I don't see anything wrong with creating a new breed to fill the niche of large laid back family companion, especially when so many dogs are given up for being too boisterous or developing behavior problems because their exercise/mental stimulation needs aren't being met through life with an average family. I'd rather see a new breed made with a different name and breed standard than mellowing out a working breed.
It wouldn't surprise me if the shiloh club splits at some point because of differences in goals and acknowledging the real history. Right now the gene pool is so small they can't really afford to.
Oh, just to clarify, I don't see anything wrong with it either. I would much, much rather see people turn to the Shiloh than water down the GSD breed any more.
The farm dogs that I knew never had to herd. I mean other than maybe the odd bit of driving the cattle from summer pasture to barn yard. But really my JRTs could do that too.
I was simply saying that those that I have met are very similar in temperament to the farm dogs I grew up around. AND they are similar to the farm dog that I see on farms around here.
So the farm dogs you knew, the old, original German Shepherds, were more like the Great Pyrenees in temperament and drive?
Dekka, I have no doubt that she bred them towards the image of the GSD SHE knew, and even said that in my very first post. Now, was the GSD you remembered, and the GSD she remembered, similar to the original GSD, and what the GSD is supposed to be? NO!! The German Shepherd Dog is NOT a guardian type breed, but a tending breed. They need to have the ability work 200 - 300+ heavy sheep all day alongside their shepherd. They are shep"herd"s. Herding is in the breed name and should be in the breed's ability, that should have been even more true of the breed back then than it is now. So I do not understand how the Shiloh Shepherd can possess the abilities of the original German Shepherd of old.
To say that the German Shepherd you and the founder knew then was the original German Shepherd of old is like me saying that a Labrador Retriever with severe human aggression and the inability to retrieve is the Lab I remembered as a child, and therefore the original Lab. Perhaps he was the Lab of MY yesteryear, but if I were to meet human aggressive Labradors, I would NOT feel comfortable nodding and saying "ah, yes, yes, very good. Now this is the Labrador Retriever of old! This is how I remember them to be!".
Perhaps, though, I am just misunderstanding you. When you stated that Shiloh Shepherds resembled farm dogs more so than German Shepherd Dogs, what are you trying to prove with that observation? Are you actually stating that they are, in fact, the German Shepherds of old, or are you saying that they are better workers than the German Shepherds of today? Are you saying that being farm dogs make them driven and hard working and ideal working dogs? I am not trying to put words in your mouth, but honestly trying to make sense of your comment.
And I do know what the site says. I also know when talking to breeders, those that are out there showing and doing things with their dogs, don't spout that. They say they are breeding a moderate GSD type dog. One that is similar to the GSD that was common in houses and farms a generation or two back. Other than the coat and size I say this does match up with what I remember and from my Dad's stories (his family always had GSDs)
I am glad to hear that the breeders you speak to don't spout out that information. But the fact still remains that it is there, in bold purple letters on the very first page of the breed website, the website most people will turn to when first hearing of the breed. So for every person who is making a conscious effort to seek out breeders and speak to them, there are just as many, if not more, who are under the false impression that the Shiloh Shepherd they get will be Rin Tin Tin and Strongheart and Lassie all meshed into one.
I do not believe that they are breeding anything close to the GSD type. Perhaps they are breeding close to the generic, soft farm dog type, but that is not the GSD type.