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THE AUSTRALIAN BREED DESCRIPTION FOR
THE GERMAN
SHEPHERD DOG
A SHORT
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
According to the official
records of the Breed Club of the German Shepherd Dog (Verein fur
Deutache Schaeferhund Inc. Augsberg) – (SV), in the Association for
German Dog Matters (VDH). The SV, as the founding association of the
breed, is responsible for the Standard of the German Shepherd Dog,
which was drawn up at the first meeting of members in Frankfurt am
Maine on 20th September 1899, on the proposals of A.
Meyer and Von Stephanitz. There were supplementary clauses added at
the 6th meeting of members on 28th July 1901,
the 23rd meeting in cologne in September 1909, the
Executive an advisory commission Wieabaden on 5th
September 1930 and the Breed Commission and Executive meeting on 25th
March 1961, within the framework of the World Union of G.S.D Clubs
(WUSV). It was revised and confirmed at the WUSV conference on 30th
August 1976, revised and catalogued by authorisation and resolution
of the Executive and Advisory Committee on 23rd March
1991.
The GSD, whose planned
breeding commenced in the year 1899, after the founding of the GSD
Verein, was bred from the central German and South German strains of
the existing herding dogs of those times, with the final goal of
creating a working dog, predisposition to high working aptitude in
order to reach this goal, the Breed Standard was laid down, which
relates to the physical attributes, as well as to those of
temperament and character
Aust Obedience and Aust. Champion *Astasia Carson,
‘A’Z’
GENERAL APPEARANCE
The German Shepherd Dog is
medium size, slightly elongated, powerful and well muscled, the
bones dry and the overall structure firm.
Important
Proportions:
The height at withers:
For dogs 60 –65 cm (23 ½
– 25 ½ inches) and
For bitches 55 – 60 cm (21 ½
- 23 ½ ins).
The length of the body is
greater than the height at the withers by about 10 to 17%.
CHARACTERISTICS
Usage: All round working,
herding and service dog (See also under General Appearance and
Temperament).
TEMPERAMENT
The GSD must be of
well-balanced temperament, steady of nerve, self assured, absolutely
free and easy, and (unless provoked) completely good natured, as
well as alert and tractable. He must have courage, combative
instinct and hardness, in order to be suitable as companion, watch,
protection, service and herding dog.
HEAD AND SKULL
The head is wedge shaped,
proportional in size to the body, (length of head about 40% of the
height at withers) without being coarse or over long in overall
appearance dry, and moderately broad between the ears. The forehand
is only slightly domed viewed from the front and from the side, and
without any, or only slightly indicated, central furrow. The ratio
of skull, viewed from above, tapers evenly from the ears to the nose
with a sloping, not sharply defined stop, into the wedge-shaped
foreface (muzzle).
Upper and lower jaws are
strongly developed. The bridge of the nose is straight, a dish faced
or convex curve is not desired. The lips are tight, well fitting and
of a dark colour.
The nose: Must be black.
EYES
Are medium sized, almond
shaped, slightly oblique and not protruding. The colour of the eyes
should be as dark as possible. Light, piercing eyes are not
desirable as they detract from the expression of the dog.
EARS
The GSD has erect ears of
medium size, that are carried upright and almost parallel (not
pulled inwards). They run to a point and are set with the orifice to
the front. Tipped ears and drop ears are faulty. Ears carried laid
back during gaiting or when at rest is not faulty.
NECK
The neck should be strong,
well muscled and free from throatiness (dewlap). The angle to the
body (horizontal) is about 45 degrees (during stance).
FOREQUARTERS
The forelegs are straight
viewed from all sides, absolutely parallel viewed from the front.
Shoulder blade and upper arm are of equal length and firmly attached
to the body with strong musculation. The angulation of shoulder
blade and upper arm is, in the ideal case, 90 degrees but as a rule
110 degrees. The elbows should be neither turned out nor pinched in,
either in stance or during movement.
Their forearm should be
straight viewed from all sides, and stand absolutely parallel, dry
and firmly muscled. The pastern is approximately 1/3 of the length
of the forearm, and has an angle of approximately 20 to 22 degrees
to the forearm. Too sloping pasterns (more than 22 degrees) and too
steep pasterns (less than 20 degrees) diminish the dog’s working
ability and especially its endurance.
BODY
The topline flow from the set
on of neck over the well-defined withers and over the back, sloping
very slightly from the horizontal to the slightly sloping croup,
without noticeable break. The back is firm, strong and well muscled.
The loin is broad, strong developed and well muscled. The croup
should be long and gently sloping (approx. 23 degrees to the
horizontal) into the set on of tail, without disrupting the topline.
THE
CHEST Should be moderately broad, the under chest as long as
possible and well developed. The depth of chest should be about 45%
to 48% of the height at the withers.
THE
RIBS Should be moderately sprung. Barrel chested is as faulty
as is slab sided.
HINDQUARTERS
The position of the hind legs
is slightly set back, whereby the hind limbs, viewed from the back,
stand parallel to each other. Upper and lower thighs are of an
almost equal length and form an angle of about 120 degrees: the
thighs are strong and well muscled. The hocks are well developed and
firm: the rear pasterns stand perpendicular under the hock.
FEET
The front feet are rounded,
well closed and arched. The hind feet are closed and slightly
arched. The pads are hard but not rough, and of dark colour. The
nails are strong, arched and of dark colour.
TAIL
Reaches at least to the hock,
however, not below, the middle of the rear pastern. It is slightly
longer haired on the unde4rside and is carried curving down gently,
higher in excitement and during movement, but not about the
horizontal. CORRECTIVE OPERATIONS ARE
FORBIDDEN
MOUTH
The dentition must be
strong, healthy and complete (42 teeth, in accordance with the
dentition formula). The GSD has a scissor bite, that is, the
incisors must connect like scissors, so that the incisors of the
upper jaw cut scissor-like over those of the lower jaw. Level,
over-or undershot bites are faulty, as well as large gaps between
the teeth. It is also a fault when the incisors are placed in a
straight line in the gums. The jawbones must be strongly developed,
so that the teeth are embedded deeply in the gum line.
GAIT AND MOVEMENT
The GSD is a trotter. The
limbs must be of such length and angulation that the hindquarters
maybe thrust well forward under the body, and the forequarter reach
equally far forward, without noticeable change in the topline. Any
tendency towards over angulation of the hindquarters lessens their
firmness and endurance and thus the dog’s utmost working ability.
With correct structural proportions and angulations. With the head
pushed forward and a slightly raised tail, an even and calm trot
results in a softly curving and unbroken topline, running from tips
of the ears, over the neck and back to the tip of the tail.
COAT
The skin fits loosely, but
without forming folds. The correct coat of the GSD is a
double coat (Stockhair) with undercoat. The topcoat should be as
dense as possible, straight, harsh and close lying. It should be
short on the head, including inside the ears, the front of the legs
and on the feet and toes: it is a little longer and heavier coated
on the neck. The hair lengthens on the back of the legs to the
pastern or hock; on the back of the thighs it forms moderate
breeching.
COLOUR
Black with reddish tan, gold
to light grey markings. Al black and all grey, in greys with dark
shadings, black saddle and mask. Unobtrusive, small, white markings
on chest, very light colour on insides of legs permissible but not
desirable. The nose must be black in all colour types. Lacking mask,
light to piercing eyes, as well as whitish markings on chest and
inner sides of legs, light and red tip tail, are to be rated as
lacking in pigment. The undercoat is of a light grey toning, except
in solid black where it can be brownish.
All white, livers and blues
are disqualifications.
SIZE
DOGS:
Height at withers 60 –65
cm
Weight
30 –40 kgs (66 – 88lbs)
BITCHES:
Height at withers 55 – 60
cm
Weight
22 –32 kgs (48 – 71 lbs)
One centimetre below or above
these measurements, dog is eligible for Breed Survey class 2 only.
NOTE:
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles, fully
descended into the scrotum.
Extension to the breed
standard (from GSDCQLD website)
General Appearance
The immediate
impression of the appearance of the German Shepherd Dog is of a dog
slightly long in comparison to height, with a powerful and
well-muscled body. The relation between height and length and
position and symmetry of the limbs (angulation) is so inter-related
as to enable a far reaching and enduring gait. The coat should be
weatherproof. A beautiful appearance is desirable but this is
secondary to his usefulness as a working dog. Sexual characteristics
must be well defined i.e. masculinity of the males and the
femininity of the female must be unmistakable.
A true to type
German Shepherd Dog gives the impression of innate strength,
intelligence and suppleness, with harmonious proportions and nothing
either over-done or lacking. His whole manner should make it
perfectly clear that he is sound in mind and body and has the
physical and mental attributes to make him always ready for tireless
action as a working dog.
With an abundance
of vitality he must be tractable enough to adapt himself to each
situation and to carry out his work willingly and with enthusiasm.
He must posses the courage and determination to defend himself, his
master or his masters possessions, should the need arise. He must be
observant, obedient and a pleasant member of the household, quiet in
his own environment, especially with children and other animals, and
at ease with adults. Overall he should present a harmonious picture
of innate nobility, alertness and self-confidence.
Comment:
The standard gives a far clearer mind's eye picture of the German
Shephed Dog, and it is summarised very well in the last sentence
he should
present an harmonious picture of innate nobility, alertness and
self-confidence".
Characteristics
The main characteristics of the German Shepherd Dog are: steadiness
of nerves, attentiveness, loyalty, calm self-assurance, alertness
and tractability, as well as courage with physical resilience and
scenting ability. These characteristics are necessary for a
versatile working dog. Nervousness, over-aggressiveness and shyness
are very serious faults.
Head
The head should be
proportionate in size to the body without being coarse, too fine or
overlong. The over all appearance should be clean cut and fairly
broad between the ears.
Forehead - should
be only very slightly domed with very little or no trace of central
furrow.
Cheeks - should
form a very softly rounded curve and should not protrude.
Skull - the skull
extends from the ears to the bridge of the nose, tapering gradually
and evenly, and blending without a too pronounced "stop" into a
wedge shaped, powerful muzzle. (The skull is approximately 50% of
the whole length of the head). Both top and bottom jaws should be
strong and well developed. The width of the skull should correspond
approximately to the length (of the skull). In the males the width
could be slightly greater, and in females slightly less than length.
Muzzle - should be
strong and the lips firm, clean and closing tightly, without flews.
The top of the muzzle is straight, almost parallel to the forehead.
A muzzle, which is too short, blunt, weak, pointed, overlong or
lacking in strength is undesirable.
Eyes - The
eyes are medium sized, almond shaped and not protruding. Dark brown
eyes are preferred, but eyes of a lighter shade are acceptable
provided that the expression is good and the general harmony of the
head is not destroyed. The expression should be lively, intelligent
and self-assured.
Ears - Of medium
size, firm texture, broad at base, set high, they are carried erect
(almost parallel and not pulled inwards), they taper to a point and
open towards the front. Tipped ears are faulty. Hanging ears are a
serious fault. During movement the ears may be folded back.
Comment:
During movement, if the ears are held upright, they should remain
fairly firm. Ears that cannot remain firm are weak in cartilage and
are often penalised.
Mouth
- The jaws must be strongly developed and the teeth healthy, strong
and complete. There should be 42 teeth; 22 in the upper jaw, 6
incisors, 2 canines, 8 premolars, 4 molars; 22 in the lower jaw, 6
incisors, 2 canines, 8 premolars and 6 molars.
Neck
The neck should be
fairly long, strong with well-developed muscles, free from
throatiness (excessive folds at skin at the throat) and carried at
an angle of 45' to the horizontal; it is raised when excited and
lowered at a fast trot.
Forequarters
The shoulder blade
should be long, set obliquely (45') and laid flat to the body. Upper
arm should be strong, well muscled and joined to the shoulder blade
at a near right angle. The forelegs from the pasterns to the elbows
should be straight viewed from any angle, and the bones should be
oval rather than round. The pasterns should be firm and supple and
angulated at approximately 20 to 25' degrees. Elbows neither tucked
in nor turned out. Length of forelegs should exceed the depth of
chest at a ratio of approximately 55% to 45%.
Comment:
Of particular note the height at wither consists of 45% depth of
chest to 55% length of foreleg (i.e. the depth of chest should be
just under half the total height). In an older dog this depth of
chest may reach 48% of overall height at wither, but should never
exceed 50%. Too deep a chest restricts forequarter reach and
movement and the dog will tire quickly. A correctly laid shoulder
blade will have the prosternum visible just in front of the point of
the shoulder.
The pasterns are
worth a note - these should be flexible, giving the springy gait. If
the pasterns are too short and steep, the movement is stiff and
stilted; if the pasterns are too long and loose in ligaments, then
considerable forward momentum is lost (i.e. paddling).
Body
The length of the
body should exceed the height at the wither, the correct proportions
being as 10 to 9 or 8.5. The length is measured from the points of
the breastbone to the rear edge of the pelvis.
Over or under
sized dogs, stunted growth, high legged dogs and overloaded fronts,
too short overall appearance, too light or too heavy in build, steep
set limbs or any other feature which detracts from the reach or
endurance of gait are faulty.
Chest
- Should be deep (45-48% of the height at shoulder) but not too
broad. The brisket is long and well developed.
Ribs - Should be
well formed and long, neither barrel shaped nor too flat; a correct
rib cage allows free movement of the elbows when the dog is
trotting. A too rounded rib cage will interfere and cause the elbows
to be turned out. A too flat rib cage will lead to the drawing in of
the elbows. The desired long ribbing gives a proportionately
(relatively) short loin. Belly is firm and only slightly drawn up.
Back
The back is the
area between the withers and the croup and should be straight,
strongly developed and not too long. The overall length is not
derived from a long back, but is achieved by the correct angle of a
well-laid shoulder, correct length of croup and hindquarters. The
withers must be long, of good height and well defined. They should
join the back in a smooth line without disrupting the flowing top
line, which should be slightly sloping from the front to the back.
Weak, soft and roached backs are undesirable.
Comment:
Height
to length - a German Shepherd D is approximately 10-15% longer than
it is high. A German Shepherd Dog should not be square as it is
unable to extend its limbs properly to produce the desired
far-reaching movement. A German Shepherd Dog should not be too long,
particularly in the coupling, as again during movement, much of the
forward drive is lost.
Topline - should be a smooth flowing line from
the wither to the tail, gently sloping from front to rear. A slight
rise is preferable to a soft or dippy back. Many young dogs may
display a rise over the back that can level out with age.
Hindquarters
The thighs should
be broad and well muscled. The upper thighbone viewed from the side,
should slope to the slightly longer lower thighbone. The angulations
should correspond approximately with the front angulation without
being over angulated. The hock bone is strong and together with the
stifle bone should form a firm hock joint. The hindquarters overall
must be strong and well muscled to enable the effortless forward
propulsion of the whole body. Any tendency towards over angulation
reduces firmness and endurance.
Comment:
When the lower thigh is a considerably longer than the upper thigh,
the hindquarters are over-angulated, bringing with it the problem of
loose hocks. The important point is the balance of angulations of
both fore and hindquarter.
Feet -
Should be rounded, toes well closed and arched, pads should be well
cushioned and durable. Nails short, strong and dark in colour.
Tail - Bushy
haired, should reach to at least the hock joint, the ideal length
being to the middle of the hock bones. The end is sometimes turned
sideways with a slight hook; this is allowed but not desired. When
at rest the tail should hang in a slight curve, like a sabre. When
moving, it may be raised and the curve increased, but ideally it
should not be carried higher than the level of the back. A
tail that is too short, rolled or curled, or generally carried badly
or which is stumpy at birth, is faulty.
Gait/Movement
The German
Shepherd Dog is a trotting dog. His sequence of steps therefore
follows a diagonal pattern in that he always moves the foreleg and
the opposite hind leg forward at the same time. To achieve this, his
limbs must be in such balance to one another that he can thrust the
hind foot well forward to the mid point of the body without
noticeable change in the back line.
The correct
proportion of height to length and corresponding length of limbs
will produce a ground-covering stride that travels flat over the
ground, giving the impression of effortless movement. With his head
thrust forward and a slightly raised tail, a balanced and even
trotter displays a flowing line running from the tips of his ears
over the neck and back down to the tip of his tail. The gait should
be supple, smooth and long reaching carrying the body with the
minimum of up and down movement, entirely free from stiltedness.
Comment:
The gait should be far-reaching, smooth and effortless, covering the
maximum amount of ground with the minimum amount of steps. In order
to achieve this there should be balanced fore and hindquarter
angulation, well developed muscles and firm ligamentation.
Coat
(a) The normal
coated German Shepherd Dog should carry a thick undercoat and the
outer coat should be as dense as possible, made up of straight hard
close lying hairs. The hair on the head and ears, front of
legs, paws and toes is short. On the neck it is longer and
thicker, on some males forming a slight ruff. The hair grows
longer on the backs of the legs as far down as the pasterns and the
stifle, and forms fairly thick trousers on the hindquarters.
There is no hard and fast rule for the length of hair but short mole
type coats are faulty.
(b) In the
longhaired German Shepherd Dog the hairs are longer, not always
straight, definitely not lying close and flat to the body.
They are distinctly longer inside and behind the ears, and on the
back of the legs. The trousers are long and thick. The
tail is bushy with tight feathering underneath. As this type
of coat is not as weatherproof as the normal coat, it is
undesirable.
(c) In the long
open-coated GSD, the hair is appreciably longer than in the case of
type (b), and tends to form a parting along the back, the texture
being somewhat silky. If present at all, undercoat is found only at
the loins. Dogs with this type of coat are usually narrow
chested, with narrow overlong muzzles. As the weather
protection of the dog and his working ability are seriously
diminished with this type of coat, it is undesirable.
Comment:
Obviously only type (a) is correct. In the 'General
Appearance' a weatherproof coat is called for. 'The hair on the head
and ears, front of legs, paws and toes is short' - this sorts the
long coat from the normal coat (apart from the very short mole
coats).
Colour
Black or black
saddle with tan or gold to light grey markings. All black, all
grey with lighter brown markings (these are referred to as sables).
Blues, livers, albinos, whites (i.e. almost pure white dogs with
black noses and near white noses) are to be rejected. The
undercoat is, except in all black dogs, usually grey or fawn in
colour. (see
here for colours of the German Shepherd Dog)
Colour in itself
is of secondary importance having no effect on character or fitness
for work. Final colour of a young dog can only be ascertained
when the outer coat has developed.
Comments On Colour in the German
Shepherd Dog:
A
well-pigmented German Shepherd Dog has a good "mask", or black
around the muzzle. Lack of mask detracts from the
characteristic expression of the German Shepherd Dog.
Black dogs have
some tan hairs between the toes. Optically they look smaller
and finer and it is uncommon to see one in the ring at this time.
Undercoat black to dark grey through to lighter grey in the
trousers.
Bi-Colour dogs are
very dark dogs, having black running down the legs. This is
permissible and is a sign of very good (if a somewhat heavy dose) of
pigment. Undercoat dark to light grey in black areas.
Black Saddle and
Tan (black and gold, black and tan) by far the most common colour
seen. The black can be very dark through to "washed out".
Those that are
washed out have a very small area of "saddle" and invariably very
little mask and whitish nails - this is referred to as lacking
pigmentation and would, in a class, be penalised according to the
degree of paling.
Black and gold
(saddle) dogs can have a "salt and pepper" effect down the back,
which is quite permissible. Undercoat on the saddle (black)
areas is grey, lighter colours (in the saddle area) often accompany
paler pigment.
Sable dogs come in
a variety of shades from gun-metal (very dark grey, this can
sometimes extend nearly all over the dog), red sable (where the gold
is very red) through to a pale sable (where pigment may be lacking
in the mask and nails). The undercoat on sables is varying
shades of fawn to light gold, most readily seen where the hair parts
over the ribs. Sable puppies' final coat colour and pigment
can be difficult to estimate, and less than 6 months can look a
little moth-eaten while changing coat.
Pigment generally
refers to the degree of black on a dog, the mask and the colour of
the nails.
Colour generally
refers to the tan or gold of the German Shepherd Dog and can range
from a darkish tan (brown) through a rich red to gold, then the
paler shades of gold - all are acceptable. However whitish to
silver shades of the gold areas are undesirable.
Height
The ideal height
(measured to the highest point of the withers) is 57.5cm for
females, and 62.5cm for males. 2.5 cm either above or below
the norm is allowed. Any increase in this deviation detracts
from the workability and breeding value of the animal. FCI
Standard - greater than 1cm above or below the range allowed in the
standard is a disqualifying fault.
Comment: The
terms generally used to describe the height of the German Shepherd
Dog are (from minimum to maximum height): - small, under medium
size, ideal medium size, above medium size, large. All are
acceptable. Few German Shepherd Dogs fail to make height -
problem dogs are usually oversize.
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. Note: Male animals must have two
apparently normal testicles, fully descended into the scrotum.
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