^Chest

^{The chest should be reasonably broad, and the underchest should be as long as possible and pronounced. The depth of chest should be (approximately 45 to 48% of the height at the withers)} 

Ribs

^{The ribs should somewhat rounded, both  barrel shaped  and flat ribs are faulty .}

^Tail

^{The tail  should reach at least to the hock joint but not beyond the middle of the hocks, the tail hair is longer on the inside and  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. Clinical corrections  are inadmissible.}

^Limbs:

^Forequarters

^{The front legs must be straight when viewed from all sides.Viewed from the front they must be parallel. The shoulder blade and the upper arm  are of equal length and are attached to the body by strong muscles. The angle of the shoulder blade and the upper arm is ideally 90o, but is usually 110o.} 

^Elbows

^{The elbows should neither be turned in or out  in stance and in movement . The lower legs seen from all angles should be straight and absolutely parallel and be dry and well muscled.
The length of pastern is  approximately 1/3 of the leg and is at an angle of about 20 to 22o.in relation to the leg. Both a steep (more than 22o) and a weak pastern (less than 22o) influence the   working ability of the dog and especially its stamina.}

^Feet

^{The feet are relatively round, short, tightly closed and arched. The pads are very hard, but not chapped. The nails are  strong and of a dark colour.}

^Hindquarters

^{The  back legs are slightly placed backwards. The backlegs when seen from behind should be parallel.  The upper thigh bone joins the only slightly longer lower thigh bone at an angle of approximately 120 degrees and the thighs are well muscled..} 

The hock

^{The hock joint is strong and firm whilst on a vertical line to the rear feet.}

^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.}

^Movement

<sup>The German Shepherd Dog is a trotter.  The limbs, therefore, must be so similar in length and so  proportioned to one another, i.e. angulated, that the action of the rear as it carries through to the mid point of  the body 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 limbs results in a ground-covering gait that is low to the ground and imparts an impression of effortless movement  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.

Skin</sup>

^{The skin is loose without showing folds.}

^Coat

<sup>The correct coat for the German Shepherd dog is "stockhaar" with an undercoat
The outer coat should be as thick as possible, 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.

Colour</sup>

<sup>Colour should be black with regular markings in tan, brown, yellow tan to light gray. Solid black, gray with dark spots, black saddles and mask   Small white markings on the forechest 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, light/white nails and a red tip of the tail or washed out weak colours are considered lacking in pigment. The undercoat  is always light gray. White dogs are not accepted.

Height/ weight</sup>

^{Dogs:       Height at withers 60cm to 65 cm}

                ^{Weight                30kg to 40kg}

^{Bitches:    Height at withers 55cm to 60cm}

                 ^{Weight                22kg to 32kg}

^Testicles

^{Dogs must have clearly normal developed testicles, which are fully descended.}

^Faults

^{All deviations from the above must be regarded as faults and should be evaluated in relation to the degree of deviation.}

^{Serious faults}

^{Serious faults include anything contained in the breed standard  that impairs working versatility.}

^{Faulty ears such as hanging ears, widely place ears, soft ears, and permanently faulty ear carriage}

^{Fading pigment; blues, albinos (with complete lack of pigmentation, e.g. pink nose, etc.) and whites (near to pure white with black nose)}

^{Serious overall lack of overall firmness.}

^{Teeth failures: all deviations from a scissor bite and formula other than those faults which exclude the dog from breeding.} 

^{Exclusion from breeding}

^{a) Weak temperament, nervous and snappy dogs.}

^{b) Dogs with proven "serious HD"}

^{c) Monorchids and cryptorchids and testicles too small;}

^{d) Dogs with serious ear and tail deviations}

^{e) Poorly constructed dogs}

^{f) Dogs with the following teeth failures:}

^{one P3 and one further tooth, or one Canine, or one P4, or one M1 or M2 or a total of 3 missing teeth and more.}

^{g) Dogs with faulty jaws}

  ^{Undershot by 2mm or more. Overshot.   Level bite of all Incisors}

^{h) Dogs that deviate more  than 1cm above or under the height standard.}

^{I) Albinos}

^{j) White coats (even with dark eyes and nails)}

^{k) Long(stockhaar) (long, soft, not tight top coat with undercoat, tufts on the ears and legs, long tufts on the back legs  and the tail and under the belly)}

^{l) Long coats (long, soft top coat without undercoat, often parted at the middle of the back, tufts on the ears and legs and the tail)}

Last updated: March 21, 2004 11:47 AM