# Breed Standard Ratio



## SummerGSDLover (Oct 20, 2013)

I read that the ideal GSD body ratio is 10:8 Length:Height. Is that correct? 
Just measured my pup's length and it's 30". Then from floor to withers and the conservative measurement is 27.5" --- so based on these measurements he's roughly 3" too tall for his length, is that correct? 
So, will he get longer? I know I'm measuring him correctly based on the pictures on Google I was looking at. I would post his pedigree but the "breeder" told me they'd mail it when they got it but still haven't. 
Just wondering out of curiosity, what are your dogs measuring at and what is their age?

Yogi
DOB 09.01.2013
Weight: 75
Height: 27.5"
Length: 30"

I feel like he is too big! LOL. I absolutely love him, he's perfect the way he is but I never see any other shepherds around for comparison (except for the king shepherd down the block who is 115 lbs and 33" tall!). I don't know why it matters. I'm just curious I guess.

Thank you.

*-*Summer*-*


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## JakeInJersey (Dec 13, 2013)

SummerGSDLover said:


> Yogi
> DOB 09.01.2013
> Weight: 75
> Height: 27.5"
> Length: 30"


For what it's worth, here's my girl:
Haddie
DOB 7.28.2012 (21 months)
Weight: 77lbs
Height: 24.5"
Length: 29"ish

Not 100% sure that I did the length measurement the same way you did, but I did the best I could based on your screenshot


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## SummerGSDLover (Oct 20, 2013)

For what it's worth is a good way of saying it.  It really doesn't matter, I was just curious. Thank you for your response. It sounds like your dog is perfectly proportioned. 
I'm not trying to be one of those "my dog is bigger than yours!" Id actually prefer he be more your girls size.  It's nice to talk to someone on here. I think people maybe don't like me very much on this board, although I can't figure out why. Maybe too many stupid questions. 

*-*Summer*-*


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## JakeInJersey (Dec 13, 2013)

Lol. I don't know about any of that 

I'm in the same boat as you.. I would actually prefer her a little smaller, but I'm not complaining either. I feel like she's probably done growing length/height wise, but I'm sure we have another few pounds worth of filling out to do


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## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

Males should be no taller than roughly 25 inches. So yes per standard your boy is oversized.

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## SummerGSDLover (Oct 20, 2013)

Anubis_Star said:


> Males should be no taller than roughly 25 inches. So yes per standard your boy is oversized.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


In knowing this now, will I have to watch his joints, exercise, etc.? I wanted to try to get him into weight pulling once his growth plates close. In your opinion, is that off the board now? 

*-*Summer*-*


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## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

My boy is 27.5-28 inches tall. We are doing schutzhund. I'm even considering looking into dock diving.

Have his hips and elbows OFAd to make sure they are clear of dysplasia first. I would never do a hard impact sport with a large dysplastic dog. But other than that, keep him lean. Fat is a killer of dogs - obese dogs with a statistically much shorter life. Keep a lot of lean muscle mass on him. Feed him a good quality diet. And he should be fine.

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## SummerGSDLover (Oct 20, 2013)

Getting his hips OFA'd means I have to wait until he's two, right? And how do I do it? Can a normal vet do that or does it require sending the images somewhere? Thanks for your knowledge, I really appreciate your time. 

*-*Summer*-*


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## SummerGSDLover (Oct 20, 2013)

Anubis, what is dock diving? 

*-*Summer*-*


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## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

Do preliminary OFAS at a year. Or you can do pennhip as young as 16 weeks. Preliminary ofa won't be a definite, but it will give you a good idea what the hips look like. Any vet can do ofa films they just have to follow the guidelines on the ofa website. Leerburg also has a great page on proper ofa positioning. 

To do pennhip the vet has to be certified so that would probably require some research. 

If i was going to do weight pulling I probably wouldn't want to do too much before a year and a half or so anyway so I don't think the time frame will get in the way. 

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## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

I'm sure many would say not to even worry about it. If he's not clinical than why worry. But I work with board certified orthopedic surgeons so I tend to worry more than I probably should. If it was my dog I wouldn't want to do many sports if he had hip dysplasia because I would want to preserve the joints as long as possible

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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

Yes, oversized but breed standard for males is 24-26 inches, females is 22-24. I need to measure mine .. it's been awhile. I'm not sure he's done growing yet since he's only a year.


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## SummerGSDLover (Oct 20, 2013)

Anubis_Star said:


> Do preliminary OFAS at a year. Or you can do pennhip as young as 16 weeks. Preliminary ofa won't be a definite, but it will give you a good idea what the hips look like. Any vet can do ofa films they just have to follow the guidelines on the ofa website. Leerburg also has a great page on proper ofa positioning.
> 
> To do pennhip the vet has to be certified so that would probably require some research.
> 
> ...


I see. Okay. I can almost guarantee my vet isn't certified in that. They couldn't even figure out giardia. :/ I'll probably have better luck looking around in Portland, OR since its a large metropolitan area. Thank you. I love your posts, they are very easy to understand. 
As far as the weight pulling, I was planning on starting him somewhere around 16-20 months so you're right, it really won't I interfere with timing to get the OFA done.
*-*Summer*-*


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## SummerGSDLover (Oct 20, 2013)

Galathiel said:


> Yes, oversized but breed standard for males is 24-26 inches, females is 22-24. I need to measure mine .. it's been awhile. I'm not sure he's done growing yet since he's only a year.


I would be interested in seeing how tall and long your pup is though so let us know when you get time to measure him. Do you know when growth plates close? 

*-*Summer*-*


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## Eiros (Jun 30, 2011)

Summer - I think growth plates close 2 years or so, or later.

My pup is oversize too, 28" tall.


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## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

A large majority of growth plates close around when a dog reaches sexually maturity. By 12 months old or so a large breed dog is largely done growing "up", but will continue to build muscle mass and filling out (keep in mind they still easily do some growing until 18 months or so)

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