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Large Old Fashioned German
Shepherd Dog
 Growing
up and working with German shepherds for over 16 years has provided
me with a true respect and admiration for the original, old
fashioned, classic German Shepherd Dog (GSD). This “true type”
GSD comes from a unique bloodline of working police dogs, bred from
West German dogs imported to England after the Second World War.
They had been selected for working ability and health for nearly
half a century - and the last 25 years specifically for real police
work. They are the original big, healthy, flat-backed German
Shepherd Dogs of the 1940's that have been preserved over time and
isolated from new bloodlines and fashion. These were the first GSD's
that made their way from Germany to the United States (after World
War II) and gave us our first exposure to the GSD. It was that GSD
that caught the eye of so many and taught us what an amazing, noble,
loyal and intelligent dog they really were.
The late Ann Butler was an incredible woman who drove tanks and trucks
between South Africa and Egypt during the war and was instrumental
in importing the GSD's brought over from Germany during the war to
England. It was in Egypt that she saw the German army's German
Shepherd Dogs and was so impressed by them that she decided to use
those specific blood lines to breed her own German Shepherd Dogs
after the war. She was one of (and perhaps) the original breeder
of these dogs (outside of Germany) and Olderhill was her kennel
name. It was by strict, correct, continual line-breeding (not
in-breeding…line-breeding) kept the original type of dog unchanged.
Large dogs (males up to 140 lbs) with hearts and brains to match
their size. The British police and prison services soon realized the
quality of the Olderhill GSD's and were keen to get hold of them.
They allowed Ann (and later other breeders) to use their best
performing Olderhill dogs in her breeding program in return for
pick-of-the-litters. This began a unique relationship which had
lasted 25 years and produced, what is considered by some to be the
best working dogs in the world today. Let’s not forget or be
confused… these came from dogs imported from West Germany, just as
many of those known as champions today. The difference came when the
breed standard was changed (more than once) to accommodate more
style and fashion.
Breeding programs in the past have shown that selecting for working
ability over many years, raises the percentage of puppies bred
that are suitable for work from about 30 % (show stock) to more than
90%. So instead of three puppies, nine puppies out of a litter of
ten should be suitable for training. The literature states that,
Olderhill GSD's, selected for police work for 25 years, and other
work long before that, have reached 100% suitability, according to
the experts.
The Olderhill German shepherds are not reported to suffer from as many
problems with their health or hips/elbows because they absorb their
food well. Their hind quarters are wide and powerful, and don’t
degenerate after a few years because of pinched nerves in the spine.
We believe this to be the German Shepherd Dog's worst medical
problem. Generations of Olderhills show that in spite of their size
and mass they, for the most part, seem to escape this degeneration
on such a massive scale which is seen more frequently and earlier in
the lives of the modern day GSD . Much of this is contributed also
to their diet which, in addition to a good quality dry food,
includes raw meat and bone fragments like those that fall from the
butchers saw. I am excited to study this further.
Despite being veteran crime-busters, these German shepherds make
excellent family pets and are great with children. This is
partly because they’ve always lived in with their police handlers
and their families, and so have had to be very social. They’re
stable, confident dogs who know when to be protective and when not.
These gentle giants are naturally protective towards their family
without any training, and will follow members around like a shadow.
This is why they are such a match for our breeding program and
embody everything that we believe to be indicative of the “true”
breed standard of the GSD. (A few of the untrained Olderhill GSD
puppies - some only 6 months old – have been reported to protect
their families from burglars and armed hi-hijackers. Many puppies
have been documented to try to pull children out of swimming pools
because they think that they're drowning!) They’re keen to learn and
it is said that you often only need to show them something once for
them to catch on.
After much searching for the perfect combination of temperament and
health we came across the Olderhill German Shepherd Dog We were so
excited to find the old world, classic German shepherd, much like
our inspiration “Buddy” (pictured at the top of the page). Our
search for true GSD breeding stock was disappointing and seemed to
indicate that it was becoming impossible to find the old fashioned
true GSD in the states. Breeders were breeding for size and
sacrificing the health of the dog. Large (natural) GSD's were not fat
and overweight or overly elongated or lanky and too tall. They were
well proportioned and naturally taller and larger/stronger that the
GSD's of today. Breeder’s trying to carve out a niche for themselves
have been trying to “remanufacture” the original GSD for decades.
Those that breed for the new standard or show have spent much time
and money teaching/convincing a naïve public that large size was not
healthy for the GSD and was one of the causes of dysplasia.
Opponents to that school of thought teach that it is the dwarfing
and reduction of size along with the over angulation in the hind
quarters and arching of the spine that causes the problem.
However,
the fact remains, the original GSD that came to Europe and
eventually into the states was indeed much larger than the GSD's of
today and more powerful, stable, healthier and truly a total dog.
Yet, even with their size they had no problem with agility S & R,
bomb detection, tracking and maneuvering through rubble and rough
terrain to perform their jobs. It has always been our philosophy
that the true GSD is the TOTAL dog. One that can work, show and
compete in sport as well as serve and protect and above all be a
trusted, loyal family companions.
Many had thought that the Olderhill line died with Ann Butler.
Fortunately, two women, Judy Prinsloo and Susan Spencer in search of
this very type of dog for their breeding program, acquired a few of
the last dogs from the Olderhill line. We have been in touch with
them over the years and have been fortunate enough to bring the
Olderhill line to the U.S. and into our therapy and working dog
program.
Eiko arrived in January of 2005 and he is so much more than
we could have hoped for. Susan and Judy are incredibly busy and very
involved in dog/animal rescue and education. They see first hand
many of the injustices done to dogs and animals throughout the
world. Although they don’t breed and sell their dogs to the public
anymore they have agreed to work with us and we
hope to obtain a female to add to our program. Much thanks to them for their information,
assistance and teaching, along with working with us to select the
perfect Olderhill progeny for our program.
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