# Shiloh shepherd's anyone ? :P



## Captain.Charisma (May 24, 2009)

Just doing my homework and research, as per usual, and i came across a new breed of dogs called the Shiloh Shepard.

Ive heard contrasting things about the breed, in which from ive gathered they were breed from a lady in New York in 70's who wished to change the breeding standards of the GSD. In which she desired to try and evolve the current GDS, by breeding slighlty larger and healther dogs. 

From my research ive gathered that they are larger than German Shepard dogs, weighing around 120 pounds insted of 70/80 pounds. Ive also heard they suffer less from health problems, espcially bad hips ? While also being very active, and agile for its size, and reataining many of the orginal characterics of the GSD. 

However contrasting sources say however that have a lower prey drive to German Shepard cousins, and dont make as good working dogs because of this ? and german shepard dogs make better police dogs ect..

Anyone know how much of this true, or anything about this dogs ? im intrested :S


----------



## dimkaz (Jul 27, 2009)

hi, 
i have heard if this breed, mainly on the web (on other fora and from some of my contacts), it seems that it is relatively popular in the US. the number are still limited though.

there have been in the last 50 or so years many attempts to breed better German shepherds (for size, character, working ability etc. ) see king shepherd for example.

early reports (still from the web, swear that the shiloh is healthier and more docile..) but you should really check with the AKC and the FCI.

http://www.shilohshepherds.org/


best
d


----------



## moboyd (Sep 29, 2009)

Were'nt they also called "King shepherds"? if so from my chats on some US boards, they are from a mixture of GSD/Malamutes/pyrenese (sp)

mo


----------



## Burrowzig (Feb 18, 2009)

Captain.Charisma said:


> Just doing my homework and research, as per usual, and i came across a new breed of dogs called the Shiloh Shepard.
> 
> Ive heard contrasting things about the breed, in which from ive gathered they were breed from a lady in New York in 70's who wished to change the breeding standards of the GSD. In which she desired to try and evolve the current GDS, by breeding slighlty larger and healther dogs.
> 
> ...


According to Dogs the ultimate dictionary of dog breeds by Desmond Morris, the breeding began in 1962, by Tina Barber who was brought up in Germany and wanted to recreate the GSD as she had known them in her youth. They are bigger than current GSDs, straight backed, thicker boned and more docile. They are categorised as companion dogs. Most of the breeding was done from selected GSDs but a Malamute was brought in to increase size and improve hips.


----------



## Bold Canine (Oct 21, 2009)

Good morning,

As a Shiloh Shepherd breeder, enthusiast, and supporter, hopefully I can aide with some questions you may have with regards to our breed.

First, like virtually all breeds, ours too has some politics. There are really two groups, the ISSDC (http://www.shilohs.org) to which I am a member and a Board member, and the ISSR to which I am not affiliated with. The link provided by the original poster is with the later of the two groups.

Yes, the breed is relatively "new" in the grand scheme of things, but has been around for a few decades now and were first recognized as a rare breed (simply another term for a breed not "officially recognized" yet).

As one poster stated, the breed has a substancial following in the US and Canada (I am in Canada). Particularly here in Ontario, the Shiloh population has grown exponentially over the past half decade.

Popularity is gaining in Europe as our club now has a Netherlands Region with a number of Shilohs residing in Holland. I myself am flying over to Amsterdam next week with a pup for a new family, then heading over to Glasgow for a few days of R&R.

Although SOME may chose to measure their Shilohs against GSDs, I for one do not. The GSD is an incredible breed, and the Shiloh is a breed unto itself albeit having bloodlines primarily of GSD origin. I do not profess to have better health than GSD,s or any other breed for that matter, but simply focus inward on my own lines and what I produce from our breeding program. Hopefully, via selective breeding and proper health testing prior to entering the program, the statistics will speak for themselves. As an example, my stud has OFA Excellent Hips and we're extremely pleased to see OFA Excellent ratings frequently appearing in the progeny and have yet to have an offspring with DJD or HD (knock on wood!).

There are some excellent resources on the web (and some that are no so excellent and derogatory). However, I think if you read thru it enough, you'll find some great information on this growing breed.

I have six Shiloh's in my pack. They are everything they are said to be. Large size, gentle temperament, and good health (at least if dealing with reputable breeders). The make for very good family companions if you like a large breed dog but want a more laid back temperament.

With regards to "However contrasting sources say however that have a lower prey drive to German Shepard cousins, and dont make as good working dogs because of this ? and german shepard dogs make better police dogs ect.."

Correct they do have a more laid back attitude for the most part, and I suppose it depends on your interpretation of "working dogs". I have a Therapy Dog which attends the local senior's home and consider her very much to be a working dog. Equally, we have Shiloh active in SAR, herding, and other such activities. Some do participate in Schutzhund, but for the more part, the breed lacks some of the hard drive needed for such work as protective services (although having a 128 lbs 31" black and silver patroling my property tends to provide enough of a visual effect to ward off would be thieves lol).

Feel free to ask any questions and I will endeavour to answer them to the best of my ability.

Regards
Bold Canine Shiloh Shepherds
Bold CanineDog Obedience Training, Pet Services, and Shiloh Shepherds - Erin Ontario Canada


----------



## Bold Canine (Oct 21, 2009)

moboyd said:


> Were'nt they also called "King shepherds"? if so from my chats on some US boards, they are from a mixture of GSD/Malamutes/pyrenese (sp)
> 
> mo


Hi Mo,

There are two references for King Shepherd.

First, there was King Shepherd Kennels in Canada many moons ago who focused on over sized GSDs and their lines were known as "king shepherds" but we per their pedigrees still GSDs thru and thru.

The other and more current reference is to the officially named "American King Shepherd" (they had to add American as it was in conflict with the GSD King Shepherd Kennels).

Although I am not 100% versed on the AKS, my understanding is that Shelly Watts who was the "founder" of the breed, was originially involved with the development of the Shiloh Shepherd. In fact, if you reference AKS pedigrees you will see the same bloodlines in the pedigrees 4 or 5 Generations back. However, moving forward she has added other outcross lines which I am not familiar with.

There are no AKS breeders or participants in conformation venues here in Canada, but they are fairly active in the US with organizations such as Rarities and ARBA.

Regards
Bold Canine
Bold CanineDog Obedience Training, Pet Services, and Shiloh Shepherds - Erin Ontario Canada


----------



## Captain.Charisma (May 24, 2009)

Bold Canine said:


> Good morning,
> 
> As a Shiloh Shepherd breeder, enthusiast, and supporter, hopefully I can aide with some questions you may have with regards to our breed.
> 
> ...


Thankyou for the the feedback, everyone 

Bold Canine, great to hear your a breeder, i will probauly fire away and ask few questions about the breed later on tonight if thats alright ?  (when my tea isnt about to burn ) thankyou


----------



## Bold Canine (Oct 21, 2009)

No problem Capt 

I'd prefer not to turn it into a debate on Shiloh vs GSD (been there done that a 1000 times lol). But would gladly do my best to answer what I can.

I do find that often forum discussions such as this turn into forum debate on the breed versus another breed and somehow the breed's existence is perceived as an attempt to undermine another or better another breed. Especially when compared to some of it's foundation lines (GSD).

The GSD is a wonderful breed, and the Shiloh is not a "better" or somehow "improved" version, it's simply a breed unto itself with it's own traits, breed standard, working qualities and merits. And is no different than many of today's breeds in existence with foundations based on other breeds.

Of course, I don't have a problem debating it lol. Practice certainly makes perfect hehe. And I've helped discuss our breed enough times over the years that I think I can wage a decent enough position on how the breed has merit, especially in today's social/family structure. But we'll keep all that aside for now.

I think if we begin our discussion on those grounds, then we're off to a good start, and if a few more people know a bit more about our breed, then my mission is accomplished. Don't expect to win everyone over, especially those passionate about GSDs, but hopefully everyone can at least take away a bit more knowledge about the Shiloh and where the breed is hopefully headed. I keep my "google alerts" on just for such discussions in pet forums and willingly jump in to help attempt to dispel myths or mis-information regarding the breed.

Will endeavour to do my best with what questions you may have. If I can't answer one, or don't have an answer, I will certainly try to find one for you.

BC
Bold CanineDog Obedience Training, Pet Services, and Shiloh Shepherds - Erin Ontario Canada
ISSDC, Inc - International Shiloh Shepherd Dog Club, Inc.


----------



## moboyd (Sep 29, 2009)

Bold Canine said:


> No problem Capt
> 
> I'd prefer not to turn it into a debate on Shiloh vs GSD (been there done that a 1000 times lol). But would gladly do my best to answer what I can.
> 
> ...


OK totally not what this topic is about, but how do you do google alerts? lol

MO


----------



## Captain.Charisma (May 24, 2009)

Bold Canine said:


> No problem Capt
> 
> I'd prefer not to turn it into a debate on Shiloh vs GSD (been there done that a 1000 times lol). But would gladly do my best to answer what I can.
> 
> ...


Thankyou, im not looking to turn my thread into some GSD vs Shiloh debate neither . I think both breeds are cracking dogs, and different breeds suit different owners 

Yeah thats fair enough, i thankyou for your feedback, and time  Last thing i want is you stuck in an agrument. So what i will do is PM you a few questions later about the breeds traits and also explain my situation in looking for a dog, if thats okay ? Thankyou


----------



## MarKalAm (Sep 6, 2008)

Not heard of these before, but what lovely looking dogs!


----------



## Captain.Charisma (May 24, 2009)

MarKalAm said:


> Not heard of these before, but what lovely looking dogs!


Thankyou, thats what i thought


----------



## Bold Canine (Oct 21, 2009)

Thanks all!

Would certainly love to see some of the breed in the UK. The hardest thing for there is the quarantine laws and timelines.

The breed would be well suited to the environment.

I know my guys thrive here, and of course is considerably cooler in the winter time vs the UK. They love the snow.

That being said, there are those that are owners/breeders in the southern US states from Georgia to Arizona and California where rarely ever would they seek such conditions.

BC


----------



## Bold Canine (Oct 21, 2009)

moboyd said:


> OK totally not what this topic is about, but how do you do google alerts? lol
> 
> MO


Hijacking the thread, no? LOL! No worries. It's actually a great little feature Google has, whereby you can set up notification of any keywords found or updated on websites.

So for me, I have a Shiloh Shepherd alert and whenever Google bots across such a match, it emails me with the location of the discussion so I can dawn my Captain Shiloh outfit and race over to join the discussion lol!

Google Alerts

Regards
BC


----------



## sarahtuft (Sep 10, 2012)

Hi 

Been looking at the forums for Shilohs and have been very intriged by what I have found.

I live in the UK and bought what I believed to be our 4th GSD a few years back, Buddy. We have been amazed by his size and temperament and this has prompted my search. After what I have been reading, I believe that I have a Shiloh Shepherd. How would I be able to confirm this?

We deliberately bought a non Kennel Club GSD because our 1st dog was a rescue pup and even though we had no papers for him, he was obviously a full pedigree. He was wonderful, no real major health concerns but we were warned about the potential for HD and always took him swimming rather than walking hence less impact on his joints. He was 13 1/2 when he passed with back end issues after a fall.

When we bought our next GSD from a breeder (providing GSD for the police and prison services) she unfortunately had nothing but problems with her health annd lived until she was 12. Our 3rd dog from the same breeder was free from health problems but we lost him suddenly to a stomach tortion when he was just in his prime, 6 years old.

We found Buddy through a local family who had bread a litter from their two family pets. They were both long haired, straight backed and larger than a standard GSD.

Now Buddy is full grown at 4 years and is constantly referred to as a bear! He is well over 28 inches high at the shoulder, weighs in at over 54kg, has paws that are 4 inches across the pads, has straight back, straight tail with slight curve when alert and has an absolutely lovely temperament. He is very much a soft, therapy dog and is very child friendly (he loves it when my grandson visits) but he is highly intelligent. When being walked, he will walk for ages and then when you tell him to go to the toilet, he will do this to command! Every time! I can't really explain the intelligence he shows but he is very switched on! He very rarely shows any aggression and this is very often only when he feels threatened or when he is in protective mode of me.

I would love to know your thoughts.

Sarah


----------



## missnaomi (Jun 4, 2010)

Sarah, I am sure others will be along to answer better than I can shortly, but from what I understand, there is a trend amongst hobby breeders in the UK to breed very large long coated dogs - I feel that this is probably what you have.

The Shiloh Shepherd is very much a US breed, and if you bought a dog from a UK person breeding from two pet GSD's I would think that you have exactly what you expected - an unregistered large (and lovely by the sounds of it) GSD.

But I am sure there are loads of people who know more than me...But bear in mind the original post is from 2009.

Naomi


----------



## ozrex (Aug 30, 2011)

Are Shiloh Shepherds only found in USA/Canada?

They sound fabulous. What health issues do they have? What's the average life span? Can they cope with heat?

Thanks for coming onto the forum and telling us about them.


----------



## Bijou (Aug 26, 2009)

do you still outcross with GSD or breed within your own Shiloh gene pool now ? - I'm thinking that with the breed being largely confined to the USA and Canada it must be difficult to find new non related studs when planning your matings.


----------



## Jenna500 (May 27, 2012)

Just Googled them (and looked at your website, Bold Canine) and I think I'm in love! 

Wonder how difficult it would be to import one (or two)??


----------

