Larus - Page 1

Why don't I hear anything about Larus von Batu

What I was told by German breeders, so I could not swear to it, he brought too many puppies with HD, but others also say, that, on top of it, he was not a good dog to sire, he would not accept or not even try a lot of females, he was too "lazy" .

Anyway, as I said before, this is what I heard from Germany. I personally have never tried him with any of my females, as I was looking for alternative bloodlines  .

Perhaps somebody else could give you more details and/or other reasons, although I know a breeder who never had HD with a certain dog, and when he had her sired by Larus, there were various HD-ratings (bad ratings), as well as long hair.

Thanks for the info. Pakros has bad elbows right, so I guess he will suffer the same fate then?

I don't think Larus was all about hip scores. They generally play a small percentage in the overall picture. The same is true with Pakros. His elbow status has not prevented him from becoming sieger. There are many other factors that contribute to the sieger position. Dog itself, pedigree, general acceptance and placement under multiple judges, production, etc.

Larus became a bit of a mixed bag. I don't know how else to describe it. He was a bright young star that rose to VA status under Mr. Messler. He became sieger by his breeder which some thought to be a political move. When the research is done and the placings of the offspring are conunted, the numbers add up to justify the position if for no other reason than the second place dog didn't have what the first place dog had in performance in the ring and production.

The highest placing Larus sons were sold either just before or just after the sieger show. His best offspring left Germany and left lesser placing dogs to carry on in his footsteps. The GSD world was taken a bit by surprise when Larus went sieger again as I believe most though he would fade into obscurity after the previous sieger title.

Some consider him gone with nothing remaining to contribute to the breed. The general consensus is he never really produced his type consistently. This has always been a bit of a mystery to me as the dogs from Ursus and Yasko often were different types than their father. There are many a good male from Ursus that do not resemble him and the same can be said for Yasko. Why the Germans decided that they had to have a Larus type and not just a good dog is what's puzzling.

In the past year or so we have seen some of what he can produce. His daughter Xara was VA1 in Oberhausen, his sons Yimmy and Yanox are well placed with Yimmy just missing the VA group this year.

Much of the discussion about Larus addresses his physical shortcomings. Seems there's always some thing to say as no dog is perfect. There is never much discussion about his working ability and character. If you have a chance to view the 2005 Reivision video of the VA group's protection work, take a look and let me know which ones you think were the best. There's one that stands out for me.

I really can't comment on the intricate details of his character as most people can't access the sieger. I can comment on his sister as I have her here with me from time to time. Laola is a very noble, regal female that rules the roost. She presides over the other dogs and keep them all in their place. Her work is very correct and she always  has her heart in whatever she does from her performance on the field to her babies in the whelping box. She's the type of mother that stays with her puppies until they are about 5 months old, interacting and teaching them her ways so they can teach theirs. I'm fortunate to have two of her offspring. They both are exceptional working dogs.