Breeder Interview re German Shepherd Featured In Dog News Australia Kris Kotsopoulos Von Forell.com

Jan. 3, 2011 - PRLog -- Breeder Interview:

The questions relate to both Australia and New Zealand.


Q.1. How long have you been breeding the GSD?  

Kris: I have been breeding German Shepherds and Dobermans since 1981 so that makes it 29 years.

Q.2. Do you feel the role of the GSD as protector of the family can be sustained in modern society?

Kris: Yes I believe they can be. I also believe that adequate education on animal learning should be offered to our society and to all new dog owners. If that was in place I believe that not only is there a place for the GSD as a protector but for all working bred dogs. The key here is to make sure that all breeders are well versed in truly understanding the rules of animal behaviour and learning and perhaps even imparting that knowledge to new dog owners when they pick up their new puppy.

Q.3. How does German Shepherd Dog of today differ from that of say 40 years ago?

Kris: I have spoken to many old breeders in Europe regarding this very question and the answer is that there was no division in the German Shepherds 40 years ago as there is now. Currently we have two types; the show lines, and the working lines. The differences are quite vast unfortunately, simply because of the two opposing beliefs, which has made the poor GSD skewered off into two tangents.  If only I could get the two opposites to attract somehow. I don’t believe you will ever get both sides to agree totally but if only the working people understood that there is room for  improvement of conformation and likewise for the show people to see that an improvement on working drives is equally advantages. This is the ideal German Shepherd in my opinion, and this is what I am breeding for.

Q.4. Are today's GSDs becoming too big?

Kris: Well that is an interesting question and I can only speak from the working perspective. I have to say that if anything the working dogs lack size and have done so for the past 15 years and seeing that in my own gene pool I have taken measures to rectify what I see as a problem. Lack of size has improved speed for competition but it also brings a more hectic drive state. However the opposite can be said for oversized dogs making them phlegmatic. In the last 3 years I can honestly say that we have produced some extremely powerful dogs but as a breeder I am of the strong belief that a breeder must breed extreme dogs to produce sufficient. Nature has a funny way of never really giving you what you want every single time so we have specifically bred lines or dogs that will improve our heads, bone, substance, pigment and of or course working drives in particular fast twitch fibres. However I have been hearing that there are show GDS that are quite large but I must honestly say I don’t take too much notice of stories. I was at the Victorian Championship Show recently and found the dogs to be quite nice in size and I personally did not see any oversized dogs.


Q.5. Overall do you think breeders are adhering to in the breed standard sufficiently?

Kris: I believe breeders certainly believe they are but if you stood back and looked at it objectively one will certainly see that they aren’t adhering to the breed standard sufficiently. I say this with respects to all serious GSD breeders as I am certainly one breeder that tries but it’s not as easy and it seems. We are all trying to improve on what we have to the International Ideal but it takes time to truly understand your bloodlines with all the pros and cons. When you aspire to breed with all the required physical and metal character traits to make up the total GSD it takes a long time. One thing I have noticed in the working dog world is that a breeder certainly has a philosophy on the type of dog he/she wants and the dog they actually end up producing is for all accounts and purposes almost directly proportional to that very philosophy or perhaps a better term;- is the depth of understanding they have. The type of dogs they breed is very much their vision or focus.


Q.6. What are the main problems in the breed currently in regards to health and are they being addressed ?

Kris: Health is always going to be a issue and as long as we play god, which dog we breed to which bitch we breed too, we ultimately control the destiny of our beloved breed. Therefore selection is the important factor for breeders. But health is not the only issue we must be addressing. There is no point breeding a lovely healthy dog that is spooky, nervous, sensitive and soft. It is the same as having a courageous, robust family, competition or Police type dog that can’t walk properly and therefore can’t perform the work they were bred for. Neither is desirable. Yes I believe health is being addressed by the GSD Club and Kennels Clubs of Australia and I believe the statistics speak for themselves and it’s a great thing for the breed however where are the tests for the GSD working dog? I am an advocate for the total dog and I come from a world that truly loves the breed for what it was bred to be and on top of that I also understand that it has beauty, nobility and structure for function. Balance is what I am looking for; a healthy, beautiful and robust animal with an enormous drive to work, this is a super dog in anyone’s language. I am sure you will agree!!!!


Q.7. Is the barrier between the Specialty ring and the All Breeds ring being broken down?
Kris: To be honest I know very little about it so perhaps this question is not for me.


Q.8. How important are Imports to the breed?

Kris: I believe imports are absolutely critical. Every gene pool needs diversity for whatever reason - once and a while.  I also believe that we must watch we don’t use new bloodlines simply because they are imports. That is not breeding in my opinion its simply running a breeding programme like a yo yo so to speak. I have seen this time and time again we breed to the latest import because it may produce better than the last one but the reality is it doesn’t work that way. Import should be used to compliment your bloodlines not only structurally but mentally.  So yes imports are important but are not the answer.

Q.9. Can you name the GSD you think is most influential stud dog of the past 40 years, and explain why?

Kris: That is a question that requires careful explanation. Bernd and Bodo lierburg were considered to be the most influential stud dogs of the past 40 years. And to be honest every time I look deeply into my most successful combinations I find it comes from these lines. They are powerful, solid in character, robust, calm, yet highly driven when stimulated.  Of course they are considered to be of the old type structurally but they do have some admirable traits that come through. Dogs from these bloodlines seem to possess a calm constitution which is something many bloodlines lack currently. These were the influential dogs at the time when show and working dogs were one. There were other dogs of course but I know for a fact these two dogs had an enormous impact on the breed.

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