Quite often when referring to a German Shepherd you will hear people will use the phrase 'Type'. This phrase is used to emphasise the conformation type of the particular animal being referred to. Examples are 'working type' or 'Germanic show type', 'American Show Type' etc. The following is a brief explanation of what the different 'types' represent in terms of shape or conformation.
The Germanic Show Type:
Every year in Germany a competition known as the Seiger is held to find the dog and bitch that is deemed to be as close to perfect as possible in terms of its physical conformation. The dog and bitch chosen is given the title Seiger (male) or Seigerin (female) and the conformation rating VA1. In essence this animal is considered to be the World Champion for its respective year.
Usually no more than 12 males and females are awarded the VA rating each year with VA1 being the very best grading possible. Breeders who want to compete with their dogs in conformation shows would generally aspire to producing dogs that are representative of these top winning animals, and therefore, the dogs they produce will be of the 'type' represented by the most successful dogs being shown.
The problem with this is that the physical shape of the dogs (and bitches) that gain these top titles can change. In other words, what is considered to be desirable one year may not be so desirable the next. When this happens, show breeders in order to produce dogs that are 'current' try to change the shape to meet the winning trend or fashion. If you look at the photographs below this will become self evident when you can see the World Champion of 2013, 1986 and 1960. The shape has changed considerably simply because someone appointed to judge these top shows prefers a dog with more angulation, and so as with most trends in dog breeding, 'more' is seen as desirable and the shape changes even more.
Whether the current show type of German Shepherd is attractive is obviously down to personal preference. There are clearly many people world wide who think that it is. As someone looking to purchase a German shepherd puppy it is for you to decide what 'type' of German Shepherd you want.
The Working Type:
In essence the working animal identified by the phrase 'working type' of German Shepherd is not that far removed from Captain von Stephanitzs ideal when he formulated the breed. If you look at the WUSV (World Union of German Shepherd Dog Association) 2014 World Champion Hank vom Weinbergblick and compare him with the very early dogs of von Stephanitzs days there are some very strong similarities in terms of shape or conformation. If you compare these dogs to the modern show 'type' you could almost be looking at a different breed of dog.
However, although the shape of these dogs remain somewhat similar to the early dogs, what has most probably changed (I can't be certain as I wasn't around in those early days) is the energy levels of the modern working GSD.
Unless you intend to work your dog as a police / prison / customs dog or compete in the sport of Schtzhund or working trials, most of the working type GSD's are probably not the best choice as a pet. Someone once used the analogy that if a show type GSD could be thought of as a motor car it would be a Volvo, in comparison the working type would be a Ferrari and that is a very good analogy indeed.
Here at Tydain German Shepherds we have dogs from both show breeding & working breeding. We welcome prospective GSD owners to visit and see for themselves what type of GSD best suits their situation and what they feel comfortable with. We also produce puppies that have both types of breeding in their ancestry which we believe produces a more balanced 'type' of GSD more suitable to those who don't want the extreme angulation of the show type but neither want the extreme energy or drive of the working bloodlines.
Old English Type:
This is often used to describe the type of German Shepherd (or Alsation) that was seen in the UK pre pet passports when the quarantine regulations made us very much an island in terms of importing new bloodlines into the country. The heavy bodied, straight back, sometimes short in the leg but heavy in the chest with long swan type necks was the type of dog seen at UK dog shows. The Photo below is that of the 1971 Crufts Best in Show, Champion Ramacon Swashbuckler.
Although there are very few of this type of dog still around I get the impression that many pet owners of German Shepherds still hanker after this type of dog. Quiet in nature, square in shape remanicient of what they remember from their childhood as a German Shepherd (Alsation).
The positive aspect of modern German Shepherd breeding is that undoubtably, the temperament of modern dogs is much more stable as many of these old fashioned types were quite unsound in temperament and prone to be either nervous, snappy or both.
American Show Type:
Almost never seen in the UK the American 'type' of GSD is once again quite an extreme animal very much different than the dog that von Stephanitze created. It is mentioned here only to demonstrate how diverse the breed can be in its shape and structure.