What type of GSD do I have?

[mandiah89]

All of you have got to be kidding me! If the dog has been cert. for hips and elbows, has been genetically tested for any genetic diseases and he is free and clear and healthy, and this person finds another GSD also cert. hips ect. then why should he not breed them? Im sick of everyone saying you need to have papers for your dog to breed him, that is such close minded thinking you all have me so angry! I would rather get a puppy from parents who are completely healthy and tested for that, rather than a puppy that has papers that are not tested!

[Andaka]

But you can have both -- a puppy from parents who are registered, titled, and with health certifications.

There are around 50,000 GSD's registered with AKC every year, and probably at least that many who are not registered.

[martemchik]

Originally Posted by mandiah89

All of you have got to be kidding me! If the dog has been cert. for hips and elbows, has been genetically tested for any genetic diseases and he is free and clear and healthy, and this person finds another GSD also cert. hips ect. then why should he not breed them? Im sick of everyone saying you need to have papers for your dog to breed him, that is such close minded thinking you all have me so angry! I would rather get a puppy from parents who are completely healthy and tested for that, rather than a puppy that has papers that are not tested!

I didn't want to chime in on this thread but...

How would you be sure you're not breeding this dog to it's mother/sister/cousin/grandmother/aunt? How do you know he's not carrying a gene for bad hips (which the parents might've had or the siblings do have)? Just because a dog is clear of issues doesn't mean they don't carry a gene for those issues...and sorry genetic testing is not accurate enough at this point to rule out the hundreds of diseases that affect GSDs.

But mostly...how would you guarantee you're not breeding this dog back to an extremely close relative?

Dog without papers is also probably not trialed, or trained in anything. Probably isn't judged against his peers in his breed to make sure that dog is breed worthy. Why pass on sub-par genetics? Dog without papers probably only has the owner to gauge how great he/she is...someone extremely biased and basing their opinion on the dogs ability to be a PET and nothing more than that.

Tell you the truth...IF this dog was bred...it should pretty much be a complete outcross to make sure you're not breeding with close relatives. And then you're at risk of genetics not mixing well and getting some very questionable temperaments.

[robk]

With out a pedigree you have no way of knowing the percentage of bad hips behind the dog. You have no way of knowing what genetic faults may have shown up in litter mates. You have no way of knowing what the back masking looks like. Responsible breeders only breed dogs that they have a very good understanding of genetically and are able to pair breeding pairs with a high level of confidence in what the next generation is likely to be like. This breed is rife with genetic health and temperament issues. The way these issues are resolved is through intelligent breeding decisions.