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breed type

Photo: "Mack"

Excerpts from the book  "The Pet Owner’s Guide to the German Shepherd Dog" written by Dr Malcom Willis - World renowned Geneticist

introduction
All pure Bred Dog breeds have been selected over the years to represent a specific ideal. The ideal is epitomised in what is called the Breed Standard which is a description, in words, of what the breed is supposed to look like.

Breed Standards were usually drawn up by early enthusiasts of the breed, working as a group, and their descriptions have formed the basis of what the breed has been selected to resemble. Some Standards have been well written and intelligently drawn up while others have been drawn up in a way that leaves many inaccuracies and deficiencies. The Standard of the GSD was first drawn up by the SV in 1899 under a group led by von Stephanitz. The original version has been revised many times (1901, 1909, 1930, 1961, & 1976), each country has tended to use a version of the SV Standard translated into the appropriate language.

A Standard is a kind of prototype of what the dog should look like, and it is up to breeders & judges to interpret the Standard. However, not everyone interprets words in the same way, and so differences of opinion can occur, leading to faulty judging and breeding. I will list each heading of the Standard in turn, and comment accordingly.

characteristics
The main characteristics of the GSD are steadiness of nerves, attentiveness, loyalty, calm self assurance, alertness and tractability. These characteristics are necessary for a versatile working dog.
Good temperament is essential, & shy& vicious dogs should be severely penalised in the ring and rejected from breeding programmes. Judges ignoring such features are doing the breed a disservice, and their competence is in question.

general appearance
The immediate appearance of a GSD is of a dog slightly long in comparison to its height, with a powerful and well muscled body. The relation between height and length is so interrelated as to enable a far reaching gait. The coat should be weatherproof.

A true to type GSD gives an impression of innate strength, intelligence & suppleness with the mental attributes to make him always ready for tireless action as a working dog. Overall he should present an harmonious picture of innate nobility, alertness and self confidence.
Without training, it is difficult to imagine most dogs fitting this picture, but the Standard emphasises that the ideal GSD is a calm dog, of excellent, trustworthy character. It suggests a dog that is readily handled, but not one which is leaping over everyone and making friends with every stranger it meets. It also suggests a dog that is a ‘defence’ dog not an attack dog.

The proportions of length (front of the chest to the rear of the pelvis) to height (to the wither) are such that the dog is longer than it is tall. Ideally, the proportions ought to be 10 long to 9 high, although the British Standard does allow a range from 10.9 through to the longer 10.85. However excessive body length is not desirable.

head
The GSD is not a ‘head’ breed in the sense that excessive emphasis is often placed upon the head, almost as if it were the most important feature.. Nevertheless a correct head is of importance.
The GSD Standard simply calls for a head that fits the body, Thus, a very strong and large head would not be suitable in a small male, and a small head would be unacceptable in a big dog. Secondary sexual characteristics must be obvious so that the sex of the animal is identifiable from the head.

The fact that the scull is defined as half the whole head-length suggests that long muzzled animals are not desired. Similarly lippiness is not desired: tight-fitting ‘clean’ lips are needed, free from looseness.

The underjaw should be visible when the mouth is closed, and some evidence of a stop should exist, but it must not be excessive. Long heads are often linked to faulty bites and missing teeth.

eyes
The Standard is explicit in calling for a medium-sized and almond-shaped eye, so both a round eye or a large protruding one are undesirable. A dark rather than a light coloured eye is preferable,, but care must be taken to relate eye colour to coat colour. An eye that will look acceptable in a brown face might look lighter in a black face, and so colour should not be penalised to excess. In reality, eye colour is of aesthetic rather than biological importance.

Claims that light eyes see better are without proof, and suggestions that light eyes are associated with greater intelligence are tenuous.

ears
Ear-size is relative to head size, but they should be medium rather than large or small. Tipped ears as seen in Collies, and hanging (soft) ears are quite unacceptable as they destroy the whole appearance of the dog. In recent years, some dogs have ears, which, while erect, are rather weak in muscle, and this is often obvious in movement. Although many judges like a dog to run with ears erect, it is not a requirement as long as the ears are firm, and can be erected as the dog requires. It is important to realise that all GSDs are born with hanging ears, and these erect during early puppyhood. Ear carriage can be erratic during the teething period when a puppy is getting its adult teeth.

mouth
The jaws must be strongly developed and the teeth should be healthy, strong and complete in number. There should be forty-two teeth, twenty on the upper jaw and twenty-two on the lower jaw. The GSD has a scissor bite – i.e. the incisors in the lower jaw are set behind the incisors in the upper jaw, and thus meet in a scissor grip in which part of the surface of the upper teeth meet and engage part of the surface of the lower teeth.

Although the odd missing tooth would have minimal effect on a pet dog, specialist judges tend to take a hard line on missing teeth, and dogs with missing teeth are penalized. In most Breed Surveys a missing tooth prevents a dog being given a Class 1 grading. As a result, unlike many other breeds, faulty dentition is relatively uncommon.

neck
The neck is relatively long, but not excessively so, and is carried forward rather than upwards. Long ‘swan’ necks are undesirable, and dogs should not move with the head held erect, because this will reduce their forward reach. Some dogs that have erect heads have forward placed shoulders, which is clearly faulty construction.

forequarters
Shoulder blades should be long, set obliquely (45 degrees) and laid flat to the body. The ideal shoulder angulation between the shoulder blade (scapula) and upper arm (humerus) is said to be 90 degrees but, in reality, a slightly larger angle might be more ideal. A very step front assembly, or a forward placed scapula will restrict movement, but the most crucial feature is bone length.

As a trotting dog, the GSD needs a long scapula and a long humerus. A short upper arm will lead to the dog dropping on the forehand in motion, unless ‘lifted up’ by the handler pulling on the lead. A correctly placed shoulder should allow a plumbline dropped from mid wither to lie just behind the back of the foreleg.

A well-developed chest should not be mistaken for a good front assembly; often forward-placed shoulders are seen with well-developed forechests. Similarly, a steep, forward-placed front assembly may give the desired high wither, but this is not the correct way to achieve a high wither.

Legs should be straight, with the feet not turned out in an east-west pattern. The GSD should have an angled pastern – not a straight one as seen in most breeds. An excessive angle is a weakness. The GSD is not required to have a very deep chest, but it does need long forelegs. Short forelegs are not associated with good movement.

body
The length of the body should exceed the height at the wither; the correct proportions being as 10 to 9 or 8.5. Although 10.9 through to 10.85 is given as the proportion (length to height) range, the ideal should be as close to 10.9 as possible. In modern times, some dogs are too short in body and that is not desired.

The chest is only 45-48 % of the height and must not come below the elbow. Ribs should be oval not barreled, or flat, and should be long from front to back so that the loin is relatively short. A long loin is a sign of weakness in movement. Some tuck up at the loin is needed, but not excessively so like a sight hound (e.g. Greyhound). The belly should be firm not flabby. This latter aspect requires the dog to be in fit condition, but some lines do produce ‘flabby’ bellies.

The back should be relatively short, with length coming from the front & rear assemblies as well as the middle-piece. Long backs are associated with weakness, and will dip in movement more often than not. However an arch (roach) in the centre of the back is not wanted, nor should the croup start from the centre of the back. The croup is over the pelvis, and should be long and gently curved. Short, flat croups will detract from movement. Croups are best assessed when the dog is moving.

hindquarters
The dog should have a broad thigh, with good length of leg bones to the hock. Angulations at the rear should match those at the front if the dog is to have a balanced gait. Any imbalance between front and rear angulations will lead to crabbing (running at an angle, rather than straight) or to excessive pick-up of the forefeet or high backlift of the rear pastern.

feet
Feet should be rounded, with well arched toes. Pads should be well-cushioned and durable, and nails should be short, strong and dark in colour. Most GSDs are born without hind dewclaws, as this is a recessive trait and most GSD carry the gene in duplicate. If present, hind dewclaws must be removed, but front dewclaws are left alone. Feet are not always good in the breed, tending to be longish and hare-like, rather than round and compact. However, splayed feet are rare, although most dogs will splay their feet on soft ground.

movement
GSD movement, at its best, is a joy to behold. The flow of the legs, the firmness of the back, and the effortless way that a good GSD trots, is a unique feature of the breed, which no other breed comes anywhere near.

Good movement is not , however, assessed in terms of speed but in terms of groundcover. The dog covering the most ground with the least effort is the most desirable in movement terms. In part, movement depends upon construction. Body length, back length, front assembly & rear assembly all have a part to play, and the co-ordinated gait will depend the matching of angulations.

However, movement is also a mental thing. Some GSDs just love to gait while others, no less well constructed, are bored by the show ring and move without enthusiasm; yet in the freedom of a field, this dog might move just as well as the outstanding show gaiter. Getting a dog enthusiastic about gaiting is thus important to its show career. Side gait should be far reaching with good hind thrust, the power coming up through the back towards the wither, which will lower only slightly as the head is thrust forward rather than upwards. The back will be firm with minimal up-and-down motion.

Dogs which paddle are usually not balanced in front/rear angulation, and the dog holds its front leg in the air that fraction longer to maintain the sequence of steps. From the front and rear, the dog will be sound.

Thus, the front feet will be moving in towards the centre, but with leg straight relative to the foot. The faster the movement, the more the feet will be placed centrally. The rear pasterns will be straight, and more or less parallel, driving but not lifting too high when extended backwards. Rear pasterns should be relatively short, not long.

The GSD gait is epitomized by the two ‘Es’ of ENDURANCE & ECONOMY. A good GSD should move without effort and be capable of moving for a long time. To do this, it must be a physically fit dog, and thus, gaiting is not only about construction and mental willingness, but it also requires a dog that is trained, and in athletic, fit condition.

tail
The tail should be bushy-haired, and at rest, it should hang in a sabre-like curve. Short tails, not reaching to the hock joint, are rare, as most reach the mid-pastern. Slight sideways bends are tolerated, but tails which lift high in movement, or which curl, are severely penalised.

coat
The GSD should have a double coat, consisting of a thick undercoat, and a hard flat outer coat, which should be as dense as possible. Long-coats are popular among pet owners, but are biologically less acceptable because the coat is less weather resistant.

A popular belief exists that long-coated dogs are better charactered and easier trained. This is unlikely to be true, but, as pets, they may be better socialised than many show dogs, and thus develop better characters and are therefore easier to train. About ten per cent of GSDs are born with long coats, and about half the normal-coated GSD carry the long coat allele recessively. A long coat can only be identified at six to eight week stage, i.e about the time it is sold.

type
It is essential to mention “type” which is a much used word in canine circles, frequently misused and more frequently misunderstood. Type is not about colour, nor is it about size. A 66cm dog and a 60cm dog could be of different colours, are clearly of different size, and yet could be identical in type.

Type is about proportions. The relationship of body length to height at wither, the length of muzzle relative to skull, chest depth to height, upper arm to scapula and many other relationships and proportions are all features of type and must be understood.

The so called British Alsation of the 1980s and 1990’s is of incorrect type because it has proportions which do not match up with those laid down in the Standard. It is thus, of a different type to the International kind of GSD seen throughout Europe, South Africa, Australasia and Britain.

A judge may prefer a 62cm high male to a 66cm male, but if they are to be 10.9 then their body lengths must be 68.9 and 73.3cm respectively. Despite their size differences they are, in this aspect of proportion, of identical type. Whether they were overall of identical type would depend on other proportions. Until you can understand proportions in the GSD, you cannot understand its type.