Show Line or Working Line? Ask the Wrong Question, Get the Wrong Dog
Here in the United States, the German Shepherd world is split into two camps. One side dismisses the show lines as pretty dogs that can’t work. The other side dismisses the working lines as rough, untypey dogs with no structure. Some of the loudest voices belong to clubs and competitors whose knowledge comes from internet forums and a few weekends on the field.
We see it differently, because we live on both sides of that fence. At Kempkes Executive K9, we breed West German VA show lines and the finest working lines, to the FCI world standard. Michael’s roots are in the German working bloodlines, and his background is in training and temperament. Our family competes. We have bred internationally acclaimed litters and work with breeders across many countries.
This is the first of two articles. Next time, we’ll tackle workability and temperament. Today is about structure, and in particular angulation, because this is where both camps most often get it wrong.
One Breed, One Standard
There is no separate standard for show lines and working lines. There is one: FCI Standard No. 166, the German Shepherd Dog standard written by the SV in Germany. Every German Shepherd, from any bloodline, is measured against the same words.
Those words are clear about structure:
- The back is moderately long, firm, strong and well-muscled, with a broad, short, strong loin.
- The withers are long and of good height, sloping slightly into the back. The dog stands higher at the front than at the rear, gently, not dramatically.
- The croup is long and slightly sloping, about 23 degrees to the horizontal, flowing into the tail without a break.
- The body is longer than the dog is tall, by roughly 10 to 17 percent.
Most importantly, the standard calls the German Shepherd a trotter. The front and rear must be matched in length and angulation, so the hindquarters can drive the body forward without the topline rolling or bouncing, and the front can reach just as far as the rear pushes. The result is a far-reaching, ground-covering, level gait that looks effortless.
Then comes the sentence every breeder should have framed on the wall. The standard warns that any tendency toward over-angulation of the hindquarters reduces firmness and endurance, and with it, working ability. Structure and work are not two separate subjects. In the standard, they are the same subject.
Where Show Lines Go Wrong: Over-Angulation
When show lines are bred correctly, they are magnificent, and they match the standard. But in the chase for the dramatic silhouette and the flashy, flying side gait that wins ribbons, too many breeders push angulation past anything the standard asks for.
You know the look. A wither so exaggerated it towers over a back that slopes away sharply toward the ground. A roach over the loin. Rear angulation so extreme the hocks sit far behind the dog, giving that eye-catching reach, but at a cost. These dogs can be so over-angulated they look, frankly, preposterous.
This is not what the standard describes, and it is not harmless. Extreme angulation is tied to a higher rate of orthopedic problems, with the exaggerated slope placing stress on hips and hocks and raising the risk of lameness over time. You also see cow hocks and dogs that struggle to hold themselves together once they are no longer stacked by a handler. A dog built for a two-minute gait around a ring is not always a dog built to work all day, which is precisely what the standard warns against.
Where Working Lines Go Wrong: Too Little, Not Too Much
Now for the other camp, because this is the half that rarely gets said out loud. Working lines are not automatically correct just because they aren’t exaggerated. Bred without a careful eye on structure, they drift to the opposite fault.
You see working line dogs that are too straight in the shoulder and fall on the forehand, dropping onto the front instead of reaching into it. You see dogs higher at the rear than at the front, the reverse of what the standard asks, with loose or weak ligamentation that lets the whole frame flex and give where it should stay firm. A straight front and a weak rear assembly waste a dog’s drive just as surely as too much angle does.
The standard asks for correct angulation, not minimal angulation. A dog with too little angle cannot reach and drive any better than a dog with too much. Both fall short of the ground-covering, enduring gait the breed was built around. When a breeder brags that their working dogs have “no angulation,” that is not the standard talking. That is marketing.
Why This Matters, and Why Faults Don’t Stay Put
Structure is not cosmetic. The whole point of the German Shepherd’s build is the gait, the tireless, ground-covering movement that let one dog move a flock all day. Correct angulation front and rear, a firm back, a properly set croup, these are the engineering that make that movement possible. Get the structure wrong and you lose the gait. Lose the gait and you have lost the breed’s purpose, whatever bloodline the dog came from.
Here is the part that worries us most. These faults do not stay contained. A stunning over-angulated dog wins big, so breeders rush to use him, and his exaggeration flows into the next generation and the generation after that. A popular working dog with a weak front gets bred widely for his drive, and that soft front assembly spreads with him. Faults get rewarded, faults get used, and faults get carried back into the bloodlines until they look normal. The eye adjusts to what it sees most, and before long a whole line has drifted away from the standard without anyone deciding that it should.
Find a Breeder Who Breeds to the Standard
So the real question was never show line versus working line. The right question is: does this breeder breed to the standard, or to a trend?
When you are talking to a breeder, listen for this:
- They can explain structure in their own words, not just show you ribbons or bite photos.
- They acknowledge the faults in their own lines, because every honest breeder has some.
- They don’t trash the other bloodline on principle. A breeder who dismisses all show lines, or all working lines, is telling you they only understand half the breed.
- They breed for correct angulation, a firm back and sound movement first, and let coat, color and flash come second.
A correctly bred show line and a correctly bred working line share far more structure than either shares with its own exaggerated cousins. They are built to the same blueprint, because there is only one blueprint.
At Kempkes Executive K9, that blueprint is the whole point. We breed West German show lines and working lines to the FCI world standard, for dogs that are built to move, built to last, and built to do the work the breed was made for. If you want to talk structure, bloodlines, or which of our dogs might be right for you, we would love to hear from you.
A note on this article: The views expressed here are my own professional opinions as an award-winning breeder, formed over years of hands-on experience with both show lines and working lines. Others in the breed may see things differently, and reasonable, knowledgeable people can disagree. This article is offered for educational purposes and reflects my interpretation of the FCI breed standard and sound structure. It is not a criticism of any individual breeder, dog or program. One final word of caution for buyers: be wary of anyone marketing “straight back German Shepherds” as a selling point. That phrase is a marketing ploy, not a breed standard. The standard calls for a firm back with correct, moderate angulation, never a flat, straight back, and never the extreme slope either. Breed to the standard, not to a slogan.
Jeannette Kempkes
Kempkes Executive K9
wustenbergerland.com
