Group
1: Sheep Herding - Sheep Guardian
Section 1:
Sheep Herding-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 - Illustration
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 - Illustration
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
- Illustration
The
German Shepherd dogs 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
German
Shepherd Male:
Wither height
60 cm to 65 cm.
Weight 30
Kg to 40 Kg.
German
Shepherd 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) Albinos.
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.
