Working line

F

floaton

New member
Hey everyone

I’m sure there is some advice in other posts but I was hoping for some comments tailored to me.

It’s been some time since my families previous dog passed away and we’re starting to toy with the idea of bringing a new friend into the family. I’ve always loved the idea of a German Shepherd and I would just like to hear from Reddit, some objective opinions for how to move forward based on my needs below.

First off I am a father of 2 boys 6 yr old and 3 yr old. I am a pilot and I work nights. Sometimes I’m back at 3 in the morning the following night after I left and sometimes I’m gone for 3-5 days at a time. We have an alarm system but it in no way compares to the peace of mind of a living, breathing companion that is there for obviously a mutually beneficial deal of love but also loyalty and protection skewed slightly in our favour.

Now as for my lifestyle. I plan to take about 4 weeks vacation around the time the breeder (not currently found) is ready for us to bring home the bundle of fury joy, so that I can be fully involved in the training.

Soo for the most part I’m gone for 24-30 hours with a return back home around 2-4am with the occasional trips taking me away for 3-5 days.

When I’m home it’s generally for a block of 5 days or more and I have plenty of downtime. Due to airline regulation I’m limited to the amount of nights I can work in a row etc.
So I guess my point being is I will have the time and effort to put into the training of a working line.

My questions are;

Do I need or should I get a working line or show line?

Both kids will be in school during the day and there would be enough time for multiple walks in the day. Proper training and so on.

But will I get what I need out of a showline? The loyalty as well as the protection for my family while I’m gone?

Anyways thanks for your help in advanced.
 
This, shepherds don’t just come ready to protect families out of the womb. Find a local trainer that can tailor a program to you. And ask him what kind of dog he would recommend for your needs.
 
@floaton First, your wife needs to be fully involved from day 1. You can't do all of the training, and expect her to take over when you're gone. Next, the schedule needs to be the same whether you are home or not. Dogs like routines. You mentioned when your home, you'll be able to give it plenty of walk. Will your wife be able to do the same when you're gone? Hate to say it, but your wife needs to be the dogs person. I say this, despite me being the one who took the dog to trainers, he attached himself to both husband and son. Currently, my husband is out of town for work and he moves around when he's gone, and acts like he's starved for attention when he's gone. He's also constantly looking for him. He does the same when my son goes out drinking with husband buddies on the weekends. I think you could do it, if you're wife is fully involved.
 
@floaton Look into getting a West German Show-line. They are very very different than American Show lines, which most people have issues with because of their general health problems (skeletal, muscular, gait issues, etc.) because American lines were bred specifically to be in dog shows, not to work

In order for West German Show-line dogs to be bred they still need to pass “working” tests. They undergo the same training as working-lines and they need to meet the same metrics, but the difference between them largely has to do with the fact that show-lines also have to meet aesthetic qualifiers too. You’ll see breeders listing titles and test scores for things like “SchH” or “AD”, which are two of the more common working tests. SchH stands for “Schutzhund” which is the original breed test that was developed by the founder of the breed. Schutzhund is what everyone thinks of when they think of protection dogs; it literally means “guard dog”. It includes skills obedience, guarding, and tracking and there are different rankings (SchH1, 2, and 3)

Like other people are saying the big difference between working and show-line dogs is their drive and ability to turn themselves on or off. Working shepherds are almost always on, especially when they’re younger, and typically have much higher prey drives. Show-lines also have prey drives, but they tend to be a bit more manageable. They are both capable and will happily do protection-style work

No matter what line you pick you need to remember that German shepherds are working dogs. You need to give them a “job” as a way to burn off energy or they will give themselves a job and you will not like what it is. Even as they get older, they still need a way to channel their instinctive energy. You should also keep in mind that German shepherds are essentially puppies until they’re about 2 years old; they’re still growing and learning. You will have to keep up with their training constantly because if you get lax with them, they will 100% take advantage of it
 
@floaton I haven’t seen anybody answer this side of the question, so I’ll hit it with my own personal experience.

Get a show line. If you aren’t going to give it a job to do, that it can expect to do every single day…get a show line from a very reputable breeder that includes generational health screenings. Visit the breeder, meet the dogs, ask to talk to people who have purchased puppies (most will have a private social media page for owners of their pups). I asked myself this same question before getting our puppy, and Reddit seemed to skew towards working line because show line GSD’s were viewed as a health liability and inferior. This is absolutely NOT the case if you take the time to find the right breeder.

I have a farm, and my dog has the potential to actually have every day jobs…and I still went with a West German show line because of my children. I have a 6 year old and a 3 year old…and our dog is their companion. She can have days where there is no job, and she’s content with just running in the backyard with them and playing. She still acts as a great deterrent, sounding the alarm when people come down our lane or if she doesn’t recognize the people walking into our house.

Mine has all of the great qualities every GSD has, with a lower prey drive, less herding instinct, and a MUCH calmer temperament/demeanor than the working lines I’ve been around. Unless you have cattle, or are willing to commit yourself to creating an all day job, I’d suggest going show line.

That being said, I cannot stress enough the importance of your breeder if you do go the show line route. Having genealogy for competition winners is great, but absolutely focus on temperament and health screening. Kids and puppies are VERY hard to juggle…I have been finding out the hard way lately. My three year old tests our girl constantly. I can’t imagine the shit storm we would have with a higher energy semi-bored working line. However hard you think the first year will be, multiply it by two, then add an exponent for the number of kids you have under 12. I’m saying that as someone who got very lucky with a very chill puppy. Kids and high strung/high energy puppies are an absolutely terrible combination. 3-5 days doesn’t seem like much, but it’s a HUGE gap in training and consistency to a puppy. It’s totally doable, but you need to find the right puppy.
 
@floaton You got it man. I went through the same conundrum. I actually called a few training centers and talked to a family friend who is a Veterinarian to make my decision and help find a good breeder. I had to travel over two hours one way 4 different times to bring our girl home, but I have zero regrets. She’s just the right amount of dog with every quality we were looking for. I hope you find the perfect fit for your family as well!

Puppy tax:

https://preview.redd.it/9nrdg9ztjrj...bp&s=1833d959bd8b2e3efb92f2064ea8827faa8ed147
 
@floaton I have a working line female. She is the best! She is EXTREMELY intelligent, driven, and energetic. However, she also gets bored easily. When she gets bored, she gets destructive and will drive us all bonkers. I’m constantly coming up with new tricks to teach her, and taking her on runs to keep her occupied and tired. Working line dogs want to work. If you don’t have something for them to constantly do, they’ll get on your last nerve.
 
@imagebeastmarkbeast It doesn't work like that.

There's lots of great dogs that don't make the cut for service after a year or two of training and evaluation. A child can develop allergies, an elderly owner dies, a couple loses their home. One of my best shepherds was an 18 month old that was rehomed to us when his trainer became ill and couldn't continue working at the level he used to. My kids adored him and vice-versa.

If it isn't your cup of tea that's fine but there's lots of pros to adopting a trained adult when you have a busy work/life schedule. And there's great adult dogs out there that fit the bill.
 
@imagebeastmarkbeast I think you're presuming shelter even though I did not say shelter? I didn't write 9 paragraphs because it's reddit. I assumed that being a previous GSD owner you'd understand what I was referring to. Ah well, the hazards of online communication.

Anyway, good luck with the dog- or puppy or whatever.
 
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