In my opinion My male Bruno is of a medium structure and weight he is 17 months. He weighs 75 pounds and Stands 65.5 cm, and to me especially next to his father He would be considered medium. Next to brunos Uncle whjo is 30 in 125 pounds his father is small .Bruno still has to fill out but his father is 105 and I dont expect my boy to reach near that. My female is 62 cm she is 70 pounds but she is to me somewhat masculine

 

60 is too small 100 is too big 70-90 is perfect german shepherds are large dogs they are not medium sized dogs they are LARge dogs like a rottie or a doberman.


a medium sized dog is a lab or a border col, aussie shepherd, cattle dog, siberian husky, samoyed, mal, pitbull um do i have to go on?


a extra large dog is a malamute or a great pyr

a giant dog is a mastiff, great dane, st bernard etc..

 

60 is too small 100 is too big 70-90 is perfect german shepherds are large dogs they are not medium sized dogs they are LARge dogs like a rottie or a doberman.


a medium sized dog is a lab or a border col, aussie shepherd, cattle dog, siberian husky, samoyed, mal, pitbull um do i have to go on?


a extra large dog is a malamute or a great pyr

a giant dog is a mastiff, great dane, st bernard etc..

Rotties are MUCH bigger than a GSD (Standard sized in each)

Rottie - Technically a "medium / large" breed, according to the FCI standard the Rottweiler stands 61 to 69 cm (24"-27") at the withers for males, 56 to 63 cm (22"-25") for females, and the weight must be between 50 to 58 kg (110-130 lbs) for males and between 40–48 kg (90-105 lbs) for females. Weight must be relative to height."

 

hmm that is strange because every rottie i have seen is shorter and seems smaller than my shepherd who is mature at 90 pound and very athletic working shepher 1/2 czech half german. I had no idea the rottie standard was like that most of them seem small compared. I guess they are extra large but not giant breeds.

 

The Rotties I see that are from reputable breeders are usually standard height or a little larger. I see plenty Rotties from backyard breeders and they can be rather small.

 

My current girl, Koda, is 58-60 lbs and fluctuates from morning to night. However, her sister is 63 and her brother is 145 (ya. Monstrous beast).
My past two were 90 lbs, then 85 lbs. I prefer dogs on the larger side of the standard. Yes they are less agile blah blah blah and they're "medium" dogs but I like the punch my two males could pack with their lean weight.
Plus, I myself am a petite 100 lb girl and it is a great convo starter when people see me with a larger shepherd (not oversized, just larger). Because the dog is so big they get more curious. Then I get to brag on my breed and explain that training and good breeders are the key

 

If 70lb. is a medium sized dog, what's small, and what's large!?

Dogster has x-small at under 10lb, small at 11-25lb, medium 26-50lb, and large at 51-100lb. XL is over 100lb!
That's how I tend to think of sizes as well, for instance, Libby ranges from 38-40lb, and to me, that's medium.

 

:thumbup:

 

This thread made me weigh and measure Benny. He is 27 inches from floor to shoulder and 95 pounds! He has grown an inch and gained 8 pounds in the last year. He goes in at the waist and does not seem over weight. Does he need to lose?
Here are two pic taken today at tracking.

 

Abby is 25.5 and 70 pounds yet people comment on how small and slim she is. According to the standard she is just over the top. Other females I see are bigger than her.

 

Abby is 25.5 and 70 pounds yet people comment on how small and slim she is. According to the standard she is just over the top. Other females I see are bigger than her.
View attachment 17104

Actually, the US standard says 22-24" for a female GSD. Although I suspect that there are few in the show ring anywhere near the lower range of the standard.

 

Not that it makes a huge difference, but in my own mind the way I classify dogs is something along these lines:

Tiny = 10 lb and under
Small = 11-25 lb
Medium = 26-50 lb
Large 51-90 lb
Extra Large 91-120 lb
Giant = 121 lb and over
*(Additional categories -
That's not a dog, it's a horse! = 180 lb and up Hahaha
I have cats bigger than that! = 3 lb and under
Hahaha)*

 

Hahaha! This I relate to

 

Ok i consider my gsd's to be of medium size my male at 18 months is 26" in and 75 pounds. My breeder said he will fill out to 85-90 but I dont see this happening but he know his dogs better, also i just got in from the vet and my lady is 69 pounds and just under 24 in at the shoulder but she looks 80 pounds. Now my gf's uncle has a 130 pound J.A.B and my dogs both look very slim. next to a mastiff my pups look like pups.

 

Well to be honest, people who look at these standards to me are missing something. These standards were written over a hundred years ago. All domestic animals and people have naturally gotten bigger over the past 100+ years. During the American Revolution the avg American male was 5'7inches. Today it's 5'10inches. I am around race horses and can tell you the avg thoroughbred in the US has increased by a hand+ (4 inches +) over the past 120 years. Why do people think the gsd should not have increased in size? Due to improved nutrition alone this would cause people or animals to increase in size. This is scientific fact. To me a gsd should have increased in size and weight due to better knowledge of nutrition for the pregnant bitch and the puppies after birth. Using 100+ year old standards is just plan nutty. Thats my opinion anyway.

 

J/W have you ever seen an oversized gsd doing police work or herding livestock all day . As far as the breeds evolving I can understand, but I dont think an increase in size is natural for all living things. Some things have infact gotten smaller like Insects and almost all animals actually. There is a very good reason for the standard .Cpt.Max von stephanitz the father of the breed had very specific reasoning for creating the gsd. There is a reason they have been one of the greatest most popular breeds in history. Its not because they have gotten bigger. Can you explain what you mean by people who look at these standard are missing something? What is it that we are missing?

 

I think that if the breed is able to retain its purpose, ability, temperament, look, etc that it may not be so bad for them to be larger. BUT, they should not be purposely bred to increase size. If the dog ends up larger but is still a great example of his/her breed then I have no problem with it (particularly because many other species have increased in size including us). Just my thoughts Not tryin to start a war or argue woth anyone.

mharrison- I have had two police k9s (one retired and one washout) and both were over the size stated in the standard xD This isn't typical, but that's just the two I have had

 

Thats a big dog Gsd or not lol I guess my foots in my mouth but I still haven't seen to many 120 pounders at my club or any club I've visited maybe once or twice. Probably that would include my life but i could be wrong. Anyways I dont see why everyone wants a huge dog.

 

I read that article a good 20-30 years ago.

I am not promoting big dogs, but I just thought that article was interesting and worth mentioning.

 

Huge dogs are great for increased intimidation, SOMETIMES. Also, the increased damage is attractive to some people. I am a very small female (I myself waver between 95-100 lbs), and I have always felt a strong pull towards dogs that can aid me if I am unable to defend myself. Growing up I was taught larger dogs do more damage and are better at this.

Granted, my current shepherd is only 60-65 lbs and is fully capable of inflicting damage (though I am proud to say she is a big mushmellon). xD

 

It was your on a roll (Falkosmom) by the way. I had a gsd who was oversized 31 at the shoulders and about 135- 140 ponds at 30 months huge but couldnt run with my 95 pound male for 10 minutes. Was intimedating he was softas a pillow but huge. He had longer hair too and he was pure gsd akc papers picked him up from XXXXXXX out of florida. So my statement is from personal experience.

 

Now that is a big shepherd!!! O-O Lol! Doesn't surprise me that he couldn't keep up with the smaller male though

 

Yeah his father and mother where overe 115 he was huge but he only lived to be 5 bad story.

 

Ouch, that is young.

 

put your gsd next to a cattle dog aussie shep, border collie, spgriner spaniel or siberian husky (not a giant malamute or sled dog mix) gsds are much larger those dogs i do not conisder large they are medium though not small


the mal is a medium sized dog also my trainer has them and they are much smaller than my working shep my friend has 3 ridgebacks 2 female are slighty smaller than my shep and the male is a bit bigger. Most dobies i see are a bit smaller also. I consider them large dogs also about the size of shepherds. But 65-85 pounds is a big dog.

 

Also i went to some dog shows in canada. I didnt enroll my dog but my friend breeds and competes dogs (not gsd). I was just watching with mine. The gsd males in the show were bigger than my 90 pound dog here in canada. They were huge. I dont think people are weghing them in shows or even care about weights at all. They were really big dogs.

 

Look at the size and shape of other breeds of dog. Alot have stayed true for well over 100 maybe even 1000 years. By the way the breed standard for the gsd has been revised a few times since Von stephanitz. Not saying you dont have points i just dont agree. I consider gsd's large breed they just dont look so large next to other large breeds.

 

LOL, thats fine I would certainly not consider myself a dog breeding expert. I just always felt that there was an explanation for a certain degree of increased size. Now breeders are certainly the cause of the majority of increase. 130lb dogs are not due to improved nutrition. But 75lbs to 85lbs. That could be attributed to nutrition over 100 yrs. But thats just me and have never seen any research either way.

 

I want to share this: German shepherd dog from 1915

And please keep posting about those GSDs closer to the lower range of the standard (66 lb for males and 48.5 lb for females). I don’t want to believe I’m looking for something long gone.

 

68lbs (weighed recently before a heartworm test)

I didn't dig that blog post. Too much reducing this breed down to something as exclusive as size. Getting a Malinois because you want a GSD in a smaller size? Um yeah right! WAY different temperament. Plus I know quite a few Mals and Dutches that are taller and heavier than both my male GSDs.

 

Mals and shepherds are two very different dogs, size aside.

There is a lot of emphasis on size. Personally, I think it's too much emphasis. As long as a shepherd is in the breed standard size range I am okay with it. Of course I've seen odd ones out. My friend got a shepherd 3 years ago from a breeder with no large dogs (males were 70-80lbs) and her male ended up being 85-90lbs. You get what you get. The quality breeders who aren't trying to make the dogs huge are still out there. You just have to look for them, be willing to travel, etc.

 

Well I'll start out by saying that my family has purchased a GSD and is our first. Our previous 2 dogs were Great Pyrenees. Now I'll add that I personally could not care less about what the AKC or any other group says is the breed standard. What the AKC judges as a perfect GSD in a show arena is a poor excuse for a dog, in my opinion. Breeders care more for a certain look then a functional dog. Can someone tell me why a dog who fits perfectly into the standards and wins a show title yet is not capable of performing a GSD's job is better then a 90lb GSD who can? Size and weight should have NO factor on the quality of the dog. If the dog can do the job then its a quality dog, period. If both parents are GSD's then the offspring regardless of traits is too. Why can a coated GSD not compete in a show ring? It's a GSD. Oh it's a recessive trait. Well so is human blonde hair and blue eyes, do we exclude them from beauty contests? I find the AKC nothing but a political BS organization. Breeders should worry more about the abilities, drive and temperments of the GSD and a heck of a lot less on looks.

 

Now I'll add that I personally could not care less about what the AKC or any other group says is the breed standard.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but at least blame the right people. The AKC has nothing to do with setting the breed standard, that's done by the GSDCA.

 

Had Uma in yesterday for a check up and she weighed 59.8lbs which was great with me. My husband's male (Uma's half brother) weighed 73lbs at his last check up. To me both dogs are an ideal size to work and I wouldn't want any bigger. I also own a WGSL male who weighs 84lbs and he seems absolutely gigantic to me. Not a size I would want as the norm for a GSD, he is just too big and just doesn't portray the athleticism of the others. Although he is a total clown and I love him to death.

 

My female is about 23 1/2 inches tall and weighs a lean 76 - 78 pounds. Compared to our last gsd, a male we rescued as a pup who grew to be a very large dog (in excess of 27" and a lean 105 lbs) she seems small, but in reality she is large by the standards.

 

Besides that, coats can be shown in AKC. It's a minor fault.

Mirada is a little over 22" and weighs 58 lbs, Strauss is 27" tall and weighs 87 lbs, Mahler is 17.5 weeks and weighs 43 lbs, Wesson is just shy of 8 months and weighs about 53 lbs