American/German Showline Breeders?

[Konotashi]

Okay, so I know I poke in here now and then, and I'm quite partial to German showlines. However, I have loved all of the German/American showline crosses that I've seen.

Could you guys give me some breeders that cross the two showlines? I'd be looking for maybe 3/4 GSL and 1/4 ASL. I like the less extreme look to them.

Temperament wise, they'd be less drivey than a GSL, correct? I want to have a dog that I could do Schutzhund with if I chose to, but definitely want to do agility or flyball. I don't want to have a dog with more drive than I know what to do with, which is the primary reason I'm staying away from the working lines.

[wolfstraum]

If you want to do schutzhund - and have FUN doing it - both you and the dog - your best bet IS a working line dog. Let's face it, the breed is broken into specialized factions. The ASLs do AKC ring competition. The WGWL specialize in SV showing, and are often compulsed through schutzhund. It is no fun having a dog who has to be compulsed to do dumbbells, I have seen many SL dogs being trained with force retrieves....while my young WL dog just retrieves anything you throw - including a Sch2 dumbbell without ANY training at all other than fronts! WL dogs CAN and DO live successfully as house dogs....go look at my post with Bengal at her 3rd schutzhund training session....at 6 months old she went to a friend to stay while I went out of town - they have a big oversized BYB pattern sable male (105 pounds with his ribs feel-able) and a 10 year old female asthmatic pug. I never could get her back LOL....there is no food aggression, nothing... a good stable WL dog CAN live in a multi dog household.. another casual board member has one of mine, Haven, who is very drivy, yet grew up with a Boston Terrier (also female!) and small kids....has done some sport work too...house dogs with families - working lines.

Lee

[robinhuerta]

I'm going to agree and disagree with Lee. (Lee...you know that I respect your opinions).
I agree.....IF you want to compete in the sport of Schutzhund....a buyer should look seriously at the WL dogs & pedigrees of dogs that compete respectfully in the sport. I also agree that any well bred WL puppy should be absolutely capable of living in family home, without any problems.
Now....I disagree...that IF you want to pursue and title your dog in the sport of Schutzhund...that it is best to have a WL dog. There are very nice SL dogs that can earn a respected Schutzhund title and are completely capable of other "venues" other than Conformation.
The main difference is....Conformation IS the venue that is pursued.

Albeit......FINDING good SL dogs that are capable is harder than finding WL dogs that are.
A sound SL puppy with good drives...should have no problem with earning a respectable Schutzhund title......BUT...IF I was looking to go farther & compete in the sport....I would definitely be searching for the right combination in the WL.

*BTW...not all WL dogs have the correct genetics to compete at competition level either.*......and although I respect & love the sport.....I have no personal desire to own a sport dog.

This is only my personal opinion...nothing more.

[Konotashi]

I would prefer to find a ASL/GSL crossing, but if I can't find one, I have a GSL breeder picked out already. Their dogs have SchH titles. I want to go down there and visit their dogs one of these days, because as good as they look on paper, I want to get a feel for them in person.
I don't really know if I want to be competitive in Schutzhund, or if I want to do it at all, but I want a dog that has the capability to do it if I choose to pursue it.

http://www.haus-munsingerdunn.com/ha...n/Welcome.html

[Andaka]

Darby-Dan German Shepherds, Saugerties, NY - Quality since 1961

He recently imported another WGSL male for his breeding program. But most of the dogs on the website are high percentage ASL.

Nocturne Acres Kennels German Shepherd Dogs


Her male, Navigator, is half and half. he does Shutzhund and other dog sports.

Falkrigia Shepherds

They have mostly ASL, but some of their dogs are a cross.

Deestraum-Andaka's Jagged Edge - German Shepherd Dog

Jag is a 3/4 ASL and 1/4 DDR dog. I don't participate in Shutzhund so I won't make any claims that way, but he is very sound mentally with a good work ethic.

[Liesje]

Originally Posted by Konotashi

I don't want to have a dog with more drive than I know what to do with, which is the primary reason I'm staying away from the working lines.

This sort of thing I never really understand. It's not drive that is the problem with some dogs but weaker nerves, neurotic behavior, no off switch....sometimes genetic sometimes the dog is raised and trained from an early age to be completely obsessed with a certain ball or toy (and often its only time outside of a kennel is training with/for that object). Getting a dog with less drive is only going to make things more difficult. A good WL dog is (IMO) the *best* dog for a novice that is serious about getting into SchH or other dog sports.

I would decide what is *most* important to you. For me it is temperament. I start there and then will weed down to a dog that is the size I want, the lines or looks I want. I personally have never seen a 3/4GSDl 1/4ASL dog doing Schutzhund or flyball and I wouldn't even know where to look for that cross even as a show dog or pet. It is not that difficult to find dogs that are correct size, nice conformation, not extreme in *any* of the lines. For agility and flyball I would be pretty picky about size and also a shorter-coupled dog.

[GSDElsa]

I dont envision asl for anything you want to do. Asls are virtually unheard of in schh. Yes you can find examples of them, but asl breeders do not specialize in them per day. I also find them-generally-longer in the body tham other lines which seems like a huge negative in something like flyball.

I agree with robin...although partial to wls, if you dont want to be the TOP in sport I don't see why you can't go with sl. Might be harder along the way, but wgsls certainly are capable of doing schh.