This family was developed in East Germany from those dogs remaining in the East after World War 2. Those foundation dogs predated the show/working split of post-war West Germany, and were not extreme in either conformation or drive. The DDR dogs tend to show solid working structure with heavy bone and massive heads, and strong temperament. Some dogs can show a degree of sharpness. Overall, they tend to be very sound. Some breeders are preserving the pure DDR lines but they are more commonly being bred into the German working lines with good success.