The Germans have maintained working ability in their bloodline through the sport of Schutzhund. In Germany, you cannot register a litter of pups unless it has a Schutzhund working title. In Europe, a working title is either a Schutzhund title, a Herding title, or a Police Service Dog title. This means that if a dog does not have a good enough temperament to obtain a title, it cannot be bred. In addition, the German dogs are also required to get their hips x-rayed before breeding.
Here in America, if your neighbor has an AKC registered dog and your other neighbor has an AKC registered dog, they can be bred and their pups can be registered. It does not matter if they are both dysplastic or if they are both fear biters that cower in the corner when a stranger approaches.
The German Shepherd Dog Club of America is as much to blame as the AKC for the downfall of the working ability in the American breed. While the people that are members of the GSDCA are very nice people, their only interest is in producing a dog that can run in circles and look pretty. They pay lip service to the temperament of the breed and the majority have no concern about the working ability in their breeding program. In my opinion, the GSDCA is directly responsible for breeding the working ability out of the American Bloodline German Shepherds. They should rename their breed and call it the American Shepherd.
There is NOT ONE American bloodline that can consistently produce a police service dog. That is a very sad statement, but it is true. You can occasionally find an American bloodline breeder who will brag about having some of his dogs in a police department someplace, but the sad truth is that if the dog is working as a patrol dog, it does not belong there.
leerburg.com
