# German shepherd vs. American shepherd?



## junodeargsd (Jul 17, 2013)

I am in search of a shepherd and I have seen photos and litters and I am not one to know everything. My last post was about why the puppies had white points on their chests and toes. Never seen that. This time, I was speaking to someone about their dog and they said that the vet told them their dog was a American Shephed? What is that verses a normal German Shepherd Dog?


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## Xeph (Jun 19, 2005)

It's still a German Shepherd Dog, just different lines.

Also, how would the vet know what kind of lines the dog came from unless the vet saw the dog's pedigree?

As far as white "points" goes, color is the last thing that forms in the womb, and it spreads from the center outwards, so the dog's color may not be completed before it is born. If there's not a ton of white, white toes usually fill in with color. White patches are not at all uncommon, and do not always fill in, but really aren't a big deal


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## trcy (Mar 1, 2013)

I think it's how they are bred. You can google search it. I have before. My shepherd is suppose to have more german breeding in him.


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## junodeargsd (Jul 17, 2013)

The first photo is the dog I may be getting tomorrow. The second is my 7 month old GSD, and her ears are still popping up, the one is all the way up. She still hasn't had her first heat either. But mine looks so different and the first photo is the one the vet said, and you make a valid point lol


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

The only way to really know which lines a dog is from would be a pedigree, though some people can give a pretty good guess based on physical appearance. 

For the two dogs above based on the pictures you posted, I would guess nondescript byb/pet dogs with a mish-mash of lines behind them. So not any specific line. Just a 'generic' GSD.


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