2007 World Sieger

VA1- World Sieger 2008

THE HISTORY OF GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG

Universally accepted as the "Father of the Breed"
--saw a dog in 1899 while attending a dog show in Karlsruhe, Germany; a herding dog which he felt had all the qualities he had been searching for: instinctive herding ability, high trainability, dignity, intelligence, strong build and quiet demeanor. This dog fit the motto von Stephanitz had coined for his new breed: "Utility and Intelligence", and he purchased the dog on the spot. That dog became Horand von Grafrath, the foundation dog of the German Shepherd breed, and given the designation SZ1, the very first German Shepherd Dog in the German Shepherd Dog Club, the SV. Von Stephanitz searched for bitches of Horand's type to breed with him, and being very picky, it was a hard search indeed. By carefully and selectively breeding and inbreeding, it was possible to create a line of dogs that bred true to form. Captain von Stephanitz, who had served with the Veterinary College in Berlin while in the military, used his extensive biological knowledge to help him in the science of breeding dogs.

That same year (1899), von Stephanitz founded the Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde, or the SV (the Club for the German Shepherd Dog), became its first president, and wrote the first standard for the breed. He ruled the club as a military man would run his troops, appointing himself breeding master, judge, breed inspector and arbiter of all things German Shepherd. The foundation dog Horand von Grafrath would become the first entry in the S.V. Stud Book, in fact the first registered German Shepherd Dog.

Von Stephanitz felt the breed should be founded on hereditary research and not show wins, he therefore required that all litters must be registered to provide the basis for genetic recording. He advised breeders on which dogs should be bred to which bitches, and perhaps just as importantly, which combinations should not be bred. He also decided which dogs would not be used for stud at all, and sent all this information to club members in the form of newsletters. Von Stephanitz expected, and even demanded compliance with the rules. He was never interested in beauty alone, only as it pertained to the dog's soundness and working ability. He wanted the GSD bred for intelligence and physical soundness suited for its work. An excerpt from his written standard reads: "A pleasing appearance is desirable, but it can NOT put the dog's working ability into question." Von Stephanitz obviously was more interested in the brain, not the beauty of the breed.

Captain von Stephanitz worked tirelessly to improve the breed, and to look for other ways the German Shepherd could be useful to mankind. Industrialization caused a decline in the necessity for sheep herding dogs, and he found that the intelligence of kenneled dogs declined. He therefore devised Obedience competitions to resolve this problem. After donating several dogs to policemen, their usefulness as Police Dogs was demonstrated. Various Trials, such as Herding, Training (for police), and special achievement in breeding were established. Interest in Breed Shows increased, as did membership in the SV. The Army finally recognized the usefulness of German Shepherd Dogs during the First World War. They served many functions: messengers, tracking the position of wounded soldiers, sentry and guard dogs, and patrol dogs signaling enemy presence. Other countries had discovered the GSD's many abilities, and used them extensively. Because of animosity in wartime toward anything German, England renamed the breed Alsatian. In some places that name is still used.
After World War I, German Shepherd Dogs became famous and very popular. Unethical breeders began to export puppies to foreign markets, breeding without thought to the best interest of the breed. Von Stephanitz immediately instituted the Koerung, or breed survey, a system whereby all dogs are thoroughly examined, judged, and based on those results are recommended for, or excluded from, breeding privileges. Steady improvement of the breed promptly re-commenced. The daring exploits of dogs such as Rin-Tin-Tin and Strongheart on movie screens across the United States created immense demand for "German Police Dogs". Puppy factories soon flourished, filling demand but selling dogs with often questionable parentage, malnourished, carelessly bred and possessing innumerable physical and psychological defects. Falsified pedigrees were not uncommon. These breeders' only concern was the money to be made on this popular breed. (Sadly, some of these practices are still on-going today in many places)

As Nazism spread throughout Germany in the 1930's, it became more difficult for von Stephanitz to continue managing the SV due to interference from the many SV members who were Nazis. He gave up in 1935, and on April 22, 1936 , the 37th anniversary of the founding of the SV, von Stefanitz died.

The SV has continued to carry on the work of Captain von Stephanitz, breeding quality dogs and instituting new practices designed to improve the breed. One such program started in January 1971 was tattooing the right ear of every dog, and to have that number imprinted on the hip x-ray, insuring that no switches can be made. (**Note: the AKC in the United States has recently begun the same program, allowing either a tattoo, microchip or DNA Profile**)
In August 1968, Germany began their Hip Dysplasia Program, x-raying and recording thousands of dogs, rating their hip phenotype, and either allowing or disallowing breeding of that animal.


References:

1. The German Shepherd Dog, by Ernest H. Hart T.F.H. Publications, Inc. 1985

2. The German Shepherd Today, New and Revised Edition,
by Winifred Strickland & James Moses MacMillan Publishing Co. 1988

3. The German Shepherd Dog in Word and Picture,
by Rittmeister (Cavalry Captain) Max Emil Frederich von Stephanitz
Germany 1925, reprinted 1994 by Hoflin Publishing Ltd.

German Shepherd Dog- Breed Standard

GENERAL APPEARANCE : The German Shepherd Dog is of medium size, slightly elongated, strong and well muscled, with dry bone and of firm overall structure.

BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT : The German Shepherd Dog must be even tempered, well balanced (with strong nerves), self assured, totally at ease (except when provoked) and good natured, as well as attentive and easy to train. He must possess courage, combativity and toughness in order to be suitable as a companion, guard, service, Herding-dog and « Schutzhund ».

HEAD : The head is wedge shaped and in proportion to body size (length approximately 40% of height at withers) without being coarse or too elongated. Clean and dry in general appearance, moderately broad between the ears. The forehead seen from the front and side is only slightly rounded and without any or with only a slightly indicated middle furrow.

The proportion of the cranial region to the facial region is 50 % to 50 %. The width of the cranial region corresponds approximately to the length. Seen from above, the skull is tapering evenly from the ears to the nasal bridge and gradually sloping into the wedge-shaped foreface, with a slanting not too abrupt stop. Upper and lower jaw are strongly developed. Bridge of nose is straight, any indentation or arch is undesirable. Lips tight, firmly fitted and dark in colour.

Nose : Must be black.

Teeth : Must be strong and healthy; complete dentition (42 teeth according to the teeth formula).

The German Shepherd Dog has a scissor bite, i.e. the incisors must fit scissor-like to each other so that the incisors of the upper jaw overlap those of the lower jaw in scissor fashion. Level bite, over-or undershot bite are faults as well as larger spaces between the teeth (gaps). Equally faulty is straight alignment of the incisors. The jaw bones must be strongly developed so that the teeth are strongly embedded in the dental arch.

Eyes : Of medium size, almond shaped, set slightly slanting, not protruding. The eye colour should be as dark as possible. Light piercing eyes are undesirable since it affects the dog’s expression.

Ears : The German Shepherd Dog has erect ears of medium size which are carried upright, pointing in the same parallel direction (not inwardly constricted). They taper to a point and the auricle is open toward the front. Semi-drop ears or hanging ears are faulty. Ears carried laid back in movement or in repose are not faulty.

NECK : The neck should be strong, well muscled and not throaty (no dewlap). Its angulation towards the body (horizontally) is approximately 45°.

BODY : The upper line runs, without any visible break, from the set-on of the neck over the well defined withers and over the back very slightly sloping to the horizontal line, onto the gradually slanting rump. The back is firm, strong and well muscled. The loin is broad, strongly developed and well muscled. The rump should be long, sloping slightly (about 23° to the horizontal) and, without any break in the topline, merge with the tail set-on.

CHEST : Moderately broad, lower chest as long as possible and well developed. Depth of chest should be 45 to 48% of the height at withers. Ribs should have moderate spring. Ribs which are barrel-shaped or too flat are faulty.

TAIL : Reaches at least to the hock joint, yet not further than the middle of the metatarsus. It has slightly longer hair on its underside and is carried hanging in a gentle curve. When the dog is excited or in motion, the tail is raised and carried higher, but not above the horizontal line. Corrective surgery is forbidden.

LIMBS

FOREQUARTERS : Seen from all sides, the forelegs are straight and, seen from the front, absolutely parallel. Shoulder blade and upper arm are equal in length, well muscled and firmly attached to the body. The angle between the shoulder-blade and the upper arm is ideally 90°, but generally up to 110°.

The elbows must turn neither in nor out, while in repose or moving. Viewed from all sides, the forearms are straight and absolutely parallel to each other, dry and firmly muscled. The pastern has a length of approximately 1/3 of the forearm; the angle between them is 20° to 22°. A weak pastern (angle more than 22°) or a steep pastern (angle less than 20°) affect the dog’s working suitability, especially his endurance.

Forefeet : Rounded, tight with toes well arched; pads firm, but not brittle; nails strong and dark in colour.

HINDQUARTERS : The hindlegs are placed slightly backwards; seen from the rear, they are parallel to each other. Upper and lower thigh are approximately of equal length and form an angle of about 120°. The thighs are strong and well muscled. The hock joints are strong and firm. The metatarsus stands vertically under the hock joint.

Hind feet : Compact, slightly arched; the pads are hard and dark in colour; the nails are strong, arched and also dark in colour.

GAIT / MOVEMENT : The German Shepherd Dog is a trotting dog. The limbs must be so coordinated in length and angulation that, without noticeable alteration of the topline, the rear legs can propel to the body while the forelegs extend to an equal distance. Any tendency to overangulation of the hindquarters reduces the firmness and endurance, and consequently the working ability. Correct body proportions and angulations result in a flat over the ground, far reaching, ground covering gait giving the impression of an effortless propulsion. The head pushed forward and the tail slightly raised result in an even, effortless trot showing a gently curved, uninterrupted upper line from the tips of the ears, over neck and back to the tip of the tail.

SKIN : The skin is (loosely) fitting, but without any folds.

COAT

MAKE UP OF THE COAT : The correct coat for the German Shepherd Dog is double coat (Stockhaar) with outercoat and undercoat. The outercoat should be as dense as possible, straight, harsh and lying close to the body. On the head, inside ears, on the front side of the legs and on feet and toes, the hair is short; it is slightly longer and more dense on the neck. On the rear side of the legs, the hair is longer extending to the pasterns and the hocks. It forms moderate « trousers » at the rear of the thighs.

COLOUR : Black with reddish-brown, brown, yellow to light grey markings. Solid black or solid grey. Greys with darker shading show a black saddle and mask. Unobtrusive, small white marks on chest as well as very light colour on insides permissible, but not desirable. Nose must be black in all colours. Dogs with lack of mask, light to piercing eye colour, as well as with light to withish markings on the chest and the insides, pale nails and red tip of tail are considered to be lacking in pigmentation. The undercoat shows a light greyish tone. The colour white is not accepted.

SIZE AND WEIGHT :

Dogs : Height at the withers : 60 to 65 cm.

Weight : 30 to 40 kg.

Bitches : Height at the withers : 55 to 60 cm.

Weight : 22 to 32 kg.

The length of the body is approximately 10-17 % longer than the height at the withers.

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 :

- Any departure from the above described breed characteristics which affects the working capability of the dog.

- Faulty ears : Laterally too low set ears, tipped ears, inward constricted ears. Ears not firm.

- Severe lack of pigmentation.

- Severe lack in general firmness.

- Dental faults : All departures from a scissor bite and the correct teeth formula, if not included in eliminating faults listed below.

ELIMINATING FAULTS :

- Aggressive or overly shy.

- Weak temperament and nerves, biters.

- Dogs with deformed ears or tail.

- Dogs with malformations.

- Dogs with missing teeth as follows :

1 premolar 3 plus one additional tooth; or

1 canine, or

1 premolar 4, or

1 molar 1 or 2, or

a total of 3 or more missing teeth.

- Dogs with faulty jaws, overshot by more than 2 mm, undershot; pincer bite formed by all 12 inscisors.

- Oversized or undersized dogs by more than 1 cm.

- Albinos

- White coat colour (even with dark eyes and nails).

- Long outer coat (long, soft, not flat lying top coat with undercoat, feathers on ears and legs, bushy « trousers » and bushy tail with plume underneath (Langstockhaar).

- Long coat (long, soft top coat without undercoat, mostly parted in middle of back, feathers on ears, legs and tail (Langhaar).

Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.

N.B. : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

STACKING THE GSD

STEPS TO STACKING THE GSD

Step 1 - POSITIONING THE DOGS FRONT

First you will place the dog directly in front of you. You will GENTLY place your open hand under the chest. Place hand DIRECTLY behind the front legs firmly but gently. With your other hand hold under the neck at the collar or wherever it gives you the easiest way to support your dog. GENTLY lift dog's front half off the ground. You only have to lift them off the ground a few inches. This will make the dog's front legs drop evenly onto the ground. Gently lower dog to the ground and their front legs should be in the correct position. MINOR corrections may be necessary see step 2.

Step 2 - FIXING MINOR FAULTS OF THE FRONT LEGS

If correction to the front legs is needed follow this step. If correction is not needed you may proceed to next step. To correct minor positioning you may grasp the dogs forearm and lift of the ground. Wherever you place the paw back onto the ground is where the dog should keep it. We do this because you can almost use the dogs paw as a pointer and put it exactly where you want it. We grasp the forearm because it is hard for the dog to reposition their feet when you have a hold of their forearm. This is also the easiest way for a child to position the dog IF dog is too heavy for them to lift. A child can easily position the front end in this manor by doing one leg at a time. NOTE: MAKE SURE DOG IS DIRECTLY OVER THEIR LEGS. WE WANT STRAIGHT LEGS UNDER THE BODY AND A DOGS CHEST WELL OVER THEIR FRONT LEGS.

Step 3 - POSITIONING THE REAR LEG CLOSEST TO YOU

In this step you will take the REAR leg that is closest to you and grasp it by the hock. Gently lift and slide it either forward or backwards. Positioning this leg depends upon where the dog had it when you started this step. You want this foot positioned DIRECTLY below the hip bone. You can feel your dog's hip bone at the end of the back and beginning of the croup. If you position this foot to far forward it will make the dog appear uncomfortable as well as making it look as if the dog stands on its hock rather than foot. THIS IS NOT A NATURAL POSITON FOR THE DOG. If foot is to far back you will not give the viewer a true picture of the dog's angulation. In the GSD's stack we can get a good idea of that dog's movement. This depicts the natural motion of the dogs gait and is the NATURAL stance of the dog. POSITIONING IS VERY IMPORTANT. A well structured dog can look bad with bad positioning.

Step 4 - POSITIONING REAR LEG FACING CAMERA

You want to grasp the rear leg at the hock. GENTLY slide leg back till the hock is at a STRAIGHT 90% angle. This leg is VERY important that it is in the correct position. To far back and it will exaggerate the angulations of the dog as well as be uncomfortable. To far forward and dog will not be able to hold its balance and dog will be uncomfortable. This leg show's you the TRUE position of the dog. It will depict where the foot is at the last moment that it is on the ground while in motion. It will show the dog's TRUE structure IF positioning is correct.

Step 5 - FINAL REPOSITIONING

Check to make sure that dog is still in the stance that you have put him in. If you have done it correctly the dog will not tend to move as this is comfortable as well as natural for them. Of course with the beginner dog they do not know what you are doing or what you expect from them so it may take a few times to make them understand what you want. Also the stubborn or young dog can prove a challenge. Again there is the chance that if you are also a beginner the dog is not stacked correctly and is not comforatable and is moving because of that. It is not always the dog's fault. Once you are happy with the positioning place your hand under the back of the dog's jaw at the point where there neck meets the jaw. You may even pull the collar up to right behind the ears as well as grasp the collar under the jaw and that will give you control of the dog. Next you will pull gently forward to make them stand over their front legs correctly. Also raise the head in the natural alert position. It may help to have someone stand in front of them with a favorite toy. This will get their attention and they will allow you to do almost anything.

Step 6 - FINAL STEP

QUICK TAKE A PICTURE BEFORE THEY MOVE!!!

Repeat as needed. Do not get frustrated as this will take some time for you as well as your dog to understand. PERSEVERANCE IS THE KEY.

HOW TO STACK YOUR GSD

HOW TO STACK YOUR GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG

First are some following questions that many have asked and then we will go over how to stack your own dog.

What Does the term " Stack " Mean ?

A Stack is the NATURAL stance of the GSD. It is the stance that the Gsd must be put into in the show ring. You may see your dog stack narually a lot as this is normal for them. Stacking is just the term used to describe the dogs stance.

Do all dogs stack ?

Yes all dogs do stack but the German Shepherd is the ONLY dog that stack's in this way. Most other breeds have both rear legs positioned in the same way but with the Shepherd we put both rear legs in different positions.

How important is a correct stack ?

It is very important to position the dog correctly as it will show the viewer the dogs structure. It can portray many different things such as ...

• Length to Height ratio
• Depth of chest
• Turn of stifle
• Croup and back angulation
• length of neck and many other