Coat, Ears & Tail

AKC Herding Group · No. 4 in 2025

How to identify a German Shepherd Dog

The German Shepherd Dog is a large herding breed and the No. 4 breed in the AKC’s 2025 ranking. Look for erect, moderately pointed ears, a back that slopes down from the withers, and a bushy tail that hangs in a saber curve. The standard allows most colors, but never white.

Photo of a German Shepherd Dog
Photo: gomagoti · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

Field marks

These four marks are the ones the game gives you as clues. They paraphrase or briefly quote the AKC German Shepherd Dog standard.

  1. “Moderately pointed” ears “carried erect when at attention”
  2. Longer than tall; withers “higher than and sloping into the level back”
  3. Bushy tail that hangs “in a slight curve like a saber” at rest
  4. Long, wedge-shaped muzzle; most colors allowed, but never white

Tell them apart

German Shepherd Dog or Siberian Husky?

Check the tail and the topline. A Siberian Husky carries its fox-brush tail in a sickle curve when alert, and its eyes may be blue or one of each. A German Shepherd’s bushy tail hangs low in a saber curve, and its back slopes down from the withers. An all-white dog is a Husky; the Shepherd standard never allows white.

German Shepherd Dog

German Shepherd Dog

  1. “Moderately pointed” ears “carried erect when at attention”
  2. Longer than tall; withers “higher than and sloping into the level back”
  3. Bushy tail that hangs “in a slight curve like a saber” at rest
  4. Long, wedge-shaped muzzle; most colors allowed, but never white
Siberian Husky

Siberian Husky

  1. Triangular ears, “strongly erect” and set high
  2. Almond eyes that are brown, blue, one of each, or parti-colored
  3. “Fox-brush” tail carried in “a graceful sickle curve” when alert
  4. Medium-sized and never “heavy or coarse”; colors from black to pure white, never merle or brindle

German Shepherd Dog or Belgian Malinois?

Check the outline and the coat. A Malinois is square, with a short, fawn-to-mahogany coat, black-tipped hairs, and a black mask and ears. A German Shepherd is longer than tall, with a sloping topline and a saber-shaped bushy tail, and it comes in many colors.

German Shepherd Dog

German Shepherd Dog

  1. “Moderately pointed” ears “carried erect when at attention”
  2. Longer than tall; withers “higher than and sloping into the level back”
  3. Bushy tail that hangs “in a slight curve like a saber” at rest
  4. Long, wedge-shaped muzzle; most colors allowed, but never white
Belgian Malinois

Belgian Malinois

  1. “Rich fawn to mahogany” with “black tips on the hairs” giving an overlay
  2. Pronounced black mask and black ears
  3. Small ears set high, “distinctly triangular” with pointed tips
  4. Short, straight coat that is longer around the neck as a “collarette”; square body, tail carried down to the hock

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