The German Shepherd is an intelligent and agile animal ideally suited to active work and are usually deployed in police work, guarding and for other useful tasks. The German Shepherd is of different types wherein the behavior, abilities as well as appearance in each type of German Shepherd are different. In the international working line, the main lines are the international show line as well as the North American show line. International working line German Shepherds are bred mainly for traits that require having a working ability instead of concentrating on appearances, which are often varied.Working Breeds as Well as Show Lines
North American show lines are primarily bred for their appearances and are very different in appearance from the international show line Shepherd by having a pronounced sloped back as well as sharp angulation of the hock joint. In the East Germany of past times, the type of German Shepherd was closer to the old prewar standard and had a straighter back as well as longer and denser coat of a darker color. Such German Shepherds are wonderful working specimens and are less prone to hip dysplasia. The female may usually be gray sable stock coated while the male would likely be heavily saddled black and red stock coated.The full adult sized German Shepherd would stand between 24 and 26 inches in height at the shoulder depending on its genetic background and the corresponding female would stand at 22 to 24 inches at the shoulders. The male German Shepherd would weigh approximately 65 to 90 pounds, depending on its bloodline while the female may weigh only between 55 to 80 pounds.
Broadly speaking, the different German Shepherd types include the German high lines or show lines, various working lines, the East German/Czech lines, North American show lines, the Long Haired German Shepherd, and the White German Shepherd as well as German Shepherds of the United Kingdom.
The type of white German Shepherds are normally used as police dogs and are used for bomb detection, drug interdiction as well as tracking and attack work. They are also used in Search and Rescue work and are a versatile dog indeed. The long haired German Shepherd is also referred to as a 'coated German Shepherd’ and has three coat types which are normal stock hair, long stock hair and long hair and there are a range of coat lengths.
German Shepherd types are also distinguishable by their coats which are of various hues and shades. One may need to understand color genetics to delve deeper into the color of this breed. Common colors are black and tan, sable, white, solid white, red, cream, liver, powder blue and steel blue. In addition, there are also coat types that range from short coat, plush coat, as well as long coat.