White GSD's

Swiftwind

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#21
White GSDs are really gorgeous, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to register them, since GSDs come in a number of colours anyway. When I went to Salzburg, Austria (about 2 years ago) I came across a lovely long-haired white German Shepherd named Borris! :D He camoflauged (sp?) very well with the snow! He was kept in a shop full of crystal ornaments!
 
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#22
They can also have behavioral problems beyond what most GSDs tend to have. I would guess that this developed due to some irresponsible inbreeding, but it's true nonetheless.
 

GSDFan05

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#23
I have also heard that white GSDs have much shakier temperaments, like CreatureTeacher said, that tends to happen when breeders selectively breed for a recessive trait, it brings all kinds of linked genes into the equation.
 
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#24
I will just say that every white GSD that I have ever known has had a weird temperment. Most are just not social beyond their family unit. I have seen a lot of fear agression in them. Just my observation....I'm sure they are not all like that.

Pam
 

Doberluv

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#25
When "breeders" breed dogs away from the outlined, established standard, right there you have someone who is irresponsible. Now you add to it that an irresponsible person isn't likely to health test, temperament test or know what they're doing with pedigrees. This is what causes many dogs to be unhealthy, full of genetic and comformational defects, poor temperaments and so on. If you have a nice, healthy dog....great. But generally speaking, it's going to be speculative when you buy a dog who has been purposely or otherwise bred without regard to standard.
 

gapeach

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#26
The only white german shepard I've ever known is my mom's Angel. She doesn't tolerate anyone she doesn't see regularly. She's also deathly afraid of gunshots and storms. My mom bought her from a breeder b/c we had a wonderful dog growing up, Holly, who was mixed collie/german shepard and solid white. She knew she wouldn't be the same but thought it would be nice to have another dog as beautiflu as her. Angel is great with my 2 year old daughter but we don't trust her around people she doesn't know, ever.
 

bridey_01

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#27
I very nearly bought a white shepherd puppy a year ago. The breeder seemed very responsable, she had all the pups and both parents checked for hip scores. I can't vouch for their temperaments though, i have only trained one and he seemed the same as other GSD's.
 

bubbatd

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#28
Back in the 50s people rescued WGR as they would be put down.....when they started breeding the white to white it was a mistake !!! They were genetically born with faults and why they would continue these faults is beyond me. I'm sure there are healthy pups out there, but why are breeders doing this ? And people buying them. They are beautiful dogs .............but !
 
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#29
I have had several around me over the last 23 years since we moved here. There was one that lived to be about 15 and was healthy right to the end. None of them really had any more health problems or tempermant problems than a "regular" GSD had. The one that lived to be 15 was the barker of the two GSDs the neigbor's had, the "normal" one was the one that was brave enough to be aggressive to other dogs though. The white one just barked encouragemnt to the other one.

You have to remember, that years ago, Yellow Labs were culled as "defective", and it took a long time for most breeders to accept them. Why? Who knows, but some of the white GSD "defects", sound an awful lot like Yellow Lab "defects".

Breeding for looks is usually a mistake anyway..
 

bubbatd

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#30
Don't you mean Chocolate Labs ??? Yellow and Black have been around and accepted for years .
 

nicco

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#31
I don't think that the WGS is an albinos.I know that albinos breeds have seriouse health problems, and are albinos all the way.I mean the nose is rose and the eyes are bright at color.And the WGS has the nose and the eyes black at color...
What about the white mini schnauzer?It isn't an albinos.My boss has one from Hungary (I think).He breeds all types of schnauzers (mini,standard and gigant) and the white mini one is actually very cute and normal.I can bet on my boss (he is a vet,by the way) that he and his wife ARE responsible breeders.
Well..what about mini white schnauzers?

Kiss Kiss
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#32
You're right, Nicco, all white dogs aren't albinos, and the white GSDs aren't albinos - just a recessive color gene. That recessive gene structure does seem to carry some other recessive and unhealthy and undesirable genetic codes along with it though. Those traits don't always manifest, but you have to be aware that the potential is there.
 

skyhigh

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#33
We were going to get one before we knew about them. They are a breed diformaty(sp?). NOT rare. They get sun burnt REALLY quickly. They can get blind early as well. You have to keep them away from the sun as much as possible. They are prone to cancer. Anyway, hope this helps
 
Y

yuckaduck

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#34
mrose_s said:
Can you get them?
In Canada the white GSD's are consider to have a fault, their colour they don't recognise them as GSD's but they are called white shepherd dogs[WSD].
 

ohmai

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#35
mrose_s said:
Yeah I heard they suffer more health problems too.

Off-topic: Are GSD's suppose to stand like that? Or do you gotta train them to pose like that? My GSD never stood like that before... maybe when he goes to urinate though, lol.
 

Mordy

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#36
whoa, lots of misconceptions about the white GSDs here!

yes, the color white is a disqualifying fault in the breed, but just because at some point it was decided it's undesirable - unlike in many other breeds, it's not linked to genetic issues that would result in "inferior" dogs.

max von stephanitz, the founder of the breed himself, decided in 1933 to remove white as a permitted color from the breed standard. this was about 20 years after the first purebred white GSD was born. some of the ancestor dogs to the GSD (before it actually became a breed) were also white.

the white ones were not held in high regard, since they were said to dilute desired coloring in offspring (e.g. no white marks), but for a little while they were at least accepted and registerable. i think this has more to do with diversity of the foundation stock than a liking for the white color tho. the first 15 years of the foundation breeding was only based on about 30 dogs, so people couldn't be all that picky.

of course (as with any unusual color of animal) there were people who preferred the white ones over the normal colored ones and started developing the white strain. it were mostly american and canadian breeders who bred for the white color, in europe (with exception of england) by the 1960s there were no white GSDs left.

in the 1970s, the "white GSDs" (as they were called in the US and canada) came back to europe, first to switzerland. since the color was banned from the breed standard, they could not be reintroduced as "white GSD", so they were called "american-canadian white shepherd" to prevent the two breeds from interbreeding ever again.

according to FCI (federation cynologique internationale, the world canine organization) regulation, the parent breed club in the country of origin has the sole right to set and change the breed standard, so suddenly this white GSD was an american/canadian breed germany had nothing to do with anymore. and since the AKC is not a member of the FCI, with the renaming of the white GSD to american-canadian white shepherd the chance of including it in the GSD breed, as a separate color variety, was lost.

since may 2003 the white shepherd is accepted as a new breed, "berger blanc suisse" (white swiss shepherd) by the FCI. in october 2004 one of the two german parent breed clubs was accepted as a member into the VDH, so these dogs are now officially recognized in germany.

acceptance of the old "white GSD" and the new "berger blanc suisse" varies in some countries tho, so things are still fairly complicated.
 
W

Whitedobelover

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#38
that white shepard has a pigment and it is not albino... albino means without pigment of hair, skin or eyes.... if you dog has any pigment whatsoever they ARE NOT albino... not sure if that helps
 
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#39
I have come in right at the end and havent read everything, so forgive me if I am repeating anything. When I have been out walking and have seen these *white GSDs* and have admired them, referring to them as above, I have been firmly put in my place with the owners telling me they are not GSDs, but SWISS White Shepherds! Is that for real?
 

panzer426

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#40
no, swiss white shepherds is a new name for them, they ARE white german shepherds.
part of the reason Max von stephanitz removed them from the breeding program was because they did not have a very good understanding of genetics. they thought that a white dog made it more likely for albino pups to be produced. he also states in his book that a white herding dog would be more difficult to distinguish from a distance from the white sheep he was herding, but that was in itself not enough reason to disqualify...since as was said above they only had limited breeding stock to choose from at the time. it was the mistaken belief that white dogs increased the odds for albinism and other genetic health defects that led them to remove white from the breeding program.
it has been proven that a white gsd has no increased risk for health defects other than higher risk of sun damage...any white dog has that risk. the rumors about white gsd being less healthy physically or mentally are all linked to the facts that #1: until the 50's good breeders did not breed them because a white bred to a black and tan IS more likely to produce the dilute colors such as blues and livers, or white puppies which were undesirable at the time. #2: like the gsd in general the white gsd has been very poorly bred by puppy mills and back yard breeders who know nothing about selecting breeding stock for health and temperament. the white gsd has in many regards been bred even more by byb's due to the fact that they can claim it is a rare color.
so yes you can get them, but you should search for a breeder as carefully as you would for any gsd breeder. make sure they can prove health and temperament tests, etc. and they should not cost any more than any other good gsd breeder.
 

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