09/12/2021
White
While many of us have seen white German Shepherd dogs, few of us probably realize what we’re looking at. With their luxurious white coats, these pale dogs look more like Golden Retrievers with erect ears.
Often confused with the even more unusual White Swiss Shepherd, or Berger Blanc Suisse, the white GSD is the cause of great controversy. (You also shouldn’t confuse this one with the white Husky, a type of Husky coloring who looks very similar! However, unlike a Husky the White German Shepherd will rarely have blue eyes)
According to the AKC, white dogs are always disqualified from dog shows.
The UK Kennel Club is similarly dismissive of the white German Shepherd, going as far to say that “light markings on chest or very pale color on the inside of legs permissible but undesirable” while “whites and near whites are highly undesirable.”
The United Kennel Club is one of the few that recognizes the white German Shepherd, pointing out that the “German Shepherd Dog comes in many colors and white.” Even the UK Kennel Club notes that “Colour in itself is of secondary importance having no effect on character or fitness for work.”
Despite this, “in 1959, Germany began culling White German Shepherds from the German Shepherd breeding lines because they saw these dogs as Albinos” and believed the white gene was responsible for “hereditary issues and washes out the breed’s rich colors.”
