Colour Prejudice and the White GSDs Discussions

I was reading a GSD book today and it spoke of the White GSD and how there was a time white puppies were drowned in Germany. I found this quite sad. Who are we to end a dogs life due to its colour?????? I so hope that is practice is long gone.

Same with boxers ...

And Dalmatians with patches :-(

Which I find odd as one of the founding dogs of the breed was white.
The excuse I have heard is that they look too much like the sheep they are supposed to herd and that they are too visible at night. I can`t help thinking these are pretty poor excuses.
You get the same with long haired GSDs, who are also verboten, even though they occur naturally.

Sadly people are prejudice over the colour black as well :-(

There's a lovely "champagne" colour GSD at training class. I think she's crossed with something else though. She's very friendly and well-behaved but I was talking to the owner before class tonight and she said it was a cruelty case and the previous owners had starved and beaten it.

It had bitten 4 men and was in rescue and the rescue were happy to have this lady adopt and rehabilitate it as she had 4 GSDs previously.

I said to her I didn't understand an advert in our local paper last Saturday advertising white/champagne GSDs as KC registered when I thought this was not an accepted colour? She said it wasn't and was a bit of a con saying that.

yup I hate that, often its just because a colour is uncommon therefore dosent fit with what people think the breed should be and so the old belief was basically the dog wasnt worthy to live - even tho it might have been in a litter with other puppies who went on to be champs or whatever

then again I am just as sad to see the fashion now for people TRYING to breed for these rare colours

imo colours DONT matter, if there are no health problems associated with the colour then there is nothing wrong with it, it shouldnt be bred for or avoided just taken as the wonderful natural variations that genes can throw up

The GSD breed standard says that blues, livers, albinos, whites (and nearly white) are 'highly undesirable' but they are still accepted as a colour that can be registered with the KC, as they do occur in 'normal' litters.
Any colour GSD can be registered (as far as I know).

They can be registered as can the long coats but not shown - at least not with any success . I understand that in the States the whites are called American White Shepherds and can be show dogs though.

"A good dog is a good dog no matter what its colour"

Use to happen to the powderpuffs to, silly really considering you can never breed the coated types out of a hairless breeds therefore you achieve nothing by culling the coated and not using them to breed on from

I was under the impresion they done it because white dogs and cats were deaf . Stupid reason as any animal deserves life .

My white dogs are not deaf,

Again Murf I think its one of those silly superstition sayings .

I get people asking if Stone is deaf 'he must be because he's an albino isn't he?'.....erm, nooooooooo

Hihosilver -I believe you can show them, but, like you say...you would be laughed out of the ring (even if your dog was a superb example of a GSD....not that I've ever seen a superb white one )!

hi my white gsd x was deaf got him from puppy rescue
made no difference to him he was 13 when he died on new years eve just gone even the vets were smitten by him

Longcoats can be shown...the breed standard was amended late 2009. They must however have an undercoat, whatever the coat length.
I've seen a lot of whites (& Blues) with very thin coats & no under coat.
I'd rather see a good white GSD placed than a poor one of "desirable" colour.

Remember us getting turfed out of the ring at that COMPANION dog show (AV class) - judge wouldn't let us in cos 'whites not KC reg' - we almost drove home to get our reg docs - judge would not have it - never did get our £1 entry fee back!

Yes...the steward blocked our way "on the judges orders."
She was never asked to judge for them again...& everyone who was there questioned it.

The German Boxer Breed Council have decreed that the White Boxer can be shown and bred from. They have been shown in German Breed classes for the last 6-7 months. In compliance with EC regulations the rest of Europe will follow suit

White Boxers have at last got the recognition they deserve.

White Boxers are NOT albinos they are pure and simply WHITE dogs. I imagine the same applies to White GSDs

There are so many myths and old wives tales about White dogs - sometimes it can really exasperate

NB Our White Boxers are not deaf, blind, weak or otherwise either

The book says that white were blamed for various health issues and 'fading colour' but there wasn't any truth behind the allegations. It also says that it was 1980 when they were banned from the ('comformation') show ring in Canada. I would've thought by the 80s people would've been less ignorant about these things. It does say that white would be hard for shepherds against the sheep, but on the other side of the coin there is apparently the argument that it is of benefit as a wolf would not be mistaken for the dog.