What has happened to the German Shepherd of North America? The German Shepherd was originally bred for herding but over the years the breed has turned into a dog of several working jobs. If you have ever watched a herding trial its easy to see how much the dog relies on its physical ability to move quickly and turn corners in the blink of the eye. So what has happened to the German Shepherd of North America? Well the answer to that is very simple "MONEY". Here's an example, if we take any dog even a dog straight out of the pound with no pedigree or history and that dog wins a number of events or shows breeders feel the value of the animal goes up and there for it should be bred. I am not saying that the dog from the pound is any less of a working dog then a pink papered German Shepherd, but everything changes when it comes to breeding. The goal of any breeder should be to breed to improve the breed period.
I have heard it said that the split with the German and North American Shepherd started happening in the early to mid 80's. Some where down the line either with one dog or a kennel, over stretched and over angulated in the front and rear dogs started being bred. My guess is after this dog won once or twice breeders felt they had a better chance of winning if they bred according to that top winning dog. If a breeders stud dog or brood bitch wins a national or large show event they can sell the puppies for twice as much then their normal stock. Since then breeders of the North American Shepherd have taken this idea to the extreme. Its very sad to go to a CKC/AKC/UKC show and see dogs that walk on their hocks (back legs), when people talk or refer to the North American German Shepherd most of the time they just call them (slopped Back) Shepherds. Most SV judges will say that the most important part of the German Shepherd structure is the rear drive of the dog. Ok now lets put structure aside and talk about temperament for a moment. Ed Frawley of Leerberg kennels once stated in one of his videos that (and I quote) "1 out of 1,000 American bred German Shepherd could do Schutzhund or Police work", and that's sad. This is true for the simple fact that the CKC/AKC has bred the working ability out of the German Shepherd. By working ability I mean structure but more importantly temperament and drive to want to work. In Germany a litter of puppies cannot be registered with the SV unless both parents have Schutzhund titles.
A true Pink papered Import Shepherd from Germany has both parents with Working Titlesin the Sport of Schutzhund & hips Certified before they are allowed to breed. These titles take thousands of hours of training (usually 2-3 years). Schutzhund is all about accountability. No breeding is allowed unless both parents have a minimum title of a Sch1 & Hips must be Certified to get there pedigree papers. So in the big picture that means that every dog in his pedigree for the last 100 years was smart enough, genetically capable enough to get those titles. Schutzhund is more intense obedience & way better protection training than any police dog training in my opinion. In Canada & USA the CKC/AKC does not demand any of these things in order to breed except pedigree. So think of all the shepherds out there that have been breed that did not have Certified Hips, Titles,( I don't mean show titles, that the AKC or CKC have) every dog in the pedigree had the same titles for the last 100 years.
Remember the old saying you get what you pay for? If you pay $300-$600 for a North American Shepherd ask yourself this. Is this dog smart enough, genetically capable enough to get those same titles as a Working Line German Import dog? Is This dog Inbred to close too family members? Is this dogs parents Hips certified ?
When most people hear the name German Shepherd they automatically think "Bad Hips". The reason for this is to many bad breeders not being held accountable, not getting the hips certified ,not caring just so they can breed and sell their dogs under the radar for cheap $300-$600 and not care just to make a buck. The only ones who get hurt are the dogs. To Many bad Breeders out there "Breed for Greed". Good Breeders breed for their own needs and for the betterment of the breed.
VS 
