NZ German Shepherds
Common Terminology
In the German Shepherd Community you will come across abbreviations and terminology, particularly on pedigrees, that may well leave you puzzled and scratching your head.
Below we go some way to unravelling some of the mystical terms is use.
| a | ausgeprägt - Pronounced. Used by the judge in describing a dog’s courage and "hardness" see TSB |
| A | Ausreichend — sufficient — show or performance rating |
| a-stamp |
'a-stamp' (indicates a passing hip score with regards to testing for hip dysplasia/joint laxity). An SV certification rating. See also OFA, OVC, PennHip. a-Normal - Certified normal hips a-Fast Normal - Certified near normal hips a-Noch zugelassen - Certified hips, still permissable for breeding |
| ABST | Advanced Breed Suitability Test |
| AD | Ausdauerprüfung - endurance trial 12 miles in 2 hours. |
| AKC |
American Kennel Club - American breed club organization. The AKC is not involved in the sport of Schutzhund. The AKC has a working relationship with the FCI, but not with WUSV. The AKC is a club of clubs, and is primarily a registry for purebred dogs. |
| AZG |
Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Zuchtvereine und Gebrauchshundeverbände — Association of breed registry and working-dog sport clubs The AZG has the purpose of administrating uniform international schutzhund rules via the FCI, to assure inter-club and international conformity, making it possible to hold identical or similar international trial competitions in many countries. see VDH |
| B BH |
Begleithunde - the preliminary and prerequisite test for a dog going on to get his/her Schutzhund titles. A combination temperament and obedience test. B and BH are used interchangeably. |
| B | Besitzer - Owner. |
| BSP | BundesSiegerPrüfung - trial at the national level. |
| BST | Breed Suitability Test. |
| BSZS | BundesSiegerZuchtSchau - show at the national level. |
| CD CDX |
Companion Dog. Companion Dog Excellent. Obedience titles granted by the AKC / CKC. |
| CGC | Canine Good Citizen Certificate. |
| CHD | Canine Hip Dysplasia. |
| CKC |
Canadian Kennel Club. Also, Continental Kennel Club, a different and completely unrelated dog breed organization. |
| DHV | The German "Dog Sport Club" (Deutscher Hundesport Verein), which is the "National parent club" or the "Union" of the Dog Sport Clubs of Germany. |
| DVG |
Deutscher Verband der Gebrauchshundsportvereine e.V. (German member of DHV) - A dog sport club and one of the larger members of the DHV. Has some branches in the US and Canada Alternate organization for Schutzhund, with slightly different rules, and a broader breed focus - not limited to the GSD. |
| EZ |
Einfache Zucht - Simple Breeding. Only one parent has a working title. |
| FCI |
Fédération Cynologique Internationale (Fr.) - world canine organization. www.fci.be |
| FH FH1 FH2 |
Fährtenhund - tracking dog title. |
| G | Gut - good show or performance rating |
| GSD | German Shepherd Dog - Deutsche Schäferhunde (Ger.) |
| GSDCA |
German Shepherd Dog Club of America. a member of the WUSV but not the FCI. |
| GSDCC | German Shepherd Dog Club of Canada |
| GSSCC |
German Shepherd Schutzhund Club of Canada A WUSV member. |
| GZ |
Gebrauchshundzucht - Utility Dog Breeding. Both parents have working titles. |
| GZ |
Gebrauchshundzucht - Utility Dog Breeding. Both parents have working titles. |
| H | Hündin - Female |
| HD | Hip Dysplaysia |
| HOT | Handler-Owner-Trained |
| HD | Hip Dysplaysia |
| IPO IP1 IP2 IP3 |
International Prüfungsordnung - International working tests. Class I, II, III, similar to schutzhund. International Schutzhund titles, functionally equivalent to SchH I, II, III. |
| KKL1 KKL2 |
Körklasse 1 - especially recommended for breeding by the SV. Körklasse 2 - suitable for breeding by the SV. |
| KLZ |
Kör- und Leistungszucht - Qualification and Performance Breeding. Both parents have breed surveys and all four grandparents have working titles. |
| KZ |
Körzucht - Qualification Breeding. Both parents have breed surveys. |
| LBST | Lifetime Breed Suitability Test |
| Lbz | Lebenszeit - Breed surveyed for life |
| LZ |
Leistungszucht - Performance Breeding. Both parents and all four grandparents have working titles. |
| M | Mangelhaft - faulty - show or performance rating |
| ng |
nicht genügend - insufficient. Used by the judge in describing a dog’s courage and "hardness". See TSB. |
| NZB | Nachzucht Bewertung - progeny evaluation. |
| NZKC | New Zealand Kennel Club. |
| OFA |
Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. A non-profit registry which issues certification on various health concerns, (not limited to Orthopaedics). Reference is usually with regards to the practice of x-raying hips and certifying the dogs to be free of hip dysplasia. See also "a stamp". OFA Excellent - no dysplasia, superior hip socket conformation. OFA Good - no dysplasia, a well formed, congruent hip joint. OFA Fair - no dysplasia, minor irregularities in the hip joint present. OFA Borderline - no consensus between radiologists to place hip into either a normal or dysplastic catagory. OFA Mild (Grade I) - mild hip dysplasia present. OFA Moderate (Grade II) - moderate hip dysplasia present. OFA Severe (Grade III) - severe hip dysplasia present. |
| OVC |
Ontario Veterinary College (Canada) Hips will be graded as Pass or Fail. See also OFA and "a stamp" |
| PennHIP |
Developed at University of Pennsylvania (USA) The procedure measures hip joint laxity; it does not grade a passing or failing score. Loose hips are more prone to developing degenerative joint disease. NZKC approved Hip and Elbow Scoring System in New Zealand. See OVC, OFA, "a stamp" |
| ROM | Rüde - Male |
| R |
Register of Merit - title awarded to the sire or dam for the accomplishments of its progeny. ROM - Register of Merit: A title given by the German Shepherd Dog Club of America to animals who have produced a minimum number of conformation Champions and other winning offspring. ROM/C - Register of Merit United States and Canada. ROMC - Register of Merit Canada. |
| SchH SchH 1 SchH 2 SchH 3 |
Schutzhund, and the 3 levels of titles awarded. Each level is a progression and built on the skills learned in the previous level. Used as an abbreviation, "SchH" can refer to the dog or the sport. Titles are sometimes written as SchH 1, SchH 2, SchH 3. |
| SchHA | A limited SchH title, similar to SchH I but without the tracking portion. |
| SG | Sehr Gut - Very good show or performance rating. |
| SG1 SG2 etc |
See V1. |
| SGR |
Sieger (male) - the best male at the national conformation specialty show. Siegerin (female) - the best female at the national conformation specialty show. |
| SV |
Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde (German Shepherd Dog Club) The original GSD breed club and breed registry, based in Germany. The SV is not only the largest breed-specific registry in the world, it’s also extremely active. In addition to being a breed registry, the SV also promotes working-dog activities, i.e. by awarding working titles (SchH). They also sanction conformation show and koerungs (breed surveys). The SV is a member of the VDH. (Schutzhund,IPO etc.) |
| SZ | Precedes the SV registration number i.e SZ 1234567 |
| TC | Temperament Certificate |
| TD TDX |
Tracking dog titles granted by the AKC/CKC |
| TSB | Triebveranlagung - fighting drive. |
| TT | Temperament Tested. |
| U | ungenügend - insufficient - show or performance rating. |
| UD UDX |
Utility Dog, Utility Dog Excellent. Advanced obedience titles granted by the AKC/CKC. |
| UKC | United Kennel Club |
| USA | United Schutzhund Clubs of America |
| v |
von or vom - in a dog’s name, meaning "of" or "from". Usually indicates the start of the kennel name. i.e. dogname von kennelname. "Von" or "vom" is gender specific to the gender of the kennel name - not the dog. |
| V |
Vorzüglich - Excellent show or performance rating. Awarded to dogs with a working title only. |
| V1 V2 V3 etc |
Ranking at the BSP, V being excellent and top rating, the top placed dog is V1, second is V2, etc. Until reaching the dogs rated SG, then they are SG1, SG2, etc. |
| VA | Vorzüglich-Auslese - Excellent Select show rating given only at Sieger show (VA-1) See V1. |
| VDH |
Dog Society of Germany - VDH (Verband für das Deutsche Hundewesen e.V.). It is the "national", "parent", or "main"dog club of Germany, and in turn is a member in, and bound by the rules of that international or "World Dog Club", the FCI. The SV is a member of the VDH. Just to be confusing, VDH is also the German Shepherd Dog club in the Netherlands, (Vereniging van Fokkers en Liefhebbers van Duitse Herdershonden). |
| vh | vorhanden - Present or Sufficient Used by the judge in describing a dog’s courage and "hardness" see TSB, or in the context of a show rating. |
| WDA | Working Dog Association. |
| WUSV |
World Union of German Shepherd clubs - Welt Union der Schäferhundvereine (Ger.) International breed umbrella for German Shepherd breed clubs. Author and owner of the German Shepherd international breed standard for the FCI. Currently represents more than 60 countries, established to bring all German Shepherd clubs worldwide closer together, and in sync with the SV in Germany. The WUSV is allied to the FCI through direct communications, as well as through membership in the FCI club, the German VDH. |
| Z | Züchter - Breeder. |
| Ztgl |
Zuchttauglich - Suitable for breeding. Subject animal passed their ZTP. |
| ZTP ZTPr |
Zuchttauglichkeitsprüfung - Breed Suitability Test. Incorporating hip rating, conformation, and basic working ability. |
| ZW |
Zuchtwert - Breed Value Assessment. ZW-value — a number assigned that gives an indication of the genotype of the dog for breeding purposes. |