The American German Shepherd
By Jason Lake  

     What has happened to the AKC German Shepherd in American?. Lets look at structure first, the German Shepherd was originally bred for herding but over the years the breed has turned into a dog of many talents. If you have ever watched a herding trial its easy to see how much the dog relies on its physical ability to move quickly and turn corners in the blink of the eye. So what has happened to the AKC German Shepherd?. Well the answer to that is very simple "MONEY". Here's an example, if we take any dog even a dog straight out of the pound with no pedigree or history and that dog wins a number of events or shows breeders feel the value of the animal goes up and there for it should be bred. I am not saying that the dog from the pound is any less of a working dog then a pink papered German Shepherd, but everything changes when it comes to breeding. The goal of any breeder should be to breed to improve the breed period. 

     I have herd it said that the split with the German and American shepherd started happening in the early to mid 80's. Because I was so young I can not say for a fact I saw this with my own eyes but you can start to see a change by looking at top winners photos.  Some where down the line either with one dog or a kennel, over stretched and over angulated in the front and rear dogs started being bred. My guess is after this dog won once or twice breeders felt they had a better chance of winning if they bred according to that top winning dog. If a breeders stud dog or brood bitch wins a national or large show event they can sell the puppies for twice as much then their normal stock. Since then breeders of the American German shepherd have taken this idea to the extreme. But the AKC German Shepherd has not always been this bad, remember 40 years ago most German Shepherd's in America were straight out of Germany it was not till 20-30 years later that the American bred German Shepherd really showed its ugly head. Its very sad to go to a AKC show and see dogs that walk on their hocks (back legs), when people talk or refer to the AKC German Shepherd most of the time they just call them "Hock Walkers" for that reason. But that is only one of the problems with the AKC bred German Shepherd, the only thing is it is one of the worst the breed could have. Most SV judges will say that the most important part of the German Shepherd structure is the rear drive of the dog. But even a German bred dog with very good angulation is no better then the american bred German Shepherd if the rest of the structure is not harmonious with the rear. Ok now lets put structure aside and talk about temperament for a moment. Ed Frawley of Leerberg kennels once stated in one of his videos that (and I quote) "1 out of   1,000 american bred German Shepherd could do schutzhund or police work", and that's sad. This is true for the simple fact that the AKC has bred the working ability out of the german shepherd. By working ability I mean structure but more importantly temperament and drive to want to work. In Germany a litter of puppies cannot be registered with the SV unless both parents have schutzhund titles. But make no mistake about it just because the puppies are from titled parents that does not mean they will all be top dogs for sport or police work, you must test each puppy and pick the one that will meet your needs accordingly. If you have been around breeders or trainers for any amount of time you will hear the term "Pick of the litter", it basically states that out of the litter the puppy they chose had the best drive, temperament and structure for them. This does not mean the rest of the litter is bad but when your picking a puppy for schutzhund or police work you must have a pup with a solid foundation in order to build upon. 

     Up to now you have heard me refer to the German shepherd Dogs in the AKC as "AKC German Shepherd's", but just because a dog is registered with the AKC it does not make it a bad dog. I my self title dogs in AKC obedience. What makes the dog bad is when you start breeding dogs to the extreme either for the AKC show or SV and Schutzhund trials. You must always look at the whole picture not just the drive but the structure to, and do this without forgetting temperament. In closing its very important that you do not take my word as truth or even the word of top judges or trainers, but look at all sides and gain as much knowledge as possible and then you decide for your self what's right or wrong. I have been to AKC shows, seiger shows and schutzhund trials along with training dogs for 11 years. Over the past 11 years I have been given the chance to work with some great German bred dogs, but on the other hand I have also seen many German dogs no better then a AKC bred German shepherd. I have made many mistakes when it comes to trying to pick that perfect dog but I don't regret them, each mistake made me learn and study more in order to try to not make the same mistake twice. I am in no way a expert I pray I never become one for the simple fact that I hope I never stop learning about the breed. What I wish to do is pass on what I have learned to others in order to better the breed. One breeder cannot keep the German shepherd a true working dog by themselves we must all work together in order to to keep the breed what it is, A WORKING DOG.