I watched a couple of clips from the show on AP's website. The 2 dogs I saw, Sully and Cody, looked to be in very good condition for working dogs. Police dogs can't do their jobs effectively if they are carrying too much weight. Most pet dogs are kept heavier than police or sport (Schutzhund) dogs. Dogs involved in such activities risk injury if they're too heavy, and they won't be as fast as they could be, nor can they jump or scale as easily.
I've heard schutzhund trainers fuss at owners more than once that their dogs were too fat. And those dogs looked like the average dog - you couldn't see ribs or muscle on them.
One other thing. If you allow a young German Shepherd to get too heavy before it is mature, say before it's two, you are putting strain on the dog's joints that could predispose it to panosteitis, hip or elbow dysplasia and arthritis in later years. A dog, like a human, doesn't need to eat until it will eat no more to be healthy or treated humanely.
My 5 1/2 year old GSD is not as thin as she could be, but she's not doing schutzhund or agility. She's not obese, either. Heavy dogs are not healthy.
