# Is Your GSD Within The Breed Standard Size Wise?



## LaRen616

As PaddyD mentioned in another thread, it seems like more and more GSD's are out of standard, I was wondering if the out of standard dogs were from BYB's or Reputable Breeders?

My 2.5 year old male GSD is 28' at the shoulder, 75-80 pounds and from a BYB.

Is your GSD bigger than the standard? Is he/she from a BYB or a Reputable Breeder?


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## paulag1955

I think Shasta is on the big side for a female but, then again, I'm not exactly sure I'm measuring correctly. She weighs 75 pounds and is not fat. 

I wonder if the apparent increase in oversize dogs is related to improved nutrition, just like humans are generally taller now than they were just a few hundred years ago.


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## PaddyD

I had to look up the standard:
_Size, Proportion, Substance
The desired height for males at the top of the highest point of the shoulder blade is 24 to 26 inches; and for bitches, 22 to 24 inches. The German Shepherd Dog is longer than tall, with the most desirable proportion as 10 to 8½. The length is measured from the point of the prosternum or breastbone to the rear edge of the pelvis, the ischial tuberosity. The desirable long proportion is not derived from a long back, but from overall length with relation to height, which is achieved by length of forequarter and length of withers and hindquarter, viewed from the side._
Abby is 25.5, which puts her over the standard yet people tend to think she is small.
Her length is 30 inches which puts her at the standard proportions.
She is from a reputable breeder. (Who I thought was a BYB until I realized that she is just small scale.)
Go figure,


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## elisabeth_00117

Stark

26' at the withers
89lbs

I think he is a touch on the long side though (I like that).

Zefra

At this point we think she will be within standard and I am hoping on the smaller side of the rest of her full siblings (from both a previous litter and her litter).


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## 1sttimeforgsd

Ace :wub:
14 mo-male-intact
27.5" @ shoulder
86 lbs-lean
30" chest to base of tail
BYB


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## LaRen616

Sin is 32' from chest to base of tail


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## PaddyD

Math for length: Height/8.5 = x ^^^^^^^^^^ x times 10 = proportional length

Math for height: Length/10 = x ^^^^^^^^^ x times 8.5 = proportional height


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## Greydusk

Well I'm going to be the oddball in that I have one below the standard
Blitz (male):
22" -23"
60lbs. 
Unknown background. Neutered at 4 years old so that wasn't a factor.


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## holland

Rorie is 23" and probably 65 lbs-I think she is small compact agile-in my opinion she is from a reputable breeder-others on the form have argued that but their opinion doesn't matter much to me


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## King&Skylar

Skylar will be approx. 75 pounds when she's full grown, she's 65 now but she's 27" tall, she came from a reputable breeder.

Then King is a rescue, he's 80 pounds and 24" tall.


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## lhczth

Nike is 57.5 cm, 70#
Vala is 57, 68#
Deja is 57.5-58, 70#
Donovan is 64, 90#
Alexis is over sized. She is a hair smaller than Donovan. 78#

The standard is 55-60 cm in females and 60-65cm in males with 1cm over and under permitted. So, 4 out of 5 are within standard. Alexis' sire was a big dog (65cm). Vala's sire was small (60 cm). Donovan and Deja's sire was 64.5 cm so upper medium to large with some large dogs behind him. Except for Nike, all were bred by me.


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## Caitydid255

Nope, Freyja is my little genetic freak. Both of her parents were within the standard and all her siblings were at the lower end of the standard. At one year and two months she is 26 inches at the shoulder. I fully expected her to max out at 22 inches or less, but she kept growing.


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## BR870

Abbie is 22.5" at the shoulder and 50lbs. She is 7 months so who knows where she will be when she finishes growing. I doubt she will get much taller though, but she will probably fill out another 5-10lbs.

People think she is very small, which is funny since she is completely within standard (though on the small end of the standard).


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## selzer

I stopped measuring. 

Jenna is 24.5 inches -- I am ok with that. 
Babs is 24 or just under -- good
Heidi and Tori are similar to Jenna -- not measured, high end of standard, maybe just over.
Odessa is about 23 - 23.5 it is measured on her paper work, she is within whatever standard.
Milla and Ninja are within standard height
Joy is upper end, close to her mother's height, Dolly a little taller, Bear a little shorter -- still upper end of the standard. 

Did I miss anyone?

All but Odessa were bred by me. 

Jenna and Babs' litter contained Cujo, AKA Gigundo Dog, AKA Clifford. 30 inches at the shoulder last time we checked and 86 pounds. We neutered him at 14 weeks and he just never stopped growing. He is six years old and the current joke is "He grew again."


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## Cassidy's Mom

Both of mine are well within the SV standard weight-wise. I have never measured them, but neither are overly tall, so I'm sure they're within the standard height-wise as well. 

*Males:
Height at the wither 60 cm to 65 cm (23.62 inches - 25.59 inches)
Weight 30 kg to 40 kg. (66.14 pounds - 88.18 pounds; Midrange = 77 pounds)

Females:
Height at the wither 55 cm to 60 cm (21.65 inches - 23.62 inches)
Weight 22 kg - 32 kg (48.5 pounds - 70.55 pounds; Midrange = 59.5 pounds)*

Keefer is 80 pounds give or take a couple (highest weight has been between 82 and 83 pounds, and I cut back his food a bit since then because I think 80 pounds is an ideal weight for him), Halo is almost exactly at the mid-point of the standard at around 60 pounds.


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## holland

Forgot to include Anja she is probably 24" and 70-75 pounds -within the standard


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## 1sttimeforgsd

Debbie, thank you for posting that comparison in inches and pounds. I guess that I have been out of school for to long, I had no idea what I was reading.


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## CarrieJ

Alice is over standard.
I haven't measured the length, but her height at the withers is 27 1/2 " and she weighs 92 pounds.

BBB (big bossy bitch)
I had her spade (that's for you Selzer), a bit young 6 months. I was probably should have waited a bit longer but with her seizures and size it was going to happen anyway. Plus, only one moody girl in the house at a time...so it's me.


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## PaddyD

CarrieJ said:


> Alice is over standard.
> I haven't measured the length, but her height at the withers is 27 1/2 " and she weighs 92 pounds.
> 
> BBB (big bossy bitch)
> I had her spade (that's for you Selzer), a bit young 6 months. I was probably should have waited a bit longer but with her seizures and size it was going to happen anyway. Plus, only one moody girl in the house at a time...so it's me.


Yikes
Alice is well on her way to being 10 feet tall.


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## selzer

CarrieJ said:


> Alice is over standard.
> I haven't measured the length, but her height at the withers is 27 1/2 " and she weighs 92 pounds.
> 
> BBB (big bossy bitch)
> I had her spade (that's for you Selzer), a bit young 6 months. I was probably should have waited a bit longer but with her seizures and size it was going to happen anyway. Plus, only one moody girl in the house at a time...so it's me.


LOL, having spelling as my worst subject, I generally do not get picky about other people's spelling. (I actually do know how to properly use the words there, their, and they're, to, too, and two; but more and more realize, usually too late, that I have typed the wrong word.) But when someone wants to breed GSDs, there are just a few words relevant to the whole business that they should spell properly.


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## wildo

There are some TALL dogs in this thread!!! Folks- an inch is designated with a double quotation mark, i.e., 25" whereas a foot is designated with a single quotation mark, 20'. 

Pimg is 26" at the withers and 28" long, which puts her above standard. She did not come from a reputable breeder. Edit- and she is currently 68.9 pounds.


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## Germanshepherdlova

Brutus 28" at the withers-measured 6 months ago,
116 lbs.-weighed 2 weeks ago.
He is a long dog, but I have not recently measured his length.
Definitely NOT from a reputable breeder.


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## wolfstraum

Basha is 58.5 cm 
Bengal 58 cm
Csabre 60 cm
I think Hexe is 58 as well...

Ghost is 62.5 (male)
Fenja - 58 

ATB...
Kyra 58 cm
Alice 58 cm
Cito 64 cm


Cito and Csabre were progeny of Xito (62.5 cm) and Kyra (58 cm) - all KKL1 dogs (except Cito, as I lost him before I could do the koer....I am sure he would have gone KKL1 tho!) All in standand - mid to top range

Lee


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## doggiedad

reputable breeder. 4 yrs old. male.
24&1/2"; 88 lbs.


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## stolibaby

Stoli is WAY over the standard then I think...he is 29-30" (couldn't get a good read) and is only 65-70lbs....little over 14 mos old and was neutered at 6 months (I didn't know better to wait at the time so that's on me) no idea how long he is though I'll have to check that out.

Oh also pretty sure he is from a byb although at the time I thought she was legit...but she told me Stoli's mom was about 60 lbs and his sire is about 85 lbs so honestly dunno where he'll end up when he's done growing.


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## KZoppa

I believe last time i measured Shasta she was 22 or 23" at the shoulder and she hovers around 60-65lbs. She's not grown up much since then and she's certainly not grown out. She's from a BYB/oops


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## Anita11811

My gsd turned 7 months yesterday and i didnt measure him. I measured him at 6 months (he grew since then) he was 27 in. from paw to shoulder. 31in. from butt or beginign of tail to just under where the collar lays. At 6 months he weighed 78lbs. he usually gains 10 lbs in one month so he should weigh around 88lbs now. He is VERY lean/Skinny.Right now everything he eats, he sprouts UP! Haha I also got him from a reputable breeder. He was the biggest of the bunch.


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## CarrieJ

selzer said:


> LOL, having spelling as my worst subject, I generally do not get picky about other people's spelling. (I actually do know how to properly use the words there, their, and they're, to, too, and two; but more and more realize, usually too late, that I have typed the wrong word.) But when someone wants to breed GSDs, there are just a few words relevant to the whole business that they should spell properly.


As I was typing that I kept thinking about bonking my dog with a shovel for some reason. 
I did notice re-reading that post; that I did flub the grammar pretty badly. 
*sigh*
Back on topic: Alice is a BYB BBB. I called the lady when Alice was 6 months and tried to e-mail pics and she answered the phone and told me it was a wrong number.
*arch the eyebrow moment*
Never tried again.


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## CarrieJ

PaddyD said:


> Yikes
> Alice is well on her way to being 10 feet tall.


Unless I only used the ' instead of " sign, she's four now....thankfully I don't have Clifford The Big Red Dog's girlfriend.


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## boeselager

My showline/working line girl that I lost was 27" from the shoulder and 100 pounds. Father was a police K9 that was an import, mom came from a very well known show line breeder. You will get undersized/oversized dog's that pop up every now and then from well known breeders, it does happen. 
Anka~22.5"
Askia~23.5"
Arro~25"
Zavien~26"
"G" girls~22.4",22.5"


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## trudy

Ty at 3 yrs is 26", and slightly underweight at 75, I prefer a few extra, but that is his weight. Gemma, 2 yrs, 23.5", 62.5 pounds, again I'd like 2-3 pounds more. But they are both within standard, and both are not too long, I haven't measured but not extra long.


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## Chicagocanine

Bianca is 26" tall (above standard) and varies around 68-72 pounds. She is from pretty well known West German show lines and her previous owner purchased her as a puppy on a breeding/show contract.


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## CookieTN

I believe Cookie was about an inch larger than the standard said females should be. (26" or 27", something like that.) She probably came from a BYB, but since we didn't buy her from the breeder directly I can't say for certain. (We bought her from the family that originally bought her from the breeder.) She seemed to be a pretty healthy dog through her life, though.


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## bocron

I'm not measuring any of mine again until I can get to an actual wicket. Everytime I've measured using a tape measure or yardstick I have found my reading to be way off so don't trust myself to do that anymore. I measured one of my Beauceron girls once before heading off the an Elevage(kind of like a Koerung but French ) and was all upset because she was 1/4 inch under size. When they measured her she ended up just squeaking in under the too big mark, almost over sized!!
Annette


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## CookieTN

bocron said:


> I'm not measuring any of mine again until I can get to an actual wicket. Everytime I've measured using a tape measure or yardstick I have found my reading to be way off so don't trust myself to do that anymore. I measured one of my Beauceron girls once before heading off the an Elevage(kind of like a Koerung but French ) and was all upset because she was 1/4 inch under size. When they measured her she ended up just squeaking in under the too big mark, almost over sized!!
> Annette


Hmmm, interesting! And I've measured my dogs (and myself) with a tape measurer. Haha. (Or a few rulers.) Had a suspicion it could be off...


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## cowgirlup_22

Kenai:2yr(will be 3 in Nov.) old male. *Height*:28 inches at withers *Length*:33 and when he was weighed at vets office a week or two ago he was 97 lbs. Got him from a BYB

Kiva:6 month old female. *Height*:21 inches at withers *Length*: 25 inches and she weighs 35 lbs. She was from an oops litter/BYB. I am so curious and anxious to find out how much bigger she is going to get


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## codmaster

CookieTN said:


> I believe Cookie was about an inch larger than the standard said females should be. (26" or 27", something like that.) She probably came from a BYB, but since we didn't buy her from the breeder directly I can't say for certain. (We bought her from the family that originally bought her from the breeder.) She seemed to be a pretty healthy dog through her life, though.


AKC height for a female GSD is 22-24" (24-26" for males). Most dogs in the breed ring are oversize and generally there is not much if any penalty for it.


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## Kamahi

Kamahi and Tosca are both over the height standard - Kamahi is 30" at the shoulder (85 lbs) and Tosca is 25 1/2" at the shoulder. (she's about 60-65 lbs - not sure as I haven't weighed her recently) Both are from a BYB. I haven't measured Kona, but she's probably about an inch taller than Tosca. (she's from the same BYB)


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## WVGSD

Max is 30 inches tall and was a shelter rescue by me last December. As hard as I tried to learn about his past (his breeder had been involved in his neglect court case), I never succeeded. She was reportedly given my contact information, but never followed through.

My suspicion is that Max is not poorly bred, although I have no absolute concrete data with which to verify.


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## LaRen616

WVGSD said:


> Max is 30 inches tall and was a shelter rescue by me last December. As hard as I tried to learn about his past (his breeder had been involved in his neglect court case), I never succeeded. She was reportedly given my contact information, but never followed through.
> 
> My suspicion is that Max is not poorly bred, although I have no absolute concrete data with which to verify.


Well.............. hello there handsome. :wub:


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## fuzzybunny

Is there much difference between the measurement you'll get at the withers versus the middle of the back? I'm thinking at the withers should be slightly taller although I keep getting the same number. I'm using a tape measure so I know it's not the most scientific way of doing it but my vet doesn't have a wicket.


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## PaddyD

Some dogs don't have withers higher than their back. You can see that in some pictures in this forum. Some even have roach backs higher than their withers. The desirable conformation (obviously) is to have withers higher than their back, but what percentage of our dogs have perfect conformation(?). It could be that your dog's withers are higher but you can't find them through the fur and muscle.


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## fuzzybunny

PaddyD said:


> Some dogs don't have withers higher than their back. You can see that in some pictures in this forum. Some even have roach backs higher than their withers. The desirable conformation (obviously) is to have withers higher than their back, but what percentage of our dogs have perfect conformation(?). It could be that your dog's withers are higher but you can't find them through the fur and muscle.


Perhaps when I'm measuring him his head and chest are not straight up like in this photo. He's not very cooperative when it comes to being measured. I get 27" no matter where I measure him but when I look at photos like this he looks taller at the withers unless it's just fur.


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## phgsd

Out of 4 females, one was slightly oversized, she was maybe 62 cm and 70 lbs.

Madina is short - although I'm not sure of her exact height, probably towards the lower end of the standard - but stocky and weighs about 53 lbs. Djenga is also small, not built as heavily as Madina but slightly taller and is also about 53-55 lbs. Kessy is about 59 cm and 68 lbs. She doesn't LOOK that heavy but I guess it's all muscle!


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## PaddyD

fuzzybunny said:


> Perhaps when I'm measuring him his head and chest are not straight up like in this photo. He's not very cooperative when it comes to being measured. I get 27" no matter where I measure him but when I look at photos like this he looks taller at the withers unless it's just fur.


It could be fur, or how he's standing, or that his front is on higher ground.
They can be hard to measure, mine doesn't like to stand still for me.
I think she may be 25" when I thought she was 25.5".
no biggie


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## mjbgsd

*Cody* 
25.5'' 67lbs, but is skinny due to illness. In his prime he was 80lbs. From BYB. _In standard._ 
*Isa*
25.4'' 74lbs, breeder. In her working weight she was 65lbs. _Out of standard_ 
*Akbar *
27'' 96+lbs, breeder. _Out of standard_


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## Liesje

Kenya, 7 years, 50lbs, 21.5"
Nikon, 3 years, 75lbs, 25??" (last measure was last summer for agility and he had to jump 24" so he was just over 24" then)
Pan, 1 year, 67lbs, 25"?? (just a guess, he's the same height as Nikon)


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## lkcheertex

Harley is 29" so definitely VERY tall. People say he looks like a pony  He weighs 70 at his last checkup and is skinny. We rescued him so not sure of the breeder but we were told he is definitely pure bred and had papers at some point but they were lost along the way.


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## Germanshepherdlova

lkcheertex said:


> Harley is 29" so definitely VERY tall. People say he looks like a pony  He weighs 70 at his last checkup and is skinny. We rescued him so not sure of the breeder but we were told he is definitely pure bred and had papers at some point but they were lost along the way.


'
lol, I get that all the time about Brutus-people say, that's no dog, that's a horse!


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## GSDTrain

Mason is within breed standard. 76lbs and 25" at the shoulder.


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## Josie/Zeus

Zeus was oversized- I think he was 28 inches tall and 110-115 lbs. 

Odin was perfect - height and weight - within breed standard

Koda decided he is going to be a big bear. He is already 24 inches tall, 70 lbs at 5 1/2 months.


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## paulag1955

Okay, I tried measuring Shasta again today and came up with 24.5 inches at the shoulder. I'm still not sure I'm measuring that correctly. 75 pounds sounds like it might be a tad heavy for that height, but she looks great and I can easily feel all her ribs. I think she comes from a reputable breeder.


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## martemchik

Rooney is 26 inches exactly at the shoulder and about 80 lbs at 13 months of age. He shouldn't get any taller as his father was the same height and he hasn't grown at all in the last few months. He's extra long though, about 1.5 inches longer than he "should be." I also prefer him to be long. He has a little bit of filling out left to do so I expect him to gain about 10 more lbs. He's from a breeder.

Paulag, measure the length of your dog, since she is "heavy" for her height she might just not be the preferred 10/8.5 ratio...if she's longer she will be heavier.


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## Deuce

No, he's not. My male German Shepherd is 15 months old. He measures in at 28".


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