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Standard Nr. 166 for the German
Shepherd Dog
Origin: Germany FCI
Classification
Group 1: Sheepherding - Sheep Guardian
Section 1: Sheepherding-dog
tested/examined for working
qualifications.
Use: Sheepdog with a high degree of versatility and
usability; police dog, and Rescue dog.
A brief history
After the official
formation of the German Shepherd Dog Club (SV), with
it's headquarters in Augsburg, the next step was to have
the breed standard accepted by the German Kennel Club
(VDH).
Whilst simultaneously the standard had to be
agreed upon by all involved with the breed at the
time. The
SV was effectively launched into life at the first
members meeting, held on the 20th of
September 1899, where proposals and recommendations of
the breed standard were presented by a Mr. A. Meyer and
Dr. Stefanitz.
Consequently, several gatherings of the members
followed with the agenda always to better coordinate the
breeding standard; the 6th members meeting on
the 28th of July 1901, the 23rd
members meeting in Cologne on the 17th of
September 1909 - the combined meetings between the then
club president and the breed committees were held at
Wiesbaden on the 5th of September 1930 and
the 25th of March 1961, where, by now, it was
apparent that the formation of the (WUSV) (World Union
for German Shepherd Dog Clubs) was becoming a
reality.
This framework was
continuously streamlined, and on the 30th of August 1976
further key decisions for the breed and programme were
taken. Proposals and meetings were always
catalogued and conclusions monitored until the WUSV
Congress on the 23rd and 24th of March 1991 - through
the presidents authority, full power was granted to the
WUSV.
General appearance
The German Shepherd
is medium size, slightly stretched; strong, dry and well
muscled, with strong bones, whist the whole body must
appear compact.
Important size
proportions
At the point of the
wither, the measurement must be between 60-65cm in males
and 55-60cm in females. The body length must
surpass the wither height by between 10-17%.
Character
The German Shepherd
must be self assured, balanced with strong nerves and
absolutely impartial behavior, whilst maintaining a good
nature - until pushed to the limit. The dog must
be vibrant and easy going. Furthermore the dog
must be courageous, have a strong fighting instinct and
possess firm nerves. These are essential
requirements since the dog is to be used as companion,
guardian, protector and a working sheep dog.
Head
It has to be wedge
shaped and it should be proportionate in size to the
rest of the body (the length of the head should be
approx. 40% that of the wither height), without
appearing clumsy, shapeless or coarse or over-long. The general
appearance must be dry (no flabby, loose skin). The distance
between the ears must be moderate. The forehead
(whether seen from the front or the side), should not
appear to be domed and have only little or no center
furrow.
The ratio between
the forehead and the end of the muzzle must be almost
50/50. The forehead width must be the same as its
length. The skull (seen from the top), from the
ears to the tip of the nose must consist of smooth
lines, whilst having a defined separation between the
skull and the muzzle (stop).
Both the under and
the upper jaw must be well developed. The muzzle
must be straight; it is not desirable for it to be any
other way. The lips must be tight, well knit and
of dark color.
The
nose
Must be black.
The
mouth
Must be strong, well
developed, healthy and complete (42 teeth in
total). The German Shepherd must have a
scissor-like bite, in other words the bottom teeth
locking with the top teeth in a scissor-like
formation. Furthermore, the upper jaw must overlap
the bottom jaw. The definition on the sides of the
jaw, is positioned in such-a-way, so as the top and
bottom layers of the front teeth (top and bottom) must
not shut level (directly on top of the other) - the top
must over-lap the bottom in a scissor-like close.
The bones of the jaws must be well developed so as the
teeth are not prematurely worn.
The
eyes
Is middle size,
almond-shaped and slightly angled, whilst they must not
protrude. The eye color should be as dark as
possible. Light eyes are not desirable as they
spoil the expression of the dog.
Ears
The German Shepherd
has ears, which are middle sized, firm textured, broad
at the base, set high on the skull, are carried erect
(almost parallel and not pulled inwards), taper to a
point and open towards the front. Tipped ears are
faulty. Hanging ears are a very serious
fault. During movement the ears may be folded
back.
Neck
The neck must be
strong, well muscled and without excessive, loose skin
at the throat. It should be at a 45-degree angle
to the body.
Body
A smooth top line
beginning from the back of the neck and continuing in a
straight line over a well developed wither and sloping
slightly toward the croup - without any visible
disturbance. The back is firm, strong and well
muscled. The loin is broad, well developed and
well muscled. The croup must be long and slightly
angled (about 23 degrees to the horizontal), without any
disturbance to the topline - it must continue toward the
beginning of the tail.
The
chest
Must be moderately
broad and the brisket should be long and
pronounced. The depth of the chest should be not
more than 45-48% of the wither height.
Ribs
Must show a moderate
curve. It is faulty for the ribs to be either
barrel shaped (too round) or slab sided (too
flat).
The
tail
Is bushy haired on
the underside, should reach at least to the hock
joint. The ideal length - being to the middle of
the hock bones. When at rest the tail should hang
in a slight curve like a saber. When moving it is
raised and the curve is increased. Surgical
corrections are not permitted.
The limbs
Forehand
The forelimbs - when
seen from all sides must be absolutely straight. Viewed from the
front, they must be parallel. The shoulder
blade and the upper arm must have the same length, be
well muscled and be tightly knit to the body. The angle of the
shoulder blade to the upper arm - ideally should be 90
degrees but usually it is acceptable around 110
degrees.
The elbows must be close to the body - both in
stance and in movement.
The pastern must be
1/3 of the length of the foreleg and at an angle of
about 20 - 22 degrees to the foreleg. Further more
the pastern should be neither too straight nor too
angled, so as not to deter the dog's stamina.
The
feet
Should be well
rounded, toes well closed and arched. Pads should
be well cushioned and durable but not brittle
surfaced. Nails short, strong and dark in
color.
Hindquarters
The position of the
hindquarter bones are rounded toward the back, they are
parallel to each other. The upper and lower
thighbones are almost of the same length and create an
angle of approximately 120 degrees. The thighs
must be strong and well muscled. The hock joint
must be strong and tight, whilst on a vertical line to
the rear feet.
Gait
The German Shepherd
Dog is a trotting dog. To achieve this,
the limbs must be in such balance to one another so that
the hindquarter may be thrust well forward to the
mid-point of the body and have an equally long reach
with the forefoot and without any noticeable change in
the back line.
The correct
proportion of height to corresponding length of limbs
will produce a ground-covering stride giving the
impression of effortless movement. The head thrust
forward and tail slightly raised - balanced and even
trotting is seen with a flowing line, back and tips of
the ears over the neck, back and the tip of the
tail.
Skin
Tight, without any
wrinkles.
Coat
The consistency of
the hair: The correct hair type for the German Shepherd
consists of the undercoat and a topcoat. The
topcoat must be made up of dense, straight - hard and
close - lying hairs. The hair on the head, ears,
paws and legs must be longer and even denser. The
hair at the back of the hind legs form a moderate
"trouser".
Color
Base color should be
black with markings of brown, red-brown, blonde and
light gray.
Alternatively a gray base-color with "clouds" of
black markings and a black "saddle" and "mask". Inconspicuous
white markings on the chest, and "brighter" shades on
the under - and inner sides of the dog are permitted but
not desirable.
The nostrils must in all cases be black. Non-existence of
a "mask", bright - until piercing eye color as well as
light/white nails and a colored tail top are considered
as a lack of pigmentation, the undercoat is a slight
gray tone.
White is not
permitted.
Height /
Weight
Male:
Wither
height
60 cm to 65 cm
Weight
30 Kg to 40 Kg
Female:
Wither
height
55 cm to 60 cm
Weight
22 Kg to 32 Kg
Testicles
Male animals must
have two (2), apparently normal testicles fully
developed in the scrotum.
Faults
Any departure from
the foregoing points should be considered a fault and
the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded
should be in exact proportion to its degree.
Serious
Faults
Departure from the
breed standard which has been stated in this context and
which affects the usefulness and appearance of the dog
is considered a serious fault. Lack of
pigmentation, heavy and loose dogs, missing or faulty
dentition and / or jaw formation.
Faults of the
ears
Ears set too low on
the side of the skull, soft and tipping at the
top.
Exclusion
Faults
a)
A weak character and nervous or nervous
biter.
b)
Proven (documented) serious "HD" condition.
c)
Monorchids, cryptorchids or deformed
testicles.
d)
Deformed tails and ears.
e)
Dogs with deformities.
f)
Dogs with missing teeth.
g)
Faulty jaws (under - or over shot mouths).
h)
Oversize/undersize by more than 1 cm from the set
standard.
i)
Albino.
j)
If the color of the hair is white (regardless if
nose/eyes are dark).
k)
Long coated dogs (where the hair is soft, long, not
tight - especially noticeably long inside and on the
outside of the ears, long hair behind the front and rear
legs, long hair hanging from the tail.
l)
Longhair with absolutely no undercoat, where the hair
from the back is parted in the middle and hangs down the
side of the dog.
GSD Anatomy
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