As our family became involved in working dogs ln the latter 1970s the police dog and sport community was on the cusp of a three decade golden era of prosperity for the purebred generally, the German Shepherd in particular and for the emerging American Schutzhund movement.

It was a time of optimism and innocence, an era of unbounded enthusiasm and the promise of ever expanding prosperity. Yet in retrospect even then ominous clouds were gathering on distant horizons, foreshadowing precipitous decline.

Four decades later the von Stephanitz era is drawing to a close as the German Shepherd devolves from a serious working dog to a defunct police breed of prosaic Golden Retriever replicas for even the most feckless German pet owner.

Societal change as divergent as the advent of the digital age, rights activists, the end of the cold war and the extreme left animal rights movement all played a role in this decline, but the proximate causes of failure were repudiation of the police dog heritage, ever more grotesque show ring type and blatant pandering to the lowest common denominator of the pet dog market.

Ultimately the dagger was wielded by the SV establishment, the enemy within. Continue Reading

Over recent years there has been an ongoing, relentlessly escalating and increasingly acrimonious struggle between the FCI and the WUSV. In December of 2019 this came to a head when the FCI promulgated an edict forbidding the SV from sending judges to non FCI affiliated WUSV clubs such as USCA and those in Spain and Mexico. From the beginning years of the American working dog movement, in the late 1970s, these SV judges took on roles far beyond awarding scores and titles, they were our teachers, our mentors. Continue Reading

Over recent decades the rift between ornamental and functional lines in our police breeds, particularly the German Shepherd, has been relentlessly widening.

That this is coming to a crisis can no longer be denied. Those of leadership and influence, of every persuasion, must seek dialog, find a way to close this rift and preserve these breeds and this heritage.

This is our obligation to the founders. Continue Reading

European green party and animal rights activists have for decades been an increasingly serious threat to our working dog culture and heritage. Rather than driven by empathy or concern for animal wellbeing these shrill opportunists—seemingly trapped in empty, sterile lives—seek relevance through the flaunting of a thin veneer of righteous indignation, seeking to inflict unwarranted harm, distress and humiliation on those carrying on traditional canine culture and service. As with all bullies they can never be satisfied, the visceral thrill of oppression—the obliteration of generations of canine heritage—leading only to the insatiable desire for more. Continue Reading

In less than a generation the German Shepherd has lost preeminence in police service and in the minds and hearts of the German people. That this is cause and effect is beyond question; the pervasive aura of vigor, aggression and virility was from the beginning what had created enthusiasm in the homeland and around the world, generated the universal allure of possessing a police dog. Continue Reading

The purebred dogs, especially the police and military breeds of concern here, have complex histories, convoluted and interrelated organizations and incessant conflict and strife. Discussions involve innumerable acronyms and often obscure, at least to the uninitiated, terminology. This is intended to be a primer, an outline presupposing minimal familiarity and knowledge. Because of the complexity and volatility this is sure to be found wanting, for which reason readers are encouraged to note errors or suggest additions; this simply can never go beyond the work in progress stage.

This pertains to the Schutzhund style venues and derivatives employing the padded bite sleeve, as originated in Germany. In the early years of the twentieth century, when these programs were emerging, pioneers in Belgium, France and the Netherlands were evolving variants of ring sport or KNVP (the Dutch Police Trials) involving a fully padded bite suit enabling the dog to grip anyplace on the body rather than just the arm. These programs are equally valid and admirable but beyond the scope of this discussion. They came to America a decade or so after the introduction of Schutzhund in the 1970s and thus are not as widely present. Continue Reading

Foundation Principles of Max von Stephanitz
"The ideal of the Society was to develop Police trial Champions out of Exhibition Champions, our shepherd dog therefore, was further developed by dog lovers as a working dog. The Standard by which he would be judged and approved was this, namely:– utility is the true criterion of Beauty. Therefore our dogs exhibit everywhere to-day (in a fittingly developed frame, and never as the caricatures of Nature, the greatest of all teachers) a build of body, compacted and designed for the highest possible efficiency, spare and powerful, with wonderfully wellproportioned lines which immediately attract the connoisseur, who soon recognizes that it imparts to its owner a swift, easy gait, a capacity for quick turning and powers of endurance."