Micki, all breeds suffer from bad breeding, I have no idea why your GSD does not look like other GSD's but there are English type and German type GSD's and if yours looks like neither then it may be it is not well bred. The thing is do people look at it and say that is a GSD if so it has type and until people can look at a NI and say that is a NI then they do not have type.

[mod edit: personal comment removed: please read our TOU] my GSD comes from very good breeding. asking whether people stop and ask if my NI is a NI isnt really a fair question,although a few people have stopped me and asked that. they are not a common breed so most of the public wouldnt b familiar.how many members of the public would identify ur dogs as elkhounds?.. i think u need to do a little more reseach into the breed before u can pas comment.maybe even visit a breeder as Julie as suggested,[mod edit: personal comment removed: please read our TOU]

well i can asure you when people see my dogs and nis registerd dogs they do say wehave a type,as we have. the offer is there if your in my area come and have a look

Resorting to calling another persons comments *daft* and going on to say that comments like Jackies, make someone appear snobbish does your cause no good at all. Also, it verges on a personal attack

Was not thinking of member of the public, was thinking of those who know what they are talking about, but if you consider my comments daft I will not bother to inflict them on you any more.

As a matter of interest owners of Lurches do not mind there dogs/hound being called cross breeds, do wonder why others are so sensitive.

Just a quick word on the pics of NI of various websites - some of these pics are of older dogs and we don't deny that a few years back there was a vast variation in type. However, these dogs have their place in the history of our breed and have offered various qualities as breeding stock and deserve a place on our websites. The puppies being born nowadays are all of a type, which is very pleasing, but that doesn't mean to say that the older pics will be removed from our websites - even if it does cause some confusion.

Thank you, it does mean that for 'outsiders' to say they are cross breeds or and not breeding to type should not bring forth anger and derision, it your breed is breeding to type then lets see it. Ask all breeders to put the pedigrees on line accompanied by photos so we can join your cause and push of the cross breeds to be called a 'breed'.

Its funny you should say that - I am in the process of redoing my website and including pedigrees of all my dogs, including the registration numbers and dates of birth.

I am also doing 5 generation pedigrees for my current litter of pups - I would go back further but there isn't room on an A4 sheet without the font being so tiny you couldnt read it.

Incidentally, I shouldn't think lurcher owners mind them being called crossbreeds because they use various breeds to make a lurcher - and they can be any combination of those said breeds. (Which is different to ours).

Anyway, haven't got time to argue any longer as I have dogs to see to.

yeah anyway...

cross breed / bred to type / kc reg or not...

I hope when I put pics of my two up on here they are just seen as my two pet dogs and not to scrutinise the whole breed...

I would never judge a whole breed by not even a handful of pictures I may have seen on the internet.

I will be the first to admit my two are different, in size yes, one being male one female and in coat lengh, one long / heavy one short...But both are NI's just as a long coat white GSD is still as much GSD as a prefered (by the KC) rich black and gold GSD...Sorry I haven't personally given you the good examples you may have been looking for...

One thing I know you are missing though is the type as far as temprament goes...My two differ slightly in some ways but that is mostly the difference between male / female but one thing I have noticed is the exceptional character of these dogs that runs throughout the entire breed.

I'm never out to change minds and don't find any comments offensive because we all have our thoughts and opinions You could call them mutts / mongrels (all of which I have seen over at another well known forum) and I will say well I love my mutts then and wouldn't swap them for the world

I am interested in that, when I have asked before about the origins of the animal now called NI or Utonagan I have, from different breeders been given several breeds, which breeds do you have behind your NI’s