How can I tell if my dog is a working line or show line breed?

Looks can be deceiving but these photos do look like purebred dogs. It’s hard to say if they are working or show lines. I recommend to call the breeder as they are most familiar with their bloodlines. You can also contact the breed club as they likely have excellent resources. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions!

German lines are generally darker than American lines and have less of a downward angle from head to tail. DDR shepherds, or East German lines, are blockier and darker with less of a slope than Western lines. An educated guess would be Sharon is a GSD of East German lines, but without a close physical exam, this is just a guess.

Max looks to be a German Shepherd but if there is a small amount of a different breed (like a single great grandparent), if may be difficult to detect by looks alone with so much German Shepherd genetics present. He does not have the straight back of most working lines, nor is he quite as angulated as most show lines. His breeder would be the best source of information as to the different bloodlines present and if there was a mixing of show lines and working lines. He has the more rare long coat for the breed. From the photos he appears to be black and tan with the normal saddle markings. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Hi, thanks for using Petcoach! Sometimes this can be difficult to answer. To accurately know your dogs breed it would be based on both of Duke's parents being registered with a legitimate registration organization like the AKC. That is the only way you could prove to someone buying Duke's puppies, if you chose to breed him. Without proof of lineage it is hard. You may have to wait until he is full grown to see how he looks. There are DNA blood tests that can help but personally I think the accuracy isn't the best. You can buy these kits yourself and send in either a blood sample or a cheek swab. https://www.chewy.com/wisdom-panel-30-breed-identification/dp/127224

There is no way of knowing from pictures or temeperament - individuals of any breed can develop differently and some will be finer or smaller than expected even within one full, purebred litter. Ensure she is on a large breed puppy food and up to date with deworming etc so she develops to her full potential. DNA testing of her and her parents could potentially prove the parentage but it would not be impossible that somewhere in her ancestry there is a mix of breeds

When a dog is repeatedly presented with a pleasurable stimulus in the presence of a frightening, anxiety-producing, etc. stimulus, the expectation is that he will gradually shift his focus to the pleasurable stimulus, and the negative one will lose its power over him. You can see the change in his body language. He will be more relaxed, with less-to-no whining, growling, barking, lunging, etc. His panting will lessen, eyes will not look as "wild," hair over the withers will not be standing on end, and so forth.

Max looks lovely! Even within a breed dogs cone in different shapes and sizes. Depending on breeding some German shepherds are bulkier, some leaner, and sometimes some have a sloping back rather than a straight back. There is nothing you can do to change his body shape that is determined by his skeleton. You could make him more muscular via exercise but this will only bulk him out a bit. I would not concern yourself overly as he looks to be in great condition already!