FCI standard vs the AKC standard - Page 10

IMO a good argument can be made for either form follows function or function follows form.

That doesn´t work: Form has to follow function, because :

Breeding for correct function is breeding for a "functional" temperament ( of a working dog ), structure must follow, otherwise the dog can´t "function".
Breeding for correct structure is what it is - breeding for correct structure - the dog might be able to function theoretically, but doesn´t have the mind to do so, because the breeder didn´t care about temperament. There are a lot of breeds with correct form, but without correct function.
 

Sorry,  wasn't sure what you were referring to.  You are correct that function can follow form.  ie the ASL.   They have changed the structure of the dog to allow the longer stride at the trot.  The chest is shallower, the upper arm is steeper (almost straight in many of them) and the angulation in the rear hock is longer and more curved.  They have changed the form for the function of what they desired at the trot.

Yes the GSD's are subject to the same pressure, but they can't only trot, they have to be able to run.  There are several sections in the titling where the GSD is expected to run and trotting is a point deduction.  This works to help keep them from getting too extreme.  (and yes, some are extreme but they won't have the staying power in the gene pool to make a long term impact). 

Never mind, doesn't matter in the big picture anyway.

What would you say about a GSD that is so restricted by...uh, lets say straight shoulders, that he has no endurance. He has the right temperament, wants to do it, but can't for long. He's might last long enough to title in Sch but he'd never made it as a tending dog. Form following function or vice versa. Don't the best dogs have both and isn't that why the SV also requires a show rating for a breeding dog? Seem to me that it would be a much bigger challenge to get both in the same dog? Is it which came first - the chicken or the egg?

There are several sections in the titling where the GSD is expected to run and trotting is a point deduction.  This works to help keep them from getting too extreme.  (and yes, some are extreme but they won't have the staying power in the gene pool to make a long term impact). 

bczc I really wish  you would make more statements like this one. It makes me reconsider some things I've long thought about the breed and I appreciate that.

susie - "Training, titling, breeding working dogs in itself is not about money"  I cant relate, ALL of my $$ seems to go to Training and titling of these dumb dogs    oh and i forgot, there was a time when I had 'Free Time', when i could just kick back on the couch and watch some TV while unwinding from a days work.

blitzen, just to be clear on another matter, I don't think the GSDCA has been a good steward of the GSD in the U.S. That's a personal opinion of the org. not a slam on anyone's individual dog.

If you are a breeder or know one, where do these dogs go. The LE/military is certainly not lining up to get them. Maybe one in several thousand goes on to be an AKC Champion, a few might get into AKC performance homes, but if you feel that a dog earning titles/degrees along with labs, goldens, poodles etc. is a basis for breeding GSD we will just have to disagree on that also..

If you say you have a good ASL, I have no reason to doubt you. But if it is a dog capable of doing what a GSD was intended to do, then it is a product of a breeder who went beyond what AKC/GSDCA requires or it is an accident of birth.

Her breeder does go way beyond AKC/GSDCA and SV requirement. I think OB titles say a lot about the dog's will to serve which is a very big part of who a GSD should be.  Scent discrimination and directed retrieving and jumping is also important for a GSD.  The CD is similar to the BH.

Yes, many other breeds can achieve advanced OB titles, but you don't have to own a GSD to title a dog in protection either.

How is it fair to call an excellent dog, an accident?