Please critique pedigree- agility dog

[wildo]

I am hoping someone may be willing to put in the time to look through this pedigree for me. I saw a dog from this K litter at the trial this weekend and I was plenty impressed with her (at least as an agility dog). She was very fast and had what appeared to me to be strong drive. She was seemingly well structured and had good "rebound" from correction. I happened to be bar setting in a corner of the ring where she blew a contact and the owner gave her a sharp "No!" (which is about as "harsh" as you can get inside the agility ring). The dog had no issues with it; didn't shut down; didn't appear to be phased; and continued on with the course as fast, sharp, and focused as she started. Yes, I know that's not much of a correction to be judging nerve from- but that's all I have to go on. Overall, I thought the dog was a great representation of what a GSD agility dog should look like.

Keeper vom Kriegershaus - German Shepherd Dog

Thanks!

[Mrs.K]

Very nice pedigree, she's got some pretty good and very old names in there. That dog should be capable of much more than just (not that it's easy)Agility.

[wildo]

Thanks Mrs.K! I was quite impressed with her, and did get some time to speak with her owner about the struggles of living with her. She said she has to stay very active with her- multiple walks a day (totaling more than 4 miles), biking with her, agility of course, doggie treadmill in the winter, etc, etc. Sounds like the dog has plenty of energy for sure. And again- I only have the trial experience to go on, so I'll say that based on her quietness (not a peep) in the crate- she must have a nice off switch as well.

[MaggieRoseLee]

Originally Posted by wildo

Thanks Mrs.K! I was quite impressed with her, and did get some time to speak with her owner about the struggles of living with her. She said she has to stay very active with her- multiple walks a day (totaling more than 4 miles), biking with her, agility of course, doggie treadmill in the winter, etc, etc. Sounds like the dog has plenty of energy for sure. And again- I only have the trial experience to go on, so I'll say that based on her quietness (not a peep) in the crate- she must have a nice off switch as well.

Best way to find what you want is to do exactly what you are doing... find the 'type' you want. Talk to people that have pups from that breeder. Then start building (or not ) a relationship with the breeder. Finding out THEIR goals for their dogs and if you agree and want to support it with your money and your mouth!

I may find a great dog at a trial but then talk to the breeder and hear they actually are looking for much higher drives and AGGRESSION in their dogs. They may have many many litters each year and only outdoor kennel all there many dogs. For me, those are exclusionary breeder attributes (that's for me ). Or they refuse to let me talk to/email any other puppy owners from the past.....

So it's the complete research that is involved, and time. But your start is EXACTLY right!

[wildo]

Mrs.K- I am curious if you are willing to do a more in depth review. In looking at the pedigree, I see Lord on the sire side- but not sure I recognize any of the other names. The sire side also appears to have some nice OFA scores in early generations with Isar vom Leerburg. I think "FH-100" is a perfect score in some sport which Wessex vom Leerburg boasts.

On the dam side, I see (what I think is "the typical working line lineage") Fero, Troll, Yoschy- and I think Andy von der Bildsaule is a big name as well? So the dam side seems to have some nice names.

And all that is interesting to me. But it's all rather aesthetic. I am not sure who supplies drives, nerve, or temperament.

Also interesting to me is that the sire and dam are from the same kennel- and be it a K litter, I wonder if that says anything (as in- the breeder is trying to accomplish something)? I don't know if that means anything or not. Just saying that in many of the pedigrees I've seen posted here, it doesn't seem common to see the same kennel names on the sire and dam. I could very well be wrong in that.

[robk]

I don't know anything about Agility but I would love to see Otis in a pedigree I was considering!

[wildo]

Originally Posted by robk

I don't know anything about Agility but I would love to see Otis in a pedigree I was considering!

Why?

[robk]

Originally Posted by wildo

Why?

Leerburg Stud Dog Otis

Otis is a dog who has actually done the work that schutzhund dogs pretend to do!

[wildo]

Thanks- the Leerburg info was very helpful indeed. Wow- Otis does appear to be a superstar dog. And I am so glad to see this! If I hadn't met "Keeper" I might see a pedigree like this and view this as way too much dog for me. I am positive I could handle Keeper- and seeing these massively awesome dogs in her pedigree are giving me a lot of insight into what I might want in the future.

From the leerburg site:

Otis is a German Import, he is an outstanding dog. He is a very dark brown sable of substantial size (@ 90 pounds). He has a large head with big bones. His hips are "A" stamp Normal which is the highest hip rating that Germany gives.
Otis is a certified dual purpose narcotics patrol dog. For three years before coming to our kennel Otis worked as a patrol dog for a major city located 30 miles north of the Mexican border. He has literally found hundreds of pounds of narcotics and has been involved in the apprehension of many felony suspects. He was forced to bite approximatly 15 of these suspects that resisted arrest.
Otis has a pedigree to die for. His sire (Mink) was in the German Bundessieger. Many Mink sons have competed in the Bundessieger, (in fact Otis's full sister (Olive) finished 13th in the 1996 BSP) with the most well known being the dog that finished second in 1992 and 1993 (Lewis Matitescka). Mink is known for producing very, very hard working dogs and Otis certainly falls into this category.
In the November 1995 issue of the SV Zietung there was an article that listed several hundred stud dogs according to their hip production. Mink Haus Wittfeld (Otis's father) was the number one dog on that list. I am very proud of this fact. Otis will continue on in the footsteps of Natan Busecker Schloos Sch # OFA Excellent (my retired stud dog) and the Leerburg tradition of producing bloodlines with the best possibility of good hips in our off spring.
Hydra vom Jacobiner Schloss SchH III FH is Otis's mother. She goes to Umsa Bungalow and Sargus and Grief. You simply can not get any better than that for a working bloodline. When you combine these dogs to Mink you get a working dog that will not quit - which is exactly what Otis is.
My retired stud dog Natan Busecker Schloss is a Sargus grandson. I have a number of Natan daughters in my breeding program. The pedigrees of these females are excellent to go with Otis and his 3-4 line breeding on Grief. If you are a student of working bloodlines you will know that a line breeding on Grief is an excellent breeding for working dogs.
Otis has a very very outgoing temperament. He goes up to everyone and greets them without concern. He is not a dangerously sharp dog to be around, but he is an extremely hard dog in temperament. By that I mean he requires firm correction and tolerates it if it is justified. He does not tolerate any unfair corrections or any pressure from people that he is not strongly bonded to.
This is a dog that requires an experienced handler, he can easily become a handler aggressive dog if mistakes are made while working him. That is the reason he came to my kennel. His previous handler retired from the police department and the department did not want to put Otis with an inexperienced new handler.
Otis is going to become a real asset to my breeding program and my bloodline. He is the quality of stud dog that one looks for and can not find in Germany.
Here are the specs on my breeding history with Otis as of January, 2000. I have had 150 pups from him, 80 mlaes and 70 females. I have had 8 bad hips, 4 ears that did not stand, 2 bad elbows and 10 testicles that did not drop. I include this information so people new to the dog sports or new to purchasing a dog understand that when they purchase a puppy there are alwasy risks of potential problems. In this case, with Otis, these are very acceptable numbers for a German Shepherd stud dog. Especially when one considers that these number come from well over 20 breedings.

[Saxtonhill]

You'll get speed from Otis Jacobiner Schloss and Jenny/Steffi Tiekerhook.

Some people didn't like the Otis offspring...but you have to be able to handle a high-energy dog, train with agility people who understand high-drive dogs, and have the time to give a high-energy dog the daily exercise it needs. So for the right person, Otis can be a good dog to have in an agility pedigree.

Otis was also an excellent tracking dog, which also comes through in many of his decendants, but again, you have the high energy factor and you need to be patient.