White Shepherds

[rutylr]

Looks like he could be.
Looks like the GSD coat and I can see markings around the eyes which could be husky.

[Husky15]

White Shepherds are beautiful dogs. Nicole, Sheena [I believe her name is], is such a beautiful White Shepherd. I always love seeing pictures of her.

And, animal_rescue, when I first saw the picture I thought Husky. And what a beautiful dog!

[NicoleLJ]

Thanks so much. I agree. I see husky. But I could be wrong. It could have both.
Nicole

[.sarah]

I think Mandy is a White Shepherd mix. Of course I don't know for sure because she is a shelter mutt, but every time I see pictures of White Shepherds or even the few that I've seen in real life, they've all reminded me of her so much. And her personality is so Shepherd-like.

I have a question - what color is a White Shepherd's skin? Mandy's is spotted so I've always thought she had Pit Bull in her (I know other breeds have spotted skin but that is a common breed you see in shelters around here). Her face/build is somewhat like a (poorly bred) Pittie's, but I see more Shepherd in her than anything else.

Sheena is gorgeous, by the way!

[NicoleLJ]

Thanks so much. I agree with you. Mandy looks like she has a lot of White Shepherd in her. When I saw her that was one of my first thoughts. She is beautiful. White Shepherds can have a black dusting to their skin coloring. It is not uncommon. I would need to see better pictures to take a guess as to what she is mixed with. Some of her standing like a side profile shot would be great.
Nicole

[borzoimom]

I do have a question about a foster that my friend is holding for me.

Do you think he is a White German Shepherd Mix or a Husky Mix? He's about a year old.



Sorry but I thought I'd ask you since you know the breed.

Husky mix. blue eye in a white shepherd is uncommon, and the stop in the muzzle is not a shepherd but more husky.

[jackfrost]

on a side note, i've read the book written by the man himself Max von Stephanitz back in 1925 and even then he said too much white was unacceptable and white's were not desireable. I think I'll take the word right from the horses mouth so to speak on this one as to wether or not all white shepherds were ever desireable in the breed or not.

[wolfsoul]

I had a white shepherd and a white shepherd mix when I was younger. My coloured GSD had a white shepherd mother. My mix is still going on strong, living with my dad's old roomate --- just some arthritis but nothing bad. My white shepherd pup had to be PTS at 6 months due to severe panosteitis, and my GSD was PTS a couple of years ago due to cancer. Great dogs, I've always loved GSDs, no matter what colour.

From what I have read, the original reason the white shepherd was finally disallowed was due to them blending into the sheep too easily? Is this true?

Lilacdragon, there is nothing wrong with the White shepherd. While I disagree with creating "toys" and "minis" of different breeds, colour does not affect the structore or ability of a dog. It may not be recognised by AKC as a different breed (though they do have the option for white colouring on the registration papers of the German shepherd dog), they are recognised by their own registries and are able to show under those registries. UKC is nothing like the ConKC or some of the other designer registries.

It's like laekenois. They are the same breed as the other varieties, but not only does AKC seperate them into breeds, but they exclude the laekenois -- all because of coat type. Does this mean that US breeders shouldn't breed laekenois? Because they are a "genetic throwback?"

[NicoleLJ]

Wolfsoul - great post. To answer your question no that was not the reason, that was the excuse by some. Some said they were the cause of the diluting colors(proven later to be false by genetic testing) some said it was because tehy were the cause of all teh genetic deseases including blindness and so forth(agian proven false by genetic tests) Soem gave the excuse you just stated which is because they blend into teh sheep. Have you ever seen a herd of sheep? I am not being insultive, I am asking an honest question. I mean in person not from pics. I have. In fact hubby raised his own sheep for several years when he was younger. They are not white. Sheep vairy in color from a dirty gray to a dark brown. Because of dirt and feces and so forth. A White Shepherd like Sheena would no more blend into the flock then Luca would(our black GSD). So agian that excuse was proven false. Some also used th eexcuse that they are not stable in temperment. Well obviously that is false too. I could go on and on.

The fact of the matter is White Shepherds showed in conformation up until the 1960's with teh AKC. This is a provable fact. In the CanKC they showed in conformation until the 1995. This agian is a provable fact. If the White Shepherd was so agianst standard then why did it take so long to have them listed as a Fault? Because it isn't a fault. There is nothing wrong with a white shepherd. It was people's opinions only that got the dog listed as a fault and they had no provable reason for doing so. That is why in several other countries they have now been listed as their own breed. There are many breeds that have seperated into seperate breeds based on coat types or colors. The white shepherd is just doing the same thing.
Nicole & Sheena PSD OFA FD FDX

[wolfsoul]

Have you ever seen a herd of sheep? I am not being insultive, I am asking an honest question. I mean in person not from pics. I have. In fact hubby raised his own sheep for several years when he was younger. They are not white. Sheep vairy in color from a dirty gray to a dark brown.

I always thought the same thing --The sheep we herd aren't white -- maybe they would be if they had a bath lol.

[CathyBogart]

I don't have anything "useful" to add...but I think Sheena is simply enchanting, and I'm hoping we'll get to see many many puppy pictures!

OOC, since I'm pretty clueless about genetics, is it possible for her to throw colored puppies from this breeding? Sorry if that's a dumb question.

[NicoleLJ]

I don't have anything "useful" to add...but I think Sheena is simply enchanting, and I'm hoping we'll get to see many many puppy pictures!

OOC, since I'm pretty clueless about genetics, is it possible for her to throw colored puppies from this breeding? Sorry if that's a dumb question.

Thank you so much. And no that is not a clueless question. I didn't understand genetics for the longest time either. To answer your question Sheena will be having only white puppies. Here is an easier way to look at it:

White to White will always throw white(this is what our breeding is)

White to a dark colored GSD who has a White Shepherd in its pedigree will throw both white and dark colored GSD's

White to a dark colored GSD with no White in his pedigree will only throw dark colored GSD's.

Taht is the simplest way to explain it. I hope that helps. If you have more questions feel free to ask.
Nicole

[NicoleLJ]

I always thought the same thing --The sheep we herd aren't white -- maybe they would be if they had a bath lol.

Could you imagine being th eone having to bath a herd of Sheep in full coat? no thank you. lol
Nicole

[jackfrost]

The fact of the matter is White Shepherds showed in conformation up until the 1960's with teh AKC. This is a provable fact. In the CanKC they showed in conformation until the 1995. This agian is a provable fact. If the White Shepherd was so agianst standard then why did it take so long to have them listed as a Fault? Because it isn't a fault. There is nothing wrong with a white shepherd.

I guess you missed the part about it being a fault from its inception way back when by the founders. They faulted white, the rest of the world faults a white, and just because they were show within the AKC doesn't really prove anything. WHy is the AKC standard different than the SV standard (original ruling body)?? Read the book written by the man himself, white was considered a fault back in 1925 by the man that created them, why would I or should somebody else think that just because the AKC allowed them to be shown change my mind?? THe AKC hasn't done much in the way of "building" a better GSD.

I don't really care what the reasons were, but they were cut out of breeding programs in the beginning. The reason doesn't matter, but what it created then was a very very small gene pool in which to create whites later by those that chose to go against the standard and do so. And considering the US has been propagating the AKC GSD's with a very small gene pool to begin with, their selection to get white's in this country was even smaller.

[wolfsoul]

Whether or not it was accepted in the beginning, it is now considered a new breed -- a breed where white is the only acceptable colour, from the beginning. I don't think that White shepherd fanciers are fighting to show the breed alongside its coloured counterparts, but rather against them under a different name. If I understand correctly, white shepherd breeders also breed for a sounder structure -- no "hockwalkers" or extreme angulations.