Chiming in here to say that I have a WGSL who has a wonderful mind. He’s a good boy, needs a job, and is one of those dogs that will follow you around even when there are far more interesting things going on in the vicinity.
He looks like a frog. Loose ligaments that have not been substantially improved by diet or physical therapy. His croup is super steep. People seem to think he has hip dysplasia, but he x-rayed “Good.” His conformation prevents any serious athleticism, but he’s content to follow me around on hikes or cuddle. He just needs to be around me a lot, he’s not a dog who can just be a housepet with the occasional walk.
I seriously considered rehoming him (we only have room in our current home to manage one dog efficiently, and I wanted a working dog) after realizing his conformation would stop him from doing any sports effectively, but he wiggled his way into being part of the family somehow. My significant other formed a huge bond with him and likes having a dog to go running with, so we have that.
Edit: I know I make it sound like I don’t love/want him here. I do love him, he’s just not everything I hoped he would be. Kind of like a less expensive pasture puff!
I also prefer PennHip.
[QUOTE=IdahoRider;7483045]
After years and years of living with this breed, I finally decided that enough was enough and have decided to go in an entirely different direction with my next dog.
My male is almost 8 years old now. I bought him as a puppy from a highly recommended breeder. She did all the testing, competed nationally and said all the right things. But the reality was much different and my poor dog has had health and temperament issues that have hounded him his whole life. He is West German Showlines. I think that the WGSL breeders have focused so heavily on the black and red color that some things have fallen by the wayside. They do tend to have food allergies and their temperaments can be a little wonky (dog reactivity seems to be a common theme).
I think that great German Shepherd Dogs can be found in any of the three main lines: American Showlines, working lines and West German Showlines. The trick is to find a breeder that is doing it right. Find a breeder that knows their dogs and what they produce, and be very honest when you describe your lifestyle. And then let them match you to the right puppy. Find a breeder that produces dogs that fit what you want to live with.
I have two breeders that I feel comfortable recommending: Theis Hof here in Idaho:
www.theishof.com
and a veterinarian breeding in Southern California. You can PM me for her e-mail address (she does not have a website and I don’t feel comfortable publicly sharing her contact info) if you would like to chat with her.
This a wonderful breed. But I just can’t bring myself to take that leap again. We lost my older GSD to hermangiosarcoma in 2012 and that was such a horrible, horrible experience that I can’t bring myself to try again, considering how he died and the issues we have had with Tanner.
The “sloped back” issue can be misleading. A lot of people see photos of these dogs stacked and think the back “slopes” naturally. Some are more angled than others, but often the stack creates the illusion. And the “sloped back” has no correlation to health issues. Some of the most heavily angled American Showlines have excellent hips. And some of the straightest backs have horrible hips.
Here is a very active GSD forum:
www.germanshepherds.com/forum
Just like any forum, some members are a little more knowledgeable than others. But you can get some great information once you learn who to weed out!
Good luck, OP!
Sheilah[/QUOTE]
+1 for Thieshof. There was a wait list and I ended up going with another breeder. I regret my decision after seeing Theishof’s dogs.
+1 for the GSD forum.
A good breeder is worth the distance. Bad one are dime a dozen.
My vet says that all the GSD’s he sees seem to fall apart around the age of 9. I want a strong, healthy, great brained, long lived GSD… is that too much to ask for?
