General Overview of the German Shepherd Dog

A General Overview of the German Shepherd Dog

The History of the German Shepherd Dog

The breed originates from a very diverse assortment of ‘German Sheepdogs’ that were scattered all over Germany in the late 1800’s. These dogs had a wide variety of coats; short and long, shaggy and straight, harsh and soft, wiry and all sorts of coat colours. Even white non albinos, that is white with dark eyes and dark points, indeed at the time this was a popular colour for German Sheepdogs.

All dogs are descendants of the wolf and contrary to some minority opinions dogs can be crossed with wolves. Max von Stephanitz wanted to distance the wolf from the German Shepherd Dog as the wolf had some very undesirable characteristics associated with it, but he like many others of that period favoured the look of the wolf in the blueprint for the German Shepherd Dog.

The early ‘German Sheepdogs’ were exhibited at All Breeds shows; records show that the first two were exhibited in 1882 in Hanover. One was the very popular wolf grey colour and the other was a non albino white. Von Stephanitz recorded comments on colour; ‘’The foundation colour is that of wolf like, darker mistiness on a yellow background from which all other colours from yellowish or greyish up to uniform black have developed. White is only admissible for herdsmen’s dogs. White in shaggy haired dogs is not only ugly it is a sign of heavy loss of pigment and therefore a falling off of the dogs constitutional hardness, a danger for breeding’’. He did not favour all black ''because of its tendency to draw heat from the sun'' and as such he said that all black dogs would be susceptible to sunstroke.

A club was formed in 1892 with the objective of utilizing the best of the Sheepdogs to develop a superior German Sheepdog that would be called ‘German Shepherd Dog’. This club was the Phylax Society [guardsman] but it disbanded 2 years later due to infighting mainly associated with its members being split between some wanting to focus on working dog traits and others preferring to focus on developing show dog traits. Nothing has changed in this regard in over 100 years, in fact it has only got worse and the divide even greater!

Max von Stephanitz who was a cavalry captain was aware of and interested in the Phylax Society and effectively took over where they left off and in April 1899 he formed the ‘Verein fur Deutsche Schaferhunde’ acronym SV.

He was the first President of the SV and remained so for 39 years. A breed register was established; subject to assessment any German sheepdog could be registered and thereafter called a GSD. In effect, the day before the SV was formed there were ‘German Sheepdogs’ and the day it was formed those same dogs on registration with the SV were called ‘German Shepherd Dogs’. Max von Stephanitz favoured specific regions that they came from, this was gradually tightened and the sheepdogs from Thuringia and Württemberg became the most favoured.

There was diversity within the dogs in these regions but In general terms Württemberg dogs were seen as the working dogs, they were large, some very large with big bones and a swift gait, many had non erect ears, a feature not liked by those who preferred the wolf look and show dogs, they had a tendency to curled tails and according to von Stephanitz they did not bubble over with ‘joie de vivre’. The Thuringian dogs were viewed as the show dogs, full of vigour they had the highly prized erect ears, they were wolf grey in colour, wiry and course, they were often small and stocky and according to von Stephanitz highly energetic and often very impudent and even untameable.

Thuringian Sheepdog

Wurtemburg Sheepdog

Max von Stephanitz sought a dog to be the foundation stud dog and breed model for the SV. At a dog show he attended he saw a dog called Hektor Linksrhein. Hektor was a Thuringian dog bred by a Herr Sparwasser, a very successful breeder of German Sheepdogs who bred under the ‘Sparwasser’ affix. Von Stephanitz in his writing said of Herr Sparwasser ‘’he was unfortunately partial to the ‘’fancy dog’’. Whilst it’s of little importance, logic tells me that Hektor’s original name may have been Hektor von Sparwasser; Hektor’s litter brother Luchs carried this affix. Regardless, von Stephanitz renamed him Horand von Grafrath after his own kennel ‘von Grafrath’. Horand was recorded in the SV breed register as the first registered German Shepherd Dog.

Horand v Grafrath aka Hektor v Linksrhein - drawing by Hart

Hektor was already a popular stud dog when von Stephanitz bought him and he had been previously owned by a number of people. According to von Stephanitz he was 63 cm high and this probably determined the standards mid-size measurement. Under von Stephanitz he was heavily inbred on including to his daughters to fix his type. His maternal grandfather Grief v Sparwasser was all white and all dark eyed non-albino whites and Swiss White Shepherds are his descendant’s. Hektor had 53 litters for 140 progeny – this was less than 3 per litter and the norm at the time due to distemper.

The first SV Sieger Show was held in 1899. The 1901 Sieger Hektor v Schwaben was rumoured to be of direct wolf descent via his mother. 1937 – 1955 there was no Sieger title only a group of dogs accorded the grading excellent select - VA designed to take emphasis away from one dog and broaden the blood pool. This was repeated in later years during the Presidency of Dr Rummel but enthusiasts wanted a Sieger, they wanted an outright winner and the change was short lived but it has been reintroduced in 2013.

Klodo von Boxberg -1925 Sieger - represented a milestone in the breeds early development.

Over 114 years the breed has changed significantly. No other breed of dog has undergone such a profound change. The German Shepherd Show Dog has gone from a body structure that resembled a level rectangle to one resembling a slightly angled egg.

'Style' is different to 'type' and this is explained later in this article, but using the traditional terms the main changes in 'type' came with Rolf Osnabruckerland - 1950, Quanto and Canto v d Wienerau and to a lesser degree Mutz v d Pelztierfarm – 1970/1971, Uran v Wildsteigerland and Zamb v d Wienerau – 1984, and probably more significantly with Jeck v Noricum - 1993, Bax v Luisenstrasse 2003, and Zamp v Thermodos – 2006.

Rolf v Osnabrucker Land

Quanto v d Wienerau

Canto v d Wienerau

Mutz Pelztierfarm

Uran v Wildsteigerland

Zamb v d Wienerau

Jeck v Noricum

Bax v Luisenstrasse

Zamp v Thermidos

Size has always been an issue but more so in recent years and for the SV with its best intent and endeavours over size remains an eluding challenge. However this is being addressed by the SV currently and that effort will be realised one way or another in 2020. Even in the days of von Stephanitz over size was a problem, but contrary to what one may read in critiques or in breed survey reports size increased significantly in genetic frequency terms around the early 80's as a result of the influence of the oversized bitch Palme v Wildsteigerland who was Uran’s mother. Zamp is a descendant of Palme through Jeck v Noricum who was line bred on Palme 3.3. Jeck via his mothers line increased the frequency of what is now a predominance of dogs with a downward bend/curve to the lumbar spine. This downward bend to the lumbar spine and the elevated back in the anticlinal region that diminishes the withers definition can be traced back to a late 1970’s dog Jupp v d Haller Farm and his son Dax v d Wienerau.

Palme v Wildsteigerland

Jupp v d Haller Farm

The Breed’s Purpose

The breed was created to be a superior sheep herding, sheep tending, sheep and herdsman protecting working dog inclined to high achievements and by that definition its critical requirements in order of priority for me are:

A general appearance that complies with the standard i.e it looks like a GSD.
Fertility, ability to reproduce, 2 fully developed testicles in males.
Good health.
Sound hips and elbows.

Firm nerves, self-assured, intelligent, good natured, outgoing, attentive, good watchfulness, willing to please, good protective instincts, good combative instincts, good drive instincts, strong constitution, not overly friendly but not
overly aloof and definitely not aggressive or nervous.
Complete dentition - A full and sound mouth.
Good colour – no whites including non albino black point dark eyed whites which are now a separate breed called White Swiss Shepherd Dog.
Size within the standard range give or take 1 cm.
Effective undercoat.
The demonstrated ability to be a fit, strong and effective trotting and endurance dog.
Some people may put all these things in a different order and if they do my only comment is that they should consider the contents of the written standard for stock coats and long stock coats in so far as its determination of disqualifying faults, for example placing correct size ahead of effective trotting ability.

General Appearance

Ref: Current SV Breed Standard No. 166 – 23.12.2010/EN

The change in the general appearance of the GSD since its inception is discussed and demonstrated in drawings and great detail in my 2011 paper ‘A Discussion Paper on the Structure of the German Shepherd Dog’ and the articles on ‘withers and back’. See web site; www.louisdonald.com

VA dog late 1960's

VA dog 2014

CHange photo to VA 16

In a macro sense the most significant changes in terms of increased genetic frequency took place around the late 80's early 90’s and this relates to oversize, the downward bend to the lumbar spine that lowered the hip and knee position and created a slope to the topline and finally, far less defined withers that were created by a rise in the back at the anticlinal region of the spine. In early 2000 came excessive hind angulation, specifically an overlong tibia. This increased [inclined] the angle of the pelvis [the rule of 27 degrees off a horizontal plane no longer applies even though it is always quoted] exacerbated the slope to the topline, created loose close stepping 'hocks'. This also coincided with overlong tails that on the whole contravene the standard but rarely if ever rate a mention by judges.

The standard calls for a medium size, slightly elongated, powerful and well-muscled dog with dry bone and firm overall structure. Dry bone is dense and oval not round and spongy. A comment regarding muscles. Sex differentiation comes not just from a masculine or feminine head but from robustness, from mass particularly from muscle mass and muscle development. A male should possess greater muscle mass and greater muscle development than a female.
Proportions - slightly elongated; 10% to 17% longer than high used to be 8.5 or 9 to 10. It’s the same although for some odd reason 17% seems longer than 8.5 to 10!
Medium size – 55cm to 60cm and 60cm to 65cm ‘some latitude being plus or minus 1cm’. Notwithstanding the current SV moratorium on size over 1cm is an ‘eliminating fault’, in other words a dog of 66 + cm as per the standard should not be given an excellent grading or Class I. We too often down play the problem of oversize, it has become a bit of an in joke, a wink wink issue, we play games with size and I have no doubt those games and the ''we will fix it rhetoric'' will continue well into the future as people say they want oversized dogs penalised as long as it is not their dog!

Coat
In layman’s terms there are 2 types of coat – normal coat and long coat. In breed specific terms normal coat hair is called ‘Stock Coat’ and long coat hair is called ‘Long Stock Coat’

Stock Coat

Long Stock Coat

Normal coat is dense, straight, harsh and has close lying hair whereas long coats have long, soft, not close fitting hair with feathering on the ears and legs, bushy breeches and a bushy tail. ‘Soft hair’ is the key word.

The variability in the hair length in long stock coats is considerable. With a range of coat hair that goes from being too profuse to too sparse it will be interesting to see a long coated dog penalised because its coat does not comply with the written standards specific requirements for long coat, e.g. too short or too profuse.

Colour

The ‘in colour’ thanks to Walter and Herman Martin is rich black and gold red with a black mask. In effect and to Walters credit and his marketing genius, in conjunction with a couple of other features Walter created a ‘Wienerau brand’ and that brand now seen in a far more exaggerated form remains in a prominent place to this very day and in many ways this has seen the demise of moderation and colour variety and particularly the colour wolf grey.

Colours nominated in the standard are black and reddish brown; brown and yellow to light grey markings, black, and grey with darker shadings. White, non albino, dark eye or not is a disqualifying fault.

I am often asked about white spots on the chest and or toes. The standard states; ‘whiteish markings on the chest indicate paling pigment’. This suggests the dog should be noted as having indications of paling pigment but this never happens and as such it is seen as an interesting marking only.
White spotting, not always but often associated with white feet markings has no genetic connection to pure whites, to albinism, it is a specific colour allele.
Whichever white spot/s a dog has, this spotting will always follow the same 'rules of spread'. White starts on the most extreme edges of the dog. Most commonly the toes and the prosternum, less commonly, the tail tip and even less commonly the foreface.
The signs of paling pigmentation are; lack of mask, pale nails, usually light coloured eyes, orange hair encroaching on or replacing the black and brown hair, light almost white colour on the inside of the rear legs, and the one that’s a no brainer is a red tip to the end of the tail as opposed to a black tip.

Weight

Dogs 30kg to 40 kg
Bitches 22kg to 32 kg

Size

Dogs 60cm to 65cm + or – 1cm
Bitches 55cm to 60cm + or – 1cm.

Unfortunately for the breed and the integrity of many judges and breed surveyors, too often the approach to measuring tends to be one where if the dog is an average to poor specimen it’s penalised for being oversize along with much public chest beating by the judge but if it’s a lovely dog the measurement is falsely stated as being within size to allow the dog to attain a high place and grading.

Measuring a dog is not an exact science because the dog is not a fixed object but experience, a flat surface, ensuring the stick is placed against the ulna and is vertical as shown in the diagram, observation and intelligence allows you to determine an accurate measurement especially in regard to the minimum height of a dog.

Not all, but most oversized dogs tend toward being a bit coarse and tend to have course heads, loose jowls, loose skin and lips that are not tight and that includes the top lips. The primary problem though is that the additional mass and weight is not conducive to a trotting endurance dog. An exaggerated example, but picture in your mind’s eye a Great Dane effortlessly gliding over the ground demonstrating a far reaching gravity defying gait and doing it for 3 to 4 hours!

Head

A beautiful male head, not the broadest skull but a lovely head nonetheless.

A beautiful female head with the desired expression

Expressive, alert, noble, a look of keen innate intelligence, dry – meaning not lippy and jowly, well coloured and well pigmented with dark almond shaped eyes
The head must be in proportion to the dog, the bigger the dog the bigger the head should be.
The head should be wedge shaped looking down on it.
Proportions are 50/50/50 – skull width/skull length/muzzle length.
Dry – as in not lippy/jowly – as stated earlier this can be a problem with very large dogs.
Lower jaw should be strong.
Stating the obvious but a dog must look like a dog and a bitch must look like a bitch. Too often bitches with a narrow head and fine fore face are critiqued as being 'feminine'

Correct male and female head ratio

Top of the skull should be ‘slightly arched’ when viewed from the side as well as the front.
Slightly is the word here – no hint of a dome.
No furrow ideally, a little bit is OK. Close set ears create a furrow, like someone frowning.
Planes of the top of the skull and muzzle should be parallel when viewed from the side. If this is not the case this creates a dish-faced appearance. I have noticed more and more dogs in Germany that have this and then surprisingly I noted that this has been removed from the latest standard?!

Too lippy - see upper lips not just lower lips but correct parallel planes and balanced proportions of skull and foreface length.

Tight lips but diverging planes of the skull and foreface, slightly domed skull and sl.long sl. weak foreface

Stop too defined and sl. short foreface with domed skull

The stop must be clearly evident, gradually sloping but not sharply defined.
Top of the nose should be straight; a Roman nose is not desirable.
Lips dark and taut.
Nose black.
There are a lot of dogs where the head is too refined but at the same time with increased size there is a growing tendency to heads that are course and not 'dry' as the standard requires them to be and this lack of dryness is seen in the skin of the head but it is more obvious in the loose jowly lips. For many people it is more evident in the lower jaws lips because the excess flesh to the lower lips is easier to see than the upper jaws lips as seen below.

Teeth

42 teeth - upper 20 lower 22.

Teeth must be healthy and strong and dare I say clean as in white. Scissor bite - 2mm + gap over or under is an ‘eliminating fault', this means no grading.

The scissor bite applies to the side of the mouth not just the incisors

All adult teeth should be erupted by age 7 months

Large spaces between the teeth are a fault. Sometimes I have seen a gap, a misalignment where a double P1 has been removed!
A straight dental ridge of the incisors is a fault
Missing teeth are a fault – 1 PM + one other tooth / 1 canine / 1 PM or Molar 2 or 3 teeth
Double P1 is not desirable but nor is it a penalizable fault
Level bite is an eliminating fault – no grading. There are degrees of this though. A test is to flick your nail against the face of the teeth and if there is a defined click of the nail it is noted but acceptable. A 'small degree' of level bite will allow class II classification only.

Normal Occlusion of the teeth - side view

Overshot bite and undershot bite is an eliminating fault. Undershot bite; when the lower jaw is longer than upper jaw - is rarely seen.

It is very rare to get missing canines or incisors
Wry bite is an eliminating fault – this can be seen with the mouth closed by looking down on the dog’s muzzle which will show a slight bend.

Eyes

Medium size
Almond shaped
Slightly slanting
Not protruding
As dark as possible – past references to 'matching the surrounding coat' no longer applies
Light eyes are not desirable – this is an aesthetic issue, as with round eyes they spoil the expression, light eyes are noted in the standard as being an indicator of paling pigment.

Ears

Medium size
Carried erect
Pointed
Facing forward
Semi erect ears, low set ears, inward tipped ears and infirm ears are a ‘serious fault’ such dogs are dropped a grading
Ears should be in proportion to the size of the dog, a growing trend is for ears getting too large, a little thin in their leather and they move around during gaiting and sometimes we see ears that have a roll backed tip

Correct ears

Low set ears

Large open inward tilted ears

Large ears

Soft ears with roll back tip

Neck

Strong
Well-muscled
Carried at about 45 degrees in stance and lower – about 15 degrees in gaiting
Good length - about the same length as the radius - elbow to wrist.
Not short
Dogs with a short neck tend to lower their head in movement a bit too much, this is because the centre of gravity is moved forward as the neck and head is lowered and this assists forward locomotion, it increases speed.
If a dog carries its neck and head too high in movement, the centre of gravity is pushed toward the rear in degrees relative to neck length, this reduces speed and to attain speed and or keep up with other dogs because the neck can't be lowered the fore steps become rapid and if the hindquarter is powerful in its drive the forefeet are lifted too high. Ideally in a trotting dog the fore feet should not rise above the ground any higher than the height of the dogs carpus/wrist when its standing.

Long withers, well laid shoulder blade and correct length and strength of neck

Short withers, slightly steep shoulder blade and short neck

Withers

The withers are the section that goes from the base of neck, from the last cervical vertebrae, to the start of the back, this incorporates the first 5 or 6 of the 13 thoracic vertebrae spines. As a general rule the majority of pedigree dogs have the tops of the thoracic spines located level with or just below the top of the shoulder blades. German Shepherd Dogs with a high anticlinal back relative to the tops of the shoulder blades generally have the tops of the thoracic spines T2 > T3 level with or just above the top of the shoulder blades [10mm > 15mm] and German Shepherd Dogs with a lower anticlinal spine position will have the tops of the thoracic spines level with or just below the tops of the shoulder blades. The developmental changes that have taken place within the withers of the German Shepherd Show Dog are seen below and as can be seen by the drawings the impact on the withers shape and definition from both the side and cross section is quite profound. The most efficient position for the thoracic spines relative to the tops of the shoulder blades is open to argument. An argument that can never be resolved in scientific terms due the complexities involved in movement during the trot.

High long sloping withers

Level withers, straight thoracic back and downward bend to a 'straight lumbar spine'. As covered earlier when you have a bend to the lumbar spine but the lumbar spine is 'straight' as opposed to 'slightly curved' there will be a slight 'peak' at the transition point of the back to the loin/lumbar region

The back as defined in the FCI/SV standard and seen in skeletal form below

Whichever preference you have the most important thing is to understand how the dogs spine is constructed and functions and to be aware that as the breed has developed these two fundamentally different sections of 'the back' particularly the lumbar section have changed profoundly.
In the breeds early development it really wasn't that important to see the two sections separately but it is now because the lumbar section of the spine in show dogs generally has a slight downward bend from the thoracic spine and slight spinal curve over it. This is skeletally different to the curve over the full back withers to croup that existed many years ago.

Straight back and straight lumbar spine

Straight back and bend to a straight lumbar spine

Curved back created by a downward lumbar spine bend

Curved back and bend to the lumbar spine. As with the bitch seen above, the lumbar spine is straight and this creates the 'peak' at the thoracic lumber transition point.

Max von Stephanitz said the back, as in withers to croup should be straight and level. The preference by some people for a level back comes from this statement. Under or moderate hind angulation ‘and a straight lumbar spine’ will give a level back, and this is because the patella is at a higher point from the ground thereby raising the height of the lumbar spine.

Straight level back, high hip position, level withers and straight level lumbar spine.

Straight level back generally viewed today within the breeds show fraternity as being characteristics of the ‘German Shepherd Working Dog’ and viewed as desirable by the working dog fraternity, Alsatianist's and people who prefer dogs from the 60's.

Where the spines of the vertebrae change direction in the spines anticlinal region you can sometimes see a nick in the back at that point. This is not a significant weakness in the back it is underdeveloped muscle and it has little impact on the dog’s movement.

The current standard implies that ‘visually’ the back is an extension of the withers, seen as a continuous sloping line flowing into or if you like flowing from the withers and the effect of this can be seen readily in many of today’s dogs where it is much harder to see where the withers finish and the back starts and no more so than in dogs with a curve to the back.

High long sloping withers with a straight slightly sloping back and straight lumbar spine.

Left: Straight spine ......... Right: curved spine - crabbing.

Very good length of croup = wide thigh

Croup

The croup which is primarily formed by the pelvis starting at the iliac crest, the pin bones, includes the tail vertebrae, dermis, skin, muscle etc. It should be long and slightly sloping at about 23 degrees [equates to approximately 27 degrees to the horizontal plain through the pelvis] The predominance of a bend to the lumbar spine has increased the angle of the pelvis and therefore the ''23 ideal degree angle to the horizontal'' on many show dogs is closer to 27 degrees.

Tail

The standard requires the tail to reach at least to the hock ‘but not beyond the middle of the hock’ and hang in a gentle curve.

It is stated in the standard ''the tail should not extend past the middle of the hock'' but it is not listed as a fault so there is no penalty for a tail that runs along the ground.

High set tails are not desirable however it is purely an aesthetic issue and for the inexperienced it can disguise a steep croup.

The tail is a measure of the dog’s soul, he communicates with it and perhaps it is useful for balancing in movement especially turning at speed but this is a point of conjecture and debate.

Ideal shoulder and upperarm length and angle

Forehand

Scapula/shoulder blades contribute to forward propulsion, assist the front legs to lift and swing and help absorb shock. Tradition has it that they should be set at approximately 45 degrees to the horizontal as seen in my diagram however there is argument for 55 degrees, which I support. The ridge that runs longitudinally through the scapula gives it reinforcement. The scapula is only attached to the trunk by muscles and tendons and it oscillates back and forth as it directs energy to the upper arm and on to the forelegs. The angle of the shoulder blade determines the angle of the foreleg at its [natural] fully extended forward reach. A steep scapula and forward placed scapula create a high neck carriage. The way in which people assess the angle of the shoulder blade and the upperarm too is often wrong and the diagrams below show the correct way to do it. Visually outwardly the upper arm length can be deceiving because it curves back at it's top - too often a dog is criticised for having a slightly short upper arm when it is not.

The upper arm effectively transfers the energy, the forward shift in the dogs centre of gravity to the foreleg in its back and forth pendulum swing phases and is pulled forward by a long muscle attached to the base of the skull and rearward by two muscles attached to the rib cage. It does not extend past the vertical in its forward swing phase. Ideally it should be set at about 53 degrees off horizontal and be 10% longer than the scapula.

Whilst seen less and less the foreleg for me should ideally be about 55% of the dog’s height. Its length should be about the same length as the upperarm when measured from inside the elbow to the point of connection to the wrist [carpus]. This does not include the pastern and this is called the radius. Free of other impediments a shorter foreleg equals a shorter stride as seen above.
The maximum foreleg extension can be seen as being a straight line down the middle of the scapula directly along the midline of the humerus and as such the shoulder blade angle [excluding lifting the fore leg at the elbow] determines the foreleg angle and fore foot placement.
Elbows connect the upper arm to the lower arm and they have three separate joints and these allow the elbows to hinge and swivel but they do not allow sideways movement. This latter fact can lead to trauma of the elbow joint, specifically the coronoid process. Elbows should not be turned out nor turned in. The elbows rotate with the dog’s body around the radius allowing outward and inward rotation and this rotation is greatest in trotting dogs. If you hold your palm up and then turn your hand down, that is called pronation and vice versa. When dogs gait pronation and supination occurs, this is normal, the ulna/elbow allows this to happen. This is seen as the foreleg extends out to its maximum point you can see the underside of the pad of the dogs foot. Some animals like horses can’t do this. Dogs with elbow dysplasia sometimes stand with a one foot turned out. Dogs with a narrow chest stand with elbows close together and feet turned out. Insufficient depth of chest, that is when the sternum is above the elbows causes the elbows to be pulled in and under and consequently the feet will be turned out. Barrel chested dogs stand and move with elbows too far apart.
Pasterns are a collection of seven bones and the pasterns should be 1/3 the length of the forearm - the radius - and set at 20 to 22 degrees and effectively act as shock absorbers when the dog is walking, trotting etc. and have a significant flexion and extension range. Through their ligaments during gaiting as the stretch they store energy and via this contribute to the forward drive. The very flexible tarsus/wrist contributes slightly to supination and abduction.
When the wrists [carpus] are weak the pasterns are weak, this is what allows the angle of the pastern to change and the wrist to come closer to the ground. When this happens the feet extend and flatten, the toes open and if the dog has a powerful hind drive it will lift its front feet off the ground by lifting the foreleg at the elbow and this gives a classic high stepping hackney prancing and 'very tiring' forehand action. For a dog with weak wrists it is akin to having long floppy socks that need to be flicked off the ground. Very often I hear judges remark that a dog has flat feet but do not connect that remark to its most common cause being weak wrists.

Feet should be rounded and tight, nails black. Front feet are larger than the rear feet because as I covered earlier there is more weight in the forehand than the rear hand. The feet should be pointing straight ahead when viewed from the front.

Standing correct in front

standing wide in front

Standing east west

Standing narrow in front

Viewed from the side there is a vertical column that is important for forehand balance, this vertical column is the line of gravity. The coinciding/intercepting reference points necessary for the forehand to be balanced in stance and movement is at about the centre of the scapula at its upper point and in area known as the forward pivot point, and the middle of the joint of the upper arm and foreleg. This configuration allows that vertical gravity line to continue down through the ulna and on to the ground. These coinciding reference points only happen when the forehand is correctly structured and can be seen in the diagram shown a little later headed 'optimum relationships for forward locomotion'.
Viewed from the front this vertical column runs through the centre of the column of bone created by the scapula, the upperarm, the foreleg, pastern and foot. A narrow chest which pulls the elbows in or a barrel chest that pushes the elbows out disrupts this balance in movement as the dog tries to position the feet under the line of gravity.

Optimum column of support

Stepping correct in front

Forechest

This is created by the prosternum and should be about 50mm forward of the point of the shoulder. Overdeveloped forechests, i.e. a prosternum projecting too far forward can give the illusion that a dog with a steep upperarm has a very good angle of the upperarm.

Correct forechest [and correct length and angle of the shoulder and upperarm].

Underchest

The sternum forms the base of the underchest and anchors the rib cage and gives support to the elbows. In terms of genetic frequency, chests are getting deeper. Ideally the chest should be about 45% of the dog’s height, this was the norm many years ago but most are now at around 50%. The chests primary function is to provide protection to the heart and lungs. A short underchest is created by the ribs not going back far enough and this reduces vital organ space. This 'tuck up' is beneficial to galloping as it allows greater back flexing, increases speed and increases stride, this is seen in Greyhounds for example but it is not desirable for a trotting endurance dog.

Well developed under chest

Short under chest [straight back]

Hindquarters

The hindquarters specifically their muscles provide the bulk of the drive that gives forward propulsion. For reasons of balance and equitable transfer of energy the upper thigh (femur) and lower thigh (tibia) are about the same length and are very roughly speaking the same length as the shoulder blade and upperarm. For the micro enthusiast who loves detail - the femur is approx. 20% longer than the shoulder blade and the tibia is approx. 20% longer than the upperarm and the upperarm is approx. 10% longer than the shoulder blade. When the dog is standing with the hock plumb the femur and tibia should form an angle of about 120 / 130 degrees or put another way off the horizontal the femur lays at approx. 105 degrees and the tibia at approx. 30 degrees. This is measured through their axis points.
What is overangulation? A misnomer really. The word 'overangulation' is generally used to describe a dog where the hock when vertical extends too far back past a vertical line dropped from the dogs buttocks because the tibia is too long. A misnomer because the word relates to and describes the angle between the femur and the tibia and this angle becomes less as the tibia gets longer not more. A misnomer but we all know what it means.

Hindquarter angulation is determined 'primarily' by the lengths of the femur and tibia and it is generally the tibia. 'Primarily' because as well as one or sometimes both of these bones getting too long or too short and consequently reducing or increasing the angle between them, the angle of the pelvis and or the angle of the lumbar spine and their consequential impact on knee height has a direct bearing on hind angulation too.

In quantifiable terms the general definition for 'very good hind angulation' is when the femur and tibia bones are the correct length and angle. When this exists, when the dog is stood with the metatarsus vertical the rear toes are about 50mm past a plumb line dropped from the outside base of the tail. Another way of doing this rule of thumb guide all be it visually a bit harder to see is to drop the plumb line from the end of the pelvis and this obviously increases the 50mm guide distance. Having said that, a dog can have 'either' a tibia or femur that is too long and not exceed the 50mm / 70mm rule of thumb if the alternate bone is too short. This is not uncommon and can be seen in some of the photo diagrams below.

Ideal hind angulation - front of toes about rear foot width past a vertical line dropped from the tail base or about 70mm past the end of the pelvis/tuberosity . Ideal open angle between the femur and tibia 135 degrees with the tibia at 30 degrees to the horizontal plane.

Excessively angulated - tibia too long, front of toes now about 120mm past the tail base, hip and knee lowered along with the topline and tibia getting parallel to the ground

Correct hind angulation - overangulation

Hip Joint

In a moderate trotting phase the load on the hip joint is six times the dog’s bodyweight and that is an enormous load - 170/180 kilos!
Hip joints relative to the withers pivot point are lower than they once were because of the downward bend/curve to the lumbar spine. This has an impact on a number of issues pertaining to movement such as manoeuvrability, energy consumption, endurance and increasing the hip joint angle to cover the same stride length.

Shift in pivot points - Alongside an increased trunk/ribcage and associated increase in mass and substance, the most significant change in the structure of the German Shepherd Dog since its inception in 1900

Femur

Supports the knee/stifle and in its connection to the pelvis provides stability to the hindquarter.
The femur is a much stronger bone than the tibia, it is the second strongest bone in the dog’s body, and the upperarm is the strongest.
The very substantial muscles of the hindquarter quite often referred to as the hamstring muscles are anchored at the pelvis and create the vast bulk of the drive. They are attached to the femur. Some of these muscles create thrust through the femur down through the knee and on down through the tibia.

Knee

The knee or stifle if you prefer the term, connects the femur to the tibia. It acts as a shock absorber to the hindquarters, it limits the rear extension of the femur and indirectly the tibia and in its functioning process it glides, flexes and rotates.
In dogs that are over angulated and in particular those who have a significant downward bend to the lumbar spine, the knee comes too close to the ground and whilst this has an effect while the dog is standing, during the gait the knee can be impeded to some degree in supporting the weight of the hindquarter.

The impact of a downward curve to the lumbar spine and a longer lower thigh - increased topline slope, hip and knee closer to the ground, flatter angle to the tibia and lower relationship of the knee to the elbow.

Dog in movement with cow hocks / loose hocks. Direction of force is deflected from a straight line and undue stress is placed on the joints during movement

Dog in stance with cow hocks accentuated as above under pressure of movement.

Dog in movement with correct hocks. Force is directed and transferred in a straight line. Minimum stress is placed on the joints during movement

dog in stance with correct hocks

Metatarsus or rear pastern, often wrongly called the hock

Strong medium length hocks are ideal for the GSD.
The hocks act as a lever for motion and work on the lever principle of; energy applied through a fulcrum move a load. The energy applied is at the tip of the calcaneus, the fulcrum is at the base of the calcaneus and the load is at the toes.

When the distance between the fulcrum point and the
load is lengthened this creates more thrust and speed, but
it requires more effort and this causes earlier onset of fatigue

Bones

There is little reference to bones in the standard other than saying the bones should be dry, an odd word meaning not spongy, oval not round and when you run your hand over the bone it is smooth not lumpy. This lack of reference to the bones is interesting given the importance of the bones to the dog especially in regard to the relationship the length of the bones have to muscles and tendons. Long bones mean longer tendons and importantly for a trotting dog longer and broader muscle mass.
Dogs are getting larger and their bones are getting finer. When a dog has this characteristic everything will be refined and this is most evident in the head.
Ideally, as a medium sized working dog the GSD should have sufficient strength and mass to do its designed job. Dogs that are too heavy, too large, too small or too light and the dog looses its ability and flexibility to function to its maximum capacity.

Movement, the big one.

This is correct movement - no exaggeration, balanced, harmonious, the withers have good height and the backline is at a slight not excessive slope, the feet are travelling at about [standing] wrist height from the ground, the forward extended foreleg is at the right angle to the ground being a parallel angle to the well laid shoulder blade and it is not being lifted at the elbow, the pasterns are firm, the front foot seen here at full extension is in a vertical line midway between the eyes and nose, there is moderate not excessive crossover between the rear and front feet, the metatarsus [hock] at the fully extended forward position is well angled to the ground and consequently not in contact with the ground, the tibia and femur are fully extended with the tibia at the correct angle to the ground and there is the desired angle of the metatarsus at its full rearward extension.

Blue dots are the rear and fore pivot points. Ideally the rear extension distance should equal the forward extension distance. When this balance does not exist there will be a footfall timing problem and this is manifested in the dog having to adjust its footfall. This footfall adjustment is often seen in overangulated dogs as a high abrupt lifting of the forelegs from the elbow.

The two drawing below show the optimum transmission line that is generated from the rear to fore pivot points [red dots] on a dog with a straight spine and high hip position [black and white diagram] and impeded transmission line that is generated from the rear to foer pivot points on a dog with a curved spine and low hip position [coloured photograph].

The GSD is a trotter and the fore and hind limbs must be co- ordinated in other words balanced [not equal] in their length and angle so that the dog can transfer energy from the hindquarters to the forehand without any essential change of the topline so that the forehand limbs can fully maximise that energy. Key elements to an effective gait are the dog being of correct size, having correct proportions of the body, having good length and angles of the bones and those lengths and angles being balanced against each other. At its optimum this will give a gait that is far reaching, a gait that gives the impression of being effortless and travelling 'relatively level' over the ground. The head in movement is pushed forward to shift the centre of gravity forward and with a slightly raised tail the result is a consistent smooth trot showing a gently curved uninterrupted upper line from the ear tips over the neck and back to the end of the tail.

Harmonious, balanced, effortless, flowing, ground covering and enduring movement as described in the opening preamble only comes about if everything is in balance. If the croup is short and steep causing reduced thrust and reduced ground cover even if the dog has a perfect forehand the dog can only correspond or perhaps a better word is match the rear hand. The fore reach will be shortened even though it may be able to reach twice as far as it does. The reverse applies with having an ideal hindquarter but short steep upperarm, the dog will react in several ways; it will reduce its hind drive to match the forehands capacity thereby not overloading the forehand or it will deliver the drive unencumbered but lift the forelegs at the elbow as in high hackney stepping to disperse the unwanted thrust. Maximizing energy and ensuring endurance is the best outcome therefore the former action is preferred. There are endless combinations to this but you have got the idea of compensatory drive and reach and the fact that sometimes two faults are better than one!

Finally, all of the above means ‘absolutely nothing’ if the dog is not trustworthy, if it does not have the right attitude, protective instincts, character, abundant energy, instinctive drive, firm nerves, sound outgoing self assured temperament and inherent eager willingness to run, work and please.