Page 12 - ShowSight Presents The German Shepherd Dog

By 2016, the American Kennel Club had recognized more than 188 breeds and classified them into Groups. The GSD was placed in the Herding Group along with 20, plus other herd- ing breeds. In appearance, these breeds vary significantly in size and shape, the smallest being the Pembroke Welsh Corgi and the Puli. The largest includes the Bearded Collie and Bou- vier des Flanders. In appearance, the GSD is more similar in appearance to the herding breeds from Belgium (Malinois, Sheep dog and Tervuren). While herding breeds differ, they have one common characteristic, which is their willingness to work indepen- dently alongside a shepherd who con- trols their work as they move sheep, goats and cattle. Selection and careful breeding have produced dogs with high prey drive and a willingness to serve. It is this natural and instinctive mental- ity that has endeared them to humans throughout the world. The GSD excels as a companion, herding and work- ing dog along with a dog for the farm, military and police, Seeing Eye and therapy service dog. Known for its good health and versatile work ethic, it is the most recognizable breed in the world.
The striking architecture of the breed serves as a blueprint for its suc- cess. Because the GSD has a pleasing appearance and demonstrates both strength and stamina the breed con- tinues to be popular as a show dog as well as in performance and compan- ion events. It thrives on having a “job” whether serving as a companion, a guarding or doing work to apprehend criminals. The German Shepherd Dog needs a job and thus works for approval. It learns best when guided by positive rewards and thrives on daily attention. Many owners use obedience exercises or games to keep theirdog in condition and in good mental shape.
HEALTH
The fourth element of breed knowl- edge is called breed health. This includes understanding a breed’s health history and knowing its dreaded dis- eases, which are those that can crip- ple, kill, blind or cause early death. The dreaded diseases of the GSD are bloat/gastric dilatation volvulus (GVD), degenerative Myelopathy, cancer, hip dysplasia (HD) and elbow dysplasia.
Gastric dilatation–volvulus (GVD), affects many breeds including the Ger- man Shepherd Dog with a reported lifetime risk of 24% in large breeds. It is one of the leading causes of death among purebred dogs. Risk factors include: management, environment and personality differences. Large, deep-chested dogs have the highest risk. Diet has also been a contributing factor. Feeding single or large quanti- ties of food increases risk, however, the addition of eggs or fish was associ- ated with a decrease in the risk of GVD. The GSD breed has made remarkable improvements in the incidence of hip dysplasia. In some breeds, HD occurs in only one hip (unilateral). In humans, the left hip is involved more frequently than the right at a ratio of 10:1. Unilater- al dysplasia follows a similar pattern in canines but the predominate hip affect- ed is breed dependent. For example, the left hip is more frequently affected in Labrador and Golden Retrievers, the Newfoundland and Akita breeds, but more frequently in the right hip in Rottweilers. German Shepherd Dogs do not have a side left or right predilec- tion. Other concerns that are less likely is pituitary dwarfism, congenital Mega esophagus (ME) and pancreatic acinar atrophy (PAA).
PARENT CLUBS
The American Kennel Club has determined that each breed will have a parent club that will be recognized as the organizational expert in everything related to the breed. It is responsible for guarding and promoting the breed stan- dard and the place to find information and responsible breeders. The German Shepherd Dog Club of America (GSD- CA) was founded in 1913. Each parent club has oversight of their breed stan- dard and the traits that are most desir- able and those considered being a fault and disqualification. As such, breed standards are used as the guide for breeding practices by judges who offi- ciate at shows. The GSDCA offers own- ers the opportunity to become involved in a variety of activities. It begins with a large membership, 90 regional clubs and a robust website that offers ideas about training, nutrition, regional clubs and events. The GSDCA is one of the largest AKC parent clubs in the United States. In the United States, the GSDCA has more than 90 regional clues
that host dog shows, puppy matches, companion and performance event that include: obedience, agility, rally, herding, tracking and the working dog sport. More about Breed Knowledge is available at the German Shepherd Dog Club of America site www.gsdca.org.
REFERENCES:
Battaglia, C. 2009. Breeding Dogs to
Win. BEI Publications, Atlanta, Georgia. Coren, S., 2008. The Modern Dog. Free Press, a division of Simon and Schuster, Inc. New York, New York.
Fortier, L., Clinical health Issues in the Ger- man Shepherd Dog. Report ed to the Ger- man Shepherd Dog Club of America, by author, American Kennel Club, NY. NY., 10010.
Goldbecker, W., Hart, E., 1967. This is the German Shepherd. T.F. H. publishing Inc. Neptune, NJ.
Moody, J., Murphy, K., 2006. Working dogs: history and applications. In: Os- trander, E., Geiger, U., Lindblad-Toh, K., (eds) the dog and its genome. Cold Springs Harbor laboratory, Preg Wood- burh. Pg. 1-18.
Ratliff, E., 2012. New tricks from olddogs. National Geographic Magazine, Wash- ington, D.C., Feb., Pg. 34-51.
Tsai, K., Noor, R., Star-Moss, A., Qui- gnon, P., Rinz, C., Ostrander, E.,Steiner, J., Murphy, K., Clark, L., 2011. Genome- wide association studies for multiple diseases of the German Shepherd dog. Mamme Genome, 10.1007/s 00335-011-9376-9. Wahl, J., Clark, L., Skalli, O., Ambrus, A., Rees, C., Mansell, J., Murphy, K., 2008. Analysis of gene transcript profiling and imunobiliry in Shetland Sheep Dogs with dermatomostis, Vet. Dermatol., 19:52-58.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carmen L. Battaglia holds a Ph.D. and Master’s Degree from Florida State University. An AKC judge, research- er and writer, he is a respected leader in promoting ways to breed better dogs. He is the author of more than 50 articles and several books and is a popular TV and radio talk show guest. His seminars on breed- ing dogs, selecting sires and choos- ing puppies have been well received by breed clubs all over the coun- try. Those interested in learning more about his articles and semi- nars should visit the website: http://www.breedingbetterdogs.com.
SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, JULY 2017 • 259