German Shepherd guides by Ján Sudimák

Start with the female, not with the stud. Ján Sudimák, who has bred German Shepherds for 50 years, advises a first-time breeder to make sure the female is sound and typical, to learn to read her pedigree and to choose the stud for her in particular. Titles and points are not inherited; innate traits are.

Look at what she was born with, not at her points. Ján Sudimák breeds from a female who is sound, typical, social and strong in prey drive, and he checks whether her ancestors had the same weaknesses. Show ratings and trial scores are not inherited, and he does not overlook faults that stay in a line for generations.

A first litter is won or lost on preparation. Ján Sudimák moves the female to the whelping place well in advance, keeps her calm and prefers to watch the delivery, helping only when it is needed. In his experience most puppy losses come from avoidable circumstances, not from weak puppies.

The German Shepherd goes back to a handful of founding sires, led by Horand von Grafrath. In his book, Ján Sudimák follows the male lines behind the sires used in Slovak breeding from 1980 to 2021 and groups them into 21 bloodline sections, from Hector von Schwaben to Quanto von der Wienerau.

For Ján Sudimák a pedigree is a record of generations, not a list of titles. He looks at where ancestors repeat on the sire’s and the dam’s side, at the quality of the maternal line and well beyond the first generations – and he reminds breeders that ratings and points are not inherited.

The breed survey, or Körung, is a thorough evaluation of a German Shepherd’s conformation and character against the breed standard, and the last step before a dog is admitted to breeding. Ján Sudimák, himself a breed survey commissioner (Körmeister), sees it as the breed’s main safeguard.

Ján Sudimák breeds working-line German Shepherds, but he does not set one line against the other. He judges every dog by what it can pass on – health, character, drive and sound, functional movement – and reminds readers that show results and titles are not inherited.

Ján Sudimák starts with health – of the stud, his siblings and his ancestors. Then he looks for a male from an excellent mother, sound in body and mind and confident in character, and he weighs only what can be inherited, never titles or points.

There is no fixed day: every female, and every heat, is different. In Ján Sudimák’s experience a failed mating is usually not the stud’s fault, and he never relies on counting days alone. He reads several signs together and has the day confirmed by a veterinary test.

Neither, in Ján Sudimák’s view: the truth lies in the middle. Well-chosen inbreeding can strengthen the qualities of an outstanding ancestor, but it strengthens faults just as surely. He uses it only on strong, healthy, proven dogs and has seen very close matings lead to degeneration.

Start with the breeder and the parents, then look at the puppy itself. Ján Sudimák wants a puppy that is healthy, well fed, lively and open to people and new places, and he advises against one that is fearful or shows no interest in play or contact.

Ján Sudimák judges a breeder by long-term work, not by one lucky dog. A good breeder shows steady progress over several generations, above all in the female line, puts health and sound character before titles and raises the puppies in good conditions.

Keep everything familiar for the first days: the food the puppy knows, something that smells of its litter, a calm journey and time to be with it. Ján Sudimák also stresses a sunny, sheltered place, clean water every day and patient house training.

For Ján Sudimák tracking is the “royal discipline”: it takes time and cannot be hurried. He starts while the dog is still a puppy, builds the work in small steps so that the dog succeeds and enjoys using its nose, and never uses pressure or punishment.

Ján Sudimák starts on the day the puppy arrives and teaches through play. He first finds out what motivates the puppy, keeps corrections to a minimum and rewards every success, so that the puppy grows up confident, keen to work and close to its owner.