General Appearance
The first impression of a good German Shepherd Dog is that
of a strong, agile, well muscled animal, alert and full of
life. It is well balanced, with harmonious development of
the forequarter and hindquarter. The dog is longer than
tall, deep-bodied, and presents an outline of smooth
curves rather than angles. It looks substantial and not
spindly, giving the impression, both at rest and in
motion, of muscular fitness and nimbleness without any
look of clumsiness or soft living. The ideal dog is
stamped with a look of quality and nobility--difficult to
define, but unmistakable when present. Secondary sex
characteristics are strongly marked, and every animal
gives a definite impression of masculinity or femininity,
according to its sex.
Temperament
The breed has a distinct
personality marked by direct and fearless, but not
hostile, expression, self-confidence and a certain
aloofness that does not lend itself to immediate and
indiscriminate friendships. The dog must be approachable,
quietly standing its ground and showing confidence and
willingness to meet overtures without itself making them.
It is poised, but when the occasion demands, eager and
alert; both fit and willing to serve in its capacity as
companion, watchdog, blind leader, herding dog, or
guardian, whichever the circumstances may demand. The dog
must not be timid, shrinking behind its master or handler;
it should not be nervous, looking about or upward with
anxious expression or showing nervous reactions, such as
tucking of tail, to strange sounds or sights. Lack of
confidence under any surroundings is not typical of good
character. Any of the above deficiencies in character
which indicate shyness must be penalized as very
serious faults and any dog exhibiting pronounced
indications of these must be excused from the ring. It
must be possible for the judge to observe the teeth and to
determine that both testicles are descended. Any dog that
attempts to bite the judge must be disqualified.
The ideal dog is a working animal with an incorruptible
character combined with body and gait suitable for the
arduous work that constitutes its primary purpose.
Size, Proportion, Substance
The desired height for males at the top of the
highest point of the shoulder blade is 24 to 26 inches;
and for bitches, 22 to 24 inches.
The German Shepherd Dog is longer than tall, with the most
desirable proportion as 10 to 8½. The length is
measured from the point of the prosternum or breastbone to
the rear edge of the pelvis, the ischial tuberosity. The
desirable long proportion is not derived from a long back,
but from overall length with relation to height, which is
achieved by length of forequarter and length of withers
and hindquarter, viewed from the side.
Head
The head is noble, cleanly chiseled, strong
without coarseness, but above all not fine, and in
proportion to the body. The head of the male is distinctly
masculine, and that of the bitch distinctly feminine.
The expression keen, intelligent and composed.
Eyes of medium size, almond shaped, set a little
obliquely and not protruding. The color is as dark as
possible. Ears are moderately pointed, in
proportion to the skull, open toward the front, and
carried erect when at attention, the ideal carriage being
one in which the center lines of the ears, viewed from the
front, are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the
ground. A dog with cropped or hanging ears must be
disqualified.
Seen from the front the forehead is only moderately
arched, and the skull slopes into the long, wedge-shaped
muzzle without abrupt stop. The muzzle is long and
strong, and its topline is parallel to the topline of the
skull. Nose black. A dog with a nose that is not
predominantly black must be disqualified.
The lips are firmly fitted. Jaws are strongly developed.
Teeth --42 in number--20 upper and 22 lower--are
strongly developed and meet in a scissors bite in which
part of the inner surface of the upper incisors meet and
engage part of the outer surface of the lower incisors. An
overshot jaw or a level bite is undesirable. An undershot
jaw is a disqualifying fault. Complete dentition is
to be preferred. Any missing teeth other than first
premolars is a serious fault.
Neck, Topline, Body
The neck is strong and muscular, clean-cut and
relatively long, proportionate in size to the head and
without loose folds of skin. When the dog is at attention
or excited, the head is raised and the neck carried high;
otherwise typical carriage of the head is forward rather
than up and but little higher than the top of the
shoulders, particularly in motion.
Topline-- The withers are higher than and
sloping into the level back. The back is straight,
very strongly developed without sag or roach, and
relatively short.
The whole structure of the body gives an impression
of depth and solidity without bulkiness.
Chest--Commencing at the prosternum, it is well
filled and carried well down between the legs. It is deep
and capacious, never shallow, with ample room for lungs
and heart, carried well forward, with the prosternum
showing ahead of the shoulder in profile. Ribs well
sprung and long, neither barrel-shaped nor too flat, and
carried down to a sternum which reaches to the elbows.
Correct ribbing allows the elbows to move back freely when
the dog is at a trot. Too round causes interference and
throws the elbows out; too flat or short causes pinched
elbows. Ribbing is carried well back so that the loin is
relatively short. Abdomen firmly held and not
paunchy. The bottom line is only moderately tucked up in
the loin.
Loin Viewed from the top, broad and strong. Undue
length between the last rib and the thigh, when viewed
from the side, is undesirable. Croup long and
gradually sloping.
Tail bushy, with the last vertebra extended at
least to the hock joint. It is set smoothly into the croup
and low rather than high. At rest, the tail hangs in a
slight curve like a saber. A slight hook- sometimes
carried to one side-is faulty only to the extent that it
mars general appearance. When the dog is excited or in
motion, the curve is accentuated and the tail raised, but
it should never be curled forward beyond a vertical line.
Tails too short, or with clumpy ends due to ankylosis, are
serious faults. A dog with a docked tail must be
disqualified.
Forequarters
The shoulder blades are long and obliquely angled, laid on
flat and not placed forward. The upper arm joins the
shoulder blade at about a right angle. Both the upper arm
and the shoulder blade are well muscled. The forelegs,
viewed from all sides, are straight and the bone oval
rather than round. The pasterns are strong and springy and
angulated at approximately a 25-degree angle from the
vertical. Dewclaws on the forelegs may be removed, but are
normally left on.
The feet are short, compact with toes well arched,
pads thick and firm, nails short and dark.
Hindquarters
The whole assembly of the thigh, viewed from the side,
is broad, with both upper and lower thigh well muscled,
forming as nearly as possible a right angle. The upper
thigh bone parallels the shoulder blade while the lower
thigh bone parallels the upper arm. The metatarsus (the
unit between the hock joint and the foot) is short, strong
and tightly articulated. The dewclaws, if any, should be
removed from the hind legs. Feet as in front.
Coat
The ideal dog has a double coat of medium length. The
outer coat should be as dense as possible, hair straight,
harsh and lying close to the body. A slightly wavy outer
coat, often of wiry texture, is permissible. The head,
including the inner ear and foreface, and the legs and
paws are covered with short hair, and the neck with longer
and thicker hair. The rear of the forelegs and hind legs
has somewhat longer hair extending to the pastern and
hock, respectively. Faults in coat include soft,
silky, too long outer coat, woolly, curly, and open coat.
Color
The German Shepherd Dog varies in color, and most colors
are permissible. Strong rich colors are preferred. Pale,
washed-out colors and blues or livers are serious
faults. A white dog must be disqualified.
Gait
A German Shepherd Dog is a trotting dog, and its structure
has been developed to meet the requirements of its work.
General Impression-- The gait is outreaching,
elastic, seemingly without effort, smooth and rhythmic,
covering the maximum amount of ground with the minimum
number of steps. At a walk it covers a great deal of
ground, with long stride of both hind legs and forelegs.
At a trot the dog covers still more ground with even
longer stride, and moves powerfully but easily, with
coordination and balance so that the gait appears to be
the steady motion of a well-lubricated machine. The feet
travel close to the ground on both forward reach and
backward push. In order to achieve ideal movement of this
kind, there must be good muscular development and
ligamentation. The hindquarters deliver, through the back,
a powerful forward thrust which slightly lifts the whole
animal and drives the body forward. Reaching far under,
and passing the imprint left by the front foot, the hind
foot takes hold of the ground; then hock, stifle and upper
thigh come into play and sweep back, the stroke of the
hind leg finishing with the foot still close to the ground
in a smooth follow-through. The overreach of the
hindquarter usually necessitates one hind foot passing
outside and the other hind foot passing inside the track
of the forefeet, and such action is not faulty unless the
locomotion is crabwise with the dog's body sideways out of
the normal straight line.
Transmission The typical smooth, flowing gait is
maintained with great strength and firmness of back. The
whole effort of the hindquarter is transmitted to the
forequarter through the loin, back and withers. At full
trot, the back must remain firm and level without sway,
roll, whip or roach. Unlevel topline with withers lower
than the hip is a fault. To compensate for the
forward motion imparted by the hindquarters, the shoulder
should open to its full extent. The forelegs should reach
out close to the ground in a long stride in harmony with
that of the hindquarters. The dog does not track on widely
separated parallel lines, but brings the feet inward
toward the middle line of the body when trotting, in order
to maintain balance. The feet track closely but do not
strike or cross over. Viewed from the front, the front
legs function from the shoulder joint to the pad in a
straight line. Viewed from the rear, the hind legs
function from the hip joint to the pad in a straight line.
Faults of gait, whether from front, rear or side, are to
be considered very serious faults.
Disqualifications
Cropped or hanging ears.
Dogs with noses not predominantly black.
Undershot jaw.
Docked tail.
White dogs.
Any dog that attempts to bite the judge.
Approved February 11, 1978
Reformatted July 11, 1994