Below are the FCI breed standards incuding German Shepherd breed info
for SV registered German Shepherds.
What is FCI and SV?
FCI stands for Fédération Cynologique
Internationale (World Dog Club). SV is the acronym for the
German
Shepherd Dog Club (Verein für Deutsche
Schäferhunde).
The German Shepherd breed standard was first
developed
in 1899 by A. Meyer and father of the breed, Captain Max von
Stephanitz. They were written and agreed upon to ensure quality in the
shepherd dog breed standards.
June
1997
Revisions FCI
Standard #166;
replaces 23 March, 1991 edition
FCI Classification: Group 1 - Guardian and
Driving
dogs;
Section 1 - Shepherds' dogs with working titles.
Versatile
use: Guardian and Service (Working) Dog
Short historic overview: Since the official
establishment in Augsburg, within the German Canine Association known
as the VDH (German "Kennel Club"), the parent club of the breed, the
Club for German Shepherd Dogs (SV), is responsible for the breed
Standard of the German Shepherd Dog. The Standard was set up in the
first membership meeting in Frankfurt on 20 September 1899, upon the
suggestions of A. Meyer and M. von Stephanitz.
At the 6th membership gathering on 28 July
1901, the
23rd meeting in Köln on 17 September 1909, the conference of the
executive committee and board in Wiesbaden on 5 September 1930, and the
breed committee and board of directors meeting on 25 March 1961. As
part of that one, the World Union of German Shepherd Dog Clubs (WUSV)
was involved with the work. At the WUSV conference on 30 August 1976
they agreed on another revision, and on 23/24 March 1991 assumed full
powers by way of resolution of the executive and advisory committees.
[The current version was adopted in 1997.]
The German Shepherd Dog, whose systematic
breeding was
begun in the year 1899 with the founding of the Club, is from the
former Central and Southern German stocks then available. They were
bred and descended from guardian dogs with the objective of creating a
working dog predisposed to high performance. To reach this goal, the
breed Standard of the German Shepherd Dog was determined, with
reference both to the bodily construction as well as to the essential
nature and character traits.
FCI Breed Standards - (SV) General
appearance
The German Shepherd Dog is a medium-size,
slightly
stretched, strong, and well muscled, with the "bone" dry and firm in
the over-all construction. Important measurements and proportions The
withers height for males is 60 to 65 cm; that of bitches is 55 to 60
cm.* The length of torso exceeds the measure of the withers height by
about 10 - 17 %.
The German Shepherd Dog must be, in its
essential
image, well-balanced, firm in nerves, self-confident, absolutely calm
and impartial, and (except in tempting situations) amiable. He must
possess courage, willingness to fight, and hardness, in order to be
suitable as companion, watchdog, protector, service dog, and
guardian.
FCI Breed Standards - (SV) Head
The head is to be wedge-shaped, large but in
proportion
to the body, with length about 40% of the dog's height at the withers,
without being clumsy or overly long. It is dry in its general
appearance, and moderately broad between the ears. The forehead is seen
from in front and from the side to be only little arched, and without
central furrow or with only a slightly implied one.
The proportion of
back-skull to fore-ace is 50:50. The breadth of back-skull corresponds
approximately to its length. The top of the head (seen from above) from
the ears to the nose is a fairly continuous wedge-shaped taper, with a
slanting but not too-sharply defined stop. Upper and lower jaws are
definitely strong.
The muzzle is straight, neither a saddle
shape nor
an arch being desired. The lips are tight, closing well, and of dark
color. The nose must be black. The teeth must be strong, healthy and
complete (42, conforming to the established rule).
The German Shepherd
dog has a scissors bite; i.e., the incisors must mesh in a scissors
bite whereby the incisors of the upper jaw intersect like scissors with
those of the lower jaw. Level (pincer), over-, and under-bites are
faulty, as are large gaps between the teeth (interrupted arrangement).
Likewise incorrect is a straight line of the incisors. The jawbones
must be strongly developed, so that the teeth can be deeply embedded in
their places.
The eyes
are medium in
size, almond-shaped, somewhat
slanted, and not protruding. The color of the eyes should be as dark as
possible; light, piercing eyes are not desired, as this detracts from
the dog's expression.
FCI Breed Standards - (SV) Ears
The German Shepherd Dog has pricked ears of
medium size,
which are carried upright and neither pointing outward nor inward; they
taper to a point and are held with the opening of the shell facing
forward. Tipped over and hanging ears are faulty. Ears laid back during
gating and/or relaxation are not faulted.
FCI Breed Standards - (SV) Neck
The neck should be strong, well muscled, and
without
loose skin at the throat (dewlap). The head is held such that the neck
is at an angle of approximately 45 degrees from the (horizontal)
torso.
FCI Breed Standards - (SV) Body
The over-line proceeds from the neck,
continuing over
the high, long withers and over the straight back through the slightly
sloping croup without abrupt change. The back is moderately long, firm,
strong, and well muscled. The loin is broad, short, powerfully
fashioned, and well muscled. The croup should be long and slightly
sloping (approx. 23° from the horizontal) and without a break in the
over-line as it continues over the tail-set.
The chest should be
moderately broad, its underline as long as possible, and pronounced.
The depth of chest should be about 45% to 48% of the dog's height at
the withers. The ribs should widen out and curve moderately.
Barrel-shaped chests or slab-sided appearance are equally
faulty.
The
tail extends at least up to the hock joint, but not beyond the middle
of the metatarsus. Its hair is somewhat bushy on the underside. It is
carried in a gentle hanging curve when relaxed, and is lifted more in
excitement and in movement, though not over the horizontal. Surgical
corrections are forbidden.
FCI Breed Standards - (SV) Limbs Forehand
The front limbs are seen from all sides to
be straight,
and from the front view are perfectly parallel. Shoulder blade and
upper arm are of equal lengths accumulated and firmly attached to the
torso with medium-strong muscling. The angle between shoulder blade and
upper arm amounts to, in the ideal case 90°, but as a rule is
110°.
The
elbows, either when standing or moving, may not be turned out; likewise
not pinched together. The forearms in the standing dog are seen in all
views to be straight and perfectly parallel to each other, dry, and
firmly muscled. The pastern has a length of approximately 1/3 that of
the forearm and has an angle of approx. 20° to 22° to this.
Both a
slanting pastern (more than 22°) as well as a steep pastern (less than
20°) are harmful to working suitability, particularly endurance. The
paws are round, well closed and arched, the soles hard, but not
inflexible. The nails are sturdy and of a dark color.
FCI Breed Standards - (SV) Hind quarters
The position of the hind legs is slightly
toward the
rear, and viewed from behind the hind-legs are parallel to each other.
Upper thigh and lower thigh are roughly of equal length and form an
angle of approximately 120°. The thighs are powerful and well muscled.
The hock joints are sturdily built and firm; the metatarsus is vertical
from the hock joint. The paws are closed, slightly arched, the pads
hard and of dark color, the nails sturdy and arched, and also
dark.
FCI Breed Standards - (SV) Movement
The German Shepherd Dog is a trotter. The
limbs must be
so harmonious with each other in length and angulation, that without
creating much undulation of the top-line, the hindquarters can push the
torso forward in such a manner that the stride matches that of the
forequarters. Every tendency toward over-angulation of the hindquarters
decreases the firmness and the endurance, and with that the working
ability. With correct structural proportions and angulation, a
far-reaching, ground-covering, level gait results, which conveys the
impression of effortless forward movement. With the head thrust forward
and tail slightly lifted it presents, in a fairly level, balanced, and
smooth trot, one uninterrupted, gently flowing over-line from the tips
of the ears over the nape and back, through to the end of the
tail.
FCI Breed Standards - (SV) Skin
The skin is (loosely) contiguous without,
however,
forming
folds.
FCI Breed Standards - (SV) Coat
Condition of the hair
The correct type of hair-coat for the German
Shepherd
Dog is the Stock-hair (straight, harsh topcoat) with undercoat. The
topcoat should be as tight as possible, straight, harsh, and lying
closely and firmly. On the head between the ears, on the front side of
the legs, and on paws and toes it is short. At the neck somewhat longer
and more abundant. On the backs of the legs the hair grows longer as
far down as the wrist, and correspondingly down to the hock. At the
backside of the thighs it forms moderate trousers.
Colors
Black with reddish-brown, brown, tan, and/or
light gray
markings. Solid-black. Sable with dark overcast. Black saddle and mask.
Inconspicuous, small white chest markings, likewise light color on the
insides, are allowed but not desirable. The nose bulb must be black in
all colors of the breed. Missing mask, light (piercing) eye color, as
well as light to whitish markings at chest and under/inner sides, light
claws, and red-tipped tail are to be considered as deficient pigment.
The undercoat has a light gray color. The color white is not
permitted.
FCI
Breed
Standards - (SV) Size/weight*
Males: Withers height 60 cm to 65 cm; weight
30 kg to 40
kg
Females: Withers height 55 cm to 60 cm; weight 22 kg to 32 kg
Testicles
Dogs should display two evidently normally developed testicles,
situated in the scrotum.
Faults
All deviations from the above-mentioned points should be considered as
errors, the severity of fault appraisal being strictly in proportion to
the degree of the deviation.
Major Faults
Anything that departs from the Standard and known characteristics of
the breed in relation to the suitability for work;
Ear faults:
Held out
to the side; low-set; tipped over; overset (tipped toward each other);
weak; Considerably lacking in pigment; Considerable deficiency in
overall firmness.
Dentition faults:
All deviations from the scissors bite and
the formation
of the teeth that are not dealt with in the following list of specific
faults.
Disqualifying Faults (also ineligible for
breed survey):
a) Weak character, biting, nervous;
b) Demonstrated severe hip dysplasia
c) Cryptorchidism (unilateral or
bilateral), clearly
unequal or stunted, atrophied testicles;
d) Deformed ears or tails;
e) Dogs with deformities;
f) Dentition faults involving the absence
of: one P-3
and another tooth, or one fang (canine), or one P-4, or one Molar-1 or
Molar-2, or any total of three or more teeth;
g) Incisor (bite) irregularities:
overshot by 2mm or
more, undershot, or pincer bite (even or level in entire incisor area);
h) Oversize by more than one centimeter;
i) Albinism;
j) White haircoat even if the dog has
dark eyes and
nails;
k) Langstockhaar (topcoat long, straight,
soft, not
lying tightly; with undercoat present; flags (feathering) on ears and
legs, bushy trousers, bushy tail with formation of flags on the
underside);
l) Langhaar (topcoat long, soft; without
undercoat,
generally parting in the middle of the back; flags at ears, legs, and
tail).
*Dogs are 60-65 cm (23.6 to 25.6 inches) and
30-40 kg
(66-88 lbs.); bitches 55-60 cm (21.6 to 23.6 inches) and 22-32 kg
(481/2 to 701/2 lbs.).
Translated by Fred Lanting, SV Conformation
Judge
Reprinted from Schutzhund USA Magazine
The eyes
are medium in
size, almond-shaped, somewhat
slanted, and not protruding. The color of the eyes should be as dark as
possible; light, piercing eyes are not desired, as this detracts from
the dog's expression. 
