German Shepherd Dog Universal Siegers.
By Dennis Fisher.
Note: This article is one of many dealing with every aspect of the German Shepherd Dog - breeding, training, bloodlines, famous German show winners, and a great deal more, that appear on the author, Dennis Fisher's website. Visit http://www.allaboutgermanshepherddogs.com to see these articles.
These are dual purpose dogs that compete in working trials and also in the show ring. They are awarded the title "Universal Sieger" as a result of having performed best in both areas.
They are top working dogs, highly placed in working trials, but - apart from a few notable exceptions - they don't usually very well in the show ring.
Why is this so? Is is not possible to breed a top working dog that is also an excellent breed specimen? It has been done in the past, why can't it be done again
In 1997 the German S.V, the controlling body for German Shepherds worldwide, introduced a new award to be presented at the Sieger breed show, held every year in Germany.
This award – known as “Universal Sieger” - would be given to the dog, entered in both the breed show and also the competition for working dogs, the “Bundessiergerprufung”, with the best performance in both shows.
In principle the idea was a very good one. The S.V. were aware that a situation had developed in Germany where there was a sharp division between working dog breeders and breeders of show dogs. Many of the working dog breeders were not making use of breed dogs in their breeding programs. Neither were breeders of show dogs making use of working dogs.
The purpose of this new “Universal Sieger” award was to draw attention to the dual purpose qualities of the German Shepherd – which seemed to have been overlooked – and to remind everyone that the German Shepherd was essentially a working dog. This was guiding principle laid down by the founder of the breed, von Stephanitz, so many years ago.
The S.V obviously hoped to encourage breeders of show animals to pay more attention to temperament and working ability, and also to try and persuade breeders of working dogs to improve the construction of their working animals by breeding animals that conformed more closely to the breed standard.
The title” Universal Sieger” has led to a great deal of confusion. The reason for this is because the title is often confused with other awards of the same name. There is a show open to dogs from many different countries, known as the “Weltmeisterschaft”, at which the title is also awarded.
There are also shows held in the United States, started in 1998, at which this title is also awarded.
Since the purpose of this article is to focus on the extent to which the S.V. were successful in achieving their objective of encouraging greater co-operation between breeders of show dogs and breeders of working dogs, the “Universal Siegers” we will discuss will only be those who won the title at the German Sieger Shows.
As it very relevant to our study, the pedigrees of these “Universal Siegers” will also be discussed in some detail.
Our study unfortunately shows that this very commendable goal of the S.V met with very limited success. In the period from 1997, when the first “Universal Sieger” title was awarded, to the present, there were only limited occasions when the title of “Universal Sieger” was awarded to dogs of that could perform equally well in was well placed in the annual breed show and also the competition for working dogs but this didn’t happen very often.
A huge gap exists between breeders of show dogs and breeders of working dogs. To the casual observer they sometimes appear to be dogs of completely different breeds. This is something that serious enthusiasts are very concerned about. The situation was not always like this. Years ago there were many show winning breed specimens that were also first class working dogs and top working dogs so well constructed they could compete in the breed ring
This unsatisfactory situation that exists today, where there are two distinct “types” of German Shepherd, must be corrected.
Below are details of German Shepherd Dog “Universal Siegers” from 1997, when the title was first introduced, until today.
In some cases the winners of the “Universal Sieger” title were well-constructed breed dogs that received good places at the Sieger breed show. In most instances however, and certainly in the last few years, the title winners were not sufficiently well constructed to be well placed.
This was due to the fact that working dog breeders were not making use of top breed specimens in their breeding programs.
1997 German Sieger Show – winner of the 1997 “Universal Sieger” title –
“Lasso von Kampchen”
1997 Universal Sieger “Lasso von Kampchen”
The winner of the title in 1997 unlike many of the Universal Siegers that came after him, was certainly a very good breed dog as well as a top quality working dog. Not only was he was a very well constructed dog that would never be overlooked in any breed show, he was also a very good working dog. He was a very well placed V 32 , at the breed section of the Sieger Show and also received quite a high placing of 43rd. in the Bundessiegerprufung – working class section.
The fact that he was such a good breed dog is not surprising because his Sire was the top quality 1995 “Ulk v. Arlett”, who he closely resembled, His Dam, “Elke v. Drei Madelhaus” was also a very well constructed bitch. Her sire was “Eros vom Kampschen”, whose bloodlines go back to the very important “Nick v.d. Wienerau”.
“Lasso” was widely used by both show breeders and working breeders. For anyone anxious to have an animal that can compete at both levels, this is a bloodline worth taking advantage of.
1998 Sieger Show.
The winner of the “Universal Sieger” title in 1998 “Nastor vom Wolfsburnger” was bred from very good breed show bloodlines..
Nastor vom Wolfsburnger
“Nastor” was sired by the very well bred Cliff. V. Huhnegrab, a son of the V.A. dog “Derby v.d. Adeloga”. “Cliff”, who was also a dual purpose dog was placed second at the 1998 Budessiegererprufung and at the breed the same year he was V 61. Had there been an award for the “Univ ersal Sieger” in that year he would undoubtedly have won it.
“Nastor” did just as well as his Sire “Cliff” in the 1997 working trials and was placed 3rd. His show placing in the breed show however, was not as good as that of his Sire. He was placed 112. There is little doubt however, that “Nastor” was a well-constructed dog and a good breed specimen.
“Nastor’s: Dam, “Kyra von Godinghofer Weg” was also well-bred from good show bloodlines. Her Sire was the “Uran v. Wildsteiger Land” grandson, “Glicko v.d. Kahler Heide”, bred by the very well known breeder Gerd Reims.
2000 German Sieger Show.
The winner of the title of “Universal Sieger” in 2000 was “Camp vom Muhlteich”
“Camp” was a fairly well-constructed dog with a good high wither, good backline a rather straight shoulder and without much hind angulation, as can be seen from the photograph. He did reasonably well at the Sieger breed show and was placed V 109. He was graded Koer class I with a “V” rating.
“Camp” came from absolute top working bloodlines. His Sire “Aly vom Vordersteinwald” was an exceptionally good sire of excellent working dogs. “Aly” himself was sired by another famous working dog Sire “Troll von der bosen Nachbarschaft”. There were hardly any breed dogs in “Camp’s” pedigree besides the well-bred “Ulan v. Adeloga”. It is therefore not surprising that he was not placed higher in the breed ring.
“Camp” did well at the “Budessiegerprufung” and was placed 13th. In the light of the strong competition this was a good position to finish up. Even though he was only V 109 at the breed show, this combined with his working trials placing was enough to win the “Universal Sieger” title for 2000.
Sieger Show.
The winner of the “Universal Sieger” title for 2001 was the bitch “Honda vom Petersbrunnen”
“Honda”, a very well pigmented bitch with some attractive features but not much breed show quality, finished very low down at 137th in the breed placing at the 2001 Sieger. Nevertheless, she did get a V grading. In the working dog competition she finished 41st.
The Sire of “Honda” was the sire of excellent working stock, “Aly vom Vordersteinwald” the same dog that sired “Camp”.
“Honda’s” Dam, “Gypsey vom Petersbrunnen” was a daughter of well known working dog “Ex von der Maineiche” bred by one of the best working dog kennels in Germany.
“Honda’s” pedigree shows an almost complete absence of breed show dogs in the first four generation of her pedigree. The only breed dog whose name appeared in the fourth generation was “Mec v. Arminius”.
Here again we have an example of an excellent working dog that really has no pretensions of being a good breed specimen. Obviously the main objective of the breeders was to produce a top quality working animal rather than one that would be regarded as dual purpose.
2002 German Sieger Show
The winner of the title “Universal Sieger” at the 2002 Sieger Show was
“Condor vom Bischberggraben”
I
“Condor vom Bischberggraben – Universal Sieger 2002.
“Condor”, once again a grey dog, did very well in the working competitions, the “Budessiegerprufung” where he was placed 13th in very stiff competition. His performance in the breed show however, was not nearly as good. He was placed S.G. 4. When one considers that there 135 dogs ahead of that were graded V and three dogs ahead of him that were graded S.G., it will be appreciated that he was not regarded as a very good breed speciment, which is obvious from the photograph above.
When one examines the pedigree of “Condor”, it is obvious why he was not a good breed specimen. His bloodlines are almost complete working bloodlines. The only animal with breed bloodlines in four generation fo his pedigree was “Heidi vom Bierstadter Hof”.
Both his Sire- Ben von der Aamuhlen – and his Dam – Elke von listegen Vagabund – were graded Koer Class 2 and were working dogs without any pretensions of being breed animals.
Sieger Show 2003
The winner of the “Universal Sieger” title in 2003 was “Corax vom Rosier Clan”
Once again we have an animal that did very well in the working trails, finishing seventh, but whose performance in the breed ring at the Sieger show was not very impressive. He was placed SG 1, behind 150 dogs that were graded V.
Although “Corax” was a handsome dog and certainly one that would have had appeal for the man in the street with no detailed knowledge of show German Shepherds, it is clear that he does not meet the exacting standard required of a dog that hopes to compete well in the breed ring.
An examination of the pedigree of “Corax” indicates that there no shown animals at all in the first four generations of his pedigree.
Although both his Sire “Brix v.d. Eichen Bruche” and his Dam “Braska von Aurelierborn” were fairly good animals and received the Koerclass 1 grading, they were also not show but working animals.
The Sire of Brix – “Troll von der bosen Nachbarschaft” – was an exceptionally good sire of working stock and sired a huge amount of winning working dogs, but he did not produce any breed animals, which was understandable because of his pedigree
2005 Sieger Show.
The winner of the Universal Sieger title in 2004 was ,Danny . Lesimo.
The winner of the title of Universal Sieger was Danny on Lesimo, a very good looking and well constructed son of the working dog Xato von der bosen Nachbarschaft, “Xato” was also a well-constructed dog.
Danny was placed only 50th in the Bundessiegerprufung, and V 139 in the Breed competition, which are not very impressive results. But compared to some of the other Universal Siegers we have examined, there is no question that Danny is a well l constructed dog.
His Koer report, at which he received a Koer class 1 grading was very good indeed. The comments refer to his good front angulation, his very good hind angulation, his strong head, and his ground covering gait. His excellent pigment is also a feature to be admired.
His pedigree, up to the fourth generation, reflects mainly working dogs , with the exception of the well-known Mutz son, the V.A. dog, “Anderl v.d. Kleinen Pfahl”- a name that appears very often in the pedigrees of working dogs, and “Ulrich v.d. Wienerau” also a dog from excellent breed lines.
Danny’s bite work in the “test of courage” at the breed section of the 2005 Sieger Show drew rounds of applause and was far more impressive than that of many top breed dogs.
“Danny” has a lot to offer and it does seem a pity that show breeders do not appear to have taken advantage of the good qualities he can offer.
2006 Sieger Show
The winner of the Universal Sieger title in 2006 was Eyk aus der Eichendorffsiedlung
“Eyk” is a strong, well-pigmented, handsome dog, but it is clear that he is not a dog that could compete well at a breed show. Although he won the title of Universal Sieger, he was only placed SG 1 at the breed show, behind 138 breed dogs.
In the working competition he was placed only 74th with a grading of good.
He won the title because there were no other dogs entered in both the breed show and the working trials that performed better that “Eyk”. This is a rather sad reflection on the standard of recent Universal Siegers.
The first four generations of “Eyk’s” pedigree shows a complete absence of any breed dogs. Both his Sire and Dam came from working stock and both were graded Koer class 2. His Sire Tom van Leef ‘t Dahlhof bred in Holland was a good working dog, but with many faults of construction from a breed point of view.
2007 Sieger Show.
The winner of the Universal Sieger title in 2007 – last year – was Javir vom Talka Marda,
“Javir” did exceptionally well in the working trials – the “Bundessiegerprufung” – where he finished third in an extremely good class. His performance in the breed show however, was not nearly as good. He was placed S.G. 1, behind 146 dogs ahead of him that received the ‘V” classification.
His Koer report by the very knowledgeable judge Lothat Quoll, at which he received a Koer class 1 grading, was fairly good. There were no unfavorable remarks of a serious nature and Lother Quoll commented on his good angulation, but it is clear from his photograph that “Javir” is not a dog that could do well in any important breed show.
An examination of his pedigree reveals that there no breed dogs at all in the first four generations. His Sire “Dago vom Schwarzen Pegasus” who comes from top working lines, was classified only Koer Class 2, with a :G” grading. His Dam “Quaste von Arkenrutt”, a daughter of the very well known working dog “Aly” referred to earlier, was a better breed specimen. She was classified Koer class 1, with a V grading.
Without any attempt whatsoever to introduce breed lines in the pedigree of any dog it is highly unlikely that a good breed specimen can be the result.
From this survey of the “Universal Siegers” from the time that this award was first introduced in 1997 until today, it is clear that the experiment was not as successful as was originally hoped.
The “Universal Siegers” in recent years, even though they may have performed well as working dogs, have not been good breed specimens. The situation was not always like this. Years ago, even before the title of “Universal Sieger” was introduced, there were many dogs well placed at the “Bundessiegerprufung” that were also very good breed dogs.
You will find details about these dogs that performed with distinction in both areas in another section of my website. Go to the main page where you will find this section under the heading:
GERMAN SHEPHERD DOGS - CONFLICT BETWEEN SHOW BREEDERS AND WORKING DOG BREEDERS
An attempt to bridge the huge gap that exists today between show dog and working dog breeders.
This detailed analysis deals with many famous dogs of the past that really were dual purpose dogs in the true sense of the expression - very good breed specimens that were also able to perform well as working dogs.
There are also suggestions how it may be possible to remedy the very undesirable situation that exists today where there are virtually two distinct types of Shepherd.
Dennis Fisher.