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Von
Schaub's German Shepherds
BREED STANDARD
General Appearance
The first impression of a good German Shepherd Dog is that of a
strong, agile, well muscled animal, alert and full of life. It
is well balanced, with harmonious development of the forequarter
and hindquarter. The dog is longer than tall, deep-bodied, and
presents an outline of smooth curves rather than angles. It
looks substantial and not spindly, giving the impression, both
at rest and in motion, of muscular fitness and nimbleness
without any look of clumsiness or soft living. The ideal dog is
stamped with a look of quality and nobility--difficult to
define, but unmistakable when present. Secondary sex
characteristics are strongly marked, and every animal gives a
definite impression of masculinity or femininity, according to
its sex.
Temperament
The breed has a distinct personality marked by direct and
fearless, but not hostile, expression, self-confidence and a
certain aloofness that does not lend itself to immediate and
indiscriminate friendships. The dog must be approachable,
quietly standing its ground and showing confidence and
willingness to meet overtures without itself making them. It is
poised, but when the occasion demands, eager and alert; both fit
and willing to serve in its capacity as companion, watchdog,
blind leader, herding dog, or guardian, whichever the
circumstances may demand. The dog must not be timid, shrinking
behind its master or handler; it should not be nervous, looking
about or upward with anxious expression or showing nervous
reactions, such as tucking of tail, to strange sounds or sights.
Lack of confidence under any surroundings is not typical of good
character. Any of the above deficiencies in character which
indicate shyness must be penalized as very serious faults
and any dog exhibiting pronounced indications of these must be
excused from the ring. It must be possible for the judge to
observe the teeth and to determine that both testicles are
descended. Any dog that attempts to bite the judge must be disqualified.
The ideal dog is a working animal with an incorruptible
character combined with body and gait suitable for the arduous
work that constitutes its primary purpose.
Size, Proportion, Substance
The desired height for males at the top of the highest
point of the shoulder blade is 24 to 26 inches; and for bitches,
22 to 24 inches.
The German Shepherd Dog is longer than tall, with the most
desirable proportion as 10 to 8½. The length is measured
from the point of the prosternum or breastbone to the rear edge
of the pelvis, the ischial tuberosity. The desirable long
proportion is not derived from a long back, but from overall
length with relation to height, which is achieved by length of
forequarter and length of withers and hindquarter, viewed from
the side.
Head
The head is noble, cleanly chiseled, strong without
coarseness, but above all not fine, and in proportion to the
body. The head of the male is distinctly masculine, and that of
the bitch distinctly feminine.
The expression keen, intelligent and composed. Eyes
of medium size, almond shaped, set a little obliquely and not
protruding. The color is as dark as possible. Ears are
moderately pointed, in proportion to the skull, open toward the
front, and carried erect when at attention, the ideal carriage
being one in which the center lines of the ears, viewed from the
front, are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the
ground. A dog with cropped or hanging ears must be disqualified.
Seen from the front the forehead is only moderately arched, and
the skull slopes into the long, wedge-shaped muzzle without
abrupt stop. The muzzle is long and strong, and its
topline is parallel to the topline of the skull. Nose
black. A dog with a nose that is not predominantly black must be
disqualified. The lips are firmly fitted. Jaws
are strongly developed. Teeth --42 in number--20 upper
and 22 lower--are strongly developed and meet in a scissors bite
in which part of the inner surface of the upper incisors meet
and engage part of the outer surface of the lower incisors. An
overshot jaw or a level bite is undesirable. An undershot jaw is
a disqualifying fault. Complete dentition is to be
preferred. Any missing teeth other than first premolars is a serious
fault.
Neck, Topline, Body
The neck is strong and muscular, clean-cut and relatively
long, proportionate in size to the head and without loose folds
of skin. When the dog is at attention or excited, the head is
raised and the neck carried high; otherwise typical carriage of
the head is forward rather than up and but little higher than
the top of the shoulders, particularly in motion.
Topline-- The withers are higher than and sloping
into the level back. The back is straight, very strongly
developed without sag or roach, and relatively short.
The whole structure of the body gives an impression of
depth and solidity without bulkiness.
Chest--Commencing at the prosternum, it is well filled
and carried well down between the legs. It is deep and
capacious, never shallow, with ample room for lungs and heart,
carried well forward, with the prosternum showing ahead of the
shoulder in profile. Ribs well sprung and long, neither
barrel-shaped nor too flat, and carried down to a sternum which
reaches to the elbows. Correct ribbing allows the elbows to move
back freely when the dog is at a trot. Too round causes
interference and throws the elbows out; too flat or short causes
pinched elbows. Ribbing is carried well back so that the loin is
relatively short. Abdomen firmly held and not paunchy.
The bottom line is only moderately tucked up in the loin.
Loin Viewed from the top, broad and strong. Undue length
between the last rib and the thigh, when viewed from the side,
is undesirable. Croup long and gradually sloping.
Tail bushy, with the last vertebra extended at least to
the hock joint. It is set smoothly into the croup and low rather
than high. At rest, the tail hangs in a slight curve like a
saber. A slight hook- sometimes carried to one side-is faulty
only to the extent that it mars general appearance. When the dog
is excited or in motion, the curve is accentuated and the tail
raised, but it should never be curled forward beyond a vertical
line. Tails too short, or with clumpy ends due to ankylosis, are
serious faults. A dog with a docked tail must be disqualified.
Forequarters
The shoulder blades are long and obliquely angled, laid on flat
and not placed forward. The upper arm joins the shoulder blade
at about a right angle. Both the upper arm and the shoulder
blade are well muscled. The forelegs, viewed from all sides, are
straight and the bone oval rather than round. The pasterns are
strong and springy and angulated at approximately a 25-degree
angle from the vertical. Dewclaws on the forelegs may be
removed, but are normally left on.
The feet are short, compact with toes well arched, pads
thick and firm, nails short and dark.
Hindquarters
The whole assembly of the thigh, viewed from the side, is
broad, with both upper and lower thigh well muscled, forming as
nearly as possible a right angle. The upper thigh bone parallels
the shoulder blade while the lower thigh bone parallels the
upper arm. The metatarsus (the unit between the hock joint and
the foot) is short, strong and tightly articulated. The
dewclaws, if any, should be removed from the hind legs. Feet as
in front.
Coat
The ideal dog has a double coat of medium length. The outer coat
should be as dense as possible, hair straight, harsh and lying
close to the body. A slightly wavy outer coat, often of wiry
texture, is permissible. The head, including the inner ear and
foreface, and the legs and paws are covered with short hair, and
the neck with longer and thicker hair. The rear of the forelegs
and hind legs has somewhat longer hair extending to the pastern
and hock, respectively. Faults in coat include soft,
silky, too long outer coat, woolly, curly, and open coat.
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.
Gait
A German Shepherd Dog is a trotting dog, and its structure has
been developed to meet the requirements of its work. General
Impression-- The gait is outreaching, elastic, seemingly
without effort, smooth and rhythmic, covering the maximum amount
of ground with the minimum number 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, and moves powerfully but easily, with
coordination and balance so that the gait appears to be the
steady motion of a well-lubricated machine. The feet travel
close to the ground on both forward reach and backward push. In
order to achieve ideal movement of this kind, there must be good
muscular development and ligamentation. The hindquarters
deliver, through the back, a powerful forward thrust which
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 overreach of the hindquarter usually
necessitates one hind foot passing outside and the other hind
foot passing inside the track of the forefeet, and such action
is not faulty unless the locomotion is crabwise with the dog's
body sideways out of the normal straight line.
Transmission 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. Unlevel
topline with withers lower than the hip is a fault. To
compensate for the forward motion imparted by the hindquarters,
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. The dog does not track on widely
separated parallel lines, but brings the feet inward toward the
middle line of the body when trotting, in order to maintain
balance. The feet track closely but do not strike or cross over.
Viewed from the front, the front legs function from the shoulder
joint to the pad in a straight line. Viewed from the rear, the
hind legs function from the hip joint to the pad in a straight
line. Faults of gait, whether from front, rear or side, are to
be considered very serious faults.
Disqualifications
Cropped or hanging ears.
Dogs with noses not predominantly black.
Undershot jaw.
Docked tail.
White dogs.
Any dog that attempts to bite the judge.
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