WHITE GSD Question - Page 2

I knew a girl who I went to school with who bought a white GSD. She was a great dog, but she wasnt completely and totally white. Everything was white except a few hairs on her back that were red or brown. She really neglected that dog. The dog would come up to her wanting attention so bad and this girl would slap the dog, then yell at her. She would leave her dog inside all day while she was at school, smoking pot or out at parties and wondered why her dog was so hyper, then of course beat her for it. She never got exercise and looked like a giant white sausage with legs. I felt so bad for that dog. Ive thought many times about killing the girl and stealing her dog. I think the girl had a very poor bloodline and should not be aloud to reproduce. There needs to be breed surveys done on people. She also just bought another white GSD pup about a month ago. I hate people.

rint I would think you would get a mix of colors. I was looking at one website that showed GSD's that carried the white gene, most of them were regular saddle marked.

Rint, it's a simple recessive just like the long coat gene. Log on to http://www.vetdnacenter.com/canine-long-hair test.html. Scroll down the page to the chart that shows the possibilities of different matings. Substitute "white" for "coat length". All puppies out of a white parent will also carry the gene. If the other parent is black/tan and it depends on whether or not it also carries the white gene recessively. The chart will give you all the odds. BTW white is not a color per se, it is a masker that blocks other colors.

Mosemancr-- Well, you just made my day. Thanks. Why don't you find a way to accidentally run into her and casually start talking about her new pup. Then let her have it. Tell her to treat this dog better, and how she never impressed you as a dog owner. What have you got to lose? Nothing. Might even make you feel better. With some luck, after she stops seething and planning how she'll retaliate, some of what you said might penetrate and her new dog will benefit. Make my suggestion Plan B. Your Plan A can be the backup, if needed. .............. I have a question that has been lurking in my mind recently. Are white pups still being born in today's top breedings. I read last week on the shepherd central website that whites were no longer in the European lines. This surprised me. (I'm not referring to the Swiss Shepherd breedings, but Seiger-potential breedings.) Do white pups ever pop up at birth?

I have noticed the same physical traits Desert describes in the blacks. They are more fine boned and big bodied, allot of them have fine heads. I ran into a pick of one in a perigree yesterday, that was just beautiful. Huge block head and small ears, nice stock coat. These nicely builts black and whites seem harder to find than the paterned or sable dogs. I'm not sure though, maybe it's becasue there are less of the solids to compare with??? It sure is a nice thing to look at, when I find a black built like that.

It makes sense that we probably see less good quality solid blacks and whites simply because there are less of those colors whelped.

Good question LMH. I too am curious as to how much, or even if the white recessive is still around in todays euro lines. I am quite sure that if it is still around in the genes of todays top dogs, that it's probably an unspoken and often denied thing with big name kennels and breeders.But back to the question, is the white recessive still around in todays highline show dogs and workingline GSds?

Sure it's there and as unreported as HD. They cull those pups of brush them under the carpet asap. If knowbody sees them, they don't exist.

I agree 4pack. A nice black is harder to find. I do like solid blacks. Myself, while I do like the saddle I really like a really dark sable. Partly I think because some of the very best working dogs I have been around were sables.

To answer carebear's question WRT deafness in white GSDS, no, it is not a problem that is associated with white in this breed. Keep in mind that white GSDs are NOT albinos--the rim of the eyes, the nose and the paw pads are typically black. As Blitzen points out, white is not the absence of pigment, but rather the masking of pigment. At one time, there was a higher incidence of idiopathic epilepsy in white GSDs than in standard-color lines, but again this was specific to those lines which were bred strictly for perpetuation of the white coloration and with no other factors in mind. Selection on a single trait, no matter what that trait is, ensures nothing more than it does the ruination of the breed.