As a person who has two breeds with lousy reputations (GSDs and Dals), I can tell you that unfortunately, whether or not we like it, we do have to change the breeds somewhat to fit society. No matter what we do, GSDs and Dals will still be high energy, strong, smart and need training. The goal as a breeder should be to MODIFY it so that the dogs have less prey drive, are less tough, less sharp and are more able to fit into our society as it is NOW - not 40 years ago or a 100 years ago.. These dogs have to live with neighbors 8 feet on either side, kids walking down the street, little dogs yapping through the fence, the FedEx guy and the insurance man.. I walk either breed down the street and I still have people who move to the otherside of the road because they are terrified that my GSDs or my Dals might bite someone.. THAT'S the image we need to get rid of whether it be by breeding dogs that aren't quite so tough or by public education. As my mom says "we are breeding dogs for the average idiot" - these are dogs where people CAN make a few mistakes, but not have to pay for it on the back end with a dog bite. But we still have to maintain the breeds.. We just need to take off the sharp edges. One thing I will tell you from personal experience. Although I understand the need for doubling, it really makes GSDs look like freaks at dog shows as they drag their handlers out of the rings, make all sorts of noises cause they can't stand at ringside quietly and can't stand for exam because they are so busy worrying about where mom or dad is... You know how all that looks to the average "Joe"... NOT GOOD... that and the fact that people don't like to see the dogs walking on their stifles is what JQP sees when he goes to all-breed shows. With the Dals we did the AKC RDOD/K9 Challenge - I had more SHOW people come up and comment on what wonderful temperaments the Dals had and how social they were - why? Because people are used to seeing two of the Top 10 Specials who are screwballs in the ring and try to bite kids and go after dogs outside the ring.. It isn't just the public that thinks these breeds are idiots - its the folks we show with too... We need to spend some time getting out with SHOW people and educating THEM also about the fact that Dals and GSDs are wonderful dogs. Time to get our heads out of the sand and start doing some PR for our breeds and PUREBRED dogs in general - DoG knows we need it! Jessica MacMillan Paisley Dals (www.paisleydals.com) & The Shepherd Girls (Simmie, CGC, TDI, TC, HIC & Pepper, HIC) Member of: DCA, GSDCA & GTCDC _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft's powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/177141664/direct/01/ http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/177141664/direct/01/ ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2009. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/ ============================================================================