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| Sorry, NO picture of a Silver German Shepherd. The Picture Shows A male white German Shepherd Dog. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
History of the German Shepherd
The German Shepherd came from a line of the sheepdogs originally meant for herding sheep and as a faithful companion to the shepherd. With industrialization taking place, the need for herding sheep became less and less and other potentials for dogs in helping humans with their work were speculated on. In the late 19th century, it was Captain Max von Stephanitz who saw the potential of developing a breed of the sheepdog to maximize its potentials. He came upon one very strong, intelligent, and beautiful dog which he named Horand v. Grafrath.
This dog was registered as the first German Shepherd. He created an official governing body that restricted breeding dogs to only those who came up to standards. This allowed the rapid development of the German Shepherd breed. After World War 1, British and American soldiers were very impressed by the breed that they took some of them home to their own countries.
Color genetic
Today, breeding between German Shepherds is maintained to protect the breed.
There are now different lines such as the International Working Line, International Show Line, and the North American Show Line. However, "mutations" within the breed still do happen like in the case of German Shepherds with white or silver fur. Some purists do not consider these "mutations" acceptable and they argue that the white and silver-furred German Shepherds should not be considered pure. In most dog shows, white and silver-coated German Shepherds are disqualified because their fur is seen as a genetic "fault."
There are now different lines such as the International Working Line, International Show Line, and the North American Show Line. However, "mutations" within the breed still do happen like in the case of German Shepherds with white or silver fur. Some purists do not consider these "mutations" acceptable and they argue that the white and silver-furred German Shepherds should not be considered pure. In most dog shows, white and silver-coated German Shepherds are disqualified because their fur is seen as a genetic "fault."
There are clubs who try to support these kinds of German Shepherds like the White and Silver German Shepherd Club. They lobby for the white and silver-coated dogs to be recognized as a standard. Color is widely genetic. White and silver fur usually comes from the line of tan and yellow. However, color genetic and pigmentation in dogs are not yet fully understood.
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