[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: The Evolution of White to DQ
- From: "Carolyn Martello" <marhaven@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <Gsdbroon@xxxxxxx>, <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 4 Aug 2013 14:21:08 -0700
Thank You Tom. ( One of our best Historians ) <G>
As I have stated many times..white was never really a desired
color within this Breed. Some were utilized in the founding
of the Breed along with a lot colors and various herding dogs.
Seems the Captain is considered a genius until the subject of
whites come up...and then he is considered evil in his decision
to fault them. Doesn't change the facts though.
We should appreciate his vision...as we reap the rewards with
our wonderful Breed.
Carolyn marhaven@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.marhaven.com
On Behalf Of Gsdbroon@xxxxxxx Sent: Sunday, August 04, 2013 11:03 AM
To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject:The Evolution of White to DQ
In 1913 the standard of the German Sheep Dog, as AKC then called it though
the parent club was The German Shepherd Dog Club of America had this to
say about color.
COLOR
Black, Iron-gray, ash-gray, Reddish-tan, Reddish-brown, either entirely of
one color or with regular markings of reddish-brown and whitish gray, pure
white, white with dark spots (Harlequin) or black clouding on gray, tan or
light brown with so-called wolf markings on breast and legs.
From 1930 to 1943 the standard said this about color.
COLOR--All colors are permissible from solid black to solid white,
including many variations of brown, grays and mixed wolf colorings, also
brindles. White markings on chest and legs are allowed. The undercoat,
except in
black dogs is always light in color. The color of a pup can only be
ascertained after his outer coat comes in.
NOTE--While the permissible range of color is extremely wide, the white
and very pale or washed-out colors are not deemed so desirable, while
albinos, white with red eyes, are to be discarded. The skin of the nose in all
cases should be black.
Revised in1943 this language persisted until 1968.
The German Shepherd Dog differs widely in color and all colors are
permissible. Generally speaking, strong rich colors are to the preferred,
with
definite pigmentation and without the appearance of a washed-out color.
White dogs are not desirable, and are to be disqualified if showing albino
characteristics.â€
It will be remembered that in 1913 the organized breed was still
relatively new even in Germany and that a variety of herding dogs from various
parts
of the country were used in the breeds development. From that point on,
the evolution of the breed proceeded in a tightening process from the very
loose description of color in 1913 when color was not regarded as important
to 1930 when white was “not deemed so desirable.
I suspect that sometime in the 1920s or maybe earlier, Captain Max decided
that in fixing the type of the breed, having whites along with the other
colors was not constituent. Many rationales were given as to why white was
undesirable or desirable, but the rationale did not matter because what Max
decided ended the argument.
Ive read claims by the whitists to the effect that whites were accepted
until 1968. I dispute that. From the very beginning of our attendance at
dog shows almost 60 years ago we knew that white was a no-no. I can only
recall one instance of a white actually entering the show ring and of course
it did not place. This was before the disqualification was made part of the
standard.
In the February 1930 issue of The Shepherd Dog, the official magazine
of the parent club Dr. J.W. Sherer who was prominent in the Parent Club
wrote an article. The article was titled “The Case Against the White
Shepherd
Dogâ€. It included the following: I will destroy or have destroyed
humanely and quickly all whelps that appear to be weaklings, those showing
deformities, white or extremely light ones and those born with heavy dew
clawsâ€
. This was an attempt to insure that undesirable qualities would not be
continually reproduced.
In 1958 a standard was written that disqualified dogs that were more than
fifty per cent white, but this was apparently not accepted by AKC, possibly
because of the problem of determining what was fifty per cent of a dog.
When in 1968 the revision of the standard was being considered, one thing
was clear: whites would be disqualified. Bob Reuter was club president
living in San Diego and those of us around at the time had many discussions
with him. He attended local meetings and shows. He was receiving a lot of
heat from the fancy about the whites. Dog World was the main dog
publication, which was read by the public, and it carried many ads for Rare
White
German Shepherd Dogs. This infuriated mast breeders as it misled the
public into believing that whites would be welcomed because they were rare.
An
appeal was made to Dog World to stop the ads and the reply was that as
long as white was not a disqualification under our standard they would
continue to accept the ads.
Once the new standard was adopted Dog World agreed to and did put a
cautionary notice at the head of the German Shepherd classified ads to the
effect
that white was a disqualification under the AKC standard.
What I wonder is, why have we not heard from the breeders of Harlequin
German Shepherds?
++++++++++++++
I wrote this several years ago, not in response to the current white
discussion.
TOM BROWN
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