The VZH Breeding Initiative

Before you read this article, do keep in mind that we are not referring to AKC breeders nor the AKC version of the German Shepherd Dog. We are referring here to Authentic German Shepherd Dogs produced in Europe, or such dogs produced by the very few Qualified GSD breeders in the United States, who are importing breed quality dogs, and breeding to the European standard.

For three decades, VZH bred the Authentic European black and red West German GSD. However in 2020, we made a major change in our breeding program, which is taking this breed to the next level. An approach that we hope will be followed by the other Qualified breeding programs in the World. The following explains it all.

There was only one GSD in Europe prior to 1949. After the wall went up in 1949, thus separating Germany and creating the Eastern bloc, the breed became two distinct sub species – the West German Shepherd and the East German / DDR / Czech GSDs. Many, even in Europe, refer to the two subspecies as Show and Working lines. If you have read much about the German Shepherd Dog, you have seen this verbiage, however those terms are incorrect, as both subspecies are Working dogs and both are bred and evaluated for conformation qualities. Old School Europeans, and we at VZH, refer to the two subspecies as Hochzught ( the West German GSDs ) and Leistungszught ( the East German / DDR / Czechs ). After 1949, the Leistungszught was also bred in West Germany, however not to complicate this, and make this easier, for this article we will refer to the Hochzught as the West German Shepherd, and the Leistungszucht as the East German / DDR / Czech German Shepherds.

The divide was OK , or tolerable until around the mid-1990s to early 2000s , then too much focus on confirmation and line-breeding, and too much focus on the pet market in America and Asia, has significantly lowered the quality of both subspecies. We will add here that the divide did not occur all at once. It began in 1949 and it was not until over two decades later, the early 1970s, that there would be a complete divide, which resulted in two distinct Authentc European German Shepherd Dogs.

There have been a handful of breeders in the world who have stayed on the straight and narrow, thus producing the GSD as it was meant to be, including VZH. However, this has become more and more difficult, as when we need to purchase new dogs to be a part of this, they can hardly be found, only the pretty dogs, bred for the pet market, and thus lacking the intelligence, instincts, ambition, health and stamina, that made the GSD… a GSD. This is why the Police and Military have all but abandoned this breed. While VZH primarily places our dogs into Companion / Family homes, if a dog doesn’t have the aforementioned attributes, then it isn’t really a GSD. In addition to losing those qualities, line breeding, while increasing the chances for the better genes, also increases the chance for the less desired genes, and downright bad genes, know as double copies of negative genes. Qualified breeders know where the bad genes are and we breed around them, but with the overall gene pool being more and more reduced, it is getting more and more difficult to avoid such genes.

So it has been know for many years that the breed needs to be brought back together, thus undivided. However for a modern breeder to bring the two subspecies back together as one, after being separated over 50 years ago… how exactly does a breeder accomplish this? It would surely take a Breeder with vast knowledge in genetics, genetic expression, pedigrees, lineage, and the bio-mechanics of the breed to accomplish such. Imagine trying to mix two types of a dish, with all different ingredients, and two distinct flavors into one that still looks and taste good. While other breeders in the World have tried this over the last several years without success, VZH has been watching and learning. So it was realized in early 2020, that it was our turn. When a Friend, Mentor and high level Breeder in Europe learned that we were doing this, he told me, “Edward your dogs are the most sought after in the United States and no nobody is complaining. Why ruin what you have accomplished? Just go with it and do the best you can.” My response, “Because it’s not an option, and I’m prepared to go down with the Ship.”

We will go back here and discuss what happened to both subspecies. This breed of course began as herding dogs, to help early 20th century German Sheep Farmers to keep track of their herds, and to keep predators from attacking the sheep. It was then discovered in WWI, the usefulness and tasks that this young breed could achieve. As the industrial revolution evolved in Germany, and less of a need for herding dogs, and more of a need for Law Enforcement dogs, the breed then began to be used for those purposes. During these early decades of the breed, it was well known by those closely working with these dogs, the very good therapeutic and companion qualities that the German Shepherd Dog has, how good they were for Families, including children.

As the breed evolved and continued to be used by Police and Militaries Worldwide, the overall usefulness of the breed and their qualities became well known. Soldiers going back to their home lands after WWI and WWII, telling what they had seen and experienced from the German Shepherd Dog. Then television shows like Rin Tin Tin, and again the stories that Soldiers took home from Vietnam about these dogs, thus over these decades there became such a Worldwide demand for this breed. However the demand from Civilians ( the Pet-Companion market ) who were willing to pay large sums for these dogs, vastly overtook the demand from Police, Military, and Search and Rescue Organizations, who also operate on a budget, and can only pay so much for dogs. However, the Civilian market wanted a dog that looked like a GSD, that acted like a Cocker Spaniel, thus not wanting the drives and instincts that again, make the breed what it is, and thus so good. The solution here would have been to evaluate all puppies at 7-8 weeks of age, as VZH and any Qualified breeding program would do, and then after thoroughly evaluating the potential new Owners, thus custom match each puppy or dog, to the appropriate person and or environment.