Hi Guys
They just had an incredible program on the BR Alpha channel here (in Germany) last night, about the GSD breed and SV.
The program itself was one hour, and is a similar program to Panorama (investigative journalism) that they have in the UK. And man, they did a real thorough job on the background research - started with some backgrounding on the breed, then explained the SV Siegerschau and the set up of the selecting the winners, the testing etc, the hierarchy of powers-that-be and their power monopolies. They did interviews with the top guns in SV and then interviews (some with shadows and disguished voices) of SV members and former (resigned) SV judges amongst other complainers from the inner and outer circles, all explaining about the "known" corruption in delegting the big titles and more or less, how it's all about money. They compared the monoply of power and the culture of money for "favours" (wins) as that of a Mafia, which it is, of course.
Then they had interviews with "dissidents" who have broken away from the system because of the problems it is causing the breed. Enter a short sequence on RSV2000 and interviews with Helmut and Eugen E. etc., and then some footage of Helmut working a GSD while explaining the funationality of what the work was about. They had interviews with overseas fanciers from all the rich wog countries who pay the real big bucks for "German" dogs - only German dogs! are good enough..."it is the Motherland of the breed"..and because to win under prestigious German judges one needs to buy the dogs from the "approved" bloodlines! (Yeah, that is a breeding plan, alright.) "Approved" being stamped on those dogs where the most money has been paid to the most important people.
Plus interveiws with vets and similar canine (geneticists etc) specialists about how the breeding the GSD has resulted in a serious degeneration of the breed's health and functionality. They went through a few of the problems seen at the clinics. Too many GSDs are "finished" by seven years due to a range of genetic health problems plaguing the breed ...which I noted, was also why many GSD people here said they moved to Malinois..that they had bought two or even three GSDs that then either up and died or were incapacitated due to a genetic problem. As well as interviews with vets, there was interviews with the hierarchy in the service dog groups, discussing the falling popularity of the breed and why. The police dog squads showed their dogs on the job while explaining what they wanted - one scene in a crowd riot zoomed in to show a GSD hiding behind the handler (the speaker noting how the GSD wanted to hide while the Belgian Shepherd standing next to it was leaning forward and ready for the action). A not very flattering comparison to have on national program. The police officers interviewed explained the working character of the dogs they used and they gave the thumbs up for the Belgian Shepherds, which the police explained they were replacing their German Shepherds with because of the BS's higher aptitude, breeding for functionality, and their consistently outclassing the GSDs in the work place environment.
It was a really impressive program. Very controversial as they pulled no punches and exposed what "everyone" has known for decades - that SV is a Mafia with an international reach. The program was one hour long and went right to the heart of addressing the corruption within SV itself (naming the accused, presenting signed statements etc. - all pretty tough stuff with which they were directly confronting Reinhard Meyer, Lux and other SV executives - who for the main part took the approach to brush aside the presentation of the breed and of SV, and the allegations put to them, as all untrue and "gossip." Their blanket rebuttals come across as pretty thin.
We are all so used to the how the "system" works in Germany that I think we become complacent to the fact it is corrupt what has gone on and still goes on, and what goes on is technically, illegal. The program talked openly with all sides and laid the cards on the table when putting organized criminality within SV, front and centre in the program.
Alison"