Which Line Of German Shepherd Is For You: Ranked
10 years ago, most people thought a German Shepherd was a German Shepherd. Same breed, same thing, same capabilities. Same traits. In the past 10 years, people who own German Shepherds have learned a lot about their chosen breed and know that different lines may as well be different breeds themselves. So, with that said, which line is the line for you as an individual?
For those who aren't aware of the different lines, we have American/UK/Canadian/Australian, etc, pet/show lines. Then we have European show lines, and lastly, we have working lines.
The German Shepherd Dog is a working dog, and as such, there are 4 reasons why someone would want a German Shepherd.
1: Pet. Most people with German Shepherds simply want one as a pet.
2: Active Pet. These people want a pet, but with conditions. They want a dog to run with, go on hikes with, a dog with enough drive to play fetch, swim, etc.
3: Sport. This group wants a dog for protection sports, dock diving, fly ball, etc. They require a dog with a higher than average drive in 1 or multiple areas.
4: Working Dog: These people need a dog who can perform specific tasks proficiently. These dogs will often have more drive to excel in a working role than the aforementioned 3 before this.
If you want a pet, and nothing more. A dog with a ton of drive is probably the opposite of what you want. But what you do want is a dog that's low-medium drive, healthy, stable, and fairly friendly. German Shepherds, in general, aren't the friendliest dogs. Their own breed standard says, and I quote, that they are to be "aloof with strangers." If you want a friendly, dog park type of dog. Your best bet is not getting a GSD at all. That doesn't mean that you can't take a GSD of any line to a dog park, it just means that the breed in general isn't suited to having 20 strange dogs and people in their face.
Rankings:
European Show Line: #1
American Show/Pet Line: #2
Working Line: #3
How We Came Up With These Scores:
European Show Lines are low to medium drive on average. They come from a lineage of mandatorily health tested dogs in Europe, so they tend to be healthy. Just make sure that if you go through a breeder in your country, they do health testing on every dog they breed. Make sure they do hip testing. With that said, they're the best overall as a pet.
American Show/Pet Lines are often low to medium drive. They tend to be either friendly or reactive and a little nervous. They also tend to be the least healthy because America, Canada, and the UK don't require any health testing. The fact that they are rarely tested and don't come from generations of health-tested dogs kicks them out of first place. But their tendency to be more nervous dogs doesn't help matters.
Working Lines tend to be the healthiest of the bunch. They're also very intelligent and easy to train. But they are also the ones with the most drive. They tend to be the most stable of the 3, but the drive alone puts them dead last. They need a very experienced trainer. If you're not one or aren't prepared to pay for one, they're going to be running around, chewing up your stuff, and running full speed every time they get excited.
For an active pet, you'll want a dog that has many of the traits of a pet dog. Healthy, happy-go-lucky, but with a bit more drive for the long games of fetch, long hikes, runs, etc. Which Lines are best for an active pet?
Rankings:
European Show Line: #1
Working Line: #2
American Show/Pet Line: #3
How We Came Up With These Scores:
The European Show Line has it again because most of them make good pets and even better active pets for active people. They win this one easily, but they also won the pet category by a narrow margin based on hip testing history alone. If you've never had a dog with hip dysplasia, ask around on this page. It's a terrible condition that you never want to see a dog go through.
The Working Line comes in at #2 this time because there are a lot of Working Line German Shepherds who aren't quite up to being top sport dogs, or police dogs, etc. They may not make the grade for those kinds of jobs, but they make great active pets.
American Show/Pet Lines come in last here for 2 main reasons. They have the lowest amount of drive and the lowest amount of health. A 10 mile run on a dog with no hip x-rays, who came from a lineage of dogs going back to the very beginning of the breed who were never tested for dysplasia, is a gamble. As for drive levels, I'm sure most of us have seen a funny video of someone carrying a dog who refused to finish a long walk or hike in those viral videos. It's funny when it's someone else. It isn't funny when you're the one carrying a 70-90lb dog up a mountain to get back to your car. Dogs with low amounts of drive give up on things when their drive is exhausted.
Sport dogs are going to be higher than average drive and focus. They're also going to need to be healthy because of the physical burden of training and competing.
Rankings:
Working Line: #1
European Show Line: #2
American Show/Pet Line: #3
How We Came Up With These Scores:
To put it simply, an American Show/Pet Line dog may or may not be able to compete as a sport dog, depending on the sport and the individual dog. Fly ball? Agility? Sure. Protection sports like IGP or Mondio Ring? Very unlikely. A European Show Line dog can definitely compete here. You can even do protection sports in most cases. But if you compete against trainers who are your equal, and they have a working line dog, they will win almost every time. If you look at national competitions, it's rare to find anything but Working Line Dogs who made it that far.
Lastly, we have the working dog category. People in this category didn't decide to buy a dog. They needed a dog to perform a certain task to make their job possible, or at the very least easier and safer.
Ratings:
Working Line: #1
European Show Line: #2
American Show/Pet Line: #3
How We Came Up With These Scores:
Depending on the job, European Show Line dogs can excel at some jobs. Herding is one that seems to fit them well. Dogs from American/UK/Aussie lines may do well at herding as well, but it would be a safer bet to get a dog from a breeder who does the work you want to do.
But if the job requires bite work or long days of searching for contraband without quitting because the dog's drive wanes ... the Working Line is called the Working Line for a reason. Working is the top priority with working dog breeders. There's a dog out there for everyone, and it probably isn't a Working Line German Shepherd Dog. But if you need one for work, there is no better line.
Remember, at the end of the day: Never buy a puppy or dog from a breeder who doesn't have OFA, PennHip, or European screening on both the Sire and Dam of the puppy or dog you wish to purchase. Walk away, and don't look back. That's how to end unnecessary overbreeding and avoid hip dysplasia in future breeding!
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