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von Steinbach German Shepherds are breeders of quality SV/AKC registered German Shepherd Dogs and German Shepherd Puppies in Oregon and Virginia.
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VON STEINBACH GERMAN SHEPHERD DOGS
German Shepherd Dog - Breed Standard
General Description
The German Shepherd Dog is too high achievements inclined Working Dog.
Therefore he must be built to bring the highest possible achievement
with the slightest effort. This assumes a harmonious and well-balanced
body structure. Usefulness stands in general before beauty.
The German Shepherd Dogs belong to the medium-sized breeds. The ideal
withers height amounts with males from 60 to 65 cm ( 23,5 - 25,5 inch
), females 55 to 60 cm ( 22 - 23,5 inch ). The dog should be easily
stretched, i.e. the body a little longer than the withers height.
1) Angulations 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 top line. Every tendency toward over
angulations of the rear quarters diminishes soundless 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 top line that falls in moderate curves from the
tip of the ears over the neck and level back through the tip of the
tail.
2) 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 his suitable to be a superior working dog in general,
and in particular to be a guard, companion, protection and herding dog.
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.
3) 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 overstretched
(snippy). 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 center 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.
4) 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.
5) Ears
The ears are of medium size, 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.
6) Eyes
The eyes are of medium size, almond shaped, somewhat slanting and not
protruding.
The color of the eyes should blend with the color of the coat. They
should be as dark as possible. They should have a lively, intelligent
and self-confident expression.
7) Neck
The neck should be 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.
8) 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 under chest 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 top line. 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.
9) 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.
10) 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%).
11) 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 angulations corresponds roughly
to the forequarter angulations without being over angulated. 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.
12) 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 color. Dewclaws sometime appear on the hind legs and should
be removed within the first few days of birth.
14) Color
Color should be black with regular markings in brown, tan to light
gray, also with a black saddle, dark sable (black cover on a gray or
light brown case with corresponding lighter marks), black, uniform gray
or with light or brown markings. Small white markings on the fore chest
or a very light color on the insides of the legs are permissible though
not desired. The nose must be black with all coat colors. (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 colors are considered lacking in pigment.) The
undercoat or base hair is always light gray, with the exception of that
on black dogs. the final color of a puppy is only determined when the
outer coat completely develops.
15) 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 overstretched 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 fore chest; 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.
The above standard was approved and put into effect for the countries
and clubs of the FCI. The name of the breed is the German Shepherd Dog.
The country of origin is Germany.
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