# What type of GSD do I have?



## Chalgat (Jan 30, 2013)

Hi there. I was wondering if someone could help me figure out what type of German Shepherd I have. 
A little background on my dog, Hercules. My friend bought his mother, Hanna, from a man that wanted to breed her. However, he also had a female Boxer and the two began fighting so he decided to sell Hanna. She was around 9 months old when my friend bought her and after a month realized she was pregnant. She was so young! She really didn't have any information to give me about the Hanna. We don't know if the man my friend bought her from tried to breed her before he decided to sell her or if he had any male dogs that could have impregnated her. So we really have no idea who the father is.

When we brought Hercules into the pet store as a puppy, a woman went nuts over him and wanted to know where we got him from and who his parents are, etc. Of course we didn't have the answers for her, but it made us want to figure out what kind of GSD we have. Here are some pictures of Hercules. If anyone could help shed some light on on this, it would be greatly appreciated.

Hanna, his Mother, and her puppies








Hercules, 1 day old








Hercules, 7 weeks old









Hercules, 10 weeks old









Hercules, a couple months old









Hercules, 1 year old









Hercules, 2 years 8 months


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## CeCe (Jun 1, 2011)

What a handsome boy. He is probably American Pet lines.


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## nitemares (Dec 15, 2005)

He is 100% cute GSD!! very handsome :wub:


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## mego (Jan 27, 2013)

omg those puppy pics!!!! love the 10 weeks one


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## BellaLuna (Jan 27, 2013)

OMG he looks exactly like my Bella at the pic he's 2 yes old almost identical, wish I could show you a pic but can't figure out how to load a pic on here from my phone lol however if you go to the photo gallery on this forum and type my angel her photo album will appear. I have her pedigree and I'm sure she's from a German line but this is all new to me and I quite don't understand it all lol so I'm sorry I'm not much help I need to find someone that can translate for me


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## Chalgat (Jan 30, 2013)

Thanks everyone! He is such a handsome boy. We want to get a female so that they can eventually have puppies, so we would like to make sure we get a female in the same line as Hercules. We just don't know how to tell what Hercules is.


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## LeoRose (Jan 10, 2013)

Chalgat said:


> Thanks everyone! He is such a handsome boy. We want to get a female so that they can eventually have puppies, so we would like to make sure we get a female in the same line as Hercules. *We just don't know how to tell what Hercules is*.


 
Umm, if you don't even know what lines your dog is from, _why_ do you want to have puppies?


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## Chalgat (Jan 30, 2013)

LeoRose said:


> Umm, if you don't even know what lines your dog is from, _why_ do you want to have puppies?


Well, that is why I'm asking for help on figuring out what line he is from.


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## LeoRose (Jan 10, 2013)

From what I understand from your first post, he doesn't even have papers. _Why_ would you want to breed him?

You might want to take a look at the chart in the first post of this thread. http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...r/149386-should-i-breed-my-dog-flowchart.html If your dog doesn't meet the recommentations, he really shouldn't be bred.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

It doesn't matter what "lines" he's from, he's not registered and unless you can find his parents/grandparents/greatgrandparents pedigrees, he should not be bred.
He's a very nice pet, but not breeding quality, keep him as a pet and neuter him, that is the healthiest thing to do for him at this point


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## mandiah89 (Jan 18, 2013)

All of you have got to be kidding me! If the dog has been cert. for hips and elbows, has been genetically tested for any genetic diseases and he is free and clear and healthy, and this person finds another GSD also cert. hips ect. then why should he not breed them? Im sick of everyone saying you need to have papers for your dog to breed him, that is such close minded thinking you all have me so angry! I would rather get a puppy from parents who are completely healthy and tested for that, rather than a puppy that has papers that are not tested!


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## Andaka (Jun 29, 2003)

But you can have both -- a puppy from parents who are registered, titled, and with health certifications.

There are around 50,000 GSD's registered with AKC every year, and probably at least that many who are not registered.


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

mandiah89 said:


> All of you have got to be kidding me! If the dog has been cert. for hips and elbows, has been genetically tested for any genetic diseases and he is free and clear and healthy, and this person finds another GSD also cert. hips ect. then why should he not breed them? Im sick of everyone saying you need to have papers for your dog to breed him, that is such close minded thinking you all have me so angry! I would rather get a puppy from parents who are completely healthy and tested for that, rather than a puppy that has papers that are not tested!


I didn't want to chime in on this thread but...

How would you be sure you're not breeding this dog to it's mother/sister/cousin/grandmother/aunt? How do you know he's not carrying a gene for bad hips (which the parents might've had or the siblings do have)? Just because a dog is clear of issues doesn't mean they don't carry a gene for those issues...and sorry genetic testing is not accurate enough at this point to rule out the hundreds of diseases that affect GSDs.

But mostly...how would you guarantee you're not breeding this dog back to an extremely close relative?

Dog without papers is also probably not trialed, or trained in anything. Probably isn't judged against his peers in his breed to make sure that dog is breed worthy. Why pass on sub-par genetics? Dog without papers probably only has the owner to gauge how great he/she is...someone extremely biased and basing their opinion on the dogs ability to be a PET and nothing more than that.

Tell you the truth...IF this dog was bred...it should pretty much be a complete outcross to make sure you're not breeding with close relatives. And then you're at risk of genetics not mixing well and getting some very questionable temperaments.


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## robk (Jun 16, 2011)

With out a pedigree you have no way of knowing the percentage of bad hips behind the dog. You have no way of knowing what genetic faults may have shown up in litter mates. You have no way of knowing what the back masking looks like. Responsible breeders only breed dogs that they have a very good understanding of genetically and are able to pair breeding pairs with a high level of confidence in what the next generation is likely to be like. This breed is rife with genetic health and temperament issues. The way these issues are resolved is through intelligent breeding decisions.


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