just to say hi plus its great to find a site that holds the same ideas on training as i do, been searching the web for months till i found this, not got any probs scince i got my dvds, which were
basic ob
drive and focus
aggresion

on here just to ask a basic q about white gsd. i have one but everyone i talk to seems to think whites no good, but she a real sweety and a great protecter, so why is it nobody believes. they keep saying cant be, she's white. so asking is there something wrong with whites.

Well, personally, we had a white GSD when I was a kid. He was great - very protective, very smart. Great w/kids. But, he ended up having to be put to sleep at only 6 or 7 yrs old b/c he ended up having terrible hip displasia (he was in a lot of pain, couldn't walk by the end). I'm not an expert, but I don't think white GSD's have problems w/temperament any more than others, as long as the breeder is a good one. But from what I've learned since researching the breed (which I've been doing a lot of since getting my bi-colored GSD pup 2 mos ago), is that the white ones are more prone to health problems, such as HD, etc, b/c to get the white coats (which come from a recessive gene), there is more inbreeding done. Less of a gene pool to work with, I guess. But like any other breed/color, I think if a breeder is conscienscious enough, you can get a great, healthy GSD that's white. It's my understanding that the AKC considers white to be an automatic disqualification, b/c the AKC wants to discourage excessive inbreeding to get the white coat. That's my understanding, anyway. Others on this board probably know more about it that I do.

Enjoy your dog. We loved our Chuto (that was our white one). He was awesome.

Basically from what I have seen white GSD equals American line GSD and therefore prone to health issues, temperament issues and general breeding by people for looks (and specifically looks and color) instead of working ability and lack of neuroses.

They are pretty though.

~Magdalena

thanks all for reply good to hear others opinion but as i said not really matter to me just love her to bits and i8 guess that enough

Actually, correct me if I am wrong (veterans), white tends to be a recessive gene. In all animals white is a weak gene and rarely displays itself in the wild. We used to have great danes and were told that the Harlequin dogs (white genes) were prone to more breed specific diseases. The same is true for Dalmations who have problems with blindness and deafness.

Also, in the wild white is a color that can easily mark an animal for predation and/or make it stand out to its own prey causing it to have issues with staying fed. I personally think that white shepherds are gorgeous! Just, unfortunately they are more suseptible because of their genetics.

Your dog is yours to love and to enjoy. Isn't it funny that such beauty can mark such a serious thing? Oh well, I hear they are working hard to breed white gsd's stronger and w/o all the issues previously associated with the breed. Just love, love, love her. She'll only love ya back ;D

I'll dig up my links.

White Shepherds are genetically identical to the colored dogs.

White is a recessive gene and both parrents need to have it in order to throw white pups. If you breed two white dogs then you get all white pups.

Here is a page with several links

http://www.awsaclub.com/breedinfo.htm

Hi Jim. Just throwing in another two cents on possible reasons why you might be hearing "your white GSD is no good." AND....this is coming from the proud owner of a mixed breed mutt of unknown origin (not my first mix mutt) in addition to an old beagle and two GSD's. So my comments have absolutely nothing to do with thinking white GSD's or ANY dogs are "no good" as pets, companions, sport training partners, etc. etc.

I don't follow the GSD "breed standards" as published and implemented by the AKC. I am much more familiar (while not an expert) with the Schutzhund Verein (SV) standards that are upheld (for all the strengths and weaknesses in modern times) under the German system. Under that system, a white coat is considered unacceptable for breeding suitability. A white coat GSD would not be able to recieve a positive rating in a breed survey. GSD's without a valid breed survey are not considered suitable for breeding. I'm not sure what the reasons are behind a white coat being considered unsuitable (although some of the things suggested in this thread seem to make sense). Long coated GSD's are viewed in the same way - unsuitable for breeding.

While I don't personally know anyone with a white GSD, I know several people with wonderful long coated GSD's. Just because the breed standard says they are unsuitable for breeding doesn't make them less wonderful as pets, companions, sport dogs, or whatever they are good at and like to do with YOU.

Once again - I plan to happily own many more dogs who are "unsuitable for breeding" such as my mixed breed mutt if I live long enough. Just thought it might be helpful to add this info so you can better understand where some of the negativity might be coming from.

Beth

Oops - I missed my edit window, but want to add a few more words of clarification.

For the GSD breed, I do believe that breeding standards are important. While the coat issues of the breed standard (color, length, etc.) might seem more related to looks rather than function these days, I'm sure in 1900, there were valid reasons why the founders of the standards considered things like white coats and long coats to be unsuitable.

I personally faced this issue of breed standards on the "working ability" side of the fence with our female GSD. While the German SV judges RAVED about her conformation (and LOL I've got a shelf full of dust collecting plastic shiny things to prove it) AND she is rated as KKL1, we spayed her this summer. It was painful for us to accept this - but the breed survey process is not fool proof. Our female has a hormonal issue that is most certainly genetic, and we would have been irresponsible to pass that along in the gene pool. Additionally, I have come to accept that while she was able to achieve a SchH1 title legitimately (not a bought and paid for title from Germany or anything - not even a "home field / home helper" title) she does NOT have the strength of temperament to contibute positively under the meaning of the breed standard.

We will love her forever and she has a great home and place in our family. While my decision making process was not always noble, the RIGHT outcome has taken place - she will not be bred.

Just wanted to make sure everyone is clear that my hope for EVERY puppy that is already here on the planet is that it ends up in a good home with a good life. And I believe I am a contributor to providing a good home and life to my fair share. I am equally strong in my feelings that the breed standards SHOULD mean something, and that people need to be a lot more critical about which dogs will and will not contribute positively to the gene pool.

So while I encourage you to love and enjoy the dog you have, I view suitability for breeding in a very different light than I view suitability for other things.

Hope this helps..

Beth

Dang, Beth, you are so very cool. Beautifully said.