FussyHen
In the Brooder
- Feb 17, 2015
- 26
- 2
- 47
"The bigger problem with German Shepherds is there are so many with crappy temperments. Hyper-wary and fearful."
Actually, I believe there is some truth to that with any popular breed. But German Shepherds have generally been ruined for a longer time due to their popularity; they are well-known, have had their own TV shows, have been used as police dogs, etc. I worked for a veterinarian starting in the late 1960s to 1980. Every money-grubbing dog person jumped on the Let's-Breed-German-Shepherds wagon. It it was a GS, or looked like a GS, they were breeding them w/o regards to brains, temperment, health, inheritable health defects, nothing. It was the money-money-money. GSs were one of the top dogs in the pet shelters because the idiots buying them thought they came trained (as 6-wk pups). Other people bought the dogs from the shelters and bred them. Generation after generation, with more biting problems, more thyroid problems, more hip dysplasia and other physical problems.
Twenty years later, it was almost impossible to get a decent dog, even for a pet.
Here's a photo of a German Shepherd of the 1950s, a real working dog (note the strong rectangular overall shape): http://www.freedogadvice.com/1242.jpg These dogs used to be able to clear an 8.5-ft fence. Not now.
Here's a photo of the current German Shepherd -- look at the weak, sloping hindquarters they've "manufactured" into the breed: http://shawlein.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/680.jpg Which of those two dogs look like they could work all day and still be fresh?
Today, the working German Shepherd has been replaced by the Belgian Malinois. Unfortunately, they're breeding them for biting, aggressiveness and hyperactivity. Lovely *sneer*.
They've also ruined the Miniature Poodle, the Cocker Spaniel, Boston Terrier, Pug, Collie, English Bulldog, Bull Terrier, Basset Hound, Boxers, Dachshunds, and St. Bernard.
OTOH, people used to be smarter, nicer and healthier, too.
Actually, I believe there is some truth to that with any popular breed. But German Shepherds have generally been ruined for a longer time due to their popularity; they are well-known, have had their own TV shows, have been used as police dogs, etc. I worked for a veterinarian starting in the late 1960s to 1980. Every money-grubbing dog person jumped on the Let's-Breed-German-Shepherds wagon. It it was a GS, or looked like a GS, they were breeding them w/o regards to brains, temperment, health, inheritable health defects, nothing. It was the money-money-money. GSs were one of the top dogs in the pet shelters because the idiots buying them thought they came trained (as 6-wk pups). Other people bought the dogs from the shelters and bred them. Generation after generation, with more biting problems, more thyroid problems, more hip dysplasia and other physical problems.
Twenty years later, it was almost impossible to get a decent dog, even for a pet.
Here's a photo of a German Shepherd of the 1950s, a real working dog (note the strong rectangular overall shape): http://www.freedogadvice.com/1242.jpg These dogs used to be able to clear an 8.5-ft fence. Not now.
Here's a photo of the current German Shepherd -- look at the weak, sloping hindquarters they've "manufactured" into the breed: http://shawlein.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/680.jpg Which of those two dogs look like they could work all day and still be fresh?
Today, the working German Shepherd has been replaced by the Belgian Malinois. Unfortunately, they're breeding them for biting, aggressiveness and hyperactivity. Lovely *sneer*.
They've also ruined the Miniature Poodle, the Cocker Spaniel, Boston Terrier, Pug, Collie, English Bulldog, Bull Terrier, Basset Hound, Boxers, Dachshunds, and St. Bernard.
OTOH, people used to be smarter, nicer and healthier, too.
