About White German Shepherds

If you ask someone to describe a German Shepherd, what usually comes to mind is the typical black/tan saddle pattern dog. While this is the most popular pattern in the US, German Shepherds are found in many colors and patterns including white. The color white has been found in the breed since the very beginning. Although there is controversy surronding these white dogs, white coated German Shepherds are exactly like every other color of German Shepherd except for coat color. To understand the white German Shepherd, it's important to understand the history of the white coat within the breed.

History

The first registered German Shepherd was SZ-1 Horand von Grafrath in 1899. Horand was chosen by the founder of the breed, Max Von Stephanitz, to be the first German Shepherd. Captain Von Stephanitz described Horand by saying "Horand embodied for the enthusiasts of that time the fulfillment of their fondest dreams." Horand carried the genetic basis for the German Shepherd including the genes for white coat color. Horand's grandsire Grief Sparwasser was a solid white dog and it is through Grief and his grandson Horand that the white coat became a permanent part of the German Shepherd.

White German Shepherds gradually came to the United States. Ann Tracy's Stoneihurst Edmond, whelped March 27, 1917, is believed to be the first registered white German Shepherd Dog born and bred in the United States. More dogs were imported from Germany and more whites were born in the United States from these bloodlines.

The tide began to change for the white German Shepherd after the death of Captain Von Stephanitz. As the German Shepherd Dog Club of Germany (Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde) came under control of the Nazi party, white dogs fell out of favor. Eventually, the white coat was made a disqualification. In 1968, the AKC followed Germany's lead and made the white coat a disqualification in the conformation ring. In Germany, white dogs were no longer registerable. However, in the US they were not showable in the AKC conformation ring but were otherwise fully registerable.

Fanciers of the white GSD are a tenacious group and formed their own clubs to promote and protect the white GSD. The first WGSD club was founded in 1964 in California. Of the modern white GSD clubs, the oldest is the White German Shepherd Dog Club International, Inc. (WGSDCII) founded in 1977. Other clubs have been formed off of the WGSDCII in more recent history. These clubs worked hard to keep the white GSD from dying out. By holding independent conformation shows and encouraging owners to compete in performance events, WGSD clubs kept the white coated dog alive and well in the United States.

Current - The White GSD in the US and Abroad

Currently, the white GSD is alive and well in the United States. White GSD clubs are still promoting and protecting the dogs and the United Kennel Club, the second largest registry after AKC, allows whites to compete in conformation alongside their colored bretheren. Whites GSDs are active in agility, obedience, tracking, search and rescue, therapy work, service dog work and many other types of competition and service. Anything you can find a colored GSD doing, you can find a white GSD doing. The numbers of the whites are smaller than the colored GSDs, but there are whites out there in every concievable way.

In other parts of the world, the white GSD has gone by the wayside in favor of a new breed called Berger Blanc Suisse (Swiss White Shepherd). This new breed is genetically identical to white GSDs, but has been seperated out from the GSD breed for political reasons. No additional breeds have been introduced - they are purebred German Shepherds. The White Shepherd as a seperate breed has also been introduced in the US, but fanciers of the white GSD are working hard to make sure the whites stay a part of the German Shepherd breed as they have been for 110 years. Please see the article White German Shepherd or White Shepherd? for more information on breed seperation.

The White Coat Color

White GSDs have been discriminated against for much of their history. The white coat has been blamed for causing color paling when bred to colored GSDs and white dogs have been labeled as blind, deaf, aggressive, mean and timid - all because of their coat color. Looking at the coat color at a genetic basis, we don't know the exact gene(s) that cause the white coat - various experts site different genes - but we do know how it works. While it may be a combination of linked genes that actually causes the white coat, it is commonly referred to as the white gene.

White GSDs carry the same genes as their colored counterparts that produce any coat color or pattern. The white gene acts as a mask to prevent this color from being visible. Imagine having a wooden table and covering it with a white tablecloth. The table is still brown, but you can't see it because of the tablecloth. This is how the white gene works in the white GSD. Underneath that tablecloth, your table is exactly the same as one without a tablecloth, and the same is true of the GSD. There are no medical problems or temperament issues linked to the white gene. Since it is a masking gene rather than an albino gene, issues arising from lack of pigmentation (blindness, deafness) do not occur with any more frequency than in colored GSDs.