XXL Breeding

[DSudd]

Earlier today I was on the Atlanta Journal Constitution website looking at the GSD puppies. I found several ads for XXL pups. All of the ads listed the sire at 120 lbs or more and the females we approximately 90 lbs.

That being said I am confused because I thought that the breed standards for GSD included their size? What would be the benefit of having a dog that is 120 + lbs? I would think that a GSD being bred to be so large would be more prone to HD then a smaller pup< but I could be wrong.

There was also an ad a liter that ended up with "a rare true blue female". I think the rest of the liter was expected to be black and tan. Are blue shepherds within the breed standard? Just seems that there

[Chicagocanine]

Those dogs would not be within the breed standard. Many dogs are over/under standard in weight.
I've seen some kennels where they breed very large GSDs and they all are OFA, with several OFA excellent. However if the breeder is not checking hips and health for their dogs or the lines they could be more prone to HD, or if the parents are overweight they may have more hip problems as well. Many times if a GSD is 120 pounds it means they are overweight.
The blue color is not within the breed standard, but they do pop up once in a while unexpectedly in litters.

[Emoore]

Here in America we seem to have the "bigger is better" mentality and the breeders you mentioned are catering to that. As Chicagocanine said, chances are good that these 120lb dogs may just be overweight. There ARE some GSDs that are that size and are also lean and healthy, but many who are that weight are just fat.

[DSudd]

Is it even possible to breed for a dog to be overweight? Doesnt that mean that it is fed to much?

[middleofnowhere]

Barker the Younger was big - 94 # ideally, but gained wait easily. Her hips were the best the experienced vet had seen - even at 10 yo. despite her tendency to weigh at least 100#. (She liked food and gained weight easily - she was also barrel chested.) Weight does have other issues though - it's hard on other joints such as knees and backs.

[doggiedad]

a dog doesn't gain weight because it likes food.

Originally Posted By: middleofnowhereBarker the Younger was big - 94 # ideally, but gained wait easily. Her hips were the best the experienced vet had seen - even at 10 yo. despite her tendency to weigh at least 100#. (She liked food and gained weight easily - she was also barrel chested.) Weight does have other issues though - it's hard on other joints such as knees and backs.

[Liesje]

Originally Posted By: DSuddIs it even possible to breed for a dog to be overweight? Doesnt that mean that it is fed to much?

A lot of the dogs I see on the sites of BYBs breeding for excessive size are dogs that are overweight in the sense that they are not in show or working/sport condition. Most people looking for a family companion dog, and probably most vets, would not look at the dog and think "overweight" (likewise, many people think my dogs are too skinny), but breed fanciers who take their dogs' condition seriously see that as being overweight and unhealthy. It could be damaging to that dog's joints to be training and trialing being that weight and size. Plus it's just evidence that the breeder is obviously not actively training and trialing those dogs.

Also I've seen a lot of dogs listed as 110-120+ and I really wonder if they actually weigh that. My dog Coke is about 26" and we initially thought he would weigh 80lbs. We each made a guess before we took him to the vet after we adopted him. Despite being so tall and having an insane amount of coat, Coke weighed 62lbs. People cannot believe that's all he weighs.

[BlackGSD]

Originally Posted By: Liesje

Also I've seen a lot of dogs listed as 110-120+ and I really wonder if they actually weigh that. My dog Coke is about 26" and we initially thought he would weigh 80lbs. We each made a guess before we took him to the vet after we adopted him. Despite being so tall and having an insane amount of coat, Coke weighed 62lbs. People cannot believe that's all he weighs.

I wonder the same thing. I KNOW people more often than not guess the weight, and again WAY more often than not guess quite a few pounds too many.

The biggest GSD I have ever had was 29" and weighed 99lbs(via SCALE, not guessing). If he was 110+ he too would have been FAT even though he was very tall.

I have seen a zillion websites for these XXL dogs , and I have yet to see one where the dogs were in "working" condition.

[DSudd]

Interesting, according to the ads these dogs are titled, some of them have certified hips.

[Liesje]

Titled in what? I see a lot of sites that say "our dogs are great for SAR, SchH, police work, narcotics...." but I don't see titles besides CGC and maybe something like the CD or RN.

Hips are mainly a genetic thing, or they have bad hips or don't. I don't think it has much to do with size/weight. I guess a dog that already has bad or borderline hips will be made worse by being overweight, but I think you would have to put a lot of weight on a dog with good hips to actually damage those hips simply because of weight/size. There are plenty of fit, athletic GSDs in the 55-75lb range with bad hips, unfortunately. But there are plenty of fit, athletic GSDs in the 55-75lb range with great hips, so all the more reason why there IS no reason to justify breeding huge, overweight, unfit dogs b/c they passed OFA.

In general it's just a good example of why you shouldn't purchase or breed a dog just based on one characteristic. I've got a dog with great hips, a nice pedigree depending on what you are looking for, who I am titling up the wazoo but neither of those characteristics speak to her temperament or conformation.