremely mellow is pretty drastic. I personally wouldn't touch a litter with that wide of possible range. Sometimes it takes a while for drives to even come out... much longer than the 8 weeks. You might not even know what you have until you already have the puppy.


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

boomer11 said:


> imo a dog with a mix of all 3 lines is optimal. people worry too much about lines.


LOL! Delgado's a WG/DDR/Czech mix; he's turned out awesome in both temperament and health 

I agree to look at the dogs themselves; if you find a lineage you like regardless of what they are then pursue it. Some like pure lines, some like mixes, it all depends on your taste and which dog suits you best.


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## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

Lucy Dog said:


> Should there really be that wide of a range in a litter? I'd think every litter should have some kind of goal or direction. To go from extremely drivey to extremely mellow is pretty drastic. I personally wouldn't touch a litter with that wide of possible range. Sometimes it takes a while for drives to even come out... much longer than the 8 weeks. You might not even know what you have until you already have the puppy.


I met all of Delgado's litter several times and interacted with each of them both individually and as a group, there was a general theme in all of them but they certainly weren't cookie cutters. There was one pup in the litter that I told the breeder flat out (not rudely) I didn't want because he was a loud mouth, but I would have been happy with any of the rest.

I think when most people with experience talk about the range in a well bred litter they are almost...nitpicking for lack of better term. A dog with a good hunt drive for instance would excel at a SAR role but can easily be a good active family companion. So you try for the first but it's not like you're settling if you go with the second option. You probably won't see a single extreme in a litter but anything is possible with genetics

I hope that makes sense


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

I get what you're saying. I get what boomer was saying too. I know there's going to be different personalities and drives in a litter. I'm just saying I wouldn't want a litter that can produce either extreme and everything in between. Too wide of a range for me. I'm talking extremes here though.


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## boomer11 (Jun 9, 2013)

Lol went I said mellow I meant mellow in terms of a working line dog. Meaning not over the top in drive and energy and made to truly work. I too would stay away from a working line breeder that produced pups who are true couch potatoes.


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

My feeling is that unless you've had tons of experience with GSDs, sport, ect. You really can't tell the difference between lines by seeing them or watching them work. I can kind of tell the difference by looking at some physical features (ear sets, eye sets) but even that's not an exact science. Unless you have a strict necessity for a dog...I think any line will work. And even sport/working people will probably tell you whatever line they have experience with is the one that's better...only because its the one they've worked with so why risk and take a chance on something else?

When it comes to a family pet...that might do some Schutzhund...the only important thing is that the dog does come from Schutzhund capable lines so that the handler can realize that dream if they do end up pursuing that. The worst thing for me to see is when a person gets a dog, has a dream of pursing sport X, and the dog just can't do it.


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## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

boomer11 said:


> Lol went I said mellow I meant mellow in terms of a working line dog. Meaning not over the top in drive and energy and made to truly work. I too would stay away from a working line breeder that produced pups who are true couch potatoes.


Buddy's sire and dam were both working SAR dogs. They would work their heart out come home and turn into couch potatoes. Buddy when he was younger would go outside chase the rabbits terrorize his brother be a nut case typical Shepherd but for both him and his brother it would turn off when they came inside. (unlike my nutcase lab mixes who seem unable to tell the difference between inside and out grumble).


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

boomer11 said:


> Lol went I said mellow I meant mellow in terms of a working line dog. Meaning not over the top in drive and energy and made to truly work. I too would stay away from a working line breeder that produced pups who are true couch potatoes.


If you're breeding true working lines, I don't see how you *could* produce pups who are true couch potatoes. It's certainly not something I would ever worry about when looking for a working line GSD! In fact, if any couch potatoes show up in a working line litter, I want 'em.  The energy level of a GSD can be a challenge for me at times, thankfully I've had some really good ones with an "off" switch.

To the OP: if you're not really experienced with GSDs, you won't see much difference between dogs of different bloodlines at first. Everybody has their own taste in dogs, so your best bet is to get around the different types of GSDs and see which one YOU prefer.


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## Nikitta (Nov 10, 2011)

I LOVE the couch potato pics guys. hehe


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## meek (Feb 14, 2012)

boomer11 said:


> Here's my mostly czech boy being too crazy and high drive
> 
> 
> 
> ...


He's beautiful.


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## J and J M (Sep 20, 2013)

I was actually wondering about things I've heard like the DDR mature slowly or the Czech lines are really intense. I have been getting out and talking to people but I bought I would ask here also because no one can talk to as many people as there are members here ( 53136). I have had German shepherds for 30 years just never a working line. I personal experiences.


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## zyppi (Jun 2, 2006)

Main thing, imho, is look for an experienced breeder (not a breeder that has a gazillion litters at a time) that focuses on health - ask, and temperament ( dam and sire probably with working titles). Ask for references - where are previous pups and can you call/email them?

Good luck


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

Slow to mature and really intense are extremely subjective. If you've had American GSD your whole life, than my 3 year old boy is EXTREMELY slow to mature compared to those things. He still acts like a 6 month old puppy, scratch that, I've seen 6 month old puppies act much calmer than him. He's extremely intense compared to American dogs. And in fact, he's probably perfectly in the middle on the "drive" scale when it comes to working dogs.

Like its been said, each litter will run the gamut. You'll have dogs that might be more suited for K9 or SAR work, or maybe set to become Schutzhund world champions in the hands of the right person. And you'll have perfectly good pets that are Schutzhund capable, would have a really fun time doing it, but can also not do it and be really happy playing fetch within a family.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

I've got a ddr puppy right now. Great pup. I consider him a very solid medium drive dog. When the ball comes out, he's all business. Absolute maniac for it. Same goes for the clicker and a bag of treats. Best eye contact i've ever had from a dog. Loves to train and learn. He'd be too much for the average one walk a day pet home, but for GSD people that know the breed, he's medium drive.

I think the whole "slower to mature" thing has to do with schutzhund and bitework than just being an immature dog. The schutzhund people can probably better explain this though.

For an active pet home, he's great. I actually find him to be very mature for being just 6 months old. Well mannered, listens, friendly with everyone, not reactive at all, learns fast, active, had maybe 3 accidents in the house since he's been with me and they were all my fault, great off leash, and a nice off switch when inside, but does need his outdoor time. He's sitting in the corner right now chewing on one of his toys while I'm typing this and watching the game on tv. Hasn't made a peep in a couple hours.


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## J and J M (Sep 20, 2013)

Thank you for the personal experiences and comments. These past few have been quite helpful and really appritated.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

J and J M said:


> I have had German shepherds for 30 years just never a working line.


What bloodlines did you have previously? It will help a lot if we know what you have to compare to, what you liked about those dogs, and what you might like to see different.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

best depends on your training whether it's a WL or SL.



J and J M said:


> I'm looking into getting a working line puppy and was wondering which >>>>> type would be best. <<<<<
> 
> 
> Actually I have my own opinion but kinda wanted others to either prove me wrong or right. Responsibilities of dog will be first and foremost a family companion. Two is jogging partner and official ball or frisbie catcher. Three is possible club level schutzhund. Medium drive and again good family companion. So which is better WGWL, DDR, or Czech?


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## GSD07 (Feb 23, 2007)

Lucy Dog said:


> I actually find him to be very mature for being just 6 months old. Well mannered, listens, friendly with everyone, not reactive at all, learns fast, active


 6 months old, a perfect baby puppy, I thought the same. Just wait when he hits 2 yo


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

My girl is 1/2 Czech, 1/4 DDR and 1/4 WGWL and she is awesome! She is quite high drive, a bit civil/sharp in the work, but super social, super-de-duper intense all the time in everything she does, but settles well in the house. Great "take anywhere" dog, and is always up for anything.

She trains in a bunch of venues; schH, competitive obedience (UKC, CKC stuff), lure coursing, dock diving and currently is actively training in herding cattle. 

I could not be happier with her. I tend to like the Czech lines but do have to admit to loving my "mixed" girl.


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