By Vicki Bemont
Color in German Shepherd Dogs is an area that has created confusion, debate, and misinterpretation!
The standard states “The German Shepherd Dog varies in color and most colors are permissible. Strong, rich colors are preferred. Pale, washed out colors and blues or livers are serious faults. A white dog must be disqualified.”
In the early days, some of the working hill country shepherding dogs were used in the development of the breed. This led to an introduction of white into the gene pool. This color trait has been carried forward into modern times. The architects of our breed stated that this was undesirable and actively bred to eradicate this color . Small white markings on the dog are acceptable, however. This could occur on the chest, tip of tail, toes, etc. However pinto, piebald or panda patterns are not desired.
Our standard clearly states that whites are to be disqualified.
Unfortunately the mention of blues and livers is somewhat ambiguous. The fact that they do not have black noses puts them in the category of disqualification also. Disqualifications for the German Shepherd Dog include cropped or hanging ears. DOGS WITH NOSES NOT PREDOMINATELY BLACK.Undershot jaw. Docked tail. White dogs .Any dog that attempts to bite the judge.
Strong rich colors are highly desired, rather they be black and tan, black and red, or various shades of sable. Solid black is also very acceptable as is bi-color.. It is interesting to note that many of the best working German Shepherd dogs are sable, bi-color or black.
It is distressing to see posts on social media or websites that refer to such undesirable colors as panda, lilac, Isabella, mousse gray and the like as exotic, rare, or expensive. They are none of the above. They are not acceptable within our standard.
Do not be duped into paying high prices for an off color that does not meet the qualifications for our standard.
If you have any questions about what is an acceptable color, please feel free to contact the author or anyone of the Board of Directors of the German Shepherd Dog Club of America.
Vicki Bemont has been an AKC Judge of German Shepherd Dogs for 40 years. She is a breeder, exhibitor and CGC evaluator. Vicki has titled dogs in Obedience, Agility, Herding, Rally and Schutzhund. Additionally she worked as a SAR handler for many years and trained dogs for HRD, Air Scent, and Water Recovery.
