Question About Breed Standard - Page 1

I have this lovely 12 week old female who I would like to compete in Schuzhund. I was reviewing the breed standard and see a fault listed for light toenails. This female has just one single white toenail in the rear… the rest of her toenails are black. Would this be considered a serious fault that would it keep her from passing conformation? When she was born up until about 8 weeks old she had a small white patch of fur near this white toenail. (we called her white toe in the beginning) This patch of white fur is has faded away now… but the white toenail remains. thanks in advance for your help.

the white on her foot should darken, as should the white toenail. And even if it doesn't, I doubt it would matter at all for conformation ratings. If she had an entire white foot and toenails, that might be a different story. molly

Marsha, As you have already noticed, maturity will remove a lot of these pigment "faults". Please be aware that all GSD puppies (at least all of mine) are born with white nails that eventually change color. Your dog can compete in Schutzhund even if she had a blue coat, but of course she would not be able to pass a breed survey with a blue coat. As far as the breed standard and a breed survey is concerned, yes all of the nails are supposed to be black. However with that said, we see many excellent adult dogs that have a light-coloured nail or two. At the very least we often see at least one (1) striped nail on the dog. Personally, I agree with Eichenluft and would not worry about the light nail as it will probably disappear. And even if it doesn't, she can still be rated as an excellent animal provided she has the peoper drives, is clear in head, and makes a nice overall impression of the cornformation requirements. Bob-O

My, my. My typing is very poor tonight. Please overlook my typos. Bob-O