Oppose German Shepherd Dog Standard Revision coat, color, and DQ

I am struggling with much of the discussion on whites/long coats.



It is NOT about if whites or pandas or whatever are purebred or not. They are. There is no need to discuss DNA testing. They ARE German Shepherd Dogs. Period.



It is not about if they carry genes for health problems or not. Of course they do. Just like the black and tans.



It is 100% about the standard. From the beginning of the breed, whites and pale colors were held in disfavor. They were bred out of the gene pool as quickly as possible. A standard is a blueprint for excellence. By design it is both EXCLUSIVE and ELITIST. Breeding proper dogs of any breed requires an adherence to the standards for excellence. A 16 inch Chihuahua may be a very fine dog, but it is NOT a typical chihuahua and those who seek to breed such animals do not abide by the written standard for the breed. That is their choice, but the Chihuahua parent club would be remiss to change the standard to cater to those who do such breedings. Ditto with our parent club whose very mission statement is to defend and support the standard.



The founders of the breed had a clear vision for our breed. It described an animal of a certain size, a certain build, a certain coat, a certain color, and foremost certain temperament and character traits. I implore all serious shepherdists to read and re-read Von Stephanitz’s book. And to talk to and read about training dogs for work—what is required. The book Working Dogs which details the Fortunate Fields breeding program is superb.



Many, many AKC breeds have standards that excludes certain colors and markings as they are not typical for the breed. Many people purposely breed for the undesired colors (per the standards) and I am sure many of those dogs are quite nice. But they are not typical for the breed.

The parent clubs do not need to pander to these people to “include” them. They breed dogs outside the scope of their breed standards ON PURPOSE.



This club was formed to defend and promote the standard.



Changing whites, which were always held in disfavor, from DQ to very serious diminishes the standard. It does not make the standard more robust.

It actually appeases and encourages those who do NOT adhere to our standard and deliberately and with intent breed dogs who do not conform to our standard. Will the breed suffer if this happens? Probably not. There will always be a core of breeders who strive to breed the proper GSD. Just as there will be those who strive for unusual colors, large size, etc. However, do we want our club to reach out to and pander to those people?

Do we want our voting membership to become increasingly dominated by those who have no regard for our standard?



To me it is simple. Do we defend our standard, or do we not? Are we seeking to redesign and change our breed? These are the real questions.