Jaquenetta German Shepherd Dogs
German Shepherd Dog
KC Breed Standard
General Appearance
Slightly long in comparison to height; of
powerful, well muscled build with weather-resistant coat. Relation between
height, length, position and structure of fore and hindquarters (angulation)
producing far-reaching, enduring gait. Clear definition of masculinity and
femininity essential, and working ability never sacrificed for mere beauty.
Characteristics
Versatile working dog, balanced and free
from exaggeration. Attentive, alert, resilient and tireless with keen scenting
ability.
Temperament
Steady of nerve, loyal, self-assured,
courageous and tractable. Never nervous, over-aggressive or shy.
Head and Skull
Proportionate in size to body, never
coarse, too fine or long. Clean cut; fairly broad between ears. Forehead
slightly domed; little or no trace of central furrow. Cheeks forming softly
rounded curve, never protruding. Skull from ears to bridge of nose tapering
gradually and evenly, blending without too pronounced stop into wedge-shaped
powerful muzzle. Skull approximately 50 per cent of overall length of head.
Width of skull corresponding approximately to length, in males slightly greater,
in females slightly less. Muzzle strong, lips firm, clean and closing tightly.
Top of muzzle straight, almost parallel to forehead. Short, blunt, weak,
pointed, overlong muzzle undesirable.
Eyes
Medium-sized, almond-shaped, never
protruding. Dark brown preferred, lighter shade permissible, provided expression
good and general harmony of head not destroyed. Expression lively, intelligent
and self-assured.
Ears
Medium-sized, firm in texture, broad at
base, set high, carried erect, almost parallel, never pulled inwards or tipped,
tapering to a point, open at front. Never hanging. Folding back during movement
permissible.
Mouth
Jaws strongly developed. With a perfect,
regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower
teeth and set square to the jaws. Teeth healthy and strong. Full dentition
desirable.
Neck
Fairly long, strong, with well developed
muscles, free from throatiness. Carried at 45 degrees angle to horizontal,
raised when excited, lowered at fast trot.
Forequarters
Shoulder blades long, set obliquely (45
degrees) laid flat to body. Upper arm strong, well muscled, joining shoulder
blade at approximately 90 degrees. Forelegs straight from pasterns to elbows
viewed from any angle, bone oval rather than round. Pasterns firm, supple and
slightly angulated. Elbows neither tucked in nor turned out. Length of foreleg
exceeding depth of chest.
Body
Length measured from point of breast bone
to rear edge of pelvis, exceeding height at withers. Correct ratio 10 to 9 or 8
and a half. Undersized dogs, stunted growth, high-legged dogs, those too heavy
or too light in build, over-loaded fronts, too short overall appearance, any
feature detracting from reach or endurance of gait, undesirable. Chest deep
(45-48 per cent) of height at shoulder, not too broad, brisket long, well
developed. Ribs well formed and long; neither barrel-shaped nor too flat;
allowing free movement of elbows when gaiting. Relatively short loin. Belly
firm, only slightly drawn up. Back between withers and croup, straight, strongly
developed, not too long. Overall length achieved by correct angle of well laid
shoulders, correct length of croup and hindquarters. Withers long, of good
height and well defined, joining back in a smooth line without disrupting
flowing topline, slightly sloping from front to back. Weak, soft and roach backs
undesirable and should be rejected. Loin broad, strong, well muscled. Croup
long, gently curving downwards to tail without disrupting flowing topline.
Short, steep or flat croups undesirable.
Hindquarters
Overall strong, broad and well muscled,
enabling effortless forward propulsion of whole body. Upper thighbone, viewed
from side, sloping to slightly longer lower thighbone. Hind angulation
sufficient if imaginary line dropped from point of buttocks cuts through lower
thigh just in front of hock, continuing down slightly in front of hindfeet.
Angulations corresponding approximately with front angulation, without
over-angulation, hock strong. Any tendency towards over-angulation of
hindquarters reduces firmness and endurance.
Feet
Rounded toes well closed and arched. Pads
well cushioned and durable. Nails short, strong and dark in colour. Dewclaws
removed from hindlegs.
Tail
Bushy-haired, reaches at least to hock –
ideal length reaching to middle of metatarsus. At rest tail hangs in slight
sabre-like curve; when moving raised and curve increased, ideally never above
level of back. Short, rolled, curled, generally carried badly or stumpy from
birth, undesirable.
Gait/Movement
Sequence of step follows diagonal pattern,
moving foreleg and opposite hindleg forward simultaneously; hindfoot thrust
forward to midpoint of body and having equally long reach with forefeet without
any noticeable change in backline.
Coat
Outer coat consisting of straight, hard,
close-lying hair as dense as possible; thick undercoat. Hair on head, ears,
front of legs, paws and toes short; on back, longer and thicker; in some males
forming slight ruff. Hair longer on back of legs as far down as pasterns and
stifles and forming fairly thick trousers on hindquarters. No hard and fast rule
for length of hair; mole-type coats undesirable.
Colour
Black or black saddle with tan, or gold to
light grey markings. All black, all grey, with lighter or brown markings
referred to as Sables. Nose black. Light markings on chest or very pale colour
on inside of legs permissible but undesirable, as are whitish nails, red-tipped
tails or wishy-washy faded colours defined as lacking in pigmentation. Blues,
livers, albinos, whites (i.e. almost pure white dogs with black noses) and near
whites highly undesirable. Undercoat, except in all black dogs, usually grey or
fawn. Colour in itself is of secondary importance having no effect on character
or fitness for work. Final colour of a young dog only ascertained when outer
coat has developed.
Size
Ideal height (from withers and just
touching elbows): dogs: 63 cms (25 ins); bitches: 58 cms (23 ins). 2.5 cms (1
in) either above or below ideal permissible.
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 and its effect upon the
health and welfare of the dog.
Note
Male animals should have two
apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
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