The German Shepherd Dog is in the first place a skilful, clever and dedicated friend who is able to be educated and trained in a very easy way.

Fédération Cynologique Internationale - Standard of Breed nr. 166/30.08.l991/D. German Shepherd Dog. Country of origin: Germany. F.C.I.-classification group 1 - Guardian and Driving dogs section 1 - Shepherds' dogs with working titles Versatile use: Guardian and Service (Working Dog

The German Shepherd Dog, whose systematic breeding was begun in the year 1899 with the founding of the Club, is from the former Central and Southern German stock then available. They were bred and descended from guardian dogs with the objective of creating a working dog predisposed to high performance. To reach this goal, the breed Standard of the German Shepherd Dog was determined, with reference both tot the bodily construction as well as to the essential nature and character traits.

NATURE

The German Shepherd Dog must be, in its essential image, well-balanced, firm in nerves, self-confident, absolutely calm and impartial, and (except in tempting situations) amiable. He must possess courage, willingness to fight, and hardness, in order to be suitable as companion, watchdog, protector, service dog, and guardian.

The teeth: must be strong, healthy and complete (42, confirming to the established rule). The German Shepherd Dog has a scissors bite; i.e., the incisors must mesh in a scissors bite whereby the incisors of the upper jaw intersect like scissors with those of the lower jaw. Level (pincer), over- and under-bites are faulty, as are large gaps between the teeth (interrupted arrangement). Likewise incorrect is a straight line of the incisors. the jawbones must be strongly developed, so that the teeth can be deeply embedded in their places. 

The eyes: are medium in size, almond-shaped, somewhat slanted, and not protruding. The colour of the eyes should be as dark as possible; light, piercing eyes are not desired, as this detracts from the dog's expression. 

The ears: the German Shepherd Dog has pricked ears of medium size, which are carried upright and neither pointing outward nor inward; they taper to a point and are held with the opening of the shell facing forward. Tipped over and hanging ears are faulty. Ears laid back during gaiting and/or relaxation are not faulted. 

The neck: should be strong, well-muscled and without loose skin at the throat (dewlap). The head is held such that the neck is at an angle of approximately 45 degrees from the (horizontal) torso.

The chest: should be moderately broad, its underline as long as possible and pronounced. The depth of chest should be about 45 % to 48 % of the dog's height at the withers. The ribs should widen out and curve moderately. Barrel-shaped chests or slab-sided appearance are equally faulty. 

The tail: extends at least up to the hock joint, but not beyond the middle of the metatarsus. Its hair is somewhat bushy on the underside. It is carried in a gentle hanging curve when relaxed and is lifted more in excitement and in movement, though not over the horizontal. Surgical corrections are forbidden.

IMBS

The shoulder blade and upper arm are of equal lengths accumulated and firmly attached tot the torso with medium-strong muscling. The angel between shoulder blade and upper arm amounts to, in the ideal case 90°, but as a rule is 110°.

The elbows, either when standing or moving, may not be turned out; likewise not pinched together. The forearms in the standing dog are seen in all views to be straight and perfectly parallel to each other, dry, and firmly muscled. The pastern has a length of approximately 1/3 that of the forearm and had an angle of approx. 20° to 22° to this. Both a slanting pastern (more than 22°) as well as a steep pastern (less than 20°) are harmful to working suitability, particularly endurance.

The paws  are round, well closed and arched, the soles hard, but not inflexible. The nails are sturdy and of a dark colour.

Hindquarters: the position of the hind legs is slightly toward the rear, and viewed from behind the hind legs are parallel to each other. Upper thigh and lower thigh are roughly of equal length and form an angle of approximately 120°.  The thighs are powerful and well muscled. The hock joints are sturdily built and firm; the metatarsus is vertical from the hock joint.

The paws: are closed, slightly arched, the pads hard and of dark colour, the nails sturdy and arched, and also dark.

COLOURS

FAULTS

MAJOR FAULTS:

· Anything that departs from the Standard and known characteristics of the breed in relation to the suitability for work;

· Ear faults: held out to the side; low-set, tipped over; overset (tipped toward each other); weak; 

· Considerably lacking in pigment;

. Considerable deficiency in overall firmness.

· Dentition faults: all deviations from the scissors bite and the formation of the teeth that are not dealt with in the following list of specific faults.

Excluding faults:

a) Weak character biting, nervous;
b) Demonstrated severe hip dysplasia
c) Cryptorchidism (unilateral or bilateral), clearly unequal or stunted, atrophied testicles.
d) Deformed ears or tails.
e) Dogs with deformities.
f) Dentition faults involving the absence of:
· one P-3 and another tooth, or
· one fang (canine), or
· one P-4, or
· one molar-1 or Molar-2, or
. any total of three or more teeth
g) Incisor (bite) irregularities: overshot by 2 mm or more, undershot; or pincer bite (even or level in entire incisor area).
h) Oversize or undersize by more than one centimetre.
i) Albinism
j) White hair coat even if the dog has dark eyes and nails.
k) Langstockhaar (topcoat long, straight, soft, not lying tightly; with undercoat present; flags (feathering) on ears and legs, bushy trousers, bushy tail with formation of flags on the underside).
l) Langhaar (topcoat long, soft; without undercoat, generally parting in the middle of the back; flags at ears, legs and tail).

Translated by SV-Judge Fred Lanting - USA ©

With special thanks tot Fred Lanting for the use of his translation.