Since Schutzhund has been officially replaced by Vielseitigkeitspruefung für Gebrauchshund (VPG) as of early 2004, we will use VPG for purposes of this discussion. This is by no means a comprehensive article, but it will give some pointers and suggestions so the reader has a starting place to do further research.

The bottom line is that to breed a German Shepherd with registration papers in Germany, the dog must be breed surveyed/ köred. You know a dog has met this requirement when behind the dog's name is a KKL1 or KKL2.

KKL1 means recommended for breeding. A KKL2 rated dog is considered “suitable for breeding.” There are very stringent tests required to be breed surveyed, so it is a major plus to obtain puppies from either a KKL1 or KKL2 male and female. Remember, both sire and dam must be surveyed. When you have been shopping for puppies, you have probably heard the term “pink papered”? These papers are issued by the SV in Germany when sire and dam are breed surveyed.

The logical next question is what are the requirements to be Breed Surveyed? Let's say that you have a dog you want to breed according to the world standards. What do you need to know?

(1) The dog must be titled at least to a VPG I. Please refer to my discussion on Schutzhund to understand the requirements on dog and handler of this demanding breed test. As mentioned above, Schutzhund (SchH) is now called VPG. VPG actually originated in Germany as the major part of a breed test for German Shepherd Dogs. The VPG portion was the working requirements ensuring the dog could work in tracking, obedience and protection. Herding dogs meeting requirements for HGH were also considered to have passed this working portion of the breed test.

(2)The breed test ensures the dog has proper physical characteristics in addition to the working ability. Therefore, the dog must have passable hips certified through an acceptable organization such as the SV (German Shepherd Dog Club of Germany) or OFA (Orthopedic Foundation of American). While passable elbows are not yet a formal requirement, we recommend that the dog's elbows be x-rayed at the same time as the hips.

(3)In addition to the good hip requirement, the dog must have earned an AD. The AD requires the dog to run 12+ miles while the handler bicycles beside him holding him on a lead. This is an endurance test for the dog and does require conditioning and training. Often the dog's pads are sensitive because they have not been properly conditioned, so the dog will fail. The AD is designed to weed out dogs that are structurally incorrect and unable to negotiate the run. After the run, the handler and dog do an obedience routine. The extent of the routine varies with the judge. Some judges are very demanding, and others simply have you recall your dog.

(4)And your dog's structure must be evaluated by a conformation judge and earn at least a G rating. The top rating for a dog with a working title in a local show is V, which is excellent. The next level is SG which means “very good” and then G meaning “good.” These rankings are not given until the dog is at least a year of age. So, you should go ahead and enter your dog in a German style conformation show and get the evaluation. You may also use your show rating (SG, G) latter for your breed survey after your dog is titled. Keep in mind that a dog cannot have a V rating until they have a working title. The VA (excellent select) is a rating reserved for the large national show.

(5)There are other requirements regarding dentition, size, color, overall structure, temperament, sound sureness and working ability that are tested at the time of the breed survey. Also, every dog breed surveyed must have a tattoo preferably in the right ear. Other locations for the tattoo are acceptable. Most of these topics will be touched on below.

WHERE DO I START?

(1)When your tattooed German Shepherd Dog is about 6-9 months old, we recommend a preliminary radiograph of hips and elbows. This may not be definitive because of the dog's young age, but you could go no further if there is an extreme hip problem. Often these dogs can be salvaged and make wonderful pets depending on the severity of the problem. In fact you can even title a dog with bad hips, but you cannot breed them and be in compliance with world standards. There are even dogs at international VPG competitions with problematic hips, but they should not be bred.

At a year of age, the SV accepts hip radiographs and issues an “a” stamp if the hips meet the standards. To be certified under OFA, the dog must be at least 24 months of age. But OFA will give you a preliminary reading at a younger age. According to OFA's statistics, a dog with a preliminary reading of GOOD will likely pass at 24 months whereas it is still in question whether a dog with a preliminary FAIR reading will pass. So you must make a decision based on this information whether you want to pursue VPG.

I need to make one comment on the tattoo. Many breeders will tattoo their litters at around 8 weeks of age, and you will get them with a "green" ear. This is just antiseptic cream that will fade in time. Do not try to wash it off--just let it wear off. If your breeder has not tattooed the litter, you can usually find a vet who will do this when you have your dog in for the preliminary hip radiographs. The tattoo on a young puppy is administered without any preliminaries, but in an older puppy or dog, you will want to have this work done under anesthesia. So try to combine the hip and elbow x-ray with the tattoo if necessary. We are finding that more and more vets do not do the tattoos as they now microchip. As of this date, the tattoo is the only acceptable means of identification for the breed survey.

(2)Remember that in addition to being VPG titled, the dog must also be acceptable physically to be in the breeding pool. One of the most common problems is improper dentition. Dogs with certain missing teeth are allowed although they will be placed in a lower breed survey category, but still suitable for breeding. A dog with specific missing teeth outlined in the rules will be precluded entirely from breed survey eligibility. You can research this subject further by looking at the Breed Survey rules.

(3)I am not aware of any statistics on why dogs are not presented for the breed survey, but I would imagine that a common reason is size. They are either oversized or undersized. The bitch cannot be over 60 cm at the withers and the dog 65 cm. There is not an absolute weight requirement to my knowledge, but the judge demands that the dog is neither overweight or underweight. I have witnessed dogs being placed in the KKL2 category for being overweight and out of condition. The point should be made that the judges do not like an overweight dog, and what you regard as normal for your dog is likely to be perceived as overweight if ribs cannot be easily felt. If there is a little variance in height at the withers, they can still be breed surveyed but in the lower category. If there is too much variance, they are ineligible to be surveyed. Your dog should be at full height at about a year of age. They can still grow, but you want to measure your dog before you go much further. If you have a 64 cm female or a 58cm male at a year of age, you know your dog will not meet the standards for breeding.

Many people ask what a dog weighs or how tall they are! They think bigger is better. This is certainly not the case. German bloodlines must be agile and athletic to work in any arena. If you want a huge dog, German bloodlines are not for you. But remember, these bloodlines are the dogs you see doing police work, search and rescue and service work. It's not the size of the dog but the size of the heart in the dog.

(4)Of course, it goes without saying that a male must have both testicles descended. There are some other physical requirements that you should research. For example, a white or substantially white German Shepherd Dog is not acceptable. The tail must be carried properly and not over the back of the dog like a Siberian Husky. There must not be any obvious physical faults like weak backs, fallen pasterns or hocks, splayed feet, very light eyes or floppy ears.

While judging the overall physical structure of a German Shepherd Dog is an individual judge's call, the dog should look like a representative of the breed. Owners of “working” bloodline German Shepherds tend to seek out Koermeisters (Breed Survey judges) who are favorable to their bloodlines. Many “working” bloodlines are KKL2 simply because their structure differs somewhat from the ideal breed standard. They may have a severely straight back, small head, small jaw, weak ears, incorrect tail carriage, very straight shoulders, etc. Even though they are not placed as KKL1, these dogs are still suitable for breeding. They usually possess a strong working character and excellent nerve, which are characteristics absolutely necessary to maintain the nature of the German Shepherd Dog as a working breed.

We touched on some of the requirements. Now what actually happens when you take your dog to be surveyed? You need a checklist. You must have:

--Working Title such as VPG I
--Tattoo, preferably in the right ear
--AD
--Evidence of passing hips either as the “a” stamp which is included in the German pedigree or the original OFA certificate.
--German Pedigree from the SV or AKC 4 generation certified pedigree.
--A show card indicating your dog has at least a G rating in the conformation ring. Most breed surveys are done in conjunction with a conformation show. If necessary, you can show your dog on a Saturday and receive a breed rating and use that show card for the breed survey, usually held the next day.
--Evidence of membership in one of the large national organizations such as United Schutzhund Clubs of America or GSDCA-Working Dog Association.

The order of the events at a Breed Survey can vary somewhat, but a major part is the Protection test. All dogs must pass the protection phase, which is very similar to the requirements for a VPG I but without the blind search or hold and bark.
In some ways the breed protection is more difficult than performance at a trial because the dog has little warm-up, and the context looks different for the dog. Therefore, even if your dog has shown very well in protection, you probably need to practice the protection routine that is used in the breed survey. I have personally seen several strong working dogs stumble in this test either having problems in the control phase or failing to out off the sleeve.

Failing to out off the sleeve will cause them to be placed in the KKL2 category, even if they have otherwise met all the other requirements for KKL1. Failure to perform with sufficient strength in the protection phase will either cause a dog to fail the breed survey or be placed in the KKL2 category, depending on the severity of the problem. The judge will indicate immediately whether the dog has received pronounced, sufficient or has failed.

To the observer, the other parts of the Breed Survey are somewhat boring. For the participant, it is tense. The judge calls out the dogs participating in the breed survey usually by gender. He has them run together with their handler around the ring, while he generally stands in the middle. The judge will shoot the blank pistol to test the dog's sound sureness. The dog must be absolutely neutral for the gunshots showing neither fear nor excitement, and the dog must be on a loose lead.

Again, some dogs have issues in this phase because they have been trained with helpers using excessive whip cracking. The gunshot test is different for the breed survey and more difficult than the VPG test. In all phases of VPG, a gun is fired while the dog is either heeling or in a down stay. In VPG, the dog is on an obedience command. Also, the gun is at a distance. In the breed survey ring, the judge is only a few feet from the dog. And the dog must be on a loose lead. I have personally seen some dogs—even otherwise strong working dogs—fail this test. They either show too much excitement jumping on their handler or they start whining or barking. They are overly stimulated, and they cannot pass the breed survey on that day. What the judge wants to see is a dog who is indifferent to the shots. With a problematic dog, the judge often has to do many gunshots even further testing the other dogs in that group.

At some point on the breed survey day, the judge will weigh and measure all the dogs. Frequently, the dog and handler have to travel offsite to a location that has a scale. The judge measures the dog's height and also takes measurements around the chest. All of these measurements are scribed and appear on the breed survey report.

Back in the ring again, each dog is called individually for thorough examination. Their teeth are examined closely, and the handler must be able to present the dog's teeth so the judge can easily look. The handler is asked to move the dog around the ring so the judge can see front and rear movement as well as side movement. Then, the dog is placed in the formal stacked position while the judge reports his observations to a scriber. The judge carefully examines all documents related to the dog.

These judges are extremely knowledgeable about every aspect of the breed. Their evaluations and recommendations should be taken to heart and used, especially if they make a breeding suggestion. They will sometimes note that certain bloodlines should be avoided for your dog in a breeding and will recommend other bloodlines. They may recommend a dog for certain characteristics such as high withers, rear or front angulation, pigment, etc. There can also be warnings from the judge regarding the dog if appropriate. For example, missing teeth will be specially noted, even though they were not sufficient to disqualify the dog. When selecting a breeding partner for your dog, there should be a mutual exchange of breed survey reports, so everything is out in the open and genetic problems are not compounded.

By the time the evaluation is completed, you will have a good idea of your dog's strengths and weaknesses. This is important because in selecting a breeding mate, your goal is to improve the breed in all aspects whether in structure or in working ability.

At the conclusion of the evaluation, the judge will tell you whether your dog has passed or failed the breed survey. If the dog passed, the judge will tell you whether the dog is KKL1 or KKL2. Believe me, this is tense and not without controversy.

Usually after several months, you will receive the coveted Breed Survey Report in the mail.

Now you can sit back and relax knowing your dog is breed surveyed, but guess what? You have to do it all again in a couple of years to get the lifetime breed survey. Sometimes under a different judge a KKL2 becomes a KKL1 or visa versa. You must continue to keep your dog in top condition physically and mentally as well as practice protection work since it also must be repeated.

Obviously I could only hit major points in this article. It is already much longer than I intended, but hopefully you will find it useful. In no way is this information comprehensive, and some very complex topics have been relayed in a somewhat simplistic manner. There will be variance in the process and procedures used in any specific breed survey. Be flexible as judges are all different in their procedures and their viewpoints.

A puppy with titled and breed surveyed sire and dam is a premium. I hope after reading this article you understand why this is the case, and why they are priced higher than a puppy from dogs that have not undergone these demanding tests. Remember, these tests have as the sole purpose the betterment of the breed. So when you see the KKL1 or KKL2 behind a dog's name, you know the dog's owner has gone through a tremendous amount of trouble, training, expense and dedication to make sure his dog is suitable for breeding.