# Working showline cross German shepherds



## GermanShepherdLoverKing (Mar 21, 2014)

Has anyone own a working and showline cross before? What did they look like
Can you tell me has temperament


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Contact Robin Huerta


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## GatorDog (Aug 17, 2011)

My dog Aiden is a WGSL/WGWL cross.

4/7/14 by Gator_Dog, on Flickr

4/7/14 by Gator_Dog, on Flickr

6/1/14 by Gator_Dog, on Flickr

6/25/14 by Gator_Dog, on Flickr

6/25/14 by Gator_Dog, on Flickr

12/15/13 by Gator_Dog, on Flickr

LWDC Trial-9/7/13 by Gator_Dog, on Flickr

LWDC Trial-9/7/13 by Gator_Dog, on Flickr

Barn 2013 by Gator_Dog, on Flickr

IPO1 by Gator_Dog, on Flickr

4/8/13 by Gator_Dog, on Flickr

He is a medium drive dog. Overall, low energy and easy to keep, but will run and swim with you all day if asked. I can take him anywhere. I trained him to IPO3, FH and he was a very natural tracker. Definitely my heart dog.


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## bill (Nov 8, 2013)

Aidien looks great can see why he is your heart dog!
Was he the first you trained in sch.? Cherokee was mine I trained him 35 years ago" still miss him! Aiden is beautiful know you ate very proud. Bill

Stahl my boy!


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

I have one right now, WGSL sire, WL dam. He is 8 months old, nice dog. I wasn't going to get one from the breeder (she offered me a puppy in lieu of stud fee) because I didn't really like the dam's pedigree, but I changed my mind last minute and took the puppy. I figured I'd just let him grow out and see how he turned out, possibly sell/place him as an active pet later, but so far I like him as a sport prospect. He is training for flyball and disc dog pretty seriously (age appropriate stuff), already dock dives and lure courses, and will be starting agility after our long vacation. He's on the small size (not really short, but I keep him lean). He's not a breeding prospect, he's social and awesome in any environment (he's traveled all over, many tournaments/shows/events) but he doesn't really have the toughness I like in a dog that I would consider breeding and working (Schutzhund or other protection sports) more seriously. His father is a tougher dog, his mother is in my opinion soft for a working line (hence my original decision to not take a puppy, I didn't think she would preserve the toughness and more forward aggression that I like to see). I'm pretty attached to him and he's a really fun puppy to own and train.


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## lauren43 (Jun 14, 2014)

Liesje, how did you work with your pup appropriately for disc dog ( I'm super interested in the sport)...but I know it can be high impact for growing puppies.


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## Andaka (Jun 29, 2003)

I have a 3/4 ASL x 1/4 DDR male. He is awesome! He has good drives for working and retrieving. Very biddable. He did try to get to the weird stranger in his temperament test. Does anything I ask of him - agility, obedience, rally, etc. Likes to swim.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

lauren43 said:


> Liesje, how did you work with your pup appropriately for disc dog ( I'm super interested in the sport)...but I know it can be high impact for growing puppies.
> [/QUOTE]
> 
> Keep him on the ground. I don't throw far anymore. When I started, he could catch pretty long throws but never jumped up to get them. I was using a disc that's actually a water toy, heavy and soft. He would get under it and let it fall into his mouth. Once he started jumping for it, I quit those long tosses. Now I only toss in my front yard about 10-20' tosses, or I throw longer "rollers". I also waiting until he had his hips and elbows checked before doing any disc at all. We do stuff that doesn't involve jumping and catching, like going around my body both ways, going through my legs, *waiting* in front of me and actually paying attention to my hand signals (not just running in circles until I throw a disc). He's never going to do the trick type stuff like vaults and flips, he will to the toss and catch and some of the UpDog games that are more appropriate for the breed/size.


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## lauren43 (Jun 14, 2014)

Awesome! That gives me a place to start.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

the answer depends on the makeup of the pedigree for each partner , work and show .


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

lauren43 said:


> Awesome! That gives me a place to start.
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Also look up Pawsitive Vybe on YouTube. I'll be watching their videos and maybe doing an online training class.

In the pic of the dog jumping, I only do a toss like that maybe 2-3 times in a session (a toss where he's jumping). The rest he will catch without jumping, or I'm throwing rollers on the ground. I try not to have him jump at all, but I was throwing at my husband with the camera and I can't aim that well at a short distance, lol.


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## jafo220 (Mar 16, 2013)

Cruz has WL/SL of west German decent. Mostly, he's a sweetheart. Very strong pack leader instinct. Very strong prey drive coupled with a low threshold, can be a handful at times. In my inexpert opinion, very good nose, very natural at it. In hands of a very experienced trainer, would shape into a good dog for whatever you want to do. Just a few drives need corralled. Down side, little to no off switch. This dog will go till he drops.

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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

Liesje said:


> Also look up Pawsitive Vybe on YouTube. I'll be watching their videos and maybe doing an online training class.
> 
> In the pic of the dog jumping, I only do a toss like that maybe 2-3 times in a session (a toss where he's jumping). The rest he will catch without jumping, or I'm throwing rollers on the ground. I try not to have him jump at all, but I was throwing at my husband with the camera and I can't aim that well at a short distance, lol.


 
I have a 19 month old that is a frisbee fanatic. I have an 8 month old I started teaching 2 weeks ago (well he was 7.5 months then) and he caught right on from watching Eli. After a few short runs I started throwing just a little farther and was dumbfounded to see him launch crazy high in the air. His jumps are way higher than Eli's and it looks like he suspends in the air.
I've had to cut way back but man it's hard to throw good short tosses. They just don't fly well but I've got to protect his joints until he's older. I hadn't considered getting the sport. I'll check out the vids.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

I'm very new, like brand spankin newbie! I got started because I wanted Legend in the water, so I started tossing his water toy (Chuck It ZipFlight) on land, so he'd think it was awesome before we got to the dock. As I played with it, he got REALLY good at running out and catching it, without jumping. That transferred to anything flat/disc shaped. If he sees you touch a Frisbee he is your best friend. Fast forward to mid-June, I was at the UKC Premier to dock dive (which Legend did) when I got talked into trying this new Frisbee event even though I didn't own a Frisbee and my dogs had never used one, only the ChuckIt ring. I bought a "real" disc and entered Nikon in the competition  He actually beat several disc dogs both days! The thing about this venue, the UpDog Challenge, is that they don't really differentiate between a throw and a roller. I only throw rollers for Nikon because he's such a crazy spazz and the Frisbee brings out some insane drive in him, plus he'd rather chase it on the ground. Now that Legend is getting larger and has more drive and more desire to jump, I can throw rollers for him too. The rollers allow me to work on ground tricks (no idea what the real disc dog term is!) and still reward with a "throw", but never have him jumping.


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## Guardyan (Aug 29, 2005)

We did our first German showline & working line cross in 2012 and kept back two pups from that litter. The male has high pack drive - wants to be with his handler and wants to please. He is social with other dogs and people. Naturally enjoys tracking and has strong retrieving instincts. At 60 lbs he is on the smaller side, but I prefer this for agility and obedience.The female is approximately 55 lbs. She is more independent, but has ample prey/play to compensate. Environmentally sound and a balanced, efficient mover. Structurally, all of the pups in the litter are athletic, small to medium size, have moderate angulation, and are firmly ligamented. They are just over two years old, no health issues to date (knock on wood), and both of our pups are OFA Good hips & Normal elbows.

So far I am pleased with this litter. Our pups are training/trialing in agility, obedience, rally, and tracking. There are two pups from the litter with club members and they are training in agility and obedience. (I hope to talk them into some tracking and herding too). 

If you are considering purchasing a puppy from a SL/WL cross, it is critical to look for parents with strong nerves and calm, stable temperaments. 

Here are some photos of the "K" pups:


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## Carriesue (Aug 13, 2012)

Ollie is half west German showline(sires side) and half west and East German working line(dams side). He is 25' at the withers and 66lbs.

He is medium-high drive, VERY high prey drive and an extremely easy keeper in the house... He can be totally fine in the house with me when I'm having a pain flare up or can gogogogogo depending on what I need. We do herding(which he has the most intense drive and love for), agility, lure coursing and barn hunts... We are getting ready to start doing some IPO training as well. Will he be at nationals or be as good as a lot of full working lines? No, I'm realistic and just love working with him and seeing how far we can go and what we can do!

He has an excellent temperament, I take him everywhere with me... He's extremely aloof towards strangers but will be social if need be especially with kids. He is becoming more naturally protective but judges non threats and real threats very well. Really his only behavioral issue is being leash reactive towards dogs but I'm working on it with his IPO trainer and in his case it's more a handler issue and we are making progress. 

Is he perfect? No, I'd love more ball and food drive and he has some confidence issues which we're working on(he's 23 months old) currently. I'm biased of course but he's the best dog I've ever had. :wub:


Stack improving! by Carriesue82, on Flickr


Ollie 2014 by Carriesue82, on Flickr


Ollie 2014 by Carriesue82, on Flickr


Ollie by Carriesue82, on Flickr


Ollie 2014 by Carriesue82, on Flickr


Untitled photo by Carriesue82, on Flickr


Lure Coursing by Carriesue82, on Flickr


Big Bear Lake by Carriesue82, on Flickr


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## HarleyTheGSD (Feb 13, 2012)

My two year old intact male, Varick, is DDR (sire is pure DDR) and West German show line (dam is WGSL/DDR cross). 

He is 26" tall, 85 lbs lean. 
Dark Sable, standard coat.
Medium prey drive and tug drive
Very high ball drive
High defense drive 
Aloof towards strangers
Confident with loud noises (gun shots, fireworks, etc )


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## Blitzkrieg1 (Jul 31, 2012)

Dont do it.. Worst dog I ever owned was SL/ WL cross. All the suspicion and aggression from the working side came together with the less then stellar nerve base in the show side.
Most people seem to think this will lead to the best of both worlds but in the majority of cases it does not.
Cute pictures aside most of these crosses have less then stellar nerves/drives imo.


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## GatorDog (Aug 17, 2011)

Blitzkrieg1 said:


> Dont do it.. Worst dog I ever owned was SL/ WL cross. All the suspicion and aggression from the working side came together with the less then stellar nerve base in the show side.
> Most people seem to think this will lead to the best of both worlds but in the majority of cases it does not.
> Cute pictures aside most of these crosses have less then stellar nerves/drives imo.


That's quite an opinion based on someone who I can guarantee hasn't met any of these dogs. Not only that, but you have no idea what the OP is looking for in a dog anyways. Obviously it makes sense to go with working lines for working hobbies, but for a super awesome active house pet, you will not find a better dog than my own, no question.

Too bad he's got IPO3 and FH being such crappy nerve bag.  I'll base my opinions off my own successful experiences, rather than others who would sooner quit because they might actually have to work a little to bring out the best in the dog. 

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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Meh, in my dog's case the nerve issues came from the working side. I suspected it going into the breeding which is why I originally did not accept the offer to keep back a puppy. I already knew going in that my male needs a really strong dam to keep the defense and aggression in check. What I suspected was confirmed by other people I know who have worked with/trained with and boarded the female. In the end I took a gamble and changed my mind, took the puppy with an open mind, as a puppy I could train for a friend who is contemplating adding another GSD but does not want a baby puppy. I got attached to him and like what I see for my sports other than Schutzhund. But yes it can be a gamble, not because the show line is diluting the working line but because in general if you don't have a REALLY good working knowledge of both pedigrees, it's very hard to predict how they will interact with such an extreme outcross, can be hard to predict even when you do. Like I said, in my case the bitch was not strong enough to maintain the temperament I like about the male, at least as far as working traits or doing protection sport. Other than that, the puppy is fine. In fact one of my vets says he's the most stable tempered GSD he's ever seen and was trying to buy him off me. HE also had the best hip and elbow prelims I've ever had for my dogs which is important to me since he's my next performance/competition dog. He's not bad tempered by any means, but is not the level of strength and forward aggression I would expect in a dog that is seriously being titled in IPO and considered a breeding prospect. I actually expected him to be sharper and more of a spook, but he's turned out quite nice. I take him all over and he's quite social with other dogs and people, but his confidence took some developing. At 8 weeks he was not the puppy that's leading the way or jumping into the thick of things, he's the puppy that's genuinely curious and not going to leave but going to wait for his brother to try it first


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## Carriesue (Aug 13, 2012)

If I used your logic Blitz then all working lines are neurotic nerve bags because the ones I've been around are very far from being stable dogs. But I don't base an entire breed/line off of one dog or a small handful of dogs I've met.


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## Carriesue (Aug 13, 2012)

And that's quite a thing for you to say my dog is nervy when you've never actually met him. I guess all my trainers who love him and all the compliments I get on how calm and well behaved he is are lies! And I guess he's just pretending when he has no reaction to fireworks or gun shots. 

And someone jumping on the all showlines are nerve bags wagon, to me is just showing their ignorance of the breed.


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## Xeph (Jun 19, 2005)

Strauss is a WGSL/WL/AmLine cross. Best dog I've ever had


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## ksotto333 (Aug 3, 2011)

I think what these cute pictures and stories show are beautiful dogs involved successfully in a wide variety of activities. Here are a couple of my full sisters..Sire Show Line/dam Working line, great active dogs, wonderful with children, they both love swimming, fetch, settle great in the house. 

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## scarfish (Apr 9, 2013)

both our dogs are WL SL mix. the first one, female red sable wasn't planned. wife just loved her looks. turned out to be a perfect dog, easily passed CGC under a year. she's a little aloof towards human strangers. she'll growl if a stranger just walk up and sticks their arm in her face. we were so pleased we got another from mix from the same breeder, the tan sable. he is the opposite towards strangers. both great dogs.


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## GSD2727 (Apr 22, 2002)

My foundation female was a West German working x show cross. I could not have been happier with her. 

SG Olivia vom Reichtal

She was my first SchH dog and I took her from 7 week old puppy to 3x SchH3 IPO3 without ever failing on the SchH field, she also earned many other titles as well as her SG show rating, breed survey, she did a ton of demos and other things that were great PR for the breed. More importantly she produced several kids/grandkids who were police dogs, SAR dogs, service dogs, SchH dogs, performance dogs and great companions. She also had siblings that were titled in SchH and worked as police dogs. 

I bred her (and her daughter/granddaughter) back to working line stud dogs. I have toyed with the idea of breeding her granddaughter or one of her great granddaughters to a particular show line male that I really like... or maybe one of his 1/2 working 1/2 show line sons that is coming up.


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