Almost everyone i know has a german shepherd. When i walk my dog or take him out i see several german shepherds being walked.
I have newfoundland dog, and it is very rare that i have seen anyone having a landseer newfoundland.
So i'm just curious -- what makes german shepherd so popular and newfoundland kind of unpopular?
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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
I don’t know that they’re the “most popular”, but there are a ton, aren’t there? Lots in my neighborhood too. Not sure why not too many people have newfies, but just consider yourself unique! I haven’t seen a landseer in a long time, such beauties. Part of why I got my dog (a Chinese crested) was because I didn’t want the same dog as everyone else, so I hear ya!
It’s sort of a fad thing, I think. Just like how Labs and Yorkies are really popular. Everyone has to have the “cool” dog, or the “best” dog. I think it’s a good thing that you have an uncommon dog. It makes you more unique and not so mainstream. In my opinion, I would choose a Newfie over a Yorkie, Lab, German Shepherd, or any really popular dog any day.
i was under the impression that it was still labs that were the most popular
cause it is docile and friendly
I think it has to do with the area you live in-which dogs are most available, climate, reason for getting a dog (a lot of people get hunting dogs where I live). The most common dogs where I live are mutts. The most common purebreds are labs.
Publicity.
Cop dogs are just freaking cool.
Also,
German Shepards are supposed to be a “all purpose” sort of dog. Good as pets, guards, police dogs, agility, tracking. You name it, GS’s excel at it. (well, generally)
Newfies are known for their layed back attitudes and strength, but they aren’t as many of them around for people to see and get to know.
They are a popular breed but not the most popular at all. Newfoundlands are a less recognized breed that never has gained a huge poplarity following – be glad – that is always damaging to a breed of dogs and the Newfies already have enough issues they don’t need to be the lates fad dog to be exploited by ignorant back yard greeders and puppy millers BUT that said they do have a certain degree now and if you check there is a fairly active breed rescue. The GSDs have had popularity come and go for decades and have suffered greatly as a breed overall because of it. There will always be the few good, knowledgeable breeders that will preserve the well bred, correct in structure, breed type, temperament and health but the huge majority of any popular breed is usually very poor quality… Rejoice in your breed’s lack of popularity and attempt to keep it that way…
Top 10 Most Popular Breeds in the 50 Largest U.S. Cities — 2006 AKC Registration Figures:
1. Labrador Retriever
2. Yorkshire Terrier
3. German Shepherd Dog
4. Golden Retriever
5. Beagle
6.Dachshund
7. Boxer
8. Poodle
9. Shih Tzu
10. Miniature Schnauzer
http://www.akc.org/reg/topdogsbycity.cfm
where does your dog rank?
http://www.akc.org/reg/dogreg_stats.cfm
My mother in law has a white shepard… And he’s honestly the biggest jerk I’ve ever seen a dog be. He was so set on being the “top leader of the pack” when we first moved here he actaully tried to push me around. He would stand in my way when I would try and go through a doorway, or he would see me walking through a hallway and he’d push his butt next to me and throw me into the wall… He’s 120 lbs and I’m about the same, but he’s just at the height where he knocks me around and pushes me over… He actually tried to over power me and growl at me when I went to play with my own puppy… He’s over protective of puppies, I guess. But he’s to the point now where I’ve honestly never hated a dog more.
He’s stopped that trying the over power me crap, he knew from day one that I wasn’t going to put up with it and he needed to knock it off… We got another puppy and he’s pushing around the one we’ve already had when he tries to play with the new one… I can’t wait till my pit gets older and has more testestrone and shows that dog that he doesn’t infact own the house, or anyone in it.
Imho, shepards are big dumb lugs that throw their weight around to try and push things into the direction that they want it in. Or so I’ve learned from this one.
According to the AKC, the number 1 breed in terms of registrations, was the Lab, followed by Yorkies and then GSDs. In 2005, they were number 4.
Although I haven’t seen them in some time, there were a pair of Newfies that used to appear in the park where I walk my dogs – I think they were landseers, basically white with several large black patches.
Newfies are great dogs. Maybe some are put off by their size. Only thing I can think of.
Edit: I have to echo Nancy M’s sentiment. Be glad it’s not too popular. Be glad they haven’t made a movie starring a Newfie. Akita rescues are sort of bracing for what’s going to happen about June or July, after the release of “Hachiko” next month.
I think because they are very smart and their body structure is great for all types of jobs.
I don’t think you can really compare these two dogs. Newfies are huge, I don’t know how big yours is but the ones I’ve seen have been 150 lbs and they are extremely furry dogs that shed and drool alot and are pretty high maintenance. I am not saying they aren’t great dogs but they are very different from the German Shepard which weighs 80 lbs and do shed alot but are much lower maintenance.
Because German Shepherds are well known and overbred. Most people are terribly uncreative when it comes to selecting a dog breed and just go for the top 25 akc breeds and don’t realize anything else exists (When was the last time you heard someone say that wanted a bracco italiano?).
Because GSDS are so popular, they have lots of health issues caused by overbreeding and they end up in shelters all the time.
1. German Shepherd have a particular purpose as a guard dog, police dog, and military dog. That has cultivated a certain image for the dog. Many folks are drawn in by this image.
2. Plus they have a lot of great qualities as a dog.
3. Many German Shepherds that you see are not actually German Shepherds but are Belgian Shephers, Czech Spepherds and other less common breeds of shepheds.
Newfoundlands have not garnered that same image eventhough they are fantastic dogs.
German Shepherds here in the US because of a ton of backyard breeding have really had some problems. Friends of mine that are police officers involved with K-9 divisions have repeatedly told me that they have had to go overseas to get Shepherd puppies because the ones here are no longer suitable as police working dogs.
Everyone’s opinions vary about what breed of dog they prefer. We took into account personality, size, activity level and shedding which is why a GSD was perfect for us.
German shepards aren’t the most popular dog.
Labs, golden retrievers, dauchands in the top there. However Since k9 and search and rescue have made these dogs popular, a lot of people want them. Thank the media and the cops.
“itskatyo”:
No way is what your m.i.l. has a GSD – its long ago ancestors were, and their descendants have been regd with the KC as GSDs regardless of whether they actually fitted within the Standard (and the ONLY valid Standard for the GSD is FCI#166, a translation of which is at http://www.ankc.org.au/home/breeds_details.asp?bid=143 ) but it is alien to the breed on at least two counts – colour (white is an automatic disqualification unless restricted to barely noticeable spots on chest and/or toes) and size (male height should be within the range 60-65cm but MUST be within the range 59-66cm, which makes 26″ a hair too large; and male weight must be within the range 30-40 kg (66-88 lbs), which is a LONG way from 120lbs! He is simply 50% to 100% too big & lumbering to be any kind of shepherd dog..
So I’m glad that you can’t spell “my” breed’s name.
Whoever produced him is like you in being unaware that the breed was developed to HERD sheep, not to “ard” them.
Apart from colour, he doesn’t even fit the Standard for the Swiss White (the white version of the GSD, not yet recognised in any English-speaking country)
“abc” spelt it correctly. Copy her.
“kittensl…”
You obviously have experience of the non-GSDs that get called GSDs, maybe even REGISTERED as GSDs.
Go get experience of what is produced by the true breeders of GSDs, the people who have the health checks done and can SHOW your their certificates, the people who prove their dogs for type by showing them, the people who prove their dogs for trainability and character by training them and competing in such as the courage tests.
Unless a GSD has 2 parents who possess a Breed Survey Classification (KKl in German), the odds are high that it does NOT fit the International Standard of the GSD for size and/or shape and/or character and/or health.
“abc”:
The reason for the popularity of the deutsche Schäferhund aka German Shepherd Dog is because of what it was developed for – herding sheep.
(1) All the sheep herding breeds are (until ruined by show-is-all breeders and pet “breeders”) very attentive to their humans. But only the HERDING breeds are – the many breeds developed primarily to GUARD the sheep are a different story, they being bigger, stronger, and usually have coats that look remarkably like a sheep’s coat.
That attentiveness makes them naturals for training – indeed many self-train by mimicking their elders. A sheep farmer in my e-group bought a GSD pup at the start of the year and entertains us with tales of how the old BC is training the GSD pup – the pup doesn’t know that the BC way of working is different to the GSD way, so there are are some interesting behaviours being produced. In addition, whereas most herding breeds were selected to follow orders, the GSD was selected for initiative – the ability & willingness to work independently (one of my sheep-farmer pen-friends left a group of city kids with her GSD & flock while she went to the shops. By the time she returned, her GSD had the kids trained to run the boundary line for him, bring him a dish of water, and pat him – sneaky initiative, eh!)
(2) Because guarding IS part of the GSD’s job description, it is larger than most herding breeds – but cannot be VERY large because mass makes it not nimble/agile enough, and requires much more food. That size means it is large enough and powerful enough for MANY tasks, including dragging a hungry ram out of the unfenced crops, guiding a blind person, steadying a person with a poor sense of balance, carrying a drum of telephone cable across No Man’s Land during WW1 and WW2. It is capable of showing teeth large enough to deter most hoons from their violent thought, jumping over a wall, and bringing down a fleeing felon. I can pat mine without having to do much bending.
Attentiveness, trainability, ideal middle size, versatility – isn’t that enough for most people? Okay – their all-weather coat is easy to look after (provided you stay away from the unshowable long-coats, all they need is an occasional brushing, maybe a wipe-over with a damp towel), and they moult for about only 4 weeks a year – never mind that they spend the other 48 weeks practising to get those moults exactly right! (Hence the need for an occasional brushing….)
Add publicity: Several GSDs have become film stars, of which the contemporaries Strongheart and RinTinTin are best known (it’s a shame that after the initial RinTinTin and his unregisterable son Junior, all the RinTinTins were pale descendants of the shockingly pale Odin vom Busecker Schloß, and so tv watchers came to think that GSDs SHOULD be pale). About 30 years ago British tv included “Radar” as a police dog in its “Softly Softly” and “Z-Cars” series, and he became a much-demanded star.
And there is no denying that the GSD and its almost-identical (because it was developed to do the same tasks) rival, the Malinois, make GREAT police dogs, the versatility meaning that they can defend their handler, track lost children, detect drugs & explosives. Other breeds can perform a particular one of those tasks better than can the GSD, but they cannot perform the whole lot as well as a GSD does. And so it is not a coincidence that GSDs are particularly adaptable as film stars (whereas it usually takes at least 6 Rough Collies to perform one “Lassie” movie).
Finally – the dog LOOKS right. Unless it is from a line that has been ruined by distorting it to suit the fashion of a particular country’s show ring (see http://www.leabashiba.com/fashion.vs.GSD.htm ) the adult GSD has the right blend of nobility, alertness, calmness. So, as of 1942, it has always been in the top 4 for popularity almost everywhere in the world.
Sadly, few TRUE GSDs have been produced since the early 70s – the world has gone mad.
“Breeders for quantity” have neglected to do the health & character tests that kept our breed DESERVING its popularity.
“Breeders for exaggerated show fashions” have neglected to do the character testing that keeps our breed pleasant to have in the family, and have often ignored the limits on size & shape (it doesn’t help that the rebel Standards of the AKC, the CKC, the NZKC and The KC (Britain) don’t actually STATE limits).
“Breeders for exaggerated sport or protection dogs” have neglected to keep the character safe to have in the inexperienced family, and have ignored the limits on shape.
I would imagine that among the things that deter most people from Newfies is their bulk (try lifting a sick Newfie into your vehicle!) and short life-span of 8-10 years. I’ve forgotten whether they are one of the breeds notorious for drooling onto EVERYTHING, but they look to have a head suitably shaped for that unpleasant trait. Not too many people NEED a dog that can rescue them from the swimming pool, and the way commercial fishing is done has changed immensely since the Newfie was developed. Informed people probably find that the relative incidence of hip dysplasia is a big deterrent – the NZVA (which uses the 0-to-106 BIF-scale for scoring hips, 0 being perfect) reports an average of 23 for Newfies as against 12 for GSDs: http://www.vets.org.nz/NZVA/QAPs/Dysplasia/hip/AveScores26Jan07.pdf
25± years ago the predictions were that the medium & large dogs would be replaced for popularity by the small dogs such as Bostons and Cairns and Pekes, but it still hasn’t happened.
Les P, owner of GSD_Friendly: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GSD_Friendly
“In GSDs” as of 1967
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