. . . and what of the WHITE GSD? - Page 2

The color "white" can be traced back to the roots of the German Shepherd Dog. Information provided in early books on the German Shepherd Dog, such as "The Alsatian WoIf Dog" written by George Horowitz in 1923, as well as "The German Shepherd, Its History, Development and Genetics" written by M. B. Willis in 1977, make mention of white German Shepherd shown in Europe as early as 1882. "Der Deutsche Schaferhund In Wart Und Bild" written by Rittmeister Max von Stephanitz, the architect of the German Shepherd breed, in 1921 included a photo of a white German Shepherd directly descended from Horand (mentioned later herein), and "The Complete German Shepherd" published by Milo Denlinger in 1947, included an illustration of a white German Shepherd from Northern Germany.

It is a historical fact that a white dog was the grandsire of Horand von Grafrath born in 1895, the dog who was acknowledged as the foundation dog of contemporary German Shepherd Dog bloodlines. From that time forward, the color white was part of the genetic pool within the color variations of the German Shepherd Dog.

In the United States, the white German Shepherd appears throughout the history of the breed. In the early 1920's Ann Tracy (who owned one of the first two German Shepherd champions on record in America). Imported some of the finest German show stock to this country and white puppies showed up immediately in her litters. In 1917, the first white German Shepherds were registered with the American Kennel Club from Ann Tracy's kennels. In the 1920's, H. N. Hanchett of Minnesota imported German-bred white German Shepherds to the United States. Early top German lines, such as V. Oeringen were recognized as an excellent source for white German Shepherds. The Strongheart, Rin-Tin-Tin and Longworth bloodlines frequently produced white dogs.

It was not until the 1930's. after the death of Max von Stephanitz, that white dogs were discriminated against. The discrimination increased with the rise of Hitler. During the 1960's, with the white German Shepherd becoming ever more popular, friction developed between breeders of the white German Shepherd and the standard colored German Shepherd. Genetic problems appearing in the German Shepherd Dog were increasingly blamed on the white German Shepherd, and Germany began a campaign to outlaw the white color. One charge against the white German Shepherd was that the color white was responsible for "fading color" or "washing out" of the darker dog's color. This point has been refuted innumerable times by leading breeders and geneticists. However, in 1968, following Germany's lead, the white German Shepherd was disqualified from the conformation show ring in America when AKC accepted the change in the breed standard from the German Shepherd Dog Club of America listing white as a disqualifying fault. To its credit, the AKC has not bowed to demands that it cease registering the white dog.