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 German
Shepherd Dog (Alsatian)
Breed Standard
12-May-06
This is the standard by which every
german shepherd born should be critiqued. It is a set of appearance
guidelines which are used by the Kennel club and judges at any show.
Illustrated Examples
General Appearance
Slightly long in comparison to height; of
powerful, well muscled build with weather-resistant coat. Relation between
height, length, position and structure of fore and hindquarters (angulation)
producing far-reaching, enduring gait. Clear definition of masculinity and
femininity essential, and working ability never sacrificed for mere
beauty.
Characteristics
Versatile working dog, balanced and free from
exaggeration. Attentive, alert, resilient and tireless with keen scenting
ability.
Temperament
Steady of nerve, loyal, self-assured, courageous
and tractable. Never nervous, over-aggressive or shy.
Head and Skull
Proportionate in size to body, never coarse, too
fine or long. Clean cut; fairly broad between ears. Forehead slightly
domed; little or no trace of central furrow. Cheeks forming softly rounded
curve, never protruding. Skull from ears to bridge of nose tapering
gradually and evenly, blending without too pronounced stop into
wedge-shaped powerful muzzle. Skull approximately 50 per cent of overall
length of head. Width of skull corresponding approximately to length, in
males slightly greater, in females slightly less. Muzzle strong, lips
firm, clean and closing tightly. Top of muzzle straight, almost parallel
to forehead. Short, blunt, weak, pointed, overlong muzzle undesirable.
Eyes
Medium-sized, almond-shaped, never protruding.
Dark brown preferred, lighter shade permissible, provided expression good
and general harmony of head not destroyed. Expression lively, intelligent
and self-assured.
Ears
Medium-sized, firm in texture, broad at base,
set high, carried erect, almost parallel, never pulled inwards or tipped,
tapering to a point, open at front. Never hanging. Folding back during
movement permissible.
Mouth
Jaws strongly developed. With a perfect, regular
and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower
teeth and set square to the jaws. Teeth healthy and strong. Full dentition
desirable.
Neck
Fairly long, strong, with well developed
muscles, free from throatiness. Carried at 45 degrees angle to horizontal,
raised when excited, lowered at fast trot.
Forequarters
Shoulder blades long, set obliquely (45 degrees)
laid flat to body. Upper arm strong, well muscled, joining shoulder blade
at approximately 90 degrees. Forelegs straight from pasterns to elbows
viewed from any angle, bone oval rather than round. Pasterns firm, supple
and slightly angulated. Elbows neither tucked in nor turned out. Length of
foreleg exceeding depth of chest.
Body
Length measured from point of breast bone to
rear edge of pelvis, exceeding height at withers. Correct ratio 10 to 9 or
8 and a half. Undersized dogs, stunted growth, high-legged dogs, those too
heavy or too light in build, over-loaded fronts, too short overall
appearance, any feature detracting from reach or endurance of gait,
undesirable. Chest deep (45-48 per cent) of height at shoulder, not too
broad, brisket long, well developed. Ribs well formed and long; neither
barrel-shaped nor too flat; allowing free movement of elbows when gaiting.
Relatively short loin. Belly firm, only slightly drawn up. Back between
withers and croup, straight, strongly developed, not too long. Overall
length achieved by correct angle of well laid shoulders, correct length of
croup and hindquarters. Withers long, of good height and well defined,
joining back in a smooth line without disrupting flowing topline, slightly
sloping from front to back. Weak, soft and roach backs undesirable and
should be rejected. Loin broad, strong, well muscled. Croup long, gently
curving downwards to tail without disrupting flowing topline. Short, steep
or flat croups undesirable.
Hindquarters
Overall strong, broad and well muscled, enabling
effortless forward propulsion of whole body. Upper thighbone, viewed from
side, sloping to slightly longer lower thighbone. Hind angulation
sufficient if imaginary line dropped from point of buttocks cuts through
lower thigh just in front of hock, continuing down slightly in front of
hindfeet. Angulations corresponding approximately with front angulation,
without over-angulation, hock strong. Any tendency towards over-angulation
of hindquarters reduces firmness and endurance.
Feet
Rounded toes well closed and arched. Pads well
cushioned and durable. Nails short, strong and dark in colour. Dewclaws
removed from hindlegs.
Tail
Bushy-haired, reaches at least to hock – ideal
length reaching to middle of metatarsus. At rest tail hangs in slight
sabre-like curve; when moving raised and curve increased, ideally never
above level of back. Short, rolled, curled, generally carried badly or
stumpy from birth, undesirable.
Gait/Movement
Sequence of step follows diagonal pattern,
moving foreleg and opposite hindleg forward simultaneously; hindfoot
thrust forward to midpoint of body and having equally long reach with
forefeet without any noticeable change in backline.
Coat
Outer coat consisting of straight, hard,
close-lying hair as dense as possible; thick undercoat. Hair on head,
ears, front of legs, paws and toes short; on back, longer and thicker; in
some males forming slight ruff. Hair longer on back of legs as far down as
pasterns and stifles and forming fairly thick trousers on hindquarters. No
hard and fast rule for length of hair; mole-type coats undesirable.
Colour
Black or black saddle with tan, or gold to light
grey markings. All black, all grey, with lighter or brown markings
referred to as Sables. Nose black. Light markings on chest or very pale
colour on inside of legs permissible but undesirable, as are whitish
nails, red-tipped tails or wishy-washy faded colours defined as lacking in
pigmentation. Blues, livers, albinos, whites (i.e. almost pure white dogs
with black noses) and near whites highly undesirable in the show ring.
Undercoat, except in all black dogs, usually grey or fawn. Colour in
itself is of secondary importance having no effect on character or fitness
for work. Final colour of a young dog only ascertained when outer coat has
developed.
Size
Ideal height (from withers and just touching
elbows): dogs: 63 cms (25 ins); bitches: 58 cms (23 ins). 2.5 cms (1 in)
either above or below ideal permissible.
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 and its effect upon
the health and welfare of the dog.
Note
Male animals should have two apparently normal
testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
Last Updated - September 2000
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