Breeders of white GSDs?

[Freestep]

I started this discussion in another thread, but rather than hijack it I thought I'd start another one.

I'm just curious--I don't want a white GSD or anything, but I admit to being rather ignorant about this type and I'd like to educate myself.

All the whites I have come across are nervous and skittish, as well as being oversize. Partly because of this, I tended to lump all white breeders into the "BYB" category. And breeding for color--especially for a DQ color--isn't a good breeding practice IMO. However, I've learned that whites are showable in UKC and that there are some breeders who do conformation, obedience, etc., do OFA and all required health screenings, and so there must be ethical breeders of whites out there, producing dogs of good health and temperament.

It seems to me that the gene pool must be rather small, so what do breeders do to bring in new blood? Do they use GSDs of standard colors?

Has anyone seen a WGSD in SchH? In police, SAR or other work?

[Whiteshepherds]

Realistically, when someone intentionally breeds outside the standard they're going to be called something other than wonderful...some people call them BYB's. Those who breed intentionally for whites are no different than other breeders. Some are good at what they do and some aren't.

The breed standard for whites (AWSA standard) as it applies to size is almost identical to the standard for the GSD. The body proportion is slightly different. The AWSA calls for a ratio of 10 to 8.8, the GSDCA calls for a ratio of 10 to 8.5 - The size of the dogs is the same. (height) If you're seeing over sized whites it's not because the standard calls for larger dogs. The WGSDCA standard is the same as the AKC standard except white isn't a fault.

Originally Posted by Freestep

It seems to me that the gene pool must be rather small, so what do breeders do to bring in new blood? Do they use GSDs of standard colors?

Yes some breeders of whites use standard colored dogs in their breeding programs. Both of my dogs have other colors in their ancestry although they're predominately from whites.

As of 2005 if the white German shepherd dog was a stand alone breed it would have been ranked 60 out of 155 registered breeds. (AKC) The gene pool for the WGSD could be better but it is not small. If the WGSD was given separate breed status it would open untapped bloodlines from Europe creating even greater genetic diversity. I would like to see this happen.

Originally Posted by Freestep

Has anyone seen a WGSD in SchH? In police, SAR or other work?

You will see more doing Sch. in other countries if you search under Berger Blanc Suisse or White Shepherd. You won't see too many of them doing it in the US, although some do.

To answer your other questions, yes, whites are K-9's and do SAR. They herd, they track, they're therapy dogs, they trial in performance and obedience. They are as good or bad as the bloodlines they come from...just like any other GSD. Yearly title statistics put out by the GSDCA include titles given to whites btw. (not conformation obviously)