A General Description of the Breed

The King Shepherd closely resembles German Shepherd dogs. The build of this breed is heavy bodied, heavy boned, slightly long, robust, rugged and muscular; the structure is solid. The head and forehead are immense and well-defined. The cheeks are trapezoid, not too full and moderately curved. The ears are erect, thick and firm and of medium size. The eyes are almond-shaped, set somewhat aslant. The neck is carried erect when the dog is excited, normally being carried horizontally. The chest is extremely deep, broad and wide. The belly is moderately drawn up. The back (including the lumbar region) is straight and well developed. Thickly feathered, the slightly curved tail reaches at least to the hocks. The King Shepherd has round, hard, short, well closed, arched paws with short, hard, dark nails.

Color

The King Shepherd comes in a wide range of acceptable colors : Sable (a brownish tan with brown or black markings or a grayish silver with black markings); bi-colored (predominantly black with red, tan or cream); black saddle with red, tan, gold, cream, or silver markings; solid black and solid white. Strong, rich colors and pigments are highly preferred.

Coat

Coarse-haired variety : The topcoat is very dense. Each single hair stands straight and close to the body. On the head the hair is short, as also on the inside of the ear, the forward side of the legs, the paws and the toes, while on the neck the hair is longer and denser. On the hindquarters and buttocks the hair is longer, down to the pastern or the metatarsus: the thighs are moderately trousered. The length of hair varies from one dog to another, and thus there are many types within the single variety.

Long-haired variety : The coat is longer than that of the preceding variety, not always completely straight, and especially not close to the body. The individual hairs are noticeably longer, particularly inside the ears and behind them, on the back part of the forearm and often in the lumbar region. They form tufts at the ears and fringes from the elbow to the pastern. The trousers are long and dense. The tail is densely feathered with light fringe below.

Height: The normal height of the King Shepherd is 25”-29"/ 63.5-73.7 cm.

Weight

The minimum weight for these dogs should be not less than 100 pounds at maturity, with the ideal weight for male dogs being 120-145 pounds.

Minimum weight for females is 80 pounds at maturity, with the ideal weight being 90-110 pounds.