The German Shepherd
Dog Illustrated Standard
Illustrated by Orrie Nordness
Web Version by John Ayotte
and Bill Pfeiffer
Sponsored by The German Shepherd Dog Club of America
Printed copies may be ordered from the Parent CLub Office.
Neck, Topline, Body – The neck is strong and muscular, clean-cut and relatively long, proportionate in size to the head, and without loose folds of skin. When the dog is at attention or excited, the head is raised and the neck carried high; otherwise, typical carriage of the head is forward rather than up, but a little higher than the top of the shoulders, particularly in motion.
Topline: The withers are higher than and sloping into the level back. The back is straight, very strongly developed without sag or roach, and relatively short.
The whole structure of the body gives an impression of depth and solidity without bulkiness.
Illustration 9
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Chest: Commencing at the posternum, it is well filled and carried well down between the legs. It is deep and capacious, never shallow, with ample room for lungs and heart, carried well forward, with the posternum showing ahead of the shoulder in profile.
Ribs: Well sprung and long, neither barrel-shaped nor too flat, and carried down to a sternum which reaches to the elbows. Correct ribbing allows the elbows to move back freely when the dog is at a trot. Too round causes interference and throws the elbows out; too flat or short causes pinched elbows. Ribbing is carried well back so that the loin is relatively short.
Abdomen: Firmly held and not paunchy. The bottom line is only moderately tucked up in the loin.
Loin: Viewed from the top, broad and strong. Undue
length between the last rib and the thigh, when viewed from the side,
is undesirable.
Croup long and gradually sloping.
Tail bushy, with the last vertebra extended at least to the hock joint. It is set smoothly into the croup and low rather than high. At rest, the tail hangs in a slight curve like a saber. A slight hook–sometimes carried to one side is faulty only to the extent that it mars general appearance.
Illustration 10
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Illustration 11
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Forequarters – The shoulder blades are long and obliquely angled,
laid on flat and not placed forward. The upper arm joins the shoulder
blade at about a right angle. Both the upper arm ad the shoulder blade
are well muscled. The forelegs, viewed from all sides, are straight and
the bone oval rather than round. The pasterns are strong and and springy
and angulated at approximately a 24-degree angle from the vertical. Dewclaws
on the forelegs may be removed, but are normally left on.
The feet are short, compact, with toes well arched, pads thick and firm, nails short and dark.
Illustration 14
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Illustration 15
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Illustration 17
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Illustration 12
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Illustration 13
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Illustration 16
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Illustration 18
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