This page is a series of excerpts from a popular series of articles written by the beed founder, Tina Barber. Excerpts are used here with her permission. Please see the full articles for more information, or ask your own Shiloh Question via her public forum.
What is the difference between a Shiloh and a regular German Shepherd?
How was the Shiloh Shepherd Developed?
Can I register my longhaired GSD as a Shiloh?
What other breeds were added to the Shiloh?
Are Shilohs Inbred?
Why do people say their dogs are Shilohs, when they're not ISSR Registered?
Why are Shilohs still a "Breed in Development"
What type of health issues are breeders concerned with?
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SHILOH AND A REGULAR GERMAN SHEPHERD?
Basically they both started the same way, that's why it is important that you have a good understanding regarding the GSD before you can do an accurate comparative study.
The Shiloh Shepherd came from http://www.shilohshepherds.org/kennelof.htm in New York. Over 3 decades of research went into choosing the four lines that were best suited to producing the desired size, temperament and hip quality. Dozens of German Shepherd Dog bloodlines were rejected after intense inbreeding proved that they did not possess the desired genetic qualities. Basically one person, Tina M. Barber. implemented the entire project (since 1962).
Anyone seriously researching the GSD will find a variety of sources that conflict with each other, greatly! Unfortunately (due to their extreme popularity) the GSD "breed" has gone through a myriad of fads! Many small breeders have been able to "set" a certain "type" that best represents their kennel, although none (other than Shiloh Shepherd--Kennels) has taken their "type" any further. Tina Barber, on the other hand, devoted the time (36 years) and financial commitment needed to maintain the data on thousands of dogs, and hundreds of litters! Her "breed" was not designed to be "better" then other breeds, just different...
CAN I REGISTER MY LONG HAIRED GSD AS A SHILOH?
No... The coat factor does not determine breed type! Shilohs come in both--smooth and plush-coats! (Unless your dog has the LMX data that can meet the Hip, Size and Temperament requirements set by the ISSR, Inc., he/she would not qualify for the registry, even into the NB category. Accurate littermate data is a very serious prerequisite.
ARE SHILOHS INBRED?
Research will prove that in order to establish "type" quickly, most breeders use a very selective program of inbreeding/linebreeding for several generations using only the "best" progeny while carefully documenting data regarding the entire litter. Without this critical information regarding possible "hidden" recessives/health problems, etc., such a program is doomed to fail.
Inbreeding brings out the best and worst qualities in a particular line and can be a great tool when used properly by experienced breeders or become a nightmare when attempted by a novice.
Unfortunately, breeders who deviate from the ISSR are not aware of the dogs that appear in the 6th-9th generations of their pedigrees. This has led to unknowingly "linebreeding" on these dogs, and are inevitably heading for a syndrome known as Inbreeding Depression.
CompuPed has a wonderful program that is capable of performing Coefficencies of Inbreeding based on eight plus generation pedigrees. I would like to suggest that any serious breeder purchase this program, and the data needed on their breeding stock or request a full R.C. report from the breed founder) before making such important (life changing) decisions as choosing the "right" pair! With the TCCP data on each dog in our database and this program "too much" inbreeding can be avoided properly!
IF ALL OF THE OTHER (NON-ISSR) SHILOHS OUT THERE ARE NOT "REAL" SHILOH SHEPHERDS, WHY ARE PEOPLE SAYING THAT THEY ARE?
Unfortunately the popularity of these magnificent dogs has spread far and wide. Even pet quality pups sell easily for thousands of dollars, with the demand constantly increasing! Yes, they will all get exactly what they ordered -- eventually, but some folks don't want to wait 4, 6, 10 months, or even longer, just for a pup. Such folks can often be duped into paying a high price for a "mutt" as long as the person claims to be a "breeder" and offers some kind of certificate (even if it's only "home computer" generated) that states that this pup is a "Shiloh Shepherd™". If you want to prevent that from happening to you, may I suggest that you take a little bit more time investigating this breed. FAQs: Breed Specific We also have a lot of other great articles on our The Shiloh Shepherd™ Learning Center: Site Map that may be helpful to you.
The more you learn about these dogs, the better equipped you will be to find your perfect pup.
IF IT ONLY TAKES 3-4 GENERATIONS OF BREEDING "TYPE" TO ESTABLISH A "RARE" BREED, WHY IS THE SHILOH SHEPHERD STILL A BREED IN DEVELOPMENT?
Because just "setting type" and establishing a solid foundation does not provide for sufficient gene pool to continue the process! In order to better understand what is involved in "breed development" lets look at the biggest two edged sword that a breeder must learn to deal with, and overcome!!
Inbreeding is a wonderful tool that helps us to set "type" and quickly establish a foundation, like laying the "foundation slab" for a new house.
So why can't we just continue to inbreed on the foundation dogs? Because you will hit what is known as a "Bottleneck" and this leads to "Inbreeding depression" that MUST be avoided at all costs!!! Please note: About the only animals that are routinely inbred to a high level are laboratory mice and rats. There, the breeders start breeding many lines simultaneously in the expectation that the majority will die out or will suffer significant inbreeding depression, which generally means that they are smaller, produce fewer offspring, are more susceptible to disease, and have a shorter average lifespan. Dogs are no different. If you can start with enough lines, a few may make it through the genetic bottleneck with acceptable fitness. However, dog breeders generally don't have the resources to start several dozen or more lines simultaneously. See Breeding Schemes--the Canine Diversity Project
There are many "side effects" that have to be overcome, but let's just look at one of them: Immune Deficiency! When people ask me about it, I often say something like ... How many people do you know of that have died from AIDS? After thinking about it seriously, they have to say none. People die of complications associated with the fact that they have AIDS, not the actual "disease" known as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome! Then I ask them to consider the possibility of every human on earth being affected with this "disease", how many "generations" do they think the human race, as we know it today, could continue?
Now try to apply this scenario to a "breed" of dog. It's easy to see why there would be NO hope for survival for that particular "breed" unless drastic outcrossing were to take place! But of course, that would certainly dilute the "type" that was established to begin with. Therefore the breed must be classified as "still under development" until a sufficient gene pool base of unrelated dogs has been established. Depending on the number of pups born per year (and the quality of those litters) this process could take several decades. In the event there are major problems (even "political" ones, like those that have plagued the Shiloh Shepherd) along the way, this "gene pool expansion" process would certainly take a lot longer...
WHAT TYPE OF HEALTH ISSUES ARE ISSR BREEDERS CONCERNED WITH? We are concerned with every type of health issue that could effect the future welfare of this breed!. For that reason the ISSR instituted the biggest independent Health Survey this breed has ever known, and it has continued collecting data for the past 3 years. During each phase of this survey, we have provided complete reports via our web sites. Please take the time to follow the FULL history of our Health Survey 2000.
It all started with The Importance of the Health Survey. Then we published our ISSR, Inc. Health Survey 2000 Update with the preliminary results collected as of early 2001, keeping everyone informed as we progressed with our research! This was followed with continuous updates as we collected more data! ISSR HEALTH SURVEY UPDATE 2001. During Homecoming 2001 Dr. Padgett was invited to present us with his findings, and help all of the future breeders by teaching us how to use the results from this survey in order to breed better Shilohs for all future generations. His efforts were extremely successful, and we wanted to continue collecting even more data!! Some of the GTF members chose to continue the task force via the new Shiloh Shepherd™ GTF Homepage, where additional data is continuously documented, sorted and added to our ever expanding database!!
Furthermore, the ISSR instigated the 5 star program, and it is already in heavy use by many of the Licensed Breeders that want to add some of those stars to their dogs' names
We are not interested in issuing "bogus" papers for puppies, in order to get higher prices for them. Our goals are geared toward the complete improvement of this entire breed, so that healthier pups can be born for all future generations to enjoy!!!
Specific testing helps us to determine what the individual dog may pass on to his progeny, but it will NOT show us what he carries in his recessive baggage, and that is where MOST of the diseases are hiding!
For example ... CHD is not "just" passed on via the individual ... that is why so many OFA good dogs will produce problem pups! Please take a few moments to read THIS page SLOWLY "CIDD Introduction
The Internet is full of excellent articles on this subject ... "Unfortunately, most inherited traits, including inherited diseases, are probably polygenic. They have a complex mode of inheritance influenced by multiple gene pairs. To date, no DNA tests have been developed to identify the specific combination of mutant genes responsible for any polygenic disorders. Therefore, decisions regarding a dog's suitability for breeding purposes rely on phenotypic evaluations. The complexity of polygenic traits results in a wide range of expression, from least to most desirable. It is the reason why two dogs of ideal conformation may produce offspring less than ideal, and the reason why the mating of two dogs that are phenotypically normal for a disease may produce affected offspring." The OFA and the Role of Canine Health Databases
So how can we deal with these serious health issues that cannot be revealed via simple testing of individuals?? EASY ...... we have set up our data base (right from the git go) to track these issues.
To top it off, we have gone beyond all barriers by setting up our GTF disease database that can track trends as well as cross reference all of our data with our ISSR info to provide us with a FULL picture of recessives that are in our breed & the CARRIERS that we must be careful not to breed together!! THAT is the secret to producing BETTER dogs!!
As of October 2006 we have expanded our database to include LMX/LMI data on over 47,000 dogs as well as expanding our database to include 716,330,370 of their ancestors!
Please try to understand this basic principle ....... all breeds have carriers for various diseases, even if you can't see it by looking at the dog OR "test" it any way .. other than.. via the LMI - PER type of system!
There is NOTHING wrong with a dog that IS a "carrier" **if we tried to eliminate them all, we wouldn't have ANYTHING left to breed to!**the ONLY thing we need to be concerned with is **identifying** the various carriers & NOT breeding them together. It really is THAT simple!!
That is why we are working so hard to continuously collect this data, so that we can breed the BEST dogs possible.
