Here at Working Line Canine we breed the original Working Line GSD. The German Shepherd is a working dog, who is meant to be physically active and healthy. His temperament should be confident, brave, willing to work, stable and even, high drive, high energy, intelligent and very loving with family and children. As described by the founder of the German Shepherd Dog, Von Stephanitz. This breed was never meant to be bred just for show. And the founder of the German Shepherd Dog severely frowned upon the practice. Show Lines and Working Lines are two completely different animals. Over breeding of the GSD has lead to many problems with the breed, not only in health but also in temperament.
Because of this we decided to go back to the German Shepherd Dogs roots. When we moved to the country and built a homestead we decided that what we needed was the original Working Line German Shepherd Dog. We needed a German Shepherd to actually work on our farm. Shortly after, Working Line Canine was born. Although beautiful, we hand picked all of our parent dogs solely based on temperament. Beauty comes second to temperament here at Working Line Canine. Although each puppy will grow up to be its own individual and there will be some diversity within a litter. One thing is for sure, their core temperament is in tact. Our GSDs truly are something special. Bred and raised to be what they were always meant to be. And your new puppy will be too.
Von Stephanitz said "the most striking features of the correctly bred German Shepherds are firmness of nerves, attentiveness, tractability, watchfulness, reliability, and incorruptibility together with courage, fighting tenacity and harness." The "alpha-like" personality of a German Shepherd, as it should be, is confident yet not self-indulgent.
To Von Stephanitz, a dog's working ability was as important as its appearance, and he disagreed bitterly with those who would have the breed be just a showpiece. To this day, when German Shephers are judged at dog shows, each submits to a quick temperament test by the judge, to vouchsafe its stable temperament.
"Although untrained in his puppyhood, nevertheless obedient to the slightest nod when at his master's side; but when left to himself, the maddest rascal, the wildest ruffian and an incorrigible provoker of strife," Von Stephanitz wrote of Horand, reminding of the breed's high energy level, which needs to be channeled. "Never idle, always on the go, well disposed to harmless people, but no cringer, mad on children and always in love."
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeds/german-shepherd-dog-history/
