# What is a "Bitch stripe"?



## Anthony8858

I've seen and heard the term used.
I was wondering if there was any significance in those have have one?

Does it mean anything?


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## msvette2u

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en...&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi


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## doggiedad

the bitch stripe is only found on the purest and most
true German Shepherds. the bitch stripe is only found
on dogs that are a direct descendant of Horand.



Anthony8858 said:


> I've seen and heard the term used.
> I was wondering if there was any significance in those have have one?
> 
> Does it mean anything?


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## 4TheDawgies

doggiedad said:


> the bitch stripe is only found on the purest and most
> true German Shepherds. the bitch stripe is only found
> on dogs that are a direct descendant of Horand.


lol


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## wildo

There is lots of discussion about the bitch stripe in this post: http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/choosing-breeder/168300-your-thoughts-breeder-2nd-attempt.html


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## Josie/Zeus

Koda has it, funny thing is my first dog Zeus was also a showline and his back was solid black.


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## Caledon

Actually I have one and it showed up yesterday when I was in a bad mood and my husband got the brunt of it. Other wise it stays pretty well out of sight.

Sorry could't resist.


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## cowgirlup_22

Here is a picture of my 8 month old female Kiva.She has a bitch stripe and this is what it looks like

ETA: sorry the pics aren't the greatest..still trying to figure out my new phone : /











here we go.this one shows it the best










From what I see and have been told a bitch strip is a strip of lighter colored hairs on the dogs back that goes from their withers/shoulders to their croup/butt. Kiva is a black and tan and in her bitch stripe she has greyish tan hairs mixed in with the black.As she has gotten older more of the greyish tan hairs have popped up.


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## GSDAlphaMom

I've always heard it called ticking. I'd never heard 'bitch stripe' until I saw it on this forum. Ticking is a variation of color, in gsd's ususally light hair down the middle of the back. That's my simple definition. Below is probably more info than you want but I've copied and pasted for your information. 

'T, ticking. Some dogs develop flecks of color in areas left white by genes in the S series. The clearest and most obvious ticking is seen in Dalmations, where additional modifier genes have enlarged and rounded the ticks. A large number of irish, piebald and extreme white breeds also have variable ticking, though not often as obvious as the Dalmation. The color of the ticking seems to be the color the coat would be in that area if the white spotting genes were not present. Thus a genetically black and tan Dalmation (a fault) will have tan spots where a black and tan would have tan markings. A ticked sable, ayayTT or ayayTt, may not have obvious ticking, becasue there is not much contrast between the tan and the white. Careful examination, however, will often show tan flecks on the legs. Ticking on a long-haired dog is also difficult to discern. 

The usual dominance relationship given is that T (ticking) is dominant over t (lack of ticking.) Some breed-specific sources suggest that ticking acts as a recessive. I am inclined to suspect incomplete dominance of T. In Border Collies, for instance, a color called blue mottle is in fact a very heavily ticked piebald. The In fact roan, which can develop by the gradual growth of pigmented hair in white areas of the coat, may simply be a form of ticking.

Ticked dogs also typically have roan areas. Roan was inherited as a heterozygous genotype at the MGF locus in cattle but plated and ticked dogs have identical MGF sequence. Little (1957) suggested that roan could be caused by a separate gene. It might be said that merle dogs also have roan areas.'


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## Scarlettsmom

So Scarlett's "champagne" colored stripe down her back would or would NOT be considered a bitch stripe? FWIW, it is also a longer, coarser hair.


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## GSDGunner

Gunner's stripe was noticeable at about 3 or 4 months old. This picture shows it when he was about 7 months old.


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## msvette2u

It's kind of funny...I figured that's how GSDs were supposed to look. I never knew there was an "issue" with it. 
I think our lighter black/tan had one. He was a male (neutered) too.


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## mysweetkaos

Is this similiar to a "silver back" Not sure if they are the same thing or not. K has almost a triangle shape over his shoulders that has lighter hairs in it with a bit of a stripe onto his back. We ran into a man at an Air force show who went on and on about his silver back and acted like it was a good thing? If it's the same thing my husband will be tickled to know that in addition to being fixed too soon and having a somewhat bitchy head he also has a bitch stripe....and we thought he was so tough


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## PaddyD

According to doggiedad:
"the bitch stripe is only found on the purest and most
true German Shepherds. the bitch stripe is only found
on dogs that are a direct descendant of Horand."

It must be true because I can trace Abby's ancestry back to Horand.
But then, shouldn't all GSD owners?
Yes, I know he was kidding.

Here is Abby's bitch stripe

http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...-2-picture11756-show-us-your-bitch-stripe.jpg


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## mysweetkaos

*Bitch stripe?*


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## Dejavu

Negra has a bitch stripe too.


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## martemchik

Get a sable and don't worry about it...


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## cliffson1

If the bitch sripe is wavy in texture it is reputed to go back to a dog named Erich von Gravenwerth(sp), who was a very famous American import from many years back.


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## Good_Karma

Niko has a wavy bitch stripe. I will let him know how cool he is. I'm sure he'll be very impressed.


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## Beverly

Interesting. One of our Labrador retrievers had a 5" wide wavy stripe of fur on his back just like that picture. It was very apparent on his otherwise sleek chocolate coat.


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## marshies

My theory is it helps them keep cool since black fur absorbs more heat in the sun!! You his may call it a both stripe but I call it evolutionarily advanced!


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