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American Alsatians

If you are wondering what is the right dog for you, this is the place to be. In this introductory forum we talk about topics such as breed vs. mix, size, age, grooming, breeders, shelters, rescues as well as requirements for exercise, space and care. No question is too silly here. This particular forum is for getting and giving helpful, nice advice. It is definitely not a forum for criticizing someone else's opinion, knowledge or advice. This forum is all about tail wagging and learning.

  


Member Since
12/24/2011		 
 
Barked: Fri Aug 17, '12 8:30pm PST 
I was looking into this new breed, and it seemed great, but then on dogster I noticed a lot of people were having issues with it and the breeder. Why is this? Any info is appreciated.
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Member Since
08/17/2012		 
 
Barked: Sat Aug 18, '12 4:10am PST 
Well i haven't yet seem American Alsatians up till now... Can you upload a pic of them so that i can get familiar with them... ???
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Sabi

When the night- closes in I will- be there		 
 
Barked: Tue Aug 21, '12 7:49am PST 
They appear to be just another designer dog with all of those issues but it looks like the UKC might have added them as a breed, I'm not sure. They are basically a Malamute/GSD.

Edited by author Tue Aug 21, '12 7:54am PST

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Tanuk, CGC

Sherpa Tanuk of- Everest		 
 
Barked: Tue Aug 21, '12 7:51am PST 
AAs are an attempt at making a healthier, more balanced shepherd- type dog. They include a few different breeds including the GSD and Alaskan Malamute. Hopefully Samson will pop in with some more info.
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Lucille

I am the Sock- Bandit!!!		 
 
Barked: Tue Aug 21, '12 9:25am PST 
"were having issues with it and the breeder."

The heart of the problem is right where you say 'the' breeder...how many responsible breeders are there for this mix? Not an established or recognized AKC breed to my knowledge in the US. Basically it's a mixed breed of various Mals and GSDs. In order to establish a breed in the US according to the AKC there has to be a minimum of registered breeding animals within a breed club. They may be registerable with another organization, but if you're interested in competing in the US, the AKC is the one that runs most conformation and dog sporting events and clubs.

As can be expected with any mix; they vary widely in temperament, coat, health etc. (Nothing against mixes, I own one, but I don't call my dog a purebred, or a 'new breed' either) The major issues I've read about are with temperament, and that's not something you want to fool around with in either a Mal or GSD cross.
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Samson

Work? What's- that?		 
 
Barked: Tue Aug 21, '12 2:20pm PST 
The Mal and GSD cross was almost 30 years ago now, IIRC. I haven't kept up too closely but I think the most recent outcross line was started with a GSD, that's the first time since the original cross that any GSD blood has been introduced. Samson is from the previous one outcross line.

Every four years or so a new outcross line gets started, and once that has been..."honed," for lack of a better word, that gets merged with the foundation line.

They consistently beget themselves in temperament, health, and conformation. To my knowledge that is the "bare essentials" of what makes a breed, not whether or not some arbitrary organization chooses to recognize it or not as being such (I don't have a very favorable opinion of the AKC or any major kennel club, if you couldn't tell). And we do plan to stay very far away from the AKC, if they ever show any interest years from now, should the breed grow and become larger than it is.

I'm not aware of the UKC or any other major kennel organization having added them. Right now we just have our own breed-specific registry to keep track of lineage.

Samson has some issues with shyness which I knew about before I purchased him (some of this, however, is medically & environmentally induced, not just genetically induced - long story). Anyway, he is only an F3 from an outcross line, and while he is close to standard there are certainly some deviations; temperament being one of them. Other pups in his litter, from what I know of them, were all closer to breed standard in this manner. Apart from that he's also slightly more stubborn/independent than what they call for, which was a trait common to Samson's litter, and litters close to it.

You can check out my profile for pictures.

This isn't a designer breed where they just cross two pure breeds over and over again to get a ton of F1 crosses, and then claim it's a breed (like a "cock-a-poo" for instance). Right now there are only two breeders. One in Oregon, and a newer one in Colorado.

Feel free to PM me with questions or for more info. These threads have gotten stupidly heated in the past so this is really all I'm willing to say in the public arena.

Edited by author Tue Aug 21, '12 2:23pm PST

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Sabi

When the night- closes in I will- be there		 
 
Barked: Tue Aug 21, '12 5:25pm PST 
Samson I wasn't trying to be insulting, but there really isn't a lot of info on them. The breeders website is not informative and information varies on other sites. I was mistaken about the UKC but a couple of websites mention it.
I knew they originated in the 80's and the first cross was essentially Mal and GSD hence the name Shepalute. I apologize if I sounded offensive and thank you for the information.
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Samson

Work? What's- that?		 
 
Barked: Tue Aug 21, '12 5:29pm PST 
No problem and no offense taken. And yes information is really scarce.

Edited by author Tue Aug 21, '12 5:30pm PST

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Mulder

Spooky Mulder		 
 
Barked: Wed Aug 22, '12 12:25pm PST 
AAs are an attempt at making a healthier, more balanced shepherd- type dog. They include a few different breeds including the GSD and Alaskan Malamute.

You will never "improve" the Shepherd by dumbing down his blood and making him into a massive fluffy lamb of a dog. That is not a Shepherd, nor will it ever be.

And you certainly don't achieve a "better" Shpeherd by outcrossing to breeds like Malamutes, or Pyrs, or wolves or whatever else these people who think they are "improving" the breed are want to cross in (and that goes far beyond JUST these dogs).

I don't aim to insult or hurt feelings- obviously there are members here who have these dogs and who love them dearly.

But you need to look at the whole picture here. The woman who founded these dogs has done many, many things that do not fall within the realm of "ethical" dog breeding. She has, IN HER OWN WORDS, stated that "God" decides when its the right time for her animals to breed, does not do genetic health clearances on her breeding stock (she apparently has magical x-ray vision and can somehow tell just by sight if a dog has HD or not), and has crossed dogs of unknown backgrounds into her lines. Perhaps worst of all, she is grossly misinformed about the breeds she CLAIMS to be "improving", and despite absolutly disrespecting those dogs in her words, continues to use them in her breeding program?

Sorry, no. You can do better OP. Anyone could.

Edited by author Wed Aug 22, '12 12:32pm PST

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