In 1974, Tina Barber began developing a unique line of German Shepherds
at Shiloh Shepherd Kennels in New York State. Her goal was to preserve
the type of dog she remembered from her childhood in Germany; dogs who
are good family companions, exceptionally intelligent, mentally sound,
big and beautiful - similar to Chuck Eisenmann's dogs from The Littlest
Hobo. After years of breeding and training German Shepherds, she chose
to start reviving the breed by using the Thuringer lines for
intelligence and the mountain shepherd lines for size and soundness.After
years of selective breeding, Ms Barber separated her foundation stock
from the AKC in 1990. When it came time to choose the name for the new
rare breed, the FIC pointed out that most people knew her lines by the
kennel name, and thus Shiloh Shepherd was chosen.Today four main lines
are recognized, named for the bitches who were instrumental in
developing the breed. Kari brought considerable intelligence and fluid
movement, Ursa had a beautiful and sound body, Ria contributed the broad
head and softer temperament and Sabrina added in the heavier bone
structure and plush coats. Knowledge of these dominant lines along with
their faults and virtues is paramount when breeding Shilohs; just as
crossing these lines correctly can create sound, well formed Shilohs,
crossing them incorrectly can result in hip, back or temperament
problems. Starting in 1990,
Shilohs were registered through the FIC as a separate breed. At this
time, Ms. Barber formed The Shiloh Shepherd Dog Club of America (SSDCA,
Inc.). After the FIC showed some difficulty with standards verification,
Ms. Barber and the SSDCA decided to open their own registry in 1991, The
International Shiloh Shepherd Registry (ISSR). After some documentation
issues became evident, The Complete Computer Place (TCCP) was contacted
in 1992 to design a program to process registry data for the ISSR. They
also maintain an ancestry database to assist in calculating health and
temperament factors within this limited gene pool. The
SSDCA was dormant during part of 1997 to support the opening of a new
breed club, The International Shiloh Shepherd Dog Club (ISSDC). When the
ISSDC stopped working with the ISSR and opened their own registry, the
ISSDCr, the SSDCA reactivated and has been maintained as the breed club
for the ISSR. The ISSDC and its registry closed in 2001. The
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