The German Shepherd Dog Breed- Varieties and Types

Varieties Within the Breed

On other posts I explained how the clubs that administer the breeding of purebred dogs worldwide and of German Shepherds are arranged and organized. I also explained the differences between two very important lines within the breed; the GSD of American lines and the German Shepherd of German lines. It is important though, to explain that in actuality the GSD breed is just one. In accordance with the GSD breed standard written by the SV, it can have fluctuations in structure to a certain extent. Seemingly, the most evident changing characteristic is color. Any change outside the stipulations of the standard of breed is disqualifying. Long coated German Shepherds for example, are mentioned in the standard, but do not fulfill the ideal described in it; so, although long coated German Shepherds are GSDs, they are not acceptable representatives of the breed. Although a long coat is considered a disqualifying fault, there are breeders in the US and Canada mainly, that still breed them. Certain breeders are committed solely to breeding long coated German Shepherds.

There also exist different types within the breed. They can be divided in two categories. One category includes dogs with physical attributes that embody the expected function of the dog and dogs that have physical characteristics which expose where they are originally from. In the first category, I'm talking about the evident distinctions between Show Lines or High Lines, and Working Lines. The physical structure of the dogs from Show Bloodlines closely approximates the goal delineated in the breed standard, and GSDs of Working Bloodlines are bred emphasizing their inclination for the job more than their physical characteristics. In the second category, I'm talking about the different types that look different depending on where they come from. A few examples of these dogs are west and east German, Czech and British. All these dogs have types which are typical of their place of origin, but they all abide by the breed standard.

New Breeds Developed from the GSD

We also have the White German Shepherd (known as the American White Shepherd) which being white is not accepted under the standard of the breed and is not bred in Germany. Nonetheless, in the USA there are breeders who are devoted exclusively to breeding them. Because of this, they have evolved individually; so that they don't share some of the characteristics of the German Shepherd dog breed any more.

There are other breeds, including wolfdogs, which have been conceived using the GSD as their base. A few of them are the Shiloh Shepherd, King Shepherd, American Tundra Shepherd and Czechoslovakian Wolfdog.

In a next article I will explain a few more things about these types and varieties within the German Shepherd dog breed and also about some breeds that have developed from it.