John,
Our dogs must have some distant relatives in common, our Nord v. Alyeska is a dead ringer for your Johann. Same heavy black coloring. Father was black, Belgian, mother is red, German.
from www.alaskagermanshepherds.com

Nord comes from a long line of Shutzhund champs, but sadly there's no club within 400 miles. He's typical GSD smart, but would rather make snowangels than train. His sole responsibility at this time is to take care of my 14 mo. old son -which is handy.

Best dogs ever, but when the lap gets chilly, nothing beats our Chihuahua. Even though 90lb Nord will try to crawl up into your lap anyways.