GENERAL APPEARANCE: The first impression of a good white German Shepherd Dog is that of a strong, agile, well-muscled animal. It is well balanced, 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.

PERSONALITY: The White German Shepherd Dog 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. 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 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 check the teeth and to determine that both testicles are descended. Disqualification: Any dog that attempts to bite the Judge.

SIZE AND PROPORTION: The preferred height for Males - 24 to 26 inches; Bitches - 22 to 24 inches at the highest point of the withers. The length is measured from the point of the sternum or breastbone to the rear edge of the pelvis, the ischial tuberosity, with the most desirable proportion being 10 to 8.5.

HEAD: The head is noble, cleanly chiseled, strong, not fine, and in proportion to the body. The head of the male is distinctly masculine, and that of the bitch distinctly feminine. Seen from the front, the forehead is moderately arched, and the skull slopes (without abrupt stop) into the long, wedge-shaped muzzle. The muzzle's topline is parallel to the topline of the skull.

EYES: Dark as possible, medium sized, almond-shaped, set a little obliquely and not protruding. Black eyelids are to be preferred. Light eyes, yellow eyes (wolf eyes) are to be considered a fault. Disqualification: Pink or blue eyes

EARS: 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. Disqualification: Cropped or hanging ears.

NOSE: Total Black is preferred. But brown or pink streaked is acceptable. Color of nose may change with estrus, cold weather and age. Disqualification: A nose totally lacking in any pigment

TEETH: 42 in number; 20 upper and 22 lower, with complete dentition being preferred. Strongly developed with 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 level bite is undesirable. Any missing teeth, other than the first premolars, is a serious fault. Black lips are to be preferred. Disqualification: Undershot jaw.

NECK: The neck is strong and muscular, clean-cut and relatively long, proportionate in size to the head and without loose skin. When the dog is at attention or excited, the head is raised and the neck carried high. When in motion, carriage of the head is forward rather than high and slightly above top of the shoulders.

TOPLINE: The withers are higher than and sloping into a level back. The back is straight, very strongly developed without sag or roach, and relatively short. The desirable long proportion is not derived from a long back, but from overall length in relation to height, which is achieved by a length of forequarter and length of withers and hindquarter, viewed from the side. The loin, viewed from above, is broad, strong and short, lacking undue length between the last rib and the thigh. The croup should be long with gradual sloping.

CHEST: Commencing at the pro sternum, 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 sternum showing ahead of the shoulder profile.

RIBS: Well-sprung and long, neither barreled, too flat nor too round, 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 carried well back so that the loin is relatively short. Abdomen firmly held and not paunchy with only moderate tuck up in the loin.

TAIL: Bushy, with the last vertebrae extended at least to the hock joint. It is set smoothly into the croup and low rather than high. At rest, the tail may hang in a slight curve like a sabre. When the dog is excited or in motion, the curve maybe accentuated and the tail raised, but it should never curl forward beyond the vertical line. Tails too short, or with clumpy ends due to ankylosis, are serious faults. Disqualifications: Docked tail

FOREQUARTERS: The shoulder blades are long and obliquely angled, laid on flat 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.

FEET: The feet are short, compact, with toes well arched, pads thick and firm, nails short and preferably dark. Black pads are to be preferred. Dew claws on the forelegs are normally left on but are removed from the rear legs.

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 is short, strong, tightly articulated and no dew claws should be present.

COAT: Double coat of medium length. The outer coat should be as dense as possible with hair straight, harsh and lying close to the body. A slightly wavy outer coat, often of wiry texture, is permissible. The head, ears, fore face, legs and paws are covered with short hair. The neck and rear of the forelegs and hind legs have somewhat longer hair extending to the pastern and hock, respectively. Faults in coat include soft, silky, woolly, curly, too long and open coat.

COLOR: The White German Shepherd Dog is a herding dog. Therefore, structure and movement should be considered of more importance than color and pigment alone. Colors: White or white with biscuit.

GAIT: The White German Shepherd Dog is a trotting dog with a gait that is outreaching, elastic, seemingly without effort, smooth and rhythmic, covering the maximum ground with the minimum number of steps. The feet travel close to the ground on both forward reach and backward push. 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 back 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 foot passing inside the track of the forefoot, 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 a full trot, the back must remain firm and level without sway, roll, whip or roach. Unlevel topline with the withers lower than the hip is a fault. To compensate for the forward motion impaired 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.

CONSIDERED FAULTS:  Any deviation from the standard

DISQUALIFICATIONS:
Cropped or hanging ears
Undershot Bite
cryptorchid or monorchid male
Docked Tail
Pink or blue eyes
Noses lacking pigment
Any dog unable to be examined by Judge whether too shy or too aggressive (i.e. attempting to bite the Judge)

 

In German Shepherd Dogs the recessive gene for white coat hair was cast in the breed gene pool by the late 19th and early 20th century breeding program that developed and expanded the German Shepherd Dog breed in Germany. A white herding dog named Greif was the grandfather of Horand von Grafrath, the dog acknowledged as the foundation of all contemporary German Shepherd Dog bloodlines.

Rittmeister Max Von Stephanitz December 1864 to April 1936

Information provided in early books on the German Shepherd Dog make mention of Greif and other white German herding dogs, with upright ears and a general body description that resembles modern German Shepherd Dogs, shown in Europe as early as 1882. The early 20th century German Shepherd breeding program extensively line bred and inbred "color coat" dogs that carried Greif's recessive gene for "white coats" to refine and expand the population of early German Shepherd Dogs. White coats were made a disqualification in the German Shepherd Dog Club of Germany breed standard in 1933 after the breed club came under the control of the German Nazi party that took over all aspects of German society in February 1933 when Hitler declared a state of emergency. The German breed standard remained unchanged as German breeders repopulated the breed in the years after the conclusion of WWII.

In 1959 the German Shepherd Dog Club of America (GSDCA) adopted the exclusively colored breed standard of the parent German breed club. White-coated German Shepherd Dogs were officially barred from competition in the American Kennel Club conformation ring in the United States starting in 1968. AKC-registered white German Shepherd Dogs may still compete in performance events.

During the 1970's, white dog fanciers in the United States and Canada formed their own "White German Shepherd" breed clubs, breeding and showing their dogs at small specialty dog shows throughout North America.

The White Shepherd Club of Canada (WSCC) has been dedicated to the promotion and preservation of the White Shepherd since 1971. Originally formed as a Chapter of the White German Shepherd Dog Club of America, the club was renamed White Shepherd Club of Canada in 1973. Its first conformation show was held that year with 8 dogs entered and 25 people in attendance.

In Canada, the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) is incorporated under the Animal Pedigree Act, a federal statute under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture, which is the governing body that sets down recognition and standards for all pure animal breeds. For a long time, Agriculture Canada had protected white German Shepherds from the many attempts by the German Shepherd Dog Club of Canada to have white dogs disqualified from the CKC conformation ring, as had long been the case in the USA. Some brave members of WSCC had shown in the CKC breed rings and had even accumulated points toward their dogs' CKC Championships. Unfortunately, that would all change in 1998, when the color white was officially disqualified from the CKC German Shepherd breed standard.

Disappointed but undeterred, the WSCC continues to work toward full breed recognition of the White Shepherd as a separate breed with the CKC. The club hosts shows several times a year, often in combination with the American White Shepherd Association. Event dates and locations are published in the club's newsletter and on its web site.

In September 1995, a small group of fanciers of the white-coated German Shepherd Dog established the American White Shepherd Association (AWSA), a new club to advance, promote and protect the White Shepherd breed in the United States. In cooperation with the White Shepherd Club of Canada, AWSA wrote and published a new breed standard, and eventually petitioned the American Kennel Club for full recognition as a unique pure breed, separate from and independent of the German Shepherd Dog. As of this writing, AKC has not granted recognition or registration for the White Shepherd breed, but the breeders, fanciers and members of AWSA carry on with independently-held club activities as well as running and maintaining the private club registry. AWSA continues to negotiate with the AKC for breed recognition as well as with the German Shepherd Dog Club of America (GSDCA) for breed separation. Until such time as GSDCA can be persuaded to grant official release of the white dogs, AKC must continue to register all white German Shepherd Dogs born from two AKC-registered German Shepherd parents as German Shepherd Dogs.

In 1999, a group of AWSA members organized and established the United White Shepherd Club (UWSC) as a United Kennel Club affiliated parent club. They immediately petitioned for a new White Shepherd breed classification within UKC. The United Kennel Club accepted the UWSC's petition and created a new and separate White Shepherd breed conformation standard and registry. The White Shepherd breed was officially recognized by UKC on April 14, 1999. Today, United Kennel Club recognizes both the White Shepherd breed standard as well as the original German Shepherd Dog breed conformation standard where white and colored dogs continue to be considered together as one breed.

Neither UKC nor AWSA-registered White Shepherds can be registered with FCI as White Swiss Shepherd Dogs (Berger Blanc Suisse). Breed clubs associated with each of these unique breed lines maintain their own breed standards for appearance and temperament. The breed "appearance" standard given below is appropriate to the UKC-registered White Shepherd Dog and, with a few very minor changes - mostly in wording and layout - to the written standard of the AWSA club as well.

No matter which country they hail from, White Shepherds excel in performance events such as competition obedience and rally obedience, tracking, flyball and agility. Many fine dogs have also earned titles in herding, proving that the herding instinct and ability has been retained in this versatile breed.