Neuer Monde German Shepherds

Working Line German Shepherds

We take raising Shepherds seriously!

Neuer Monde German Shepherds
20325 White Oak Court
Lake Ann, MI 49650
ph: 231-640-0359
neuermondeshepherds@live.com

"The beautiful thing about learning

is that no one can take it away from you."
B.B. King

All those letters, What do they mean?

Many people ask me what the letters after a dog’s name mean. And what the hip ratings mean. This is a great question and requires a very lengthy answer. First, I must explain that each country like Germany, Czech, and Poland for example all have different working titles they use as well as different names and ratings for hips. Not to mention the fact that these are all done in the native language to that country. So needless to say that can mean a load of information that can overwhelm even the most diligent person. Therefore I am only listing the most common abbreviations. So we will start off with the most common US hip and show/obedience ratings.

The two main hip rating systems used in the USA are the OFA, which is the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, and the Penn Hip, which is The University of Pennsylvania’s hip rating test. Both tests are good but each a bit different. The OFA is done by a panel of three judges who look over your dog’s x-ray’s done by a licensed veterinarian and decide unanimously on the score. The scores range from Excellent to Severe Dispylstic.

The Penn HIP is done also by a certified and licensed vet who sends the x-rays to the college who then determines the laxity or amount that the dog’s hip joint’s come out of the socket. Thus telling you the amount of displsia it currently has or will develop in the future. Each hip is given a score of .30 being excellent and .60 being displastic. That is a basic explanation of US hip ratings now we will move onto US American Kennel club obedience ratings. I have added only obedience titles below you can visit AKC.org for titles explained in other events, such as Conformation and Rally.

OFA: Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (Hip Certification in U.S.).
OVC: Ontario Veterinary College (Hip Certification in Canada).
CGC: The dog has a Canine Good Citizen certificate.
Penn HIP: Developed at University of Pennsylvania (USA)
Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde: (German Shepherd Dog Club) The original GSD breed club and breed registry, based in Germany.
SV: Schaferhund Verein, GSD Society of West Germany.
CKC: Canadian Kennel Club.

Obedience Titles for the American Kennel Club:

AKC titles can only be earned at an AKC-licensed or member club trial. The Novice (CD) title must be completed before an exhibitor can enter the Open class. The Open title (CDX) must be earned before an exhibitor can enter the Utility class.

Companion Dog (CD) - The letters CD may be added after a dog's registered name when it has been certified by three different judges as receiving qualifying scores in classes at three licensed or member obedience trials.

Companion Dog Excellent (CDX) - The letters CDX may be added after a dog's registered name after it has been certified by three different judges as receiving qualifying scores in Open classes at three licensed or member obedience trials.

Utility Dog (UD) - The letters UD may be added after a dog's registered name after it has been certified by three different judges as receiving qualifying scores in Utility classes at three licensed or member obedience trials.

Utility Dog Excellent (UDX) - Dogs with UD titles must earn qualifying scores in both Open B and Utility B at 10 trials in order to add the UDX title after their registered names.

Obedience Trial Champion (OTCH) - Dogs with UD titles must win 100 points and a first-place in Utility B and Open B, plus a third first-place win in either class, under three different judges.

National Obedience Champion (NOC) - The AKC awards this prestigious title annually to the dog that wins the AKC National Obedience Invitational. The letters NOC are placed before the dog's AKC-registered name and become part of the dog's permanent title.

Tracking Degree (TD)- AKC tracking title- The TD track is from 440-to-500 yards long with 3-to-5 turns (or change in direction) and aged from a half-hour to two hours.A dog must indicate a glove or wallet placed at the end of the track.Tracks are plotted in an open field with uniform cover.There are no obstacles such as roads, ditches or woods.The start of the track will be marked with a flag.A second flag is placed 30 yards from the start flag to indicate the direction of the first leg of the track.There are no other flags in the field.

Tracking Dog Excellent (TDX)- The TDX track is 800-to-1000 yards long, with 5-to-7 turns and aged from 3-to-5 hours.The track also has two sets of cross (diversionary) tracks and has some of the aforementioned obstacles.The start is marked with a single flag and the dog must determine the direction of the first leg.There are four dissimilar articles for each track, one at the start and three more on the track.

Variable Surface Tracking (VST)- A VST track is from 600-to-800 yards long, with 4-to-8 turns, and aged from 3-to-5 hours.The articles must be one each of leather, cloth, plastic and metal.The VST track must also contain three different surfaces with one turn on a non-vegetated surface such as concrete.This test demonstrates the utility of the tracking dog to work in an urban environment.

German Show and Hip Ratings:

Common German Working titles:

AD: Aus dauerprufing, endurance test.
BH Begleithunde: A temperment and traffic safe test.
WH: Watch Dog.
DH: Dienshund, service dog.
HGH: Herdengebrauchshund, herding dog- a qualification of dogs working with flocks.
TD: Tracking dog. Qualification title for nose work.
FH: Fahrtenhund, tracking qualification.
FH1: Advanced tracking.
FH2: Superior tracking qualification.
UD: Utility dog. Working Qualification.
ZH: Zollhund, dog trained to work with customs police.
SchH1: Novice Schutzhund qualification in tracking, obedience, and protection.
SchH2: Intermediate Schutzhund qualification in tracking, obedience, and protection.
SchH3: Masters level of Schutzhund tracking, obedience, and protection.

IPO1: International Novice Schutzhund trial qualification.
IPO2: International Intermediate Schutzhund.
IPO3: International Masters level Schutzhund.

.

German Conformation titles:

ZB-Zuchtbewertung: Conformation Show Rating followed by:
VA -Vorzuglich Auslese: Excellent Select,the highest attainable award by a German show dog and granted only at the annual Sieger Show.
V - Vorzuglich: Excellent.
SG - Sehr Gut: Very Good; an official German show grade and the highest obtainable by
dogs under two.
G - Gut: Good.
A - Austreichend: Sufficient.
M - Mangelhaft: Faulty.
U - Ungenugend: Insufficient.
Sieger or Siegerin: Title given to the top Male and Female at the German National Show,
they will also receive the rating of VA-1
Weltsieger: World Seiger title awarded to the top dog at the FCI All Breed Show

German hip ratings:

"a" - Zuerkannt: Certified hips that fell within the following three categories:

"a" -1 Normal - Certified Normal Hips;
"a" -2 Fast Normal - Certified Near Normal Hips;
"a" - 3 Noch Zugelassen - Certified still permissible Hips

German Breed Survey:

Korung: German breed survey to select animals for breeding. Class 1 animals recommended,
Class 2 animals suitable.

KKL1: Korklasse I, Breed surveyed recommended for breeding
KKLII: Korklasse II, Breed surveyed suitable for breeding.
Lbz - Lebenszeit: Lifetime rating.

ZW Zuchtwert: ZW-value — Zuchtwert evaluation — is a Breed Value Assessment - a number assigned that gives an indication of the genotype of the dog for breeding purposes. Our statistics prove that individuals with an SV-Breed Value of around 85-95 do not improve anything. Improvement can only be expected when the parents show Breed Values of 75 and below.

Why bother with titles?

Over the years I have had people try to convince me that a dog without a title is the same as a dog with, I beg to differ. And I think Sandra Mowery's words sum up my feelings pretty well.

Now what do all those letters really mean?

To the dog that bears it, a way to honor the dog, an ultimate memorial. It will remain in record and in memory for as long as anything in this world can remain. Few humans will do as well or better in that regard.

And though the dog itself doesn't know or care that its achievements have been noted, a title says many things in the world of humans, where such things count.

A title says your dog was intelligent and adaptable, and good-natured. It says that your dog loved you enough to do the things that please you, however crazy they may have sometimes seemed.

And a title says that you loved your dog, that you loved to spend time with it because it was a good dog, that you believed in it enough to give it yet another chance when it failed, and that, in the end, your faith was justified.

A title proves that your dog inspired you to that special relationship enjoyed by so few; that in a world of disposable creatures, this dog with a title was greatly loved, and loved greatly in return.

And when that dear short life is over, the title remains as a memorial of the finest kind, the best you can give to a deserving friend, volumes of pride in one small set of initials after the name.

A title earned is nothing less than love and respect, given and received, and permanently recorded.

-Sandra Mowery

Changes need to happen, to better our Shepherd

April 28, 2010

The following is an excerpt from Dr. Stanley Coren’s book, "Why does my dog act that way". I found it near to my heart as it details the loyalty and devotion the Shepherd is known for, but also reminds me that I have a mission in this business to help restore the shepherd to its once great stature.

This excerpt is in regards to a study that Dr. Coren has done involving the life saving rescues of dogs rescuing humans. He has this to say about the German Shepherd:

” If we look at the percentage of heroic rescues that they were involved in over the period between 1938 and 1984, they were responsible for 18.1 percent of all rescues while in the period 1985-2005, they account for 10.6 percent of all heroic acts. The fact that in recent years German Shepherds seem less likely to help people, despite the fact that their popularity has not diminished much, suggests that there has been a significant change in the breed, perhaps in their temperament, since some reports seem to suggest that today’s German shepherds are a bit more skittish and fearful than in former years. It also may be due to changes in their physical abilities since, at least in North America, the fashion of breeding for strongly sloped backs seems to have greatly reduced their speed, power and agility by restricting free movement of their rear ends. Whatever the reason the accounts of heroic actions by this breed are now fewer than they used to be. Even given that change, however, the German shepherds are still way ahead of many other breeds in the number of rescues that they have made in recent years.”

What exactly is the differance between American line show shepherds and working line European shepherds.

And the answer is Everything!

The German Shepherd began as a herding and working dog. Put through a series of tests over the years through service and Schutzhund work. Generations of Germans put their time and efforts into creating a breed that could stand the test of time. A breed that could herd sheep and protect our children. A versatile breed able to track lost children and take down a suspect.

The American Show Line Shepherd

Unfortunately when the German shepherd reached the American soil it became another breed altogether and was no longer bred for service or working ability but simply to be a pretty show dog. Over the years the rear angulations got more and more severe until their hocks grazed the ground and their rear ends sloped so badly they are no longer useful for any function other then the show ring. Along with their bone structure their temperaments also changed. No longer bred to serve a purpose their temperaments began to be unstable and often unreliable. The AKC puts no regulations on breeding dogs and any dog that is registered with them can be bred. So as the American show line breeders continue to breed underage, unproven and untitled dogs with faulty hips, our German shepherd as it once was continues to be lost.

American Show line shepherd

The German Conformation Line Shepherd

The main difference in the German show line and the American show line is that in Germany they are required to have a Schutzhund title and clear hips and elbows to be bred. With the Germans putting some amount of regulations on who can be bred, the German show line has not been as affected by the rear angulations and sloppy breeding standards of the Americans. However, most German show lines can be traced to roughly three different dogs and run the risk of being over/in bred. They come from basically three differant kennels; Arminius, Wienerau, and Wildsteiger Land and they are, like the American show line, bred to be a show dog and therefore are not bred to be anything more. With their working temperments bred out of them they most often barely pass their Schutzhund trials and are then used for breeding. Therefore you see very few going on to make a career out of civil work such as police, border partol or even a prolonged Schutzhund career. Their coloring is virtually always black and tan with the traditional saddleback. They are a heavier build then the American line and have bigger, blocker heads.

German Show Line Shepherd

European Working Line Shepherd

The European working line shepherd is bred for a job. They generally have a smaller build and have a wide variety of colors (not white). The working lines could include Czech, DDR (East) and West German working lines, (not West German show lines) I myself have found great success in crossing the DDR lines and the West working lines to produce very nice family companions who are structurally sound as well. The working line breeders put a strong emphasis on working ability and temperament testing. And of course if the dog is not structurally sound it cannot perform its working jobs. So dogs with fair hips and poor angulations would never hold up in a working environment. The working lines have little to no rear angulations and their hocks are straighter, making them healthier and more agile animals. Their temperaments have been a top priority for years and remain stable today. I truly believe that the working line is the shepherd that Max von Stephanitz had in mind when he created the breed. A dog that could do any job put before them and at the end of the day curl up under their children's feet and protect the house at night.

My female Costa von Karthago, given as an example because of her increadable working pedigree and body structure. You can clearly see how closely she resembles the great foundation sire Bernd vom Lierberg below.

German Working Line Shepherd

Bernd vom Lierberg foundation sire

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