For your information.
Reprinted from Dogs Annual in Canada 2005
One of the most versatile and talented breeds in the world today, the German
Shepherd Dog has been valued in police work, tracking guiding the blind, drug
and bomb detection, search and rescue, herding, avalanche rescue and so much
more. In the 1890's, Captain Max von Stephanitz, a German cavalry officer, envisioned
a superb and versatile herding dog, and began a breeding program made up of the
best German farm dogs available. He succeeded beyond all expectations. The
German Shepherd Dog first came to North America in the early 1900's and got a
huge boost in popularity here after World War 1 when Rin Tin Tin's movie
exploits captured the attention of the public.
The well-bred German Shepherd dog is a stable, sensible, intelligent, quick
to learn, loyal and protective of his home and property. Unfortunately, because
of the breed's popularity, the German Shepherd Dog has been exploited by some
unscrupulous and irresponsible breeders. It's a good idea to be extremely
selective when choosing a puppy.
A breed of exceptional stamina, the German Shepherd Dog was initially bred to
trot all day long. Though relatively calm and quiet indoors, this breed needs
lots of outdoor exercise to maintain condition.
For more information: http://www.germanshepherds.com/thegsd/history/
Reprinted from http://www.germanshepherds.com
Purebred
dogs are measured against a breed standard of perfection, a written description
of what the ideal specimen should look like. Each dog-registering organization
has its own set of standards, one for each of the breeds it recognizes; however,
these standards may vary, in the way they are worded, from registry to registry
and from country to country.
THE
RIGHT TEMPERAMENT
Without question, the German Shepherd Dog's temperament and intelligence has
earned it an international fan club. Its affable, easy-going nature gives way to
a strong protective instinct when provoked. People close to the breed frequently
claim that German Shepherds know right from wrong and that a well-trained GSD is
the best roommate you could ask for.
Characterized by a direct and
fearless expression, the German Shepherd never appears hostile, but instead
appears self-confident, with a certain aloofness. While maintaining this
aloofness, the German Shepherd must be approachable, quietly standing his ground
and showing confidence and willingness to meet overtures without making them
himself.
The traits of keen intelligence and trainability have made the German Shepherd
arguably the most versatile breed in history. In addition to their traditional
roles as police and herding dogs, the
breed has encountered success in many areas including watchdog, leader of the
blind, tracking, rescue, scent identification, agility, obedience, guardian, and
of course companion. He is poised and calm, but when the occasion presents
itself he can be alert and startling.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF
THE GSD
The CKC breed standard is eloquent and detailed in its description of the ideal
dog. It reflects the German Shepherd's utility as a guardian and a working dog.
An ideal German Shepherd Dog is lively and alert; his body is well-muscled,
agile, and powerful. This well-balanced dog is usually longer than he is tall
and deep-bodied. He looks substantial and not spindly, giving the impression of
muscular fitness whether at rest or in motion. He also appears nimble and never
clumsy or flabby. Although difficult to define, the German Shepherds’ look of
nobility is unmistakable when present.
Dogs measure 24 to 26 inches tall at the shoulder, bitches measure between 22
and 24 inches. The correct proportion is 10-to-8 ˝ (length-to-height), forming
a body that is "slightly elongated, strong and well-muscled. The bone is
clean and general construction firm."
The whole body gives the impression of depth and solidity without bulkiness. The
AKC standard defines the German Shepherd chest as deep and capacious, never
shallow, with ample room for lungs and heart."
The rib cage is "well-sprung and long, neither barrel-shaped nor too
flat." The correct rib layout allows the dog's elbows to move freely when
the dog trots. The loin is relatively short with only a slight tuck up, and the
stomach is flat and firm.
As with any working breed, the shoulder blades are long and well-laid-back. The
shoulder blade and the upper arm are well-muscled, leading to straight forelegs.
The front legs from all sides are straight and strong with oval rather than
round bone. The pasterns are strong and springy, angulated at 25 degrees from
the vertical. The GSD feet are short and compact, with well-arched toes; thick,
firm foot pads; and short, dark nails.
Strong without coarseness, the head is noble and cleanly chiseled. The muzzle is
long and strong with the lips firmly fitted; the forehead is only moderately
arched, and the skull slopes into the long, wedge-shaped muzzle without abrupt
stop. The GSD muzzle is straight in profile, with a predominantly black nose. A
clean scissor bite is vital to a German Shepherd, allowing its teeth to be
strongly embedded. The strongly developed jaw should carry 42 teeth, 20 upper
and 22 lower. The eyes are medium-sized and almond-shaped, set a little
obliquely and not protruding. The darkness of the eyes gives the breed a keen
and intelligent expression.
The medium-sized ears taper to a moderate point and are carried erect unless the
dog is moving or in repose. The ears should be as straight as possible, with the
ideal ears, viewed from the front, showing parallel straight centerlines that
are perpendicular to the ground.
From the head, the GSD standard calls for a strong, relatively long neck that
ties into the topline of the back at the dog's withers, which are higher than
the back. The withers slope down in a smooth line to a straight back, with
neither a sag nor roach in profile, and into a long, gradually sloping croup
(buttocks).
The topline ends in a gently curved tail. The German Shepherd's bushy tail
reaches at least to the dog's hocks, hanging in a gentle curve. Even when in
motion, the tail is never to be held above horizontal, but it may curl more
tightly.
The dog's back and topline are vital to the smooth trotting ability and strength
of the German Shepherd. The standard emphasizes, "The typical smooth,
flowing gait is maintained with great strength and firmness of back. The whole
effort of the hindquarter is transmitted to the forequarter through the loin,
back and withers. At full trot, the back must remain firm and level without
sway, roll, whip or roach…the shoulder should open to its full extent. The
forelegs should reach out close to the ground in a long stride in harmony with
that of the hindquarters."
Because German Shepherds were intended to cover lots of ground, gait and its way
of going are important. The AKC standard devotes more attention to this area
than to any other. "The gait is out-reaching, elastic, seemingly without
effort, smooth and rhythmic, covering the maximum amount of ground with a
minimum of steps. At a walk, it covers a great deal of ground, with long stride
of both hind legs and forelegs. At a trot, the dog covers still more ground with
even longer stride ... the gait appears to be the steady motion of a
well-lubricated machine."
All the German Shepherd's power to run, jump and climb comes from its
hindquarters, which makes them vitally important to the dog's conformation. The
hindquarters deliver, through the back, a powerful forward thrust that slightly
lifts the whole animal and drives the body forward. Reaching far under, and
passing the imprint left by the front foot, the hind foot takes hold of the
ground; then hock, stifle and upper thigh come into play and sweep back, the
stroke of the hind leg finishing with the foot still close to the ground in a
smooth follow-through."
The angulation of the dog's hind limbs, therefore, directly affects the quality
of its gait. The broad upper and lower thighs should be strong and well-muscled,
forming as nearly as possible a right angle.
COAT AND COLORS
The ideal German Shepherd Dog has a double coat of medium length. The top coat
is dense and harsh, covering a light gray undercoat, which should not be visible
through the top coat. The dog's hair is slightly longer and coarser on its neck
and the back- sides of its legs.
The German Shepherd Dog varies in color, and mostly rich colors are preferred. Acceptable
colors include, black and tan, black and red, black and cream, solid black,
sable, and black and silver. Sables bear multi-colored individual hairs, which
may be masked by dark or black guard hairs. White dogs must be disqualified.
Pale, washed out colors and blues and livers are considered serious faults.
Other faults are soft, silky, wooly, curly or too long outer coats.
The German Shepherd Dog standard has this to say about
color: "The German Shepherd Dog varies in color, and most colors are
permissible. Strong rich colors are preferred. Pale, washed-out colors and
blues or livers are serious faults. A white dog must be disqualified."
This description is not very complete, but it does support the premise that
color is not to take precedence over the working qualities of the dog. The
basic colors are sable, black and tan, and solid black.
The vast majority of German Shepherd Dogs are some
variation of black and tan with a black mask. The tan markings can vary in
color from pale fawn and silver to rich red and mahogany. Most fall somewhere
between these extremes. The gradation of colors in the tan points is quite
arbitrary and not distinct. All shades are acceptable but the richer shades
are generally preferred. The amount of tan markings also varies a great deal,
with some dogs having very few markings and appearing almost black, to other
dogs that have very little black.
The sable in German Shepherds is the color that is
genetically known as agouti or wolf gray. The sable or wolf color, can also
vary a great deal with dogs that are almost silver in color with black tipping
to the hairs, to dogs that are gray, golden or mahogany sables. All of these
sables have guard hairs that are banded in color and tipped with black.
Solid black is also a very acceptable color, but it is
less often encountered. It is seldom completely solid, with most dogs showing
at least a few tan hairs between the toes and around the rectal area, under
the tail.
White markings are frowned upon, though a small white
spot on the chest is usually not penalized. All white dogs are disqualified
from conformation competition, though they can be shown in performance events.
The eye color should be dark, or at least blend well with
the color of the dog. Light eyes are especially unattractive in dark or black
dogs. Also, any nose color other than black is a disqualification. This
effectively disqualifies any liver or blue-pigmented dogs, as their nose color
would not be black. In addition, both livers and blues usually have pale,
yellow eyes, which as mentioned above, are not desirable.
Something further needs to be mentioned about white.
Though it is a disqualifying color in the standard, there is a breed called
the White German Shepherd. The AKC does not recognize it, but it is recognized
by the United Kennel Club and is exhibited at their shows as well as at the
Rare Breeds shows.
