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The GSD Breed Standard
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Skeletal
Anatomy
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GSD Breed Standard
[From SCHUTZHUND
USA March/April 1989 "The German Shepherd Standard" by Morton Goldfarb USA/SV/AKC
Judge]
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.
Angulation and Movement
The German Shepherd Dog is a trotter. His gait exhibits diagonal movement,
i.e., the hind foot and the forefoot on opposite sides move simultaneously.
The limbs, therefore, must be so similarly proportioned to one another,
i.e. angulated, that the action of the rear as it carries through to the
middle of the body and is matched by an equally far reaching forehand causes
no essential change in the topline. Every tendency toward overangulation
of the rear quarters diminishes soundness and endurance. The correct proportions
of height to length and corresponding length of the leg bones results
in a ground eating gait that is low to the ground and imparts an impression
of effortless progression. With his head thrust forward and a slightly raised
tail, a balanced and even trotter will have a topline that falls in moderate
curves from the tip of the ears over the neck and level back through the
tip of the tail.
Temperament, Character and Abilities
Sound nerves, alertness, self-confidence, trainability, watchfulness,
loyalty and incorruptibility, as well as courage, fighting drive and hardness,
are the outstanding characteristics of a purebred German Shepherd Dog.
They make him suitable to be a superior working dog in general, and in
particular to be a guard, companion, protection and herding dog. Never
Nervous, over-aggressive or shy.
His ample scenting abilities, added to his conformation as a trotter,
make it possible for him to quietly and surely work out a track without
bodily strain and with his nose close to the ground. This makes him highly
useful as a multipurpose track and search dog.
Head
The head should be in proportion to the body size (in length approximately
40% of the height at the withers) and not coarse, over refined or
over stretched (snipey). In general appearance, it should be dry with moderate
breadth between the ears. The forehead when viewed from the front or side
is only slightly arched. It should be without a centre furrow or with
only a slightly defined furrow.
The cheeks form a gentle curve laterally without protrusion toward the
front. When viewed from above, the skull (approximately 50% of the entire
head length) tapers gradually and evenly from the ears to the tip of the
nose, with a sloping rather than a sharply defined stop and into a
long, dry wedge shaped muzzle (the upper and lower jaws must be strongly
developed.)
The width of the skull should correspond approximately to the length
of the skull. Also, a slight oversize in the case of males or undersize in
the case of females is not objectionable.
The muzzle is strong; the lips are firm and dry and close tightly.
The bridge of the nose is straight and runs nearly parallel with the
plane of the forehead. Short, blunt, weak, pointed, overlong muzzle
undesirable.
Dentition
Dentition must be healthy, strong and complete (42 teeth, 20 in the
upper jaw and 22 in the lower jaw). The German Shepherd Dog has a scissors
bite, e.g. the incisors must meet each other in a scissors like fashion,
with the outer surface of the incisors of the lower jaw sliding next to
the inner surface of the incisors of the upper jaw.
An undershot or overshot bite if faulty, as are large gaps between the
teeth. A level bite is faulty, as the incisors close on a straight line.
The jaws must be strongly developed so that the teeth may be deeply rooted.
Teeth healthy and strong.
Ears
The ears are of medium size, firm in texture, wide at the base and set
high.
They taper to a point and are carried facing forward and vertically
(the tips not inclined toward each other). Tipped, cropped and hanging
ears are rejected. Ears drawn toward each other greatly impair the
general appearance. The ears of puppies and young dogs sometimes drop or
pull toward each other during the teething period, which can last until
six months of age and sometimes longer.
Many dogs draw their ears back during motion or at rest. This is not
faulty.
Eyes
The eyes are of medium size, almond shaped, somewhat slanting and not
protruding. The colour of the eyes should blend with the colour of
the coat. They should be as dark as possible, lighter shade permissible
as long as the general harmony of the head is not destroyed. They should
have a lively, intelligent and self confident expression.
Neck
The neck should be long, strong with well developed muscles and without
looseness of the throat skin (dewlaps).
The neck is carried at an angle of about 45 degrees to the horizontal.
It is carried higher when excited and lower when trotting.
Body
The body length should exceed the height at the withers. It should amount
to about 110 to 117% of the height at the withers. Dogs with a short, square
or tall build are undesirable.
The chest is deep (approximately 45 to 48% of the height at the withers)
but not too wide. The underchest should be as long as possible and pronounced.
The ribs should be well formed and long, neither barrel shaped nor too
flat. They should reach the sternum, which is at the same level as the elbows.
A correctly formed rib cage allows the elbows freedom of movement when the
dogs trots. A too round rib cage disrupts the motion of the elbows and causes
them to turn out. A too flat rib cage draws the elbows in toward one another.
The rib cage extends far back so that the loins are relatively short.
The abdomen is moderately tucked up. The back, including the loins,
is straight and strongly developed yet not too long between the withers
and the croup. The withers must be long and high, sloping slightly from
front to rear, defined against the back into which it gently blends without
breaking the topline. The loins must be wide, strong and well muscled.
The croup is long and slightly angled (approximately 23 degrees). The
ileum and the sacrum are the foundation bones of the croup. Short, steep
or flat croups are undesirable.
Tail
The tail is bushy and should reach at least to the hock joint but not
beyond the middle of the hocks. Sometimes the tail forms a hook to one
side at its end, though this is undesirable. At rest the tail is carried
in a gentle downward curve, but when the dog is excited or in motion, it
is curved more and carried higher. The tail should never be raised past
the vertical. The tail, therefore, should not be carried straight or curled
over the back. Docked tails are inadmissible.
Forequarters
The shoulder blade should be long with an oblique placement (the angle
at 45 degrees) and lying flat against the body. The upper arm joins the
shoulder blade in an approximate right angle. The upper arm as well as the
shoulder must be strong and well muscled.
The forearm must be straight when viewed from all sides. The bones of
the upper arm and forearm are more oval than round.
The pasterns should be firm but neither too steep nor too down in pastern
(Approximately 20 degrees).
The elbows must be neither turned in nor turned out. the length of the
leg bones should exceed the depth of the chest (approximately 55%).
Hindquarters
The thigh is broad and well muscled. The upper thigh bone when viewed
from the side joins the only slightly longer lower thigh bone at an angle
of approximately 120 degrees. The angulation corresponds roughly to the
forequarter angulation without being overangulated. The hock joint is strong
and firm. The hock is strong and forms a firm joint with the lower
thigh. The entire hindquarters must be strong and well muscled to be capable
of carrying the body effortlessly forward during motion.
Feet
The feet are relatively round, short, tightly formed and arched. The
pads are very hard, but not chapped. The nails are short, strong and of
a dark colour. Dew claws sometime appear on the hind legs and should be
removed within the first few days of birth.
Colour
Colour should be black with regular markings in brown, tan to light
grey, also with a black saddle, dark sable (black cover on a grey or light
brown case with corresponding lighter marks), black, uniform grey or with
light or brown markings. Small white markings on the fore chest or a very
light colour on the insides of the legs are permissible though not
desired. The nose must be black with all coat colours. (Dogs with little
or no masks, yellow or strikingly light eyes, light markings on the chest
and insides of the legs, white nails and a red tip of the tail or
washed out weak colours are considered lacking in pigment.) The undercoat
or base hair is always light grey, with the exception of that on black dogs.
the final colour of a puppy is only determined when the outer coat completely
develops.
Coat
a) The medium smooth coated German Shepherd Dog
The outer coat should be as thick as possible. The individual hairs
are straight, coarse and lying flat against the body. The coat is short
on the head inclusive of the ears, the front of the legs, the feet and
the toes but longer and thicker on the neck. The hair grows longer
on the back of the fore- and hind legs as far down as the pastern
and the hock joint, forming moderate breeching on the thighs. the length
of the hair varies, and due to these differences in length, there are
many intermediate forms. A too short or mole like coat is faulty.
b) The long smooth coated German Shepherd Dog
The individual hairs are longer, not always straight and above all not
lying close to the body. The coat is considerably longer inside and behind
the ears, on the back of the forearm and usually in the loin area. now and
then there will be tufts in the ears and feathering from elbow to pastern.
The breeching along the thigh is long and thick. The tail is bushy
with slight feathering underneath. the long-smooth-coat is not as weatherproof
as the medium-smooth-coat and is therefore undesirable; however, provided
there is sufficient undercoat, it may be passed for breeding, as long as
the breed regulations of the country allow it.
With the long smooth coated German Shepherd Dog, a narrow chest and
narrow over stretched muzzle are frequently found.
c) The long coated German Shepherd Dog
The coat is considerably longer than that of the long-smooth-coat. It
is generally very soft and forms a parting along the back. The undercoat
will be found in the region of the loins or will not be present at all.
A long coat is greatly diminished in weatherproofing and utility and
therefore is undesirable.
=Faults=
Faults include anything that impairs working versatility, endurance
and working competency, especially lack of sex characteristics and temperament
traits contrary to the German Shepherd Dog such as apathy, weak nerves
or over excitability, shyness; lack of vitality or willingness to
work; monorchids and cryptorchids and testicles too small; a soft or flabby
constitution and a lack of substance; fading pigment; blues, albinos (with
complete lack of pigmentation, e.g. pink nose, etc.) and whites (near to
pure white with black nose); over and under size; stunted growth;
high legged dogs and those with an overloaded forechest; a disproportionately
short, too refined or coarse build; a soft back, too steep a placement of
the limbs and anything depreciating the reach and endurance of gait; a muzzle
that is too short, blunt, weak , pointed or narrow and lacks strength; an
over-or undershot bite or any other faults of dentition, especially
weak or worn teeth; a coat that is too soft, too short or too long; a lack
of undercoat; hanging ears, a permanently faulty ear carriage or cropped
ears; a ringed, curled or generally faulty tail set; a docked tail
(stumpy) or a naturally short tail.
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