AKC Standards For German Shepherds
The American Kennel Club (AKC), which establishes standards for all breeds of dog recognized in the United States, has established standards for the German Shepherd breed. Dogs that match this standard may win best of breed contests and may even be crowned champions in American Kennel Club dog shows. A German Shepherd that does not live up to the standard can still make a wonderful pet, but it will never win a dog show.
The standards of the German Shepherd breed include these categories: general appearance, temperament, size and proportion, coat and color and gait. The general appearance standard of a good German Shepherd calls for an agile, alert animal with a look of quality and nobility. A German Shepherd’s size and proportion requires that it should be longer than it is tall, and the dog should look solid and fit.
According to the AKC standards, the proper size for German Shepherd males is twenty four to twenty six inches tall at the shoulder; the proper size for German Shepherd females is twenty two to twenty four inches tall at the shoulder. The German Shepherd head should have a noble, strong appearance, in good proportion to the body.
Sex should be obvious, with males looking masculine, and females looking feminine. The German Shepherd face features very dark eyes, moderately pointed ears (never cropped or hanging) and a long, strong muzzle. The nose must be predominantly black or the dog will be disqualified from competition.
The standard for German Shepherds require a double coat, with a thick, short outer coat on the main part of the body and shorter coat on the head, legs, and paws. A slight wave may be acceptable to some judges, but silky, wooly and curly coats are faults that require disqualification from judging. The health of the dog shows in the coat, so a German Shepherd’s coat should be glossy and well groomed.
A good German Shepherd, according to the American Kennel Club, trots without effort while smoothly covering territory with minimal effort. Faults of the gait are serious and can lead to disqualification.
These are the American Kennel Club standards of the German Shepherd breed against which show dogs are judged. Many of these traits have no bearing whatsoever on what kind of pet a German Shepherd will make. Usually, German Shepherds who don’t meet American Kennel Club standards make excellent pets and working dogs.A dog with cropped or hanging ears will be disqualified from competition, as will a dog with a nose that is not predominantly black. The neck should be strong, muscular and relatively long, carrying the head high and forward.
The German Shepherd’s neck should be relatively long, very strong and muscular, carrying the noble head high and facing forward. The body should be deeper than it is long, with long ribs, a taut abdomen, and a high, bushy tail. The forequarters are strong and well muscled, ending in short, compact feet. The upper thigh and the shoulder blade are parallel, and the lower thigh bone and the upper arm are parallel. The hindquarters are broad, and under the American Kennel Club standard, dewclaws removed from the hind legs.
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