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Langstockharige Duitse Herdershond

History

The long coat gene has been within the breed since the beginning. By using various local shepherd dogs with different coat types from Wurtemberg, Thurginia, and Bavaria, dedicated breeders were able to produce a responsive, obedient, and handsome German Shepherd. In April 1899, Capt. Max von Stephanitz registered a dog named Horand as the first Deutsche Schaferhund, which means German Shepherd Dog in English. It is known that long coat shepherds were shown in Hanover in 1882, and the short coat variety was presented in Berlin in 1889. And up until 1915, both long-haired and wire-haired varieties were exhibited. Most of the top dogs of the present carry the gene for long coat, as did most of the top dogs throughout the breed's history. Strange that it is only the short coated that is shown these days! Discrimination against the long coats in breeding has been practiced for many years, but has failed to eliminate the gene or even to reduce the frequency with which it occurs. Why discriminate against the long coat when more important issues are within the breed. If a dog is of outstanding physical and mental soundness, then does it not seem trivial to discard that dog merely because its coat is a bit too long. There are so many major physical and mental traits within the breed that need to be improved upon. Until breeders consistently produce dogs that are to a great degree free of mental and physical unsoundnesses, including hip, elbow, digestive, and temperament problems, then the trivial issues of coat and colour should not be given as high a priority as they are in the discriminative process. Long coat German Shepherds are beautiful dogs to behold They have bushy tufts behind the ears, big bushy tails, long fringes along the backs of the legs, and longer hair between the toes. If you don't intend to show your dog in conformation, there's no reason to avoid the long coat GSD. These dogs can and do compete in obedience and other working disciplines. Some owners say that the long coat German Shepherd's character and temperament is also different than the normal coated dog: sweeter, calmer, gentler, more mellow or more comical! Probably something to do with all the cuddles that they get as pups!!!

General appearance The German Shepherd Dog longhaired is medium size, slightly stretched, strong, dry and well muscled, with strong bones, whilst the whole body must appear compact. Size proportions At the point of the wither,the measurement must be between 60-65 cms in males and 55-60 cms in females. The German Shepherd dogs body length must surpass the wither height by between 10-17%. Character The German Shepherd Dog must be self assured, balanced with strong nerves and absolutely impartial behaviour, whilst maintaining a good nature - until pushed to the limit. The German Shepherd Dog must be vibrant and easy going. Futhermore the German Shepherd dog must be courageous, have a strong fighting instinct and possess firm nerves. These are essential requirements since the German Shepherd Dog is to be used as companion, guardian, protector and a working sheepdog.

Head The German Shepherd Dog's longhaired head has to be wedge shaped and it should be proportionate in size to the rest of the body (the length of the head should be approximately 40% that of the wither height), without appearing clumsy, shapeless or coarse or overlong. The general apperance of the German Shepherd dog must be dry ( no flabby , loose skin ).The distance between the ears must be moderate. The forehead of the German Shepherd Dog (whether seen from the front or the side), should not appear to be domed and have only little or no centre furrow. The ratio between the forehead and the end of the muzzle must be almost 50/50. The forehead width must be the same as its length. The German Shepherd dogs skull (seen from the top, from the ears to the tip of the nose must consist of smooth lines, whilst having a defined seperation between the skull and the muzzle (stop). Both the under and the upper jaw must be well developed. The muzzel must be straight, it is not desirable for it to be any other way. The lips must be tight,well-nit and of dark colour.

Nose The nose must be black. Mouth The mouth must be strong, well-developed, healthy and complete (42 teeth in total). The German Shepherd dog must have a scissor-like bite, in other words the bottom teeth locking with the top teeth in a scissor-like formation. Furthermore, the upper jaw must overlap the bottom jaw. The definition on the sides of the jaw, is positioned in such a way, so as the top must over-lap the bottom in a scissor-like close. The bones of the German Shepherd dogs jaw must be well developed so the teeth are not prematurely worn. Eyes The German Shepherd Dog's eyes are middle size, almond-shaped and slightly angeled, whilst they must not protrude. The eye colour should be as dark as possible. Light eyes are not desirable as they spoil the expression of the dog.

Ears The German Shepherd has ears which are middle sized, firm textured, broad at the base, set high on the skull, are carried erect ( almost parallel and not pulled inwards ), taper to a point and open towards the front. Tipped ears are faulty. Hanging ears are a very serious fault. During movement the ears may be folded back. Neck The German Shepherd dogs neck must be strong, well muscled and without excessive, loose skin at the throath. It should be at a 45degree angle to the body. Body The Body of the German Shepherd should begin with a smooth top line from the back of the neck and continuing in a straight line over a well developed wither and sloping slightly toward the croup, without any visible disturbance. The back is firm. strong and well muscled. The loin is broad, well developed and well mucsled.The croup must be long and slightly angled ( about 23degrees to the horizion), without any disturbance to the top line, it must continue toward the begining of the tail. Feet The feet of the German Shepherd dog should be rounded, toes well closed and arched. Pads should be well cushioned and durable but not brittle surfaced. Nails short, strong and dark in colour.

Hindquarters The position of the German Shepherd dog bones are rounded toward the back. When viewed from the back, they are parallel to each other. The upper and lower thigh bones are aalmost of the same length and create an angle of aproximately 120 degree. The thighs must be strong and well muscled. The hock joint must be strong and tight, whilst on a vertical line to the rear feet. Gait The German Shepherd Dog is a trotting dog. To acheive this the limbs must be in such balance to one another so that the hind quarter may be thrusted well forward to the mid-point of the body and have an equally long reach with the forefoot and without any noticeable change in the back line. The correct proportion of height to corresponding length of limbs will produce a ground-covering stride giving the impression of effortless movement. The head thrust forward and tail slightly raised-balanced and even trotting is seen with a flowing line, running from the tips of the ears over the neck, back and the tip of the tail.

Skin The German Shepherd dogs skin is Tight, without any wrinkles. Coat The consistency of the hair: The correct hair type for the German Shepherd dog consists of the undercoat and an topcoat. The topcoat must be made up of dense, straight - hard and close- lying hairs. The hair on the head, ears, paws and legs must be longer and even denser. The hair at the back of the hind legs form a moderate "trouser". Colour The base color of the German Shepherd dog should be black with markings of brown, red-brown, blonde and light grey. Alternatively a grey base-colour with "clouds" of black markings and a black "saddel" and "mask". Inconspicuous white markings on the chest, and "brighter" shades on the under- and inner sides of the dog are permitted but not desirable. The nostrils must in all cases be black. Non-existence of a "mask", bright - until piearcing eye colour as well as light/white nails and are coloured tail top are cosidered as a lack of pigmentation, the undercoat is a slight grey tone. White is not permitted.

Height/Weight Male: witherheight 60 cm to 65 cm weight 30kg to 40 kg Female: witherheight 55 cm to 60 cm weight 22 kg to 32 kg. Testicles Male animals must have two, apparently normal testicles fully developed in the scrotum. Faults Any Departture of the German Shepherd dog from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarde should be in exact proportion to its degree. Serious Faults Departure from the breed standard which has been stated in the contex and which affects the usefulness and appearance of the German Shepherd dog, is considered a serious fault. Lack of pigmentation, heavy and loose dogs, missing or faulty dentition and /or jaw formation.

Faults of ears Ear set too low on the side of the skull, soft and tipping at the tops. Exclusion Faults a) Aweak character and nervous or nervous biters. b) Proven (documented) serious "HD" condition. c) Monorchids, cryptorchids or deformed testicles. d) Deformed tails and ears. e) Dogs with deformities. f) Dogs with missing teeth. g) Faulty jaws (under-or over shot mouths). h) Oversize / undersizeze by more than 1 cm from the set standard. i) Albinos. j) If the colour of the hair is white (regardless if the nose / eyes are dark). k) Longcoated dogs (where the hair is soft, long, not tight - especially noticeably long inside and on the outside of the ears, long hair behind the front and rear legs, long hair hanging from the tail). l) Longhair with absolutely no undrecoat, where the hair from the back is parted in the middle and hangs down the side of the dog.

Faults Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.

Note * Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.