Standard FCI N°166 del 30/08/91
German Shepherd Dog
Origine: Germany
FCI Classification: Group I – Section I
Use: Utility Dog
General Appearance: The German Shepherd Dog is medium
sized. He is slightly long, strong and well muscled. The bones are
dry and the structure firm. A pleasing appearance is desired as long
as the working ability of the dog is not called into question. Sex
characteristics must be pronunced, e.g., the masculinity of the males
and the femininity of the females must be unmistakable.
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.
Odin vom Holtkämper Hof |
Head: The head should be in proportion to the body
size (in lenght approximately 40% of the height at the withers) and not
coarse, overrefined or overstreched (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 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 lenght
of the skull. 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.
Dentition: Dentition must be healthy,
strong and complete (42 teeth). The German Shepherd Dog has a scissor
bite. An undershot or overshot bite is 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.
Campino von der Piste Trophe |
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.
Eyes: They are of medium size, almost
shaped, somewhat slanting and not protruding. The color 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.
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.
Pakros d'Ulmental |
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. The chest is deep but not too wide. The
underchest should be as long as possible and pronunced. The ribs should
be well formed and long, neither barrel shaped not too flat. 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 wuthers 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 croup is long and slightly angled (approximately
23°)
Tail: The tail is bushy and should reach at least to the hock
join but not beyond the middle of the hocks. 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. Docked tails are inadmissible.
Veit von der Jahnhöhe
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Forequarters:The shoulder blade should
be long with an oblique placement (the angle at 45°) 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°). The elbows must be neither
turned in nor turned out.
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°. The angulation corresponds roughly
to the forequarter angulation without being overangulated. The hock joint
is strong and firm. 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 anils are short, strong
and of a dark color.
Vegas du Haut Mansard |
Odin vom Holtkämper Hof |
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.
Coat: 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. A too short or modelike coat is faulty.
Height and weight:
Males: the height at the withers is from 60 to 65 cm – weight from 30
to 40 Kg;
Females: the height at the withers is from 55 to 60 cm – weight from
22 to 32 Kg.
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 overexcitability, shyness; lack of vitality or willingness
to work; monorchidism and cryptorchidism and testicles too small; a soft
or flabby constitution and a lack of substance; fading pigment; blues, albinos
and white; over and under size; stunted growth; high-legged dogs and those
with an overloaded forechest; a disproportionaltely 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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