The German - American Split

German Shepherd breeders in America today are split into two groups. American and German bred dogs. The look is so distinctive, even everyday average people can tell the difference these days between American bred and German bred dogs...What does this mean to you?

The best way is to show you what these dogs look like side-by-side

The pictures on the left are what we want to achieve. The right side pictures (American & Select Canadian) is an American Champion. At Big German Shepherds we breed for the German standard. Our dogs are not angled to such a degree. We've centered our breeding program on the old fashion German bred dogs as shown on the left.

We do our best to follow the German Standard for German Shepherds. It is different than the American Standard and AKC Standard which allows for an extreme angle on the rears of dogs. Unfortunately, in America the breed is judged by the "floating gait” and not much else. By the German standard, this is considered a crippling trait when followed to such as degree. There are excellent American breeders in the USA today. These dogs do not generally win in the conformation show ring but excel in the obedience ring and as family dogs. One thing I'd like to point out is that coated or plush coat German Shepherds are considered a fault by the AKC. We don't buy into that but wanted you to know. Our male Hazzard is a coated male.

The German Standard is different than the American Standard or AKC in more ways than the physical aspect shown in my example. German lines excel in obedience, tracking and just all around great family dogs. In Germany, dog are not breed until they are two years old, have an obedience title, are temperament tested, and are x-rayed A3 at a minimum. (The A3 converts to “Fair” in American terms).

On the other hand, we have now run into some German Bred Dogs that are SSOOO driven and high strung that if they don't have a constant job or trainer, they cannot be handled. They are destructive in nature when not occupied or kenneled. We believe this has gone too far the other way. We strive for balance in our lines. Trainability along with common sense is our program. What happened to balance? Come on out and see what we mean.

What does all this mean to you? It means you can be assured that as a proud new owner of a German Bred German Shepherd puppy that your puppy has parents that are exceptionally smart, very sound and while they can be protective, they are smart enough to know when to be protective and when to be a friend. This is what we believe the German Shepherd was meant to be and why we are breeding today.

Feel free to contact us if you have questions about our dogs, if the German Shepherd is the right breed for you or if you would like to be added to our waiting list.