How do you judge the quality of a German Shepherd? If you want to choose a good German Shepherd, you must carefully examine it. The German Shepherd’s head is elegant, the lines are simple, rich but not crude; the neck is thick, muscular, and the appearance is clear and relative. It is relatively long, in proportion to the head, and has less light skin; the tail is deeply furred, extending at least to the hock joints.
Head
The head is elegant, with simple lines, rich but not crude. However, it must not be too slim at all and must be in proportion with the body. The male's head is strikingly large, while the female's head is strikingly graceful.
Expression: Sharp, intelligent, and calm. Eyes: Of medium size, almond-shaped, slightly slanted in position, not too wide. His face was as dark as possible. Ears: Slightly pointed, evenly proportioned to the skull, forward, erect when the heart is closed, the ideal posture (ear posture) is that when viewed from the front, the core lines of the ears are parallel to each other and straight to the earth. Cropped or floppy ears are disqualifications.
On facial inspection, the forehead was excessively arched, the head was tilted and long, the tone was wedge-shaped, and the stop was not obvious.
Muzzle: Long and rich, with surface lines parallel to those of the skull.
Nose: black. If the nose is not completely black, it will be disqualified. The lips fit well and the jaws are strong.
Teeth: 42 teeth, 20 upper jaw teeth and 22 lower jaw teeth, strong teeth, scissors bite. An overbite or pincer bite of the upper jaw is not required, and an overbite of the lower jaw is a disqualification. The dentition is complete. The absence of all teeth except the first premolars is a serious fault.
Neck
The neck is rich and muscular, with a pronounced and relatively long appearance, in proportion to the head, and not light skin. When he is concerned or excited, he raises his head and raises his neck. Otherwise, the typical posture is to extend the neck forward (supporting the head) rather than forward, so that the head is slightly higher than the shoulders. , especially when dredging.
Topline
The withers are highest and slope back to a straight back. The reverse side is straight and very solid, without sagging or arching. The back is quite short, and the overall impression given by the body is deep and steady, but not bulky.
Breasts
Starts at the sternum, is full, and goes down between the legs. The chest is deep and broad, not superficial, giving ample room for the heart and lungs, and extends forward, with the sternum protruding in front of the shoulder blades when viewed superficially.
Ribs
The breasts are well expanded and long, neither barrel-shaped nor boring. The ribs extend down to the elbow area. Precise rib construction, in small dogsWhen running, the elbow can be allowed to move freely back and forth. Ribs that are too round will block the elbow and cause the elbow to evert; ribs that are too flat or short will cause the elbow to bend inward. The ribs are set well back, keeping the loin relatively short. The abdomen is firm and not paunchy. The lower abdominal arc is only excessively lifted at the waist.
Waist
Viewed from above, it is wide and healthy. Viewed from the side, the length from the last rib to the thigh is inaccurate and unsuitable. The croup is long and gradually slants.
tail
The hair is deep and extends from the tail vertebrae to at least the hocks. The tail is smooth and connected with the rump. The position is short and not too high. When resting, the tail hangs straight down, slightly bent, and looks like a saber. It is slightly hook-shaped and sometimes tilts to one side of the body, which is a fault (it will damage the overall appearance). When the dog is excited or active, the arc will intensify and the tail will be raised, but it will never be bent more than straight. A short tail or a hard finish are serious faults. Tail docking is a disqualification.
Forequarters
The shoulder blades are long and slanted, lying flat and not very far forward. The upper arm forms a right angle with the shoulder blade. The shoulder blades and upper arms are muscular. No matter how you look at it, the forelimbs are straight and the bones are oval rather than round. The pasterns are rich and flexible, forming an angle of 25 degrees from the straight line. The dewclaws on the forelimbs can be removed, but should always be maintained.
The paws are short, the toes are close and rounded, the pads are rich and firm, and the toenails are short and dark black.
Hindquarters
Viewed from the side, the entire thigh structure is very wide, and the left and right thighs are muscular, firm, and approximately at right angles. The upper part of the thigh bone is parallel to the shoulder blade, while the lower part of the thigh bone is parallel to the upper arm bone. The metatarsals (the part between the hock and the claws) are short, rich, and closely connected. Dewclaws, if present on the hind limbs, must be removed. The claws are connected with the forelimbs.
Coat
The ideal dog has a double coat of plain length. The outer coat is as deep as possible, straight, thick, and flat against the body. A slightly wavy coat, often of a just-coat quality, is permitted. The head, including the ears, forehead, legs and soles of the feet are covered with shorter hair, and the hair on the neck is long and deep. The hair is slightly longer on the forelegs and behind the hind legs, spreading to the pasterns and hocks.
Disadvantages: soft coat; silky coat; too long outer coat; woolly quality coat; crooked coat; holey coat.
Facial expression
The expression of the German Shepherd Dog is changeable, and most of the expressions are yes. Rich complexions are preferred. Dull complexion, fading, blue and liver colors are serious faults. White dogs are disqualified.
Gait
The gait of the German Shepherd is a trot. His physical structure determines that he is qualified for his job. Common image: Its gait is beyond imagination, elastic and veryBrisk, smooth and rhythmic, with very long strides and short frequency. When pacing, the stride length is large because the stride length of the forelimbs and hind limbs are both very large. When trotting, the stride length of the front and rear limbs is not that large, but the overall stride length is still quite large, and the movement is powerful but brisk. Because the movement is coordinated and smooth, the gait is stable, just like a machine with good lubricant. The paws are very close to the earth whether they are stretching forward or pushing back. In order to be able to perform this type of ideal gait, very developed muscles and healthy ligaments are required. The hindquarters drive power, through the back, to deliver strong power (slightly aggressive) to the entire body and promote forward movement of the body. (Hind limbs) Stretch a long distance under the body, step on the footprints left by the front paws, the hind paws grip the ground closely, the hock joints, hind stifle joints, and the upper part of the thigh begin to move, and the back kick is performed. Until the movement of the hind limbs is completed, the hind paws finally approach the ground and move smoothly. Overstretched hind limbs will cause one hind paw to drop on the outside of the front paw's footprints, while the other hind paw drops on the inside of the front paw's footprints. Such an action is not considered a fault unless the dog deviates from the correct walking straight line and walks diagonally to one side. .