Red Book

50+ YEARS OF HISTORY

The GSDCA Red Book has documented the continuing History of our Breed annually since its inception in 1971. The original intent was to showcase young sires and dams that showed promise of things to come via the Futurity/Maturity system.

Through the years, the Red Book has evolved into a publication that is more accurately referred to as “The Year in Review”. ROM data was added in 1980, AKC Major Point Show data in 1994. Somewhere along the way the Red Book grew to include articles on breeding, veterinary and research topics; performance tabulations; dogs in service articles; and an interview. In this section, we strive to present breeders from all parts of the country who have excelled in our sport without necessarily being in the bright beam of the spotlight.

KEEPING CURRENT

With the advent of the internet, the Red Book dropped most of the articles on breeding, veterinary care and research. This information would likely be out of date in a printed book such as this. However there is a wealth of GSD pictures, pedigrees and info provided for any student of the breed. Not to mention, back issues allow the history of our GSDs to live and we can see where the dogs of today have come from. That is why the Red Book is the #UltimateGSDResource.

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

So what’s in a typical Red Book? It begins with the Standard, then a review of the year’s Award of Excellence winners, and National winners including Juniors. Then the top 20 Sires and Dams based on the year’s Futurity/Maturity winners are showcased. Next is a section on the top 20 Sires and Dams based on progeny winning majors at AKC shows. Later in the book we find the top 20 Living Sires and Dams based on Register of Merit points. In this way, savvy breeders can identify top producers in the beginning of their careers (Futurity), those who have staying power (AKC Majors) and those who have fulfilled all their promise as producers and who also have longevity in their producing careers (ROM).

PERFORMANCE AND SERVICE TOO

But the Red Book is not just for and about breeders. There’s a robust performance section, where we show GSDs with Championships in multiple venues; Performance Champions, a page with photo for earners of the Performance Award of Merit (PAM), the National performance winners and Versatility competitors, the ATAA – Annual Training Achievement Awards – Dual Titled GSDs and rankings of the year’s Obedience and Rally competitors.

Following that is a section called The German Shepherd Dog in Service to Mankind, which contains any hero dog award winners and frequently an article about GSD Search and Rescue. The Red Book breeder interview wraps it all up. Usually 300+ pages of GSD wonderfulness in pictures, pedigrees and write ups.

A MUST FOR EVERY GSD LOVER

Where can you get one? New Red Books are available for sale each fall around the time of the National. Most years sell out, however hard copies of some back issues in their signature Red covers – including a very limited amount of early Red Books from the 1970s and 1980s – are available in the GSDCA online Store.

There are also digital issues going back to 2008. The more recent digital years are even in color! These come as downloadable pdf files so you can take the Red Book with you everywhere on your phone, tablet or laptop.

Owners of the Top 20 Sires and Dams appearing in the next Red Book —

Click here for the AKC Authorization and Sire/Dam Information forms required for your dog’s appearance.