To put the whole argument into perspective let's remember that all German Shepherd dogs originally came from Germany, therefore all German Shepherds carry German blood. Both the German and American bloodline contain differing factions the show, sporting and work lines. We believe both German and American lines have excellent examples of the good qualities needed in a German Shepherd dog and similarly, both have some very poor specimens.

However, there is some truth to the generalizations, for example. On average, the working bloodline is stockier and heavy boned. It will have stronger drives with more athletic ability and have more energy than the show line; which tend to be narrow and lighter in body structure with finer heads. Their lower backs are noticeably more angulated downward and their gait extension is more extreme than the working line.

As noted, we choose our breeding stock because of their pedigree and we are tired of seeing "show dogs that hobble and wobble on their hocks and have no workability in their personalities" what we now call the designer dog A.K.C.-Shepherd, we also wanted stable personalities and truly healthy dogs. Their pedigrees indicate their parents were also excellent examples of what a German Shepherd Dog should be.

We personally prefer a dog closer to the original breed as what was intended with the dog from the very start, with a straighter back; neither overly annulated down nor roached backed (upward bend).  What you see in the show ring (the AKC-Shepherd) is not a healthy dog!  Within 4-5 years those dogs will exhibit increased hip problems and other degenerative movement problems.  A.K.C., and C.K.C. show judges are partly to blame through lack of education of animal anatomy, genetics, health, and political assertiveness driven by the A.K.C., as well as the breeders continuing to produce this "designer dog" and encouraged to by the C.K.C. and A.K.C. judges placing these mutated, extremely poor representations of what a German Shepherd Dog should be ... a WORKING DOG.

We have been told that we have overdone what is required for asserting that our dogs are 100% healthy.  We have done CERF (eyes / ears), O.V.C. (heart / hips & elbows, O.F.A., vWD, DNA and other various tests on our dogs, that we believe every responsible breeder should do.   We will be more than happy to show you the results!  Why?  We want to be sure that the BallyRock German Shepherd puppy that you are welcoming into your life, is well tempered, has had the parents checked for every possible problem relevant to the puppy having a healthy life.

Puppies are all different. Each has its own personality and must be judged on its own merits. Each litter has its more assertive pups and its gentle pups. Each combination of genes produced creates unique puppies, with no two exactly alike. However, each puppy has the potential in its gene pool to succeed in any discipline.

While the pedigree does make a difference, our emphasis is on breeding from German shepherd dogs that have a great health history, great prey drive, workability traits and a great temperament. We have found that this is the best way to consistently produce well rounded puppies that are sound in both mind and body.

We encourage you to research our philosophy.  We also encourage you to read Fred Lanting's article:

100 Years of the German Shepherd Dog