Well, I'm sorry but only you can make that decision! Just remember that all GSD may share traits but are not clones on one another and you may get a 'purebred' GSD from the same lines etc and it be a completely opposite character!

I still think you should spend time researching the GSD further (and puppy care/socialisation/crate training etc) before making any set decisions and go from there

oh and crossbreeds are not exempt from hip or other health problems!

Why cant you accept their is a high rate of HD in the breed?.....smokeybadger

As far as I'm aware Labradors are at the momnet one of the breeds with the highest incidence of Hip Dysplasia (correct me if I am wrong) GR's and GSD are all in there with breed mean Averages going into 20's?

compared to say the dobe at around 10

but there is more than that alone to be considered when choosing a breed.....

just my 10 cents..

Labradors are right up there with bad hips too

Didnt say they weren't.

What ??????

Please quote your proven source for this wildly inaccurate statement.

HD is not a question of luck, it is a mix of genetics, environs & nutrition.

In Germany & dogs from German lines are not bred from unless they have good hips & in Germany they HAVE to be fully health tested & assessed for breeding.The German GSDs have shown a pronounced reduction in the occurrence & severity of HD since their HD assessment scheme was introduced.

The pet bred, the English Alsatian type & puppy farm GSDs are the ones with the most frequent occurrence of severe HD-the same as with most breeds(especially the Labrador of which around 45,000 unregistered puppies are bred each year from untested parents)

As to the statistics

Only 1569 BSDs have been scored here in the UK as compared to 40924 GSDs & 70893 Labradors.

However you have to also consider that the number of dogs tested is from the inception of the BVA/KC scheme, there are GSDs not included in the statistics as the GSD League & Club of GB started the scheme for GSDs only years before the KC got involved, so the numbers of GSDs scored is in fact much higher.

Also only 10,364 GSDs were registered last year with the KC where as 44,099 Labradors were registered. BSDs(all varieties)only totalled 392. Logically there should have been over 160,000 Labradors scored for an accurate comparison of statistics to be made.


To the OP Sorry I would not touch a puppy from a "rescue"litter for many reasons especially health & character. it is very unlikely that the mother was fed correctly throughout the pregnancy, the odds are that they are NOT GSDs no matter what they look like as young puppies.

I don't know where you got your last GSD from, but does he have a five generation pedigree of dogs who have been scored under the Breed Median of 12 ?

So you wouldn't get a gsd because too much of a risk of bad hips, but you have a labrador

Breed Medians are

Doberman-9
Labrador-10
GSD-12

Not much in it really

What does that prove ???????????

I've had GSDs since 1958 all from German bloodlines & none had HD to an extent that their lives were affected, even a dog with a score of 1 has HD so unless the dog is scored 0 they are dysplasic. we were lucky enough to be given a German puppy who was scored 0:0=0 & he produced puppies with lower hip scores than their mothers(unless they were 0:0=0)in every litter he sired.

A friend of mine bred Goldens & when they brought in scoring she had all her dogs done-the worst was 2:3 & her best was 0:1(10 1/2 year old bitch)She had only ever bred sound well reared dogs to sound well reared bitches & the scoring proved that she had made the best decisions.

Another friend breeds Labrador Retrievers & has done so for 40 years +, she did the same until scoring came in & she has used this to produce dogs well under the 10 breed median.

On the other hand a gamekeeper up the road breeds only for work & produces the worse hips & moving dogs in all his breeds my vets have ever seen(he breed labs, cockers & springers)