# WGSL Nosebridge Anatomy and Standard



## Beser (Aug 7, 2021)

Hello Everyone! I am trying to better visually understand the head, stop and nose bridge of the German Shepherd Dog, with an emphasis on the WGSL. There is very limited information pertaining to what exactly the standard looks like visually because there is so much variation currently in the WGSL world; and what is considered outside of that standard would be nice to see. I have provided an image illustrating a WGSL with a pronounced nosebridge that comes from my European Lines - my question is: does this dog's head, stop and nosebridge fit within the standard, and what lines does this pronounced nose bridge exactly stem from (I have researched the pedigree, and cant quite pinpoint which ancestors it may come from)

Thank you to anyone who provides their input on this!

Note: the dog is a 12 month old intact female


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

I'm no expert on pedigrees, but if you research the Martin brothers who developed the red and black WGSL aesthetic it may have started there. Hopefully some of our more knowledgeable members will have more accurate info than my speculation


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

That is not a correct head. She has a bump on her nose (Roman nose) and loose flews (lips hang down).

The WGSL is responsible for some absolutely HORRIBLE heads, with very steep stops and loose lips, heads that resemble mastiffs more than a correct GSD!

Fortunately, this trend has died out, but at the time - I'd say late 2000's - these dogs were lauded in their koers for having strong 'stallion' heads! 😖🤮

*Head: The head is wedge shaped. and should be in proportion to the body size (in length approximately 40% of the height at the withers) without being coarse, or overstretched. In general appearance, it should be dry with moderate breadth between the ears.

The forehead when viewed from the front or side is only slightly arched. It should be without a center furrow or with only a slightly defined furrow.

When viewed from above, the skull which is approximately 50% of the entire head length, tapers gradually and evenly from the ears to the tip of the nose, with a sloping rather than a sharply defined stop and into a long, dry wedge-shaped muzzle (the upper and lower jaws must be strongly developed.) The bridge of the nose is straight, a dip or rounding is not desirable. The lips are firm and dry and close tightly and are of dark colouring.*


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

These two dogs are typical of what was being shown during this time, and they actually did well in the show ring, as their overall conformation was good. It's just that these head were popular at the time, but have since fallen out of fashion, thank goodness!
This dog has an apple domed skull and an extremely steep stop:










This one actually has a slight dip between the muzzle and the forehead. He also has extremely loose, droopy flews.










Some of these dogs also had a furrow between the eyes, and wrinkling of the face/forehead, which is also incorrect according to the standard:


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

The problem is, different breeders (showline vs. working line) can interpret the same standard differently. If you looked at the heads of a champion German working line, German show line, and American show line, they would all look a bit different!

Recent German Sieger:






Ballack von der Brucknerallee


Pedigree information about the German Shepherd Dog Ballack von der Brucknerallee




www.pedigreedatabase.com





Rumor, the female Amercian showline who took Best in Show at Westminister several years ago:





Lockenhaus' Rumor Has It V Kenlyn


Pedigree information about the German Shepherd Dog Lockenhaus' Rumor Has It V Kenlyn




www.pedigreedatabase.com





A very popular German working line male, with a V conformation rating:






Bomber vom Wolfsheim


Pedigree information about the German Shepherd Dog Bomber vom Wolfsheim




www.pedigreedatabase.com


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

Here's a better picture of Rumor's head:
Since she's a female, her head is finer. However, ASL dogs tend to have slightly longer muzzles and finer heads than the German dogs do. At one time, the heads were almost collie-like and it was hard to tell males from females!


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

The standard I quote above is the German standard. This is the American:

*Head*
The head is noble, cleanly chiseled, strong without coarseness, but above all not fine, and in proportion to the body. The head of the male is distinctly masculine, and that of the bitch distinctly feminine.





The expression keen, intelligent and composed. Eyes of medium size, almond shaped, set a little obliquely and not protruding. The color is as dark as possible. Ears are moderately pointed, in proportion to the skull, open toward the front, and carried erect when at attention, the ideal carriage being one in which the center lines of the ears, viewed from the front, are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the ground. A dog with cropped or hanging ears must be disqualified.
Seen from the front the forehead is only moderately arched, and the skull slopes into the long, wedge-shaped muzzle without abrupt stop. The muzzle is long and strong, and its topline is parallel to the topline of the skull. Nose black. A dog with a nose that is not predominantly black must be disqualified. The lips are firmly fitted. Jaws are strongly developed. Teeth --42 in number--20 upper and 22 lower--are strongly developed and meet in a scissors bite in which part of the inner surface of the upper incisors meet and engage part of the outer surface of the lower incisors. An overshot jaw or a level bite is undesirable. An undershot jaw is a disqualifying fault. Complete dentition is to be preferred. Any missing teeth other than first premolars is a serious fault.





German Shepherd Dog Club of America (GSDCA) - Information about the German Shepherd Dog and German Shepherd Puppies including the German Shepherd Breed Standard


German Shepherd Dog Breed Standard




www.gsdca.org


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## mnm (Jan 9, 2006)

Take a look at Linda Shaw's book on the GSD, about Structure and Anatomy.

The head should have a definite stop, and the planes of the forehead and bridge of the nose should run in parallel lines.


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## Beser (Aug 7, 2021)

Wow, thanks everyone for your input, I really enjoyed reading through your posts and have learnt a lot!


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## Whiteshepherds (Aug 21, 2010)

mnm said:


> Take a look at Linda Shaw's book on the GSD, about Structure and Anatomy.
> The head should have a definite stop, and the planes of the forehead and bridge of the nose should run in parallel lines.


To the OP -First 60 pages are online - heads are covered. 


https://www.vtgsd.com/publicgsdfiles/The-Illustrated-Standard-for-the-German-Shepherd-Dog.pdf


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

Thank you, WS! I have her book, but didn't want to post anything for fear of violating copyright!


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## Whiteshepherds (Aug 21, 2010)

Sunsilver said:


> Thank you, WS! I have her book, but didn't want to post anything for fear of violating copyright!


No problem. If I remember right, when the book first came out she posted that part to give people an idea of what to expect in the book. Sort of a tease to get people to buy it.


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

Yes, and it WORKED! The first edition sold out very quickly, and now that she's passed away, due to cancer, I think it's becoming hard to get ahold of the second edition!

Edit: Just checked Amazon, and both the American and Canadian websites have only ONE copy of the book available!

The Canadian Amazon is selling it for $72 which is more than what I paid for my copy 2 years ago.


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