German Shepherd through the years

i agree & it doesn't matter what the breed or the job, almost none of the modern show dogs look like the original working stock but most modern working stock does look like the original. i think that goes back to original dog shows being a showcase for working dogs.

i disagree. there is a shift to a heavier built dog that i think parallels the working focus shifting from stock to manwork. but if you compare the original stock dogs to modern breeds/lines that fill the same role like mcnab, aussie smithfields, ranchbred queensland heelers, smooth BCs, kelpies & coolies (important to note in Oz they are commonly called german koolies), you can see the early GSDs pictured fit VERY comfortably w/ that crowd compared to dogs bred for manwork.

Yeah I'm sure that is true as well. But I also think Von Stephanitz was still very much developing the breed in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

When my BC does back vaults we have a mat (like a gymnast) for her to land on, but usually vaulting dogs are taught an extremely solid landing to prevent injury.