Because of its outstanding abilities, the German Shepherd can be used as a companion dog, watchdog, guide dog, shepherd dog or guard dog. No matter what kind of job it is, it can do it well. Therefore, there are many people raising German Shepherd dogs. If you want to choose a good German Shepherd dog, you must understand its appearance and characteristics.

German Shepherd

The ideal height at the withers is approximately 24-26 inches for males and 22-24 inches for females. This range is the ideal height for various competitions and training, but heights up to 30 inches at the shoulder occasionally occur.

The German Shepherd is slightly longer than it is tall, with an ideal ratio of 10/8.5.

The male is about 60-65cm tall and weighs about 33-38kg. The female is about 55-60cm tall and weighs about 26-31kg.

The German Shepherd's head has simple, strong lines. The eyes are medium in size, generally almond-shaped, and slightly tilted in position.

The ears are drooped when they are young, and usually start to stand up around four to six months old. If the ears stand up too early, it may be a sign of a larger body size in the future. The ears are slightly pointed and proportionate to the head. If lop ears or arrow ears still appear in adulthood, it may be caused by man-made causes (such as being frequently touched on the ears in childhood) or malnutrition in childhood. If this situation occurs, the dog will never be able to show, but it will not affect its working performance.

The forehead is generally arched, the muzzle is long and strong, the outline is parallel to the outline of the head, and the nose is usually black. The curves of the lips are strong and graceful, and the jaws are strong. It has 42 teeth, 20 upper teeth and 22 lower teeth. Like other dogs, it will replace its teeth once in childhood. It is common to see German Shepherd puppies spitting out their baby teeth.

The neck is well muscled and clear-cut. Usually reaching forward, supporting the head above the shoulders. He will hold his head high when he is happy.

The back of the "West German Shepherd" is tilted backwards and is very stable. The back of the "East German Shepherd" is flat.

The chest is plump and broad. Give your heart and lungs enough space. The chest is slightly forward and protruding, giving people a majestic feeling.

The waist is strong and the hips are long and sloping. The tail is long, thickly haired and set low.

The hair is generally short, straight, dense, thick, and flat against the body. The ears and forehead are covered with shorter hair, and the hair on the front and rear legs is slightly longer.

The common colors are black on the head, face, back and tail, and yellow or brown on the lower part. There are many other colors, and there are also uniform tones all over the body. If the color is too weird, such as white, or the hair is too long, or there is no hair, it is a birth defect. But it generally does not affect its working performance.

A frequently encountered coat color abnormality is white paws, which means one or more paws are white. Although I missed dog shows and various competitions, it did not affect my work performance. Therefore, "German Shepherds" with similar birth defects are often seen in police dogs or military dogs.

The pace is a trot type, the gait is elastic, very relaxed, smooth and rhythmic, the stride length is very large and the frequency is very low. When trotting, the length and angle of the limbs (the angle between the fingertips of the shoulder blades and the upper arm, the front midfoot and the lower arm, the thigh and the calf, the rear midfoot and the little foot) should be coordinated, the head should be slightly extended forward, and the tail should be slightly upturned to maintain The body is balanced to form an uninterrupted graceful curve from the tip to the neck, back, and to the tip of the tail.