Show line or working line German Shepherd puppy for sale? Have you recently been looking online for a German Shepherd, only to have been overwhelmed with an endless set of options? Here at Czech Working Line we are German Shepherd Dog breeders located in northern Oklahoma. Many of our German Shepherd puppies for sale go to Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston. I did a count recently, and just in the Dallas, TX area I found over seven hundred German Shepherd puppies for sale. That’s crazy. And these are just the ones I found in a quick google search. And the variety felt overwhelming. Should you get an American show line dog, or a GSD from working lines? What about a standard size? Or should you get a Giant GSD? And let’s not forget color. Should you get a standard color: a black German Shepherd puppy? What about a sable German Shepherd puppy? And, probably my favorite here at Czech Working Line is the really dark black sable coloring. And then there is price. There are literally hundreds of puppies ranging from just a few hundred dollars to six to eight thousand for a single puppy? There is not space or time in this article to answer all these questions. So, we’ll focus on one big ideas. This article intends to present practical reasons why the working line German Shepherd puppies tend to present with far healthier joints than their show-line counterparts. The article makes a case for why the extreme roach back should be avoided at all costs. Keep reading for practical reasons why every German Shepherd owners should actively avoid the show lines like the plague. See why Czech Working Line’s commitment to producing healthier dogs reasonably limits us to the working line German Shepherds.
Healthier Joints in Working Line German Shepherd Puppies
Last fall, our family helped one of my daughters’s friends move. Now that’s a test of friendship. Rent a U-haul and see which of your friends show up! We did. Thankfully it didn’t turn out too bad. Unlike if you were to help us move (that would take multiple trucks…), they had de-cluttered before we arrived. While we were unloading the U-haul, my kids noticed the neighbor’s dog. It was a long haired American show line dog. But the funny thing is that even though we raise GSDs, they still asked me, “Dad, what kind of a dog is that.” It looked familiar to them. And it wasn’t just that this dog had long hair. My kids do know what a German Shepherd looks like. Well, apparently, they knew what a true working line German Shepherd looks like, But for my children, this dog looked nothing like our dogs. Similar head and a similar size. But the extreme roach back of the American show line pedigree threw them for a loop. The dog had a class show line curve to its spine. Even without being stacked as if for a photo, the dog’s back had a huge curve in it. Its back was high in the middle of the back, then sloped sharply down over the hindquarters.
American Show Line German Shepherd’s Roach Back
Normal is usually nothing more than what we tend to think is normal. What is common to us? That’s normal. If both the American show lines and the west-German Show lines were compared to the historical German Shepherd, we would see there is nothing “historically normal” about these dogs. I am a “show me” kind of person. So when I am on phone talking about German Shepherd health. Here is one of my favorite things to get people to do. I get them to do a google search for “German Shepherd collage through the decades.” I’ll post a picture so you won’t need to do that today. But. I get them to look at how German Shepherds have changed through the years. One thing that becomes evident is the nearly unbelievable development of the roach back in show lines. Here in the USA most show line dogs are a red and black saddleback. I few might be black. But most are red and black saddleback in color. But it’s not their color that makes them so identifiable. It’s their roach back with the hindquarters dropping off to nothing.
Roach Back German Shepherds Equals Increased Displasia
The sad thing is that peer reviewed science clearly shows the roach back increases the risk of hip dysplasia, arthritis, and joint pain later in life.¹ In contrast to the show lines, working line German Shepherds have been bred for utility. The shape of the back, the topline, on the working line German Shepherds is completely different than the show lines. As I often tell people while doing educational talks, “Once you see this, you just can’t unsee it.” Most of us are not engineers. But on a basic level most of us understand basic physics. Jump off a building and because of gravity we all fall. That kind of stuff. So imagine you were going to build a tree fort for the kids in your neighborhood. You dig holes and pour concrete to support four vertical posts as support for the elevated playhouse. But instead of setting the support posts straight up and down, imagine these four posts are all slightly angled inwards. The steeper the angle the less stable these posts will be and the more pressure that will be exerted on the joints where these support posts connect to the structure. This is kind of like what we have going on with the extreme roach back. The stronger the slope to the roach back, the more downward pressure is put on the hip joints. As a grown man, I was raised in a home where men were strong. We don’t cry. Well, I can tell you. It literally brings tears to my eye to see modern GSD breeders destroying the show line dogs before our very eyes.
Peer Reviewed Science on Why Working Line German Shepherds Topline is the Healthier Choice
Without getting too political, yes, I get it that for good reason many of us are less inclined to “trust the science.” Especially when people at the highest levels of authority have done what they have done. But what we are talking about here is common sense. Just for a moment, let’s shift away from a conversation about German Shepherd dogs. Consider the snub nosed breeds such as Pugs, Boston Terriers and Bulldogs. Most airlines won’t even ship these dogs anymore. Too many of them were dying in flight. The dogs would be stressed during transit. They would hyper-ventilate. With such a smashed in face and pinched nostrils they literally couldn’t pant enough to cool down. So many of these dogs were dying during transit the airlines just threw in the towel. And can you blame them? Just because a bunch of “supposed to be smart” breed enthusiasts get together and decide to select for and emphasize a specific set of traits DOES NOT mean this is good for the dog or good for the breed. And yes, doctors, vets, and medical professionals are all guilty of going along with this! All across the country there are literally hundreds of vets that personally raise snub nosed dogs. Dogs that literally die if left outside in the summer. So let’s be clear. Just because the medical professionals are doing something doesn’t necessarily mean something is good or right. Back to the extreme roach back in show line German Shepherds. None of us should need advanced medical training or anatomy and physiology expertise to see why this course of action is disastrous. And it is nothing short of a disaster! Shame on all of us who go along with this! Thankfully, medically professionals have been course correcting on this problem. For peer reviewed studies on the German Shepherd roach back dangers see here and here.
Yes, We Too Were Guilty of These Same Sins
And don’t think for a moment I am suggesting I am innocent in this. I was raised in a family where my parents raised show line dogs. Even as a young adult I did as well. I have personally championed dogs I knew were unhealthy. And yes, they were crowned with the title “AKC champion.” But let’s be clear. An AKC show is nothing more than a glorified beauty contest. Dogs are largely judged on closely they reflect the current breed standard. And if the breed standard results in unhealthy dogs that can’t breath and will die in hot weather, and if the breed standard is shows a dog with an exaggerated roach back. Well then, health be dammed, that’s what wins the show. We all know this is true. This is just saying the quiet part out loud. So, yes, In my younger years, I was guilty of doing this very thing myself. And for that I repent. It’s the very reason why I now avoid show line German Shepherds like the plague.
Here at Czech Working Line, we never, ever, ever mix the show and working line German Shepherds. It could be said we are to a fault committed to raising healthier dogs. It is our highest priority that ever litter of working line German Shepherd puppies for sale is the healthiest we can possibly produce. In a later article we will explore how to interpret OFFA results as compared to the European system that uses lettering to identify passing or failing results. When we write that article, we’ll come back and link to it here.
Working Line German Shepherds the Normal for GSD of Mid-20th Century
The science is clear, the straighter back of the working line German Shepherd is far more sound than their show line counterpart with the extreme roach backs. The flatter topline of the working lines (picture in your mind a Timber Wolf) supports healthier movement and puts less stress on joints. Hip dysplasia ought to be far less common in a well-bred working line German Shepherd. Arthritis should be much slower to set in. The actual anatomy of the working lines dates back to GSDs of the 1920’s to 1960’s. These dogs we contend represent the highest and best representation of what we should expect a great German Shepherd to actually look like. The flatter back reduces stress on their hips and joints.² Breeders who add health testing to these healthier frames will further ensure their dogs continue as healthy representations of the breed.³
Here at Czech Working Line we are personally convinced the health of our German Shepherd puppies out to be our first and greatest priority. As German Shepherd breeders our commitment to health logically narrows our focus to working line German Shepherds and to these lines alone. We don’t fudge on this. Not ever! When you choose our family for a pup, know this. We only ever offer working line German Shepherd puppies for sale. And this will never change! We exclusively raise working line German Shepherds. Never show lines! Within the working lines, we focus on Czech Shepherds, although by no means exclusively.
Bibliography
- Corbee, Ronald J. “Nutritional Management and Exercise for Joint Health in Dogs.” Veterinary Quarterly 35, no. 1 (2015): 49-53.
- Vidoni, Barbara, et al. “The Influence of Skeletal Alignment on the Canine Gait Cycle.” Veterinary Orthopedics and Traumatology 30, no. 3 (2017): 193-200.
- Smith, Guy K., et al. “Heritability of Hip Dysplasia in German Shepherd Dogs and Influence of Early Detection.” Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 221, no. 1 (2002): 82-85.
- Fuchs, Detlef. “BH/VT Testing as a Measure of Canine Temperament and Suitability for Working Roles.” Applied Animal Behaviour Science 101, no. 3-4 (2007): 321-332.
- Schalke, Eva, et al. “Behavior Testing in Working Dogs: A Review of Methods and Applications.” Journal of Veterinary Behavior 7, no. 1 (2012): 12-19.
- Miklósi, Ádám. “The Role of Temperament in Working Dog Breeding.” Animal Cognition 11, no. 3 (2008): 367-377.
- Masuda, Yukari, et al. “IGP Titles as Indicators of Physical and Behavioral Fitness in Working Dogs.” Frontiers in Veterinary Science 6 (2019): 119.
- Polgár, Zita, et al. “Physiological and Psychological Benefits of IGP Training in German Shepherd Dogs.” Animal Welfare 24, no. 4 (2021): 427-436.
- Salgirli, Yusuf, et al. “Physical Performance Requirements in IGP-Trained Dogs.” Journal of Canine Sports Medicine 10, no. 2 (2018): 95-103.
