What is a "Bitch stripe"?

[Anthony8858]

I've seen and heard the term used.
I was wondering if there was any significance in those have have one?

Does it mean anything?

[msvette2u]

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...og&sa=N&tab=wi

[doggiedad]

the bitch stripe is only found on the purest and most
true German Shepherds. the bitch stripe is only found
on dogs that are a direct descendant of Horand.

Originally Posted by Anthony8858

I've seen and heard the term used.
I was wondering if there was any significance in those have have one?

Does it mean anything?

[4TheDawgies]

Originally Posted by doggiedad

the bitch stripe is only found on the purest and most
true German Shepherds. the bitch stripe is only found
on dogs that are a direct descendant of Horand.

lol

[wildo]

There is lots of discussion about the bitch stripe in this post: Your thoughts on this breeder? 2nd attempt!

[Josie/Zeus]

Koda has it, funny thing is my first dog Zeus was also a showline and his back was solid black.

[Caledon]

Actually I have one and it showed up yesterday when I was in a bad mood and my husband got the brunt of it. Other wise it stays pretty well out of sight.

Sorry could't resist.

[cowgirlup_22]

Here is a picture of my 8 month old female Kiva.She has a bitch stripe and this is what it looks like

ETA: sorry the pics aren't the greatest..still trying to figure out my new phone : /




here we go.this one shows it the best



From what I see and have been told a bitch strip is a strip of lighter colored hairs on the dogs back that goes from their withers/shoulders to their croup/butt. Kiva is a black and tan and in her bitch stripe she has greyish tan hairs mixed in with the black.As she has gotten older more of the greyish tan hairs have popped up.

[GSDAlphaMom]

I've always heard it called ticking. I'd never heard 'bitch stripe' until I saw it on this forum. Ticking is a variation of color, in gsd's ususally light hair down the middle of the back. That's my simple definition. Below is probably more info than you want but I've copied and pasted for your information.

'T, ticking. Some dogs develop flecks of color in areas left white by genes in the S series. The clearest and most obvious ticking is seen in Dalmations, where additional modifier genes have enlarged and rounded the ticks. A large number of irish, piebald and extreme white breeds also have variable ticking, though not often as obvious as the Dalmation. The color of the ticking seems to be the color the coat would be in that area if the white spotting genes were not present. Thus a genetically black and tan Dalmation (a fault) will have tan spots where a black and tan would have tan markings. A ticked sable, ayayTT or ayayTt, may not have obvious ticking, becasue there is not much contrast between the tan and the white. Careful examination, however, will often show tan flecks on the legs. Ticking on a long-haired dog is also difficult to discern.

The usual dominance relationship given is that T (ticking) is dominant over t (lack of ticking.) Some breed-specific sources suggest that ticking acts as a recessive. I am inclined to suspect incomplete dominance of T. In Border Collies, for instance, a color called blue mottle is in fact a very heavily ticked piebald. The In fact roan, which can develop by the gradual growth of pigmented hair in white areas of the coat, may simply be a form of ticking.

Ticked dogs also typically have roan areas. Roan was inherited as a heterozygous genotype at the MGF locus in cattle but plated and ticked dogs have identical MGF sequence. Little (1957) suggested that roan could be caused by a separate gene. It might be said that merle dogs also have roan areas.'

[Scarlettsmom]

So Scarlett's "champagne" colored stripe down her back would or would NOT be considered a bitch stripe? FWIW, it is also a longer, coarser hair.