White German Shepherd Behaviour Behaviour

Is there a difference in behavious with White German Shepherds compared to the normal type, i know a few people who had behaviour problems with the white type ie they jsut want to run wild and do their own thing

Most definitely NOT imo! I've had a white for over 4 years and he seems perfectly normal to me! Quieter than my others perhaps, but then he was my first ever male, so that might be just a male thing! I did hear that they are more aggressive than other gsd's but I can now say that is total cods coz he is the gentlest gsd I have ever owned! Hope that helps.

NO!!!! it is a total myth and the Colour has NOthing to do with the temprement of a dog! its just a colour!

Q: Is the White German Shepherd an albino?

A: No, the White GSD is NOT an albino. Albinos have no pigmentation whereas the White GSD has black pigmentation on the nose, eye rims, paws and around it's mouth.

Q: Does the White GSD have a lot of health problems?

A: The White GSD does not have anymore health problems than it's coloured counterpart. In many cases they are healthier as White GSD breeders do not breed for over angulations (as seen frequently in the coloured dogs).

Q: Don't White GSD have bad temperament?

A: The colour of the GSD has nothing to do with it's temperament.

Q: Is the White GSD recognised by the Kennel Club?

A: The White GSD can indeed be registered in this country under the description of "German Shepherd Dog (Alsatian)", but is not recognised in the show ring due to the fact that in 1968, the German Shepherd Club of America made the white coat a disqualifying fault in conformation. The White GSD is also recognised by the American Kennel Club and are registered as "German Shepherd Dog, Colour White"

Q: Are White GSD harder to train than their coloured counterparts?

A: The difference lies in the individual animal, not the coat colour. The White GSD is used in sectors such as the Police, Armed Forces and Security. They have even broken out into stardom and have been used in both film and videos!!



The Reign Of Von Stephanitz

When Max von Stephanitz (recognised as the father of the breed), began a crusade in 1889 to standardise the GSD, he culled litters to achieve the colour he desired - the black and tan. Although White GSD were present, they found disfavour with von Stephanitz.

Thus the opinion of on man quite possibly shaped the future of the GSD.

http://www.walcss.50megs.com/about.html

It's not the colour that causes the poor temperament or behaviour, but IMHO poor breeding for colour/coat length coupled with buyers who want the dog for it colour/coat alone & not the dog under the skin.

GSDs should NOT be bred for the colour of their coat nor it's length, they should be bred to improve the breed from dogs that conform to the breed standard, then any puppies born that are the non standard colour or coat length can become pet/activities dogs & not be bred from.

Unfortunately since the 1960s "white" & other non standard coloured/coated GSDs have become moneymakers for the puppy farmers, BYB & pet breeders who have cashed in on the so called"rare"colours, sold at inflated prices to anyone who puts their hand in their pocket for the money to paid for them.

Nearly all the non standard bred for colour/coat length do not have typical heads IMHO, they have long narrow, weak muzzles & narrower heads that the working GSDS. There are three unrelated "white"GSDs @ our training club & they are all very bad examples of the breed, bought to breed from(for the money of course no health tests & no KC reg as KC dogs are "Cripples"according to the owners.) I dread them coming to club as they are so noisy & badly trained-I can see our rescue receiving their offspring in the next couple of years.

""Whites"used to occur in normal litters in the 1940s/1950s/early 1960s & were never bred from, however since the mid 1960s these dogs have been bred from to supply the status symbol seeking owners.

The correct colours & coat types that conform to the German breed standard(which includes a detailed description of character & temperament)should be bred from & of course the dogs must be fully health tested

Yes, but there's a lot of peops nowadays who really don't care about that "breed standard" bit! A dog, is a dog, is a dog imo! If I like what I see, as long as it came from a good healthy litter, who's parents were health tested I for one don't honestly CARE about any breed standard any more, I will go for what I like the look of, temperament of the parents, and the health test results etc. Why do I have to conform to what some other bods have designated to be a "breed standard". We don't want another argument on this, this OP was just asking a question about WHITE specific gsd's and whether or not they were in her words "different". Well they're not imo, they're just a different colour and no matter what you say about those 3 at your training club, I tell you something, my current white gsd would knock spots off most dogs for impeccable behaviour including his manners!

A lot of people just want a dog as a pet, and they don't care whether the colour is right or wrong for that breed, if they like it, and it's been checked out healthwise and comes from a good reputable breeder then what's the problem? They're not going to breed from it NORMALLY, or use it as a stud dog for God's sake, they just want a puppeeeeee, and they wouldn't go anywhere near a showring either to get it thrown out!!!

This is making me soooooooo mad all this blooming kennel club correctness, as if we don't have enough of that in our normal working life nowadays,just let a dog be a dog for God's sake, no matter what it looks like as long as it's happy and healthy and not going to be used for stud what is so very wrong!!!!!

totally agree!

i can honestly say that i have never met a badly trained or aggressive 'colour' GSD, but then maybe i only know good owners? as thats the problem, the owner!

i did know of 2 standard GSD's with serve hip problems (sadly died in the end, was terrible) & serve agressive problems and had to be shut away or it would attack you, and this was a former police dog & the other dog was a family pet.

so it must just be that you met some awful owners, poor dogs

Excellent post Helena, I don't get involved with this 'colour' thing, like you said a dog is a dog is a dog!!! One thing I would say is this - if a blind person stroked your GSD all they would feel is a GSD, not a White GSD, or a coloured GSD - just a dog then really!

I've come in a bit late into this thread and I've got no intentions of reading all the posts made, but I'd just like to say the the white GSD is as beatiful, if not more, than it's coloured counterpart

Anyway, who could resist our Georgie

Personally I can't see how the gene that determines the coat colour can possible have anything to do with the temperament of an animal, that will be decided by the genes that determine temperament and the upbringing.

As far as I know there are no canine genes that have been found to link coat colour and temperament, coat colour and deafness are well researched but that does not apply to the GSD, who's coat, however light, is not determined by the same gene that controls the coat colour in Boxers, Staffs, Dallies etc. and know to be produced by a gene that can also cause the animal to be deaf and I believe albinism (sp). The GSD coat being determined by a totally different gene.

I have only just read this thread and would agree with the majority - there is no difference in temperament between a white GSD or a coloured GSD. I have never had a white GSD but have met plenty of lovely ones.

I think with any GSD (coloured or white) it is of paramount importance to find a reputable breeder, who breeds for temperament first and foremost from healthy, tested stock.

Well said Kirsty

i would like to say my friend has a beautiful white gsd bitch, her hips are fantastic and she has never suffered any health problems in her life and she's almost 7. her temperament is brilliant considering what happened to her as a pup. my friend and i took her from a family that were abusing her terribly and for the first year she was nervously aggressive. she's a completely different dog and has saved our lives on many occasions, we both used to have people constantly breaking into our houses where we used to live and she walways stood up to them and never backed down

I remember years ago there was some research that said that white GSD's had a less stable temperament because of something about the white gene....something similar to red headed people having shorted tempers and the rage thing in solid red cockers. Think it was saying was all related.

No idea who did the research so can't look it up!

I recently had a white GSD to stay....she was actually quieter than many GSD's I have met but no real difference in temperment. What did worry me was that her owners wanted to breed from her but didn't see the need to hip score as the white GSDs ....'Don't have that problem'

I have met a few. They were not white. The thing is, it is such a popular breed that we are bound to see good ones and bad ones, whether it is the breeder at fault or the owner.

Forgot to add : there are two white ones in my village I don't often see them, (they are owned by two diff people) they are both lovely dogs xxx

That is so true. I adore GSDs but have met a few with dodgy temperaments - some obviously badly bred and some with clueless owners. Unfortunately you get this in all popular breeds.

What makes it worse is when you get a combination, badly bred and bad owner Again, this can be in any breed.

Yep - plenty of that! :? :-(

Think the cocker rage was proven to be a problem carried on certain breeding lines that happened to be solids, but I could be wrong. Think it was a fault in the construction of the brain but I, like you, can't remember where I read this research, guess the cocker people would know.