White GSD

Are the white GSD's, basically, acceptable?

They're BEAUITFUL dogs. Definitely I breed I would consider owning.

They used to be culled at whelp ... but some are actually breeding them today . No , white is not accepted .

grammy covered it...
it is an undesirable trait and most have MANY health issues (more than gsds are prone too, especially since the ones breeding them are byb's)

however they occasionally show up in shelters...in which case, give one a good home

Thats too bad. I knew a lady who had two. Sweetest dogs. Lizzie loved to play with the female. Gorgeous too.

They are beutiful And are registerd as a german shepherd, although not allowed in the conformation ring. the FCI does recognize them as a seperate breed called "Berger Blanc Suisse". Tehy are just german shepherds that are white. Many people are working any making them a seperate breed.

I'm not sure if she is on these boards (I dont think so) but there is a lady that has a service dog that is a white GSD. Normally uses the username NicoleJ I think. She knows TONS on the white GSD.

Aren't they recognized by the UKC?

My American Lit. teacher has one and he's gorgeous and has a great temperment.

Yes they are, just not allowed in the conformation ring.

Actually the UKC doubly recognizes the White German Shepherd. They register it separately as the White Shepherd, and it has its own classes at conformation shows. In addition this is the section of the official UKC German Shepherd Dog breed standard relating to color.

Color
The German Shepherd Dog comes in many colors and white. In evaluating colored dogs, strong, deep colors are preferred. Nose, lips, and eyerims must have dark pigment, regardless of coat color. Color faults are minor in comparison to defects of type and structure.

Serious faults: Pale, washed-out colors; blue; liver.

Disqualification: Albinism.

So, you see, it's just the AKC in its infinite wisdom that has decreed that German Shepherd dogs can't be white. It's just that some people take the AKC as the be-all and end-all of dog information and conclude that if the AKC says it is true it must be true.

This isn't necessarily true. There are some very good breeders working on white GSDs. As a whole, if you get into the white GSD community, the animals tend to have better health and temperaments than the general GSD population as there are a lot more BYBers that work with standard colors. Beware of people who claim what whites are "Smarter", "more trainable", and "wolf-like". These are the BYBers.

People that breed whites that I have met, place a huge emphasis on temperament, and health, and are very serious about health testing. As with any breed or strain of dog there are BYBers, so you do have to be cautious. Some police departments are beginning to turn to white shepherds for police work, as most police dog fatalities are from friendly fire. They are also required to announce to a suspect that they are releasing a police dog, and so having a highly visible white animal is a good thing. I think because the number of people seriously working with these dogs is still pretty limited, it is easier to find a healthy stable animal.

Because of their visibility, they are getting to be really desirable as service animals as well.

An interesting note, white was not made a disqualifying color in the AKC until the 1970s. Not entirely sure of the politics of it, but it was a pretty recent decision.

Edit: Here is a link to the website of the awesome folks working to preserve/improve the genetics of white german shepherd dogs. http://www.wgsdca.org/thebreed/index.asp

A friend of mine's son breeds them ...... really not a true BYB but has gotten to the point where all are white . I just don't like playing with Mother Nature .

i must be unlucky then, all of the whites ive ever met are from bad byb's and have serious helth issues (more so even than some of the byb "regular" german shepards)

i dont know much about the UKC

im sure if properly bred they are just as wonderfull, just like with any breed, i guess a repoint would be if you were buying one, be EXTRA carefull screening your breeder.

The AKC does not decree anything regarding breed standards. Breed standards are written, and are owned by, the individual national breed clubs.

There is a crazy man who lives by my cousin who used to breed them. He fenced in his yard though so the dogs could breed freely and now the white seems to have disappeared This guy has literally 100 dogs and nothing anyone can do because they are fed-look inbred and sick but they have food and water. But thats a whole nother story. Thats my only experience with them and they are sickly but I blame that all on the idiot who owns them.

Aww, sorry to hear about that Joce. Those poor dogs.

One other thing I forgot to tell you to watch our for, are people advertising "Giant" white shepherds. Some are byb, some those folks really screen hard for hip and elbow problems, but the best ones are the folks that outcross to really healthy colored lines and try to keep their dogs within the GSD standard (barring color of course).

Joce ... that is so dumb of the owners !!!! Who knows who bred to who !!! He should be turned in .

I don't have anything to contribute to the white shepherd debate.. but good god.. I think I'm going to STRANGLE the next person who tells me they want such and such breed in a particular color. I'm going to see one of our family friends today, and he has two boys who are a few years younger than me and are dead set on buying a $5,000, "guard dog trained," Black [Insert an impressive name here that came straight from a puppymill] German Shepherd. A puppy (An ATTACK-trained puppy?). If you're laughing or groaning right now, you're not the only one. They have two dogs at their mom's house, both with severe behavioral issues, and their dad has never had a dog before, so I'm trying to convince him to go to the VA GSD Rescue. *sighhhhh* They have older dogs who are housebroken, crate trained, basic obedience-trained, etc that will suit their needs far better. These guys really do have the best intentions.. but good god.. their dad knows nada about dogs and is basically letting the thirteen year old do all the research. I'm beyond appalled.

It's a crock that WGSDs have any more health issues than any other GSD. The white is caused by a masking gene, it's not albinoism

Why do people want to buy trouble !!! Get a gun and let a dog enjoy life !

again aparently ive been unlucky but ive NEVER met a well bred white gsd and in comparison to "regular" gsds ive seen the whites tend to be more prone to health problmes...
this is based on my personal expereince as well as my vets, mabe i just live in an area with a high voume of very badly bred white gsds...

The whites I've met have been, on average, healthier and better tempered (and certainly far less nervous) than their standard-colored counterparts. However, the coolest GSD I know is tan with a black saddle.