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Considering a Czech Line Working Dog

8.8K views 32 replies 17 participants last post by  Gustav2020  
#1 ·
Hey guys!

So my family and I are very interested in bringing home a working line shepherd from a breeder we have met and fully trust.

I wanted to ask though, how many of you guys would consider your Sheps ‘cuddly’ dogs? Like do any of you guys get the constant snuggles, couch time, very affectionate type behavior from your dog’s, or is it just 100% drive, go go go time all day long 24/7? How about kids and other dogs? I realize for sure it’s all about training and socialization early and all of that, but we have a 6 month old who I fully intend to raise along side my pup, and there are several other dogs in my life (my moms, my brothers, my friends all have dogs... etc), so at the very least, I need neutrality... at best, I would love her to be able to play.

Don’t get me wrong I have done HUNDREDS of hours of research online, met dozens and dozens of shepherds from all kinds of lines, I settled on this Czech Working Line dog for a reason (I want everything that comes with that), I intend to do some agility work, definitely some high level obedience and etc, maybe even some personal protection work down the line. I just also if possible, would still love some of that cuddly/loving affection time I have been so used to getting from my bully breed dogs as well... if that is even possible? I guess what I’m looking for is experience with a good ‘off switch’, even with a dog from the Czech, the DDR, etc.

Thanks in Advance, picture of the mom and dad (left and center) of the puppies we are interested in. Thanks!
 

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#4 ·
. I just also if possible, would still love some of that cuddly/loving affection time I have been so used to getting from my bully breed dogs as well... if that is even possible? I guess what I’m looking for is experience with a good ‘off switch’, even with a dog from the Czech, the DDR, etc.
These two are not the same things. At all.

You may get "cuddly" time. You may not. It depends on the dog. But it will not be like a bully breed
 
#6 · (Edited)
yes, i’m confused by the affection bit as well. affection is not the opposite of drive... nor does an off switch necessarily equate to cuddly/affectionate. in short, i’d say it’s individual, but generally speaking, as Nscullin said, no.

that said, i’ve had 1 that had a golden retriever level of affection. he was a showline. long coat, as some seem to think that makes a difference. my current dog sleeps with me and has to be touching me, but isn’t a “snuggler”.

edit to add: all of my gsds, of various lines and mixes of lines, have been good with kids and dogs. my girls were, well, bitches... and took more monitoring around unknown dogs once mature, but overall faired ok.
 
#7 ·
My girl is from about 50% Czech lines, the remainder DDR and West German. She has high drives but we also call her Smoochie Poochie because she decides that sometimes she needs to forcibly molest your face, lol! She lays on my lap for coffee time in the morning and likes to have a paw touching my husband at night. Most of the time in between she is "on" and just wants to be busy. My boy has a similar pedigree. He has a strong prey drive, but in all other aspects he is a lot more relaxed than my girl. He is a very affectionate boy. He is sleeping on my lap as I write. He has been completely focused on me and my husband since we brought him home as a pup and loves, lap time, snuggles, and attention.

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#8 ·
I have a good percentage Czech young male.
-He’s very cuddly and affectionate to his family (two of them being kids). It does come down to the individual, as others have said.
-He plays well with my sister’s bully breed dog but doesn’t allow disrespect from my mom’s less dog friendly dogs. So neutral yes, permissive no.
-He has a great off switch and a good amount of drive to work with.
So what you want is possible, duplicating all of that in one dog and selecting that dog at 8 weeks is all about the art of breeding.

Does the breeder say they have produced a dog like this before?
 
#9 ·
Affection and cuddles vary from dog to dog. Nadja’s sire is 100% Czech while her dam’s side is West German working line, she has her cuddly moments when she’s not “on”, I usually get a 70 lb lap dog in the mornings when we’re all trying to wake up. She’s great with kids but we’ve taught her proper behavior around kids, with other dogs she’s ok. She is fine with dogs she’s known since puppyhood but with new dogs (This is my fault) she has to bark at them until she chills the heck out...kinda but again this isn’t her fault but mine as I didn’t socialize her as much as I would’ve wanted to.
 
#10 ·
I have a full czech line and would say "off switch" is not "fully functional". She is busy. Not in a crazy sort of way, but definitely not a dog for everyone.

What breeding are you looking at?

My dogs are affectionate with me but that looks different for each one.
 
#11 ·
"I wanted to ask though, how many of you guys would consider your Sheps ‘cuddly’ dogs? Like do any of you guys get the constant snuggles, couch time, very affectionate type behavior from your dog’s"

Different for every dog, there's no straight answer but GENERALLY, no GSD are not "cuddly dogs, constant snuggles" as some other breeds are. One of my dogs (male) loves to be pet, loves to be brushed, loves to lay near you and the other (male) shows affection by allowing you constantly hike and play with him :)
 
#12 ·
In general, my dogs want to be near me. If I"m at the computer, they are spread out around my chair. In the living room, on the floor in front of my chair or on the ottoman. Both, at times, will lay ON me for a period of time for attention before moving on to a place near me. But again, it's not like a bully breed who craves body contact and you can hug on. it's just not the same.
 
#13 ·
In general, they bond with their person in a powerful way.

But a lot of our dogs don’t demonstrate that relationship by snuggling or being sweet touchy-feely lap cuddlers. Some do, many don’t.

Drive doesn’t correlate to snuggle factor, at all. My mellow, lowwwww drive senior GSD is not cuddly at all. Never has been. She likes to sit near me on the couch - but not touching. My wild-child young boy is the dedicated snuggler - if he's not in motion he would be happy living tucked under my arm or draped over me on the couch.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Deja has Czech in her lines and drive to match. But she is the sweetest cuddling dog I ever had. She is not clingy and doesn't crave constant body contact. Once she has her fill she moves about a max of six feet away. Never been aggressive to dogs or people But she is a life style and totally different than the bully breeds. The bond with her is scarily strong but it requires work and maintenance. Just know what you are getting yourself into. Have you read all the threads about the crazy pups and adolescents here?
 
#17 ·
I don’t think you can have an opinion unless you own/have owned/spent a lot of time with a bully breed. Shepherd “cuddly” and bully “cuddly” are not equal in my experience.


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You’re right about that much! Bully breed love is all I have ever known you know. Very excited to experience something new... but it will be hard to get over the lack of that, if you’ve had both I’m sure you understand
 
#16 ·
Wow thanks guys excellent information here.

I assumed about as much and just to clarify I am in no way hoping for the touchy feely snuggles I had with my pittie to be ‘duplicated’ here with a shepherd or anything, I’m smarter than that ;) I did however hope for you know, SOME down time perhaps.. after structure and play. I completely understand that it varies dog to dog and for what it’s worth, my breeder and I did select this female (which I haven’t fully committed to yet anyway by the way, I am meticulous and not in any big rush..) because of her temperament. She definitely has drive, she is outgoing and confident, but she also definitely is not the BOSS of the pack, super super loud or crazy, I would say about the middle of the road, but certainly ‘shy’.

the breeder I am working with is out of Woodinville WA and is called ‘Washington K9 Shepherds’, he has a website if anyone cares to take a look, his pedigrees are excellent, in fact the sire is the grandson of only dog to hold back to back world championship titles two years in a row (I think, don’t eat me up), and the dam is a Czech import from world champion lines as well.

he works his dogs daily, he showed me in person the advanced obedience and agility they do, even the bitework/protection training stuff! They are SUPER driven and high energy, but also super friendly and good around his kids. I did not however see any kind of off switch whatsoever for either parent... but obviously we were out in the field ‘working’ the whole time... so I definitely didn’t expect to. I even have videos if it would help anyone?

I guess where I am really at is that I have never owned a working line breed before.. or really any kind of dog similar.. and I am just looking for as much insight into the things I may not be used to (like the EXTREME shedding/mess, for example? 🤣) as part of my research you know.

you guys are all super helpful!
 
#20 ·
What have the sire and dam done?

The pedigree has lots of well known dogs in it, but no third party data on either parent. Qvido has some good offspring and then some decidedly less good offspring. Without the dog being judged/titled by a third party, it's not easy to say which is which.
that’s a good question, I can ask for clarification but I don’t think that the sire and the dam themselves have competed or been titled in anything or etc... is that a red flag? I mean as I said I have personally seen them both work and they are SUPER smart and great at what they do (I have videos if it would help), but as far as I know that’s about the extent of it. Thoughts?
Qvido has some bad orthos in his litter as well.

"only dog to hold back to back world championship titles two years in a row " - Ummm...No. 2016 & 2018

Hank vom Weinbergblick won the WUSV 3 years in a row.

Don't get caught up in the parent's titles. What have THESE two dogs done to prove themselves breed worthy. A champion line does not equal breed worthy for every dog in every litter. They all must be tested. Quality Control.
Right, so what are I suggesting I do?

I have certificates hips/elbows and etc for both parents, all of it good or excellent, I have genetic testing information on hand done for both parents everything clear, and I have lineage/pedigree information for both lines , what else do I need and/or should ask for? Both parents don’t own championships themselves, that much I know. I really don’t know much about how to quantify them as ‘breed worthy’ if not for what I already have, so help me out?
 
#19 ·
Qvido has some bad orthos in his litter as well.

"only dog to hold back to back world championship titles two years in a row " - Ummm...No. 2016 & 2018

Hank vom Weinbergblick won the WUSV 3 years in a row.

Don't get caught up in the parent's titles. What have THESE two dogs done to prove themselves breed worthy. A champion line does not equal breed worthy for every dog in every litter. They all must be tested. Quality Control.
 
#22 ·
I'm not suggesting anything. All I'm saying is champion lines do not equal breed worthy and training in your backyard is not equivalent to titling or a dog that actually works. It's part of the process but my dog doesn't experience stress in my back yard that he/she does in a strange venue with strange dogs. Adn stress is where you really see what the dog is made of. And both come from champion lines. Pretty much all dogs have champions in the line. Popular stud syndrome.

I get that you met and watched the dogs. But did you understand what you were seeing? Or did you just see a dog biting and thinks that was cool? I'm not asking to be a jerk and I don't expect an answer from you. I'm on my 2nd dog in training and just now grasping concepts in protection so just think about what you really understood of what you were seeing.
 
#28 ·
Hey guys!

So my family and I are very interested in bringing home a working line shepherd from a breeder we have met and fully trust.

I wanted to ask though, how many of you guys would consider your Sheps ‘cuddly’ dogs? Like do any of you guys get the constant snuggles, couch time, very affectionate type behavior from your dog’s, or is it just 100% drive, go go go time all day long 24/7? How about kids and other dogs? I realize for sure it’s all about training and socialization early and all of that, but we have a 6 month old who I fully intend to raise along side my pup, and there are several other dogs in my life (my moms, my brothers, my friends all have dogs... etc), so at the very least, I need neutrality... at best, I would love her to be able to play.

Don’t get me wrong I have done HUNDREDS of hours of research online, met dozens and dozens of shepherds from all kinds of lines, I settled on this Czech Working Line dog for a reason (I want everything that comes with that), I intend to do some agility work, definitely some high level obedience and etc, maybe even some personal protection work down the line. I just also if possible, would still love some of that cuddly/loving affection time I have been so used to getting from my bully breed dogs as well... if that is even possible? I guess what I’m looking for is experience with a good ‘off switch’, even with a dog from the Czech, the DDR, etc.

Thanks in Advance, picture of the mom and dad (left and center) of the puppies we are interested in. Thanks!
My DDR is not cuddly, LOL, and there is a good chance if I tried to hug him to long, he would break my nose by accident. 🤷‍♂️ But I love him with all my heart.
Image
 
#29 ·
I was on a Zoom call with a co-worker yesterday. He has a 3 month old newborn girl and one of those super trendy French Bulldogs - 12 weeks old. That puppy stayed perfectly content on his lap basically not moving or making any noise for longer than my dogs have ever not been active without sleeping at 12 weeks. Different dogs altogether; GSD aren't normally couch dogs or overly "cuddly" but the bond is no less strong, I'd wager stronger.