Square vs. rectangle

[Liesje]

On Sat. my breeder showed me a video about GSD structure and movement. I learned some new things, but since it was only about GSDs, I still wonder what is the advantage (if any) of a rectangular shape vs. a square one? For example, take the Malinois. I believe the Mal can do any function the GSD does (herding, police work, ringsport) just as well but the structure and shape is so different.

[BlackPuppy]

I don't know the answer either, but when I looked at this link and saw VA1 Erich v Grafenwerth, "German Old Style", a Sieger from the 1920s, I thought, "Wow, looks like a Malinois or Dutchie (almost)."

It states, "These early dogs are the breed's foundation and history, but breeders have developed better dogs than this, and there is no good reason to return to the past."

What was the reason behind breeding away from the 1920's style?

http://www.shawlein.com/The_Standard...eed_Types.html

[Liesje]

Carole, I'm not sure, maybe that dog's shoulder angle is too steep? His chest doesn't seem deep, I'm not sure what the GSD deeper chest does, maybe better lung capacity?

[Dano]

It would seem to me that a rectangular dog would have more 'reach' and a longer stride with it's legs than a 'square' dog.

[Chris Wild]

If you go to the other sections of the Illustrated GSD Standard by Linda Shaw (link that Carole posted) she goes quite in depth about the different aspects of the GSD standard, why the standard calls for what it does, and the overall mechanics of structure and movement as related to the standard. Good stuff and will probably answer most questions about why the GSD standard says what it does and differs from Mals.

[cliffson1]

Look at the dogs of the 50's and 60's, and look at the dogs of today. The dogs of today are longer and more spongy mass, as opposed to the dogs of past that were more compact and harder mass. Since the dog was made to work....which dog has better track record in working.??

[Liesje]

I'm interested more in comparing the Mals vs. the GSDs. There's lots of lit on GSD structure, even comparing the progression of the breed. But would Mal people make similar arguments about the square structure, that it is better than a rectangle? It's just interesting to me that the breeds look so different, yet perform the same types of work. Maybe the *perfect* structure and type isn't that important after all? Just curious.

[cliffson1]

Remeber the origin of the breed in terms of work often dictates part of form...GS were created to herd sheep as a primary function, don't know if Mals were created for that purpose....therefore if thepurposes are different it stand to reason that probably body type is fundamentally different.

[Andaka]

While the Mals and the GSD's are both herding dogs, the conditions they were created to herd in are different. The GSD is primarily a trotting dog, and he has to be to move large flocks of sheep from one field to another, then act as a "living fence" to keep the sheep in that field. The Malinois is primarily a running dog, and they watched over flocks in larger grazing areas where speed was important. The sheep are probably different too. The German sheep are trained to follow the shepherd from place to place, while the dog keeps 100's of sheep to one side of the road. The heavier body is also useful for shoving the sheep out of the way without having to grip. While I don't know for sure about Belgian sheep, I would expect that they were turned loose in fields to graze, then retrieved by the dog at the end of the day. With the sheep being handled less, they would be flightier and more apt to run.

The body longer than tall gives the GSD room underneath for the reach and drive neccesary for that floating gait that he must be able to do for hours while keeping the sheep in line. The squarer shape is for running and tight turns needed to head off a bolting sheep.