Many hundreds of thousands of members in 78 countries belong to the World Union of German Shepherd Dog Associations. In Germany alone, there are currently about 250,000 purebred German Shepherd dogs with SV papers. Year after year about 10,000 puppies are registered in the German stud book.
In profile
Breeding requirements
Breeding is a responsible and beautiful task in which one can purposefully participate in the further development of a dog breed. Besides idealism and love for the animal, shepherd dog breeding requires above all extensive expertise, clear objectives and experience. A lot of space for a kennel and an understanding neighbourhood are further basic requirements. Besides the training of the breeding animals and the presentation at breeding shows, especially the little puppies have to be constantly cared for and looked after.
Also the financial side of breeding must be considered. This includes, for example, the costs for the facility, the food, the veterinarian and all those expenses that are connected with the admission of the dog for breeding - i.e.: training, HD, ED and DNA procedures, tests, breeding shows, licensing, travel to the stud dog and the stud fee.
Planning leads to the goal: the right choice of partner
A prerequisite for successful breeding is the quality of the parent animals and their ancestors. Then the choice of a suitable male for the bitch depends on the merits (and also the faults) of the breeding partners. Further criteria: Degree of relationship, type, line, hair type, quality of any existing offspring and finally also the willingness to breed the intended dog. It is advisable to consult with experienced breeders and with the breed wardens of the Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde (SV) e.V.
Ensuring the quality of the breed
If two dogs are brought together for breeding purposes, the bitch always goes to the male dog. Before that, the mating fee is agreed in writing with the owner. Important: The bitch must be at least 20 months old before she is mated for the first time. The SV has prescribed in its breeding regulations the frequency of mating acts per male dog. Bitches may be mated up to 90 times, of which a maximum of 60 in Germany. This regulation of the SV serves the quality of the breed. Without an adequate rest period between mating, the fertilization rate will decrease.
An important principle for every breeder: He has to take care that the puppies he gives away later are of better quality than their parents. This is the claim of the breeding philosophy of the SV. In its statutes the SV takes care that this requirement is not violated - and gives every assistance to fulfil it. Too many dog breeds have been almost destroyed by unrestrained breeding in the last hundred years. Therefore, the SV applies the principle of quality.
Responsibility in breeding
Dog breeders have a great responsibility. They lay the foundation for the dog's development in the first weeks of his life. This imprinting by the breeder forms the basis for the later human-dog relationship. In addition, they are an irreplaceable advisor to the buyers.
That is why SV members who have earned special merits in the breeding of the German Shepherd Dog are awarded with the breeder badges in bronze, silver or gold.
Successful breeders
Breeder badges in bronze, silver or gold are only awarded by the SV to those members who have earned merit in the breeding of the German Shepherd Dog. The awarding of the badges follows a strict point system, in which each dog that is entered for evaluation can only be used once. The award is made in a ceremonial form at a main club event. Only breeders who are certified as having a sporting behaviour in every respect and who can prove that they keep their dogs and kennels in a clean and impeccable manner can receive the coveted badge.
Pedigrees are not a family tree
"Breed Certificate of Authenticity" is the name of the most important paper a sheepdog buyer must receive. Only a club recognized by the FCI and VDH issues it. Without this certificate no dog is considered a purebred German Shepherd. Unlike the pedigree, which goes back four generations, the pedigree leads back to the root of the breed - to the progenitor.
The pedigree is created and issued by the SV. In this isolated excerpt from the stud book (which currently contains over 2 million dogs), the 30 direct ancestors of the animal are listed. The breed authenticity certificate thus goes back to the generation of the dog's great-great-grandparents and also provides information about their qualities. For 30 dogs, the performance certificates are listed individually, information about the colour of the siblings and about the hair type, colours, training, exhibition and licensing results of the ancestors and their siblings. For the responsible breeder, the information compiled here offers the most important basis for a planned work.
Description of the dog in the pedigree
If already available, the pedigree also contains the Körbericht of the dog. Important in it is the description of the dog. From it his advantages and disadvantages, the good and less good qualities are shown. Finally, the pedigree contains the ownership of the dog. Every seller of a German Shepherd dog is obliged to hand over the pedigree when he hands it over and to register and confirm the new owner with the date.
Inclusion in the annex register
The SV offers all dog owners who own a German Shepherd dog without a pedigree or with a pedigree that is not recognized by either the VDH or the FCI the opportunity to have their dog entered in the SV's appendix register. The dogs will then receive a certificate of registration. Dogs entered in the annex register of the SV can be
participate in shows and tests of the VDH (no SV membership required)
participate in breeding shows of the SV (SV membership required)
German shepherd dogs of the variety Longstockhair with undercoat can also be used for breeding (SV membership required). The puppies from this breeding are also entered in the annex register. From the fourth, complete generation onwards, the offspring are then entered in the stud book of the SV.
For many years, biotechnological processes have been successfully used in modern animal husbandry for breeding purposes. One of these objectives concerns the protection of the pedigree. With the introduction of DNA-analytical methods (DNA = genetic material), the SV was one of the first breeding associations to recognise the importance of these methods. Since January 1999, the association has therefore made molecular biological pedigree preservation for breeding animals compulsory. Since then, the individual results are recorded in a genetic database and can be retrieved at any time for subsequent parentage tests.
Correct breeding bookkeeping through secure parentage relationships
For the correct keeping of the stud book the parentage must be secured. Not only for formal reasons, but also because important breeding decisions are made from the pedigrees. Thus, predictions can be made from the constellation of characteristics of the parent animals about the characteristic value of the offspring. This is only possible on the basis of a secured pedigree.
Each of these procedures begins with the blood collection, the filling out of the accompanying documents and the subsequent dispatch of the material by a veterinarian. The samples received are registered by the laboratory, analysed and stored for the long term. The results obtained, the so-called genotype formulas, are recorded in a specially designed database and are available for later parentage examinations, which are exclusively arranged by the Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde (SV) e.V. (German Shepherd Dog Association). After notification of a positive result to the SV, the breeder receives the DNA stamp in the pedigree.
The address of the SV-laboratory is
Generatio Sol. Ltd.
Blumenstr. 49
69115 Heidelberg
Licensing and scheduled breeding
The licensing is reserved exclusively for animals that are registered in the stud book of the Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde (SV) e.V. (German Shepherd Dog Association). Further requirements are listed in the licensing regulations. Sick animals and those that cannot be identified by their tattoo/chip number may not be submitted for approval. The breeding animals must prove that they are, according to their character, performance and anatomy, capable of serving "in a special way to preserve and promote the breed". Thus, a Körschein is a predicate which is exclusively awarded by Körmeister who have rendered special services to the SV as breeding judges.
At the beginning there is the character test
The four-legged candidate must prove to be unbiased, nervous, self-confident and benign during the character test. For this purpose he is exposed to various stimulus situations, the mastering of which reveals his character traits. At any time he must be able to be controlled by his handler. Afterwards the dog is measured, weighed and judged in state and movement by the Körmeister. The new approval and the new approval after an interruption takes place for a period of two years. An improvement of the grading does not extend the original grading period. In the last year before the end of this period, the animal can be presented again for lifetime approval.
For many people the German Shepherd is one of the most beautiful dogs at all. Not least because of this, a breeding show at the SV is the moment of truth for every dog (and of course its owner). Because it is all about the hereditary quality of the animals. Good looks alone do not guarantee first place.
For breeding shows, dogs must perform in preliminary tests - and prove them physically. The assessment by trained SV breeding judges is not only carried out from a standing position, but also at a persistent trot. The evaluations are given according to strict standards. Only if appearance and temperament are correct with regard to the breed standard, the judge can pronounce a breeding evaluation. Criteria such as joy of running, condition and temperament also influence the evaluation. Thus a competition develops in which the best compete with the best. For each breeding show the dog is optimally prepared with targeted training.
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