Whats The Difference between Show & Working GSD's?

The split happened in the 70's when saddlebacks became the standard for showing. That automatically limited the dogs to be used for breeding if you wanted to win shows. Form follows function. If your function is to run around a ring with an exaggerated gait, your form will soon follow. The split soon became too big for the working breeders...the structure to win in shows became too radical for working breeders to follow. "The German Shepherd Dog is a working dog, and must be bred, and shown as such" - Max von Stephanitz...those who didn't follow those guidelines set by the breed's founder created the show line GSD. During this time the true German Shepherd was still flourishing, the largest, and most successful breeding programs of working dogs took off during this time as well. Pohranicni straze, Policia, the DDR dogs flourished. Working dogs flourished in the militant communist bloc. Dogs who didn't meet standards weren't explained away. Excuses were not made. They were shot in the head, and you moved on and kept trying for perfection. Agree with the practice or not, it created the best working dogs the World had yet seen. When the Berlin Wall fell, everything changed. America won the war against communism and the Kremlin. Westerners now saw the dog they traded for soft tempered dogs of incorrect structure. The West Germans who did have working dogs had to play catch up, these Eastern Bloc dogs were simply better working dogs (in most cases). They began buying the DDR/Czech dogs en masse. They bred great dogs to their okay dogs and got more average dogs. They didn't adopt the breeding philosophy of breeding excellent dogs to excellent dogs the East Germans lived by and therefore were doomed to fail. Fast forward, now we have West German "sporting" lines. I don't consider many of them to be "working" dogs. They are average tempered dogs with high prey and play drive who's function was to "win" at Schutzhund. So the resultant form are lighter boned, fast, playful, energetic dogs of medium temperament (hard dogs are hard to control). DDR dogs are mostly crap, as a result of breeders who didn't follow the breeding philosophies of the former communist bloc and decided to ride the cash cow of "Pure DDR puppies!"... The Czech dogs remained strong thanks largely to the efforts of outstanding breeders with old fashioned philosophies. European Show lined dogs thanks to the influx of DDR dogs are more massive, heavier boned dogs with darker pigments. They're still in general, weak of temperament. American, Canadian, and GSDs from the UK and Australia to me, simply, are no longer German Shepherd Dogs at all. They don't look like GSDs, they don't act like GSDs, and people in the streets mistake my dogs, who're bred to the old standards of what a GSD should be, are mistaken for wolf hybrids...that goes to show how much these new dogs no longer resemble GSDs. They are very weak, and often unstable animals bred without working ability OR health in mind (which is why many "good" breeders of these lines only have 1-3 generations of dogs who've been hip scored and I, Euro show, and all working line breeders have 10+). Mixed bloodlined dogs: There's a huge number of people who've tried to mix working and show lines who've ended up with dogs too "ugly" to show and too weak to do real work. There are also people who've mixed American Show to Euro Show lines to add bone and pigment. I also include the basic oversized BYB GSDs in this group too, they also have little to no health history and are in general very weak dogs who're often unstable. The working GSD I think is still strong among the good breeders and here to stay due to the stubborn nature of good breeders. But even here on this site I've seen criticism by GSD owners and regular pet owners about not buying working line dogs because they're "too much" and that they should buy weaker lined dogs...I recently heard working line dogs compared to Lamborghinis and how not everyone can drive one without getting hurt...this again shows the reason the split exists in the first place. People who claim to be enthusiasts of the German Shepherd Dog but are NOT interested in what makes the GSD a GSD...working ability! Who wants a Lamborghini with a Toyota engine? Every AKC/UKC breeder, that's who! If you can't handle a Lamborghini, don't buy one at all. These "GSDs" in the states are like those cheap fiberglass kit cars you can buy on ebay and slap on a Pontiac or Volkswagon frame! "Please make sure my German Shepherd Dog remains a working dog, for I have struggled all my life long for this aim" - Max von Stephanitz...the founder of the German Shepherd Dog. Who could argue with this? Words directly from the founder's mouth? Ask an AKC/UKC breeder if their stock is Schutzhund titled. Not their great great great grandsire...but their stock, and then you'll have your answer.

Someone posted a great site recently with illustrated examples of show vs working GSDs. Maybe Curtis? The most obvious differences are the roached backs and the extreme angulation in the rear, but I also seem to remember the show lines being much leaner as well. As far as the breeding is concerned, it's pretty simple to breed just for the look and movement you're going for by choosing breeding stock that have those traits & starting to ignore working ability. I think this was it http://www.shawlein.com/The_Standard/12_Type_Comparison/Comparison_Types.html

The difference between a "show" GSD and a "working" GSD is that the show types have a slightly different structure. They have the angled back that slopes down and they are leaner than the "working" GSD variety. Also, they have softer temperaments. Since people don't use them for work anymore they have bred out a lot of the toughness in GSD's so they can be compatible with family life.

Simple...Germany have show dogs now and no real work dogs. Yes, there is difference in German Shepherd now, most show dogs, not enough work dogs, no money in work dogs. When there was DDR, there was working dogs there, I know, my country send dogs to DDR and I take them there back in 1950's. Now the Shepherd is a fantasy, no more real work dogs, no more tough dogs in germany. Some old lines still around in Slovak countries but they too make dogs soft because people now not tough like old time people. Sad, look at dog in beauty rings now looking like they need to be shot and look at working dog doing border patrol work...big difference...bah, old days not come back, even here in Russia Shepherd is getting soft.

Alesi--Thank you for that link, that was a very interesting read! To answer the question... It's my understanding that Schutzhund was originally meant to gauge working drive in a GSD. However, it wouldn't surprise me if the trials and scoring methods were watered down to turn it into a "sport" accessible to all GSD owners regardless of working drive. Working line versus show lines generally simply means that the working drive was preserved first and foremost, instead of a strict adherence to a conformation standard that is clearly interpreted differently all over the world. You can find working line GSDs with an excellent drive and ability AND excellent conformation. The "types" with the exaggerated back slopes, however, probably are not the most efficient runners. All working drive means is that the dog has a strong energy drive and personality, an ability to excel in the job for which it was bred, and a deep DESIRE to do so. They enjoy the training, they excel in the training, and they enjoy their field work. It IS possible to find a GSD that not only does not excel in their field, but doesn't particularly enjoy the work. Such dogs tend to score lower in Schutzhund if their owner doesn't take the hint and find another activity for the poor bored dog. :P