Breed Standard (Yes or No)

[Ruthie]

It seems like every time the breed standard is mentioned in a thread, someone inevitably gets very upset and defensive. This amazes me. I have never read a post where someone said that a non-standard GSD was not worthy of love. I have only read people saying that BREEDING should be done according to standard.

The repeated defensiveness makes me wonder if people are just not understanding what is being said, or if they just disagree with there being a breed standard. This poll is to satisfy my curiousity.

Please vote for the choice that best represents your viewpoint or choose "Other" and explain below.

[selzer]

I am an "other."

I think that there should be a breed standard and people should do their best to stay within it, but if they have a dog that is exceptional in many ways, and only a minor variance, like 1/2 inch over or under standard height, one should not throw out the baby with the bath water.

Of course there are standards, and each can be interpreted many ways. We will not ever all agree on how it should be interpreted.

[Jack's Dad]

I think because this is a GSD forum passions run high. Doesn't matter whether the subject is breed standard, rescue, or dogs that bite.

In the real world outside the forum, the world of puppy mills, pet store dogs, some BYB's, a friend or relative who has a couple of dogs and want one litter, humane society dogs, rescue dogs nobody cares about this stuff.

Most people want a dog for their family. They don't know about or care about breed standards.

I think there should be a breed standard

[vat]

Boy this is a tricky one. I chose There SHOULD be a breed standard, but there needs to be different versions for different types or lines. Because not everyone wants a really really high drive dog but there are those that do.

[gsdraven]

Originally Posted by vat

Because not everyone wants a really really high drive dog but there are those that do.

Not that I am an expert on the breed standard but I don't think a really really high drive is part of the standard. The GSD should be able to do many different things with drives and a temperament within standard including sport or being a pet.

[Freestep]

Originally Posted by selzer

I am an "other."
I think that there should be a breed standard and people should do their best to stay within it, but if they have a dog that is exceptional in many ways, and only a minor variance, like 1/2 inch over or under standard height, one should not throw out the baby with the bath water.

Of course no dog is perfect. Every dog has faults, but ideally, we would choose a breeding partner that is strong where our dog is weak. So for example if your dog is 1/2 inch over the standard, but outstanding in every other aspect, you would breed to an equally outstanding bitch whose lines run toward the smaller size within standard.

[Freestep]

Originally Posted by vat

Boy this is a tricky one. I chose There SHOULD be a breed standard, but there needs to be different versions for different types or lines. Because not everyone wants a really really high drive dog but there are those that do.

I don't think the standard mentions "really really high drive".

If you want two different standards, you would have to split the GSD into two different breeds, like they did with American/English Cockers, American/English Foxhounds, and so on.

[elisabeth_00117]

There SHOULD be a breed standard and breeders should breed to it (not intentionally breed outside it)

I voted for the above.

I don't think I need to explain my take on this any further.

[selzer]

Originally Posted by Freestep

Of course no dog is perfect. Every dog has faults, but ideally, we would choose a breeding partner that is strong where our dog is weak. So for example if your dog is 1/2 inch over the standard, but outstanding in every other aspect, you would breed to an equally outstanding bitch whose lines run toward the smaller size within standard.

There is a danger in this.

What I do is, where my dog is weak, I try to breed to a dog who is correct. So I would not breed an over-angulated dog to an under angulated dog. You would breed a dog with less angulation to a dog with proper angulation.

I would not try to breed a bitch that is 1/2 inch too large to a dog on the lower end of the height range, I would breed to a dog who is as average as possible, but I think that I would be more likely to pick the right dog for the bitch, and check the height on the dog and if it falls within the ideal range, 24-26 inches (I know the German Standard is in centimeters and it is a little smaller), than it is a go.

If you take a large bitch and breed her to a large dog, you might be breeding for over-sized dogs. If you have an awesome 29 inch dog, and you breed it to a 22 inch bitch, that just does not give me a warm fuzzy feeling. What I have done is bred a 24.5 inch bitch to a 25.5 inch dog with good results.

[Freestep]

Originally Posted by selzer

There is a danger in this.

What I do is, where my dog is weak, I try to breed to a dog who is correct. So I would not breed an over-angulated dog to an under angulated dog. You would breed a dog with less angulation to a dog with proper angulation.

Right. You wouldn't want to breed a bitch with an overbite to a male with an underbite, either... it just doesn't work that way.

If you have an awesome 29 inch dog, and you breed it to a 22 inch bitch, that just does not give me a warm fuzzy feeling. What I have done is bred a 24.5 inch bitch to a 25.5 inch dog with good results.

I guess what I meant to say is, if my dog were too tall, I'd want a bitch whose bloodlines do not have a tendency to go oversize (or undersize), but right within the standard. If some of the dogs in the pedigree are on the smaller end of the standard, that would be just fine, but I'd have a bit of concern if many of the dogs were at the upper end of the standard.