Internationally Reconized FCI SV Breed Standard for the German Shepherd Dog (NON AKC)

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 Schäferhund).

The German shepherd breed standard was first developed in 1899 by A. Meyer and the 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

The FCI Standard #166, which replaced the March 23, 1991 edition, continues to serve as the authoritative guide for German Shepherds. Classified under Group 1—Driving Dogs, Section 1—Shepherds’ Dogs with Working Titles, this standard outlines the essential characteristics and qualities required for the breed.

German Shepherd Brief Historical 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, they 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 began in 1899 with the founding of the Club, is from the former Central and Southern German stocks then available. They were bred and descended from dogs to create a working dog predisposed to high performance.

To achieve this goal, the breed standard for the German Shepherd Dog defined both its physical construction and essential nature and character traits.

FCI Breed Standards – (SV) General Appearance

The German Shepherd Dog is medium-sized, slightly stretched, strong, and well-muscled, with the “bone” dry and firm in the overall 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 the torso exceeds the measure of the wither 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 a companion, watchdog, protector, and service dog.

FCI Breed Standards – (SV) Head

The head should have a wedge shape, be large yet proportionate to the body, and measure about 40% of the dog’s height at the withers, ensuring it is neither clumsy nor overly long. It is dry in its general appearance and moderately broad between the ears.

The forehead appears only slightly arched and without a central furrow or with just a hint of one, whether viewed from the front or the side.

The proportion of the back-skull to fore-ace is 50:50. The breadth of the back-skull corresponds approximately to its length.

From above, the top of the head, extending from the ears to the nose, tapers into a continuous wedge shape with a slanting but gently defined stop. Upper and lower jaws are definitely strong.

The muzzle is straight, and neither a saddle shape nor an arch is 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.

Faulty conditions include level (pincer), over-, and under-bites, as well as large gaps between the teeth (interrupted arrangement). Likewise incorrect is a straight line of the incisors. The teeth must embed deeply in their places, so the jawbones must develop strongly.

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 the 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.

The tail hangs in a gentle curve when relaxed and lifts more in excitement and movement, but it does not go beyond the horizontal. Surgical corrections are forbidden.

FCI Breed Standards – (SV) Limbs Forehand

The front limbs from all sides are straight, and from the front view, they are perfectly parallel. The shoulder blade and upper arm are of equal lengths and firmly attached to the torso with medium-strong muscling. The angle between the shoulder blade and upper arm amounts to, in the ideal case, 90°, but as a rule, it is 110°.

The elbows, either when standing or moving, may not be turned out; likewise, they may not be 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°) and a steep pastern (less than 20°) are harmful to working suitability, particularly endurance. The paws are round, well-closed, and arched, and the soles are 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. The upper thigh and lower thigh are roughly of equal length and form an angle of approximately 120°.

The sturdy and firm hock joints support a vertical metatarsus from the hock joint. The paws close and slightly arch, the pads stay hard and dark, and the nails remain sturdy, arched, and 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 many undulations 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 firmness and endurance, as well as 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 close and firmly. On the head between the ears, on the front side of the legs, and on the paws and toes, it is short. At the neck, it is somewhat longer and more abundant. The hair grows longer on the backs of the legs, as far down as the wrist and correspondingly down to the hock. At the backside of the thighs, it forms moderate trousers.

Hair 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 not desirable. The nose bulb must be black in all colors of the breed. Missing mask, light (piercing) eye color, light to whitish markings at the chest and under/inner sides, light claws, and red-tipped tail considered as a deficient pigment. The undercoat has a light gray color.

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.

Major Faults and Disqualifications in German Shepherds

All deviations from the above-mentioned points have errors, with the severity of fault appraisal being strictly proportional to the degree of the deviation.

Major Faults

Anything that departs from the standard and known characteristics of the breed in relation to its 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

The following list of specific faults does not address deviations from the scissors bite or the formation of the teeth.

Disqualifying Faults (also ineligible for breed survey):

1. Weak character, biting, nervous.
2. Demonstrated severe hip dysplasia.
3. Cryptorchidism (unilateral or bilateral), clearly unequal or stunted, atrophied testicles.
4. Deformed ears or tails.
5. Dogs with deformities.
6. Dentition faults involving the absence of one P-3 and another tooth, one fang (canine), one P-4, one Molar-1 or Molar-2, or any total of three or more teeth.
7. Incisor (bite) irregularities: overshot by 2mm or more, undershot, or pincer bite (even or level in entire incisor area).
8. Oversize by more than one centimeter.
9. Albinism.
10. White haircoat even if the dog has dark eyes and nails.
11. Langstockhaar (topcoat long, straight, soft, not lying tightly; with undercoat present; flags (feathering) on ears and legs, bushy trousers, bushy tail with the formation of flags on the underside).
12. 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.).

The Bottom Line

The FCI SV breed standard for German Shepherd Dogs is essential for maintaining the breed’s integrity and excellence. By familiarizing yourself with these guidelines, you can ensure that you’re upholding the highest quality and suitability standards for this remarkable breed.

If you have any questions or insights about the breed standards or German Shepherds in general, feel free to share them in the comments below. Your contributions are invaluable, and we encourage you to engage in the discussion.