The Illustrated Standard for the German Shepherd Dog

Book excerpt: The Illustrated Standard for the German Shepherd Dog is the most comprehensive book on the breed ever published. It features 220 pages and nearly 500 of Shaw's original drawings and diagrams illustrating the structure, anatomy and gaits of the German Shepherd Dog. Also lavishly illustrated with photographs of good dogs of past and present, no one who studies the material in this book will be in any doubt about what is and isn't normal structure and gait in a working dog. The result of the author's years of experience in both show and schutzhund, and as a professional animal illustrator, it presents an objective, performance centered interpretation of breed structure, uninfluenced by the fashion of any particular show ring.The first edition of The Illustrated Standard for the German Shepherd Dog sold out within six months. It was awarded Best Breed Book of 2016 by the Dog Writers Association of America, and was also praised by Prof. H. Messler, President of the SV, as the best book since Gorrieri.The second edition contains more than twenty additional pages of detailed anatomical drawings of the back/topline, forehand and hindquarters, showing all variations from correct to extreme, and explanations of why it matters to a working dog.