Shiloh Shepherd

Breed Type: Working Dog
Country of Origin: USA
Size: Large
Males: Height: 71cm Avergae. Weight: 55-65kg
Females: Height65-71cm, Weight: 45-55kg
Exercise Requirements: Medium
Care Requirements: Medium
Lifespan: 10-12 years
Best Suited as: Family Pet

The Shiloh Shepherd Dog the new breed of dog presently being developed in the US. As a 2012 they are yet to be recognised by any major kennel club – they are however shown in rare breed shows. Though the type is not yet set their appearance is very much that of an oversized German Shepherd dog. There are presently no individuals being bred in Australia.

Appearance
As mentioned above their appearance is very much like that of an oversized German shepherd dog however there are some important differences. Whilst both breeds have noticeably higher shoulders than Withers the angle of the slope of the Shiloh Shepherd Dog is much smaller as their hips a proportionally higher than those of the German shepherd dog.

There is currently a breed standard being developed which dictates aspects such as abroad slightly domed head tapered muzzle good bite alignment and black muzzle and lips. They should have well cupped years the firm and triangular, you wrecked when the dog is in a state of alertness, eyes are always brown, both light and dark brown is acceptable.

The coming to cope varieties the smooth or double coat as well is the plush. The smooth is medium in length and lies close against the body with greater length evident around the neck and with feathering on the fore and hindlegs. The outer coat is quite coarse and dense and very straight.

The plush coat is noticeably longer and full of without six of undercoat giving the density and were at the smooth coat has longer hair around the neck, the plush coat version makes a mockery of this with a full main which extends down the neck and across the chest. Overall the outer firm is around 12 a half centimetres in length.

There is no such thing as a woolly Shiloh Shepherd Dog and curly fur is a fault.

The coat itself comes in are range of colours including black with tan, golden and reddish tan, even silver or sable.

History
this is the breed is being developed in the US by Tina M Barber in response to what she saw as change in the direction of the breed standard the German Shepherd dog that had taken it too far from its origins. She had grown up with much larger more solid German shepherd dogs than those that are seen today in a she sought to recreate these dogs from her youth.

Whilst the breed is not yet recognised in the US they do have their own club and the dogs are shown in red dog breed shows. A lot of care is being placed on tracking breed history and characteristics of the Shiloh Shepherd Dog and for a “type” to become set so that they may be recognised as a new dog breed sometime in the future.

There has been some resistance to the breed with a number of purest German shepherd dog breeders considering a new breed to be an unnecessary giant sized version of the German shepherd dog that is likely to suffer from greater skeletal problems and health issues due to the small number of individuals involved in the program. Proponents of the new breed claim great care is being taken to ensure that the new breed from the start is developed from quality dogs with low health problems.

Only time will tell what the future holds to this new breed but certainly the appeal of the larger shepherd dog with many of the positive characteristics of a German shepherd dog is obvious.

Temperament
The Shiloh Shepherd Dog shepherd is supposedly much like a calm German shepherd in demeanour. They are outgoing and loyal an excellent companion dogs. The display evidence other livestock Guardian genetics that given them their size and they tend to be quite and calmer and less flighty than German shepherd dogs. They are also likely not as trainable or as intelligent but will be more independent and stubborn in their thinking.

The breed standard lists over aggression or timidity as flaws with the aim being to create a calm, confident but not aggressive dog.

Suitability as a Pet
suitability as a pet in Australia is not really an issue for the Shiloh Shepherd Dog as it is unlikely you would be our to obtain one since they are not bred here and importing an individual would be exceedingly expensive. Historically the Australian kennel club is slow to recognise new breeds and is unlikely the breed will soon become a fixture in Australia.

(Editor’s note – we would love to hear from anyone in Australia who is either owned or spent time with a Shiloh Shepherd Dog to hear more about just what kind of dogs they are.)