If you've looked at the breed standard which covers the ENTIRE breed, not just showlines, anything over that is oversized. General thing is any GSD over 100lbs is considered oversized. To my knowledge, none on this board have a dog they intentionally got oversized from either breeder. You won't find many supporters on this board for dogs over standard. Theres a reason the standard is in place. Good luck in your search. I would ask the breeders for references and if they have any previous buyers who would be happy to speak with you.

 

Actually many of us have large dogs intentionally we just keep our mouths shut because we don't want to be jumped on.

My boy is from Arizona but not from Gentle Giants. When he was younger he weighed 92#'s. Lately that has dropped and we are trying to figure out why. He is 11 years old now though.

Are you in Arizona? I would pick the kennel that is nearer to where you live, so that you can go see the dogs for yourself.

 

It sounds pretty much like a done-deal. I don't know of anyone with their dogs, but then I am way up here in SnowLand. Could you explain what it is you are looking for and what you like about these breeders in particular.

 

I think Minnieski and Ruby Tuesday have Royalair Shepherds?

 

Well I did say none to my knowledge.

 

Hi, ive tried searching and have found no help, so i just made this thread.

Now i know some are avid defenders of the gsd breed and argue that the oversized breeding of them is looked down upon.
Well Ive already made up my mind on either going to royalair or gentlegiants of arizona.

My question is does anyone have one of their pups?
What size do they get at gentlegiants? Is it really going to be "oversized" or is it just going to be a little bit bigger than the show lines?

Any feedback on oversized breeders is greatly appreciated.
Thank you

Do you mean "oversized BREEDERS?"? (that could be considered kind of rude!)


If you have already made up your mind to get a GSD so purposedly not bred to the standard - good luck to you!

 

My puppy is from German Shepherd Puppys Arizona. Their website is www.germanshepherdpuppiesarizona.com. I was really happy working with JD.


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Forgot to say they aren't oversized though.


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I wouldn't necessarily have an issue getting an oversized GSD from a shelter or rescue but I would never purposely seek out a breeder who breeds larger dogs on purpose. No ones mentioned the effects this has on their health, it causes extra stress to their joints and I'm sure their organs and it also hinders their working ability and they are after all a working breed. No one can stop you if that's what your mind is set on just putting it out there for the reasons why people are against it.

 

No ones mentioned the effects this has on their health, it causes extra stress to their joints and I'm sure their organs and it also hinders their working ability and they are after all a working breed. No one can stop you if that's what your mind is set on just putting it out there for the reasons why people are against it.

Actually working lines tend to be on the larger side compared to the show lines. Just sayin....

 

I thought it was the other way around at least when it comes to German showlines, I've never had American lines only because I'm not a big fan of Black and Tan coloring(that's just personal preference nothing against the dogs themselves)... I think it just depends on the lines but most WL's I've seen have been what would be considered small nowadays.

 

I have a royalair pup


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At 8 months he is about 85 lbs prob 27" at the shoulder...


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Yeah im in Las Vegas, but will drive or ship the pup out to me.

I was on their puppy list and they recently contacted for some cancelations. But before I wanna make sure that royalair and gentlegiants are the same "type" of dog.


In other words what does one have that the other doesnt?

Royalair advertises their stud and pups to grow to 130lbs +
Gentlegiants advertise 100-110lbs

Is royalair exagerating or are they truly bigger?


., please, no flaming i dont want to know how mutty these dogs are in comparrison to yours or how ashamed you are of their existance.

I understand some of you guys' passion for the breed, but I need help on this specific "subtype" of gsd, please input if you have experience

 

Yeah im in Las Vegas, but will drive or ship the pup out to me.

I was on their puppy list and they recently contacted for some cancelations. But before I wanna make sure that royalair and gentlegiants are the same "type" of dog.


In other words what does one have that the other doesnt?

Royalair advertises their stud and pups to grow to 130lbs +
Gentlegiants advertise 100-110lbs

Is royalair exagerating or are they truly bigger?


., please, no flaming i dont want to know how mutty these dogs are in comparrison to yours or how ashamed you are of their existance.

I understand some of you guys' passion for the breed, but I need help on this specific "subtype" of gsd, please input if you have experience

These dogs are NOT a "subtype" of GSD - just dogs that, thru no fault of their own, are just extrmely bad example sof the standard GSD and totally unsuited for the purposes that GSD's were designed and created. Picture a 130 lb GSD trotting all day! How about being the handler in SAR or some such having to carry their dog!

If you want a 130lb dog get a breed who was designed to be that big!

 

A dog that's taller than the standard but carries a proper weight shouldn't have a higher degree of joint problems just because it's taller than the standard. Check to make sure the breeder you're interested in pays attention to hips/elbows. If they do you'll be able to find OFA results online for their dogs. Naturally pay attention to the overall health of the dogs they've sold previously.

Have you looked at this breeder? They aren't producing mini horses but their dogs (some) are on the larger side. They're on your side of the country. No affliation or reference, just another option for you to look at.
Big, Old Fashioned German Shepherds

 

I think people can buy what they want and breed what they want. Main things I am opposed to is misinformation often perpetuated by the breeders of oversized dogs, claiming they have what the GSD was "meant" to be. I would say go back and look at pictures of original GSDs and documents and you will see a medium sized, efficiently proportioned working dog made by mixing light fleet herding stock with heavier guarding stock. The breed can swing too far too either extreme. Oversize is one extreme. Malinois type dogs another.

But that said - make an informed choice. Realize they are not within the "standard". Big dogs typically live shorter lives than small dogs - look at longevity and health histories of what you are buying. They are not going to "hurt" the breed as they are not in the same population of dogs being bred as those for work or those for show.

To the comment that if all GSDs were bred to the standard they would look like the Westminster winners......ah......no. There is an SV and an AKC standard. Not really that different. There is a LOT of leeway in both standards. What wins is based on interpretation of the day...

 

Nancy, excellent post.

People, enough!! If you can not answer the OP's question about this breeder than just let it be.

OP, there are a few people on the board that like the very large GSD. I see one posted already. Hopefully RubyTuesday (I think that is her name) will chip in too.

 

Frank is from Rosehall, but his Father is from Royalair.
Frank is 29 inches and 86 pounds at 2 years old. (He could easily go higher in weight but I will not let him do that, we do too many jumping activities for him to carry that much weight)
I love him and would go back to Rosehall for another GSD.
Frank is very much a GSD in personality, and I would not label him a laid back, gentle giant type dog, so if you are wanting that type personality to go with the size. I would make sure whichever oversized breeder you go to, you make sure they understand that is what you are wanting.

 

If you are looking for a bigger shepherd like dog, have you considered the King Shepherd: King Shepherd Home page or maybe the Shiloh Shepherd: Shiloh Shepherds Home: Shiloh Shepherd pictures, breed, club, registry info!

Disclaimer: I know nothing about the dogs nor the sites provided. I'm just providing examples for you to consider.

 

Here's pics starting with my pup at 7.5 months, his sire, then dam

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Silverbuck, I've had 3 Royalair GSD. When I'm ready for a 4th GSD I will look again to Royalair b/c the dogs I got from Robin are all that I wanted. Additionally, I've found Robin to be easy to deal with, pleasant, knowledgeable & always available.

While I prefer over sized GSD I want the GSD intelligence, biddability, athleticism & discerning character. Some of those breeding over sized GSD prefer a softer temperament than I like...What they produce are quite possibly very nice dogs with solid temperaments, but still too uber soft for my own tastes.

Djibouti is my largest. He's a bit over 29" & weighed 92, 93' at 1 yr. He's somewhat heavier now, but probably not much over 100', if that.

Sam was 27", 92-93' & lived 2+ mos past her 13th birthday. She had health, brains & character as well as longevity.

Phoenix is 28" & ~92 lbs. She's lean, leggy, lively. A bewitching bitch, IMO.

While I do appreciate their size, they are much more than simply big. I'm describing their sizes b/c you'd asked. Robin has had GSD larger than mine, some a good bit larger, but I'm quite pleased with my tribe as it is.

IF you get an oversized GSD don't sweat the size. Too many people wind up packing on excessive pounds to lay claim to the fame of having a 120', 130' or even 140' GSD, which is neither healthy nor attractive. (I've seen GSD that were lean at 120+ or 130+ lbs, but it's unusual even with those breeding over sized GSD.) IF your dog is intended to be a lean 90' porking him up to 120+ lbs is a very bad idea that yields a fat dog, not a truly larger dog.

When I last visited Robin, she had a couple of bitches who are barely over the standard that she is thinking of breeding. Lovely bitches, from what I saw. I wasn't really surprised b/c while Robin likes a large GSD, the dogs she produces are much more than just big.

Feel free to pm me.

 

I second you NRML. I live in Spokane and I travel and have friends all down through Idaho, Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, Oregon.....I see standard GSD's.

 

Non-Standard GSD - I'm a fan

Hi, ive tried searching and have found no help, so i just made this thread.

Now i know some are avid defenders of the gsd breed and argue that the oversized breeding of them is looked down upon.
Well Ive already made up my mind on either going to royalair or gentlegiants of arizona.

My question is does anyone have one of their pups?
What size do they get at gentlegiants? Is it really going to be "oversized" or is it just going to be a little bit bigger than the show lines?

Any feedback on oversized breeders is greatly appreciated.
Thank you

We're new to Shepherds. We've only had three over time our lives (60 years). I'm never going back to another breed as I'm completely taken with them.

Anyway, our first was a breed standard protection dog. Marvelous animal.

Our second was supposed to be a breed standard GSD but turned out to outgrow the standard by a considerable margin. I hear that it's not uncommon for one or two pups in a litter to be larger than the rest and even larger than the parents.

Our second pup, Max, grew to about 110 lbs. I've never seen a more beautiful and agile animal of any species but perhaps a gazelle than Max. Absolutely beauty and grace in motion. And, boy was he ever in motion.

He' was a sweet boy too but a bit too impulsive. One day he charged the partially open front door as I was chatting with a neighbor (squirrel, or other friendly dog or just the sunshine, we don't know) and got tangled up with the school bus. Thankfully, it was a quick end considering what it could have been.

Our new puppy was deliberately purchased from breeder in Corsicana, TX www.giantgermanshepherds.com (also, www.texasworkingdogs.com). He's 4 months and 10 days and is over 50 lbs. His father was 135 at the time we picked up the pup and is the first dog you'll see on thier site if you visit it. Now, he was a bit overweight. But he was not that much overweight.

My trainer says he's of "Old-World" configuration and that these are the sturdiest of all GSDs and the most calm. I'm not trying to start a fight here. I understand that others also have wonderful animals. But we're just thrilled with how closely our new puppy lives up to those standards.

He's quite literally a tank. Virtually no amount of low to mid-intensity activity tires him (yes, we're careful not to stress his new joints too much). The difference between him and Max in endurance is remarkable at this age.

Personally, we're pretty happy with the giant-GSDs. So, if they strike you fancy do feel free to look into them and perhaps even try one out.

The only criticism I have is that they tend to be a bit more evaluative of their master than our previous GSDs. So, they're a bit harder to train, it seems.

But we've only had Zeus for a couple of months now, and, that may be a premature judgement too.

LF

 

As I said, I don't have an issue with someone wanting big dogs.

I did look at the Texas breeders site though and was not pleased with the young age he is breeding some of his dogs (Sam was born in 2011 yet sired a litter in 2012 ), the condition of his dogs (overweight for their frame), and the lack of OFA hip/elbow scoring (even went to OFFA to look for it on the older dogs as the younger dogs being bred are too young to even get an OFA score). The other red flag is two of the three planned breedings in 2013 are with females born in 2012.

I am not sure about the "old world" configuration. The old black and white photos on the breeders page show old world dogs - pretty moderate in size. But I am glad you are happy and have nothing against your dog or even a big dog. Just pointing out some red flags that bother me and I think are not "slamming" just stating facts.

 

I thought SAR dogs needed to be moderate in size because handlers may have to help dogs move over/through rubble, etc. and they need to fit into some relatively small spaces and be easy to transport?
Sheilah

 

Depends on where you are. The SAR team I knew did mostly desert search and rescue down southern Arizona. They had issues with Illegals and drug runners so bigger scary looking dogs were better. That is not to say they were all big and scary there was a cute little border collie on the team as well.

 

I can't beleive that Texas Working Dogs would put a picture up of coyotes strung on fences! *******!


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I can't beleive that Texas Working Dogs would put a picture up of coyotes strung on fences! *******!


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Would this be considered evidence of bias of some type?

What exactly were you referring to - not a person with sunburn, was it?


Or maybe you just thought that the coyotes should have been just layed out on the ground?

 

I don't think displaying a dead animal is appropriate,a coyote is after all a wild dog his life has been taken that is enough.But to each his own we were all descended from barbarians. I suppose.


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I don't think displaying a dead animal is appropriate,a coyote is after all a wild dog his life has been taken that is enough.But to each his own we were all descended from barbarians. I suppose.


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And meat eaters as well!

BTW- I thought we were all desecended from Eden - you mean that those folks were Barbarians!!!!!!!!!


BTW2 - technically, I don't think that a coyote is considered a "wild dog"!

 

The concern isn't necessarily that you're going against set conformation standard and therefor the "show" snobs will look down on you. The real concern is health and temperament - both related to size and other.

When people intentionally breed dogs out of standard, it is usually implied that they are NOT using well bred stock. Yes, they could of gotten very well bred dogs, done all health testing etc, and slowly over time bred bigger pups to bigger pups. But in that aspect alone you're breeding dogs mainly for size, NOT health or temperament.

Or you get the people, and this is the case the MAJORITY of the time, that simply buy huge dogs and breed them to produce huge dogs. Who cares how well bred or healthy the lines are. Who cares about incidence of hip dysplasia. Who cares if the dogs throw aggressive or fearful, skittish pups. They're BIG. Hard to find too many tested, proven, well bred 120lb german shepherds.

Not a rant to the OP (although I would like to HOPE in a perfect world at least some thought and consideration is put into the breeding practices), just more an explanation in general WHY some of us in the breed "look down" on these producers of over-sized dogs. It's not just because they "don't look how they're suppose to".

OP has made up their mind and I wish them look and hope they get a happy, healthy family member

 

The concern isn't necessarily that you're going against set conformation standard and therefor the "show" snobs will look down on you. The real concern is health and temperament - both related to size and other.

When people intentionally breed dogs out of standard, it is usually implied that they are NOT using well bred stock. Yes, they could of gotten very well bred dogs, done all health testing etc, and slowly over time bred bigger pups to bigger pups. But in that aspect alone you're breeding dogs mainly for size, NOT health or temperament.

Or you get the people, and this is the case the MAJORITY of the time, that simply buy huge dogs and breed them to produce huge dogs. Who cares how well bred or healthy the lines are. Who cares about incidence of hip dysplasia. Who cares if the dogs throw aggressive or fearful, skittish pups. They're BIG. Hard to find too many tested, proven, well bred 120lb german shepherds.

Not a rant to the OP (although I would like to HOPE in a perfect world at least some thought and consideration is put into the breeding practices), just more an explanation in general WHY some of us in the breed "look down" on these producers of over-sized dogs. It's not just because they "don't look how they're suppose to".

OP has made up their mind and I wish them look and hope they get a happy, healthy family member

There are good, bad & indifferent breeders among any of the 'types' of GSD, whether WL, ASL, GSL or companion lines. Good, conscientious breeders will rigorously select for health, temperament, character & longevity regardless of which type their involved with.

The inferences that breeders of over sized GSDs ignore health, temperament & structural soundness are biased, inaccurate & just plain WRONG. Who cares how well bred they are??? Those buyers that return for their 2nd, 3rd & 4th GSD certainly do.

I don't give a ratz patoot about anyone looking down on me, my dogs or their breeder but I do heartily resent people resorting to inaccurate & inflammatory generalizations to do so.

It behooves anyone selecting a dog, particularly a breed as troubled as the GSD, to research it thoroughly and make an informed, knowledgeable decision. The egregious misinformation about health, hips & temperament which is routinely tossed out whenever anyone asks about particular breeders of GSD does not serve the purpose of helping people to make an informed & knowledgeable decision.