shiloh shepherd information
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History of the Breed
The Shiloh Shepherd owes its existence to American, Tina Barber of New York State.
Tina Barber's involvement with German Shepherds began with her childhood in Germany and continued when she moved to America. In 1962, she started her own kennel and named it Konigin. Her focus was to preserve the "type" she remembered as a child, the big, mentally sound, beautiful dogs she grew up with. The number one priority was on the hips.
In 1974, Tina changed the name of her kennel to "Shiloh Shepherds". After nearly twenty years of experience working with the various available bloodlines, Tina selected 3 specific lines to inbreed on in order to determine more genetic information. These lines (named after the bitches Kari, Ria and Ursa), were then out-crossed to each other, and the foundation was finally solidified. The focus was always on Superior Size, LMX Hips and Sound Temperaments.
By the late eighties, another inbred line (known as the Baker line) was discovered that seemed to be very compatible with the foundation lines. After crossing several combinations of the Baker/Ursa lines and the Baker/Kari lines - and then back into each other, remarkable results were recorded.
To avoid the genetic bottleneck that arises from intense line breeding, a specially bred out-cross was introduced in 1989. This out-cross, designated MAW (Malamute, American Shepherd and White Shepherd) added hybrid vigor which was needed to maintain the desired temperament, size and sound health qualities found in the Shiloh Shepherd.
In 1990, Tina separated her "breed" type from the AKC and on September 1st, 1990, the FIC agreed to register the "Shiloh Shepherd" (named after the kennel of origin) as a distinct variety of the modern German Shepherd Dog. This was due to the consistent results that were being obtained from Tina's long and intense breeding program.
Unfortunately, it soon became evident that the FIC was not able to maintain the strict requirements that Tina insisted upon. In 1991, the International Shiloh Shepherd Registry (ISSR) was established and took over all registry functions. The next two years were spent tracking down volumes of LMX data taken from breeder books, pedigrees and memory. In 1993, a uniquely intense Data Base program was designed by The Complete Computer Place (TCCP) to document these volumes of data. The TCCP was under contract to the ISSR and continued to maintain these records up until early 2011 when a new database program was written and developed specifically for the ISSR.
In 1998, an Alt Deutscher Schaeferhund imported from Germany was introduced to the gene-pool and in 2000, a White Shepherd from a strict breeding program in Canada was added. These 2 outcrosses, when added to the established Shiloh lines have improved hips and added confidence, while strengthening the gene-pool without losing any of the original qualities for which Tina had been breeding.
Tina Barber's involvement with German Shepherds began with her childhood in Germany and continued when she moved to America. In 1962, she started her own kennel and named it Konigin. Her focus was to preserve the "type" she remembered as a child, the big, mentally sound, beautiful dogs she grew up with. The number one priority was on the hips.
In 1974, Tina changed the name of her kennel to "Shiloh Shepherds". After nearly twenty years of experience working with the various available bloodlines, Tina selected 3 specific lines to inbreed on in order to determine more genetic information. These lines (named after the bitches Kari, Ria and Ursa), were then out-crossed to each other, and the foundation was finally solidified. The focus was always on Superior Size, LMX Hips and Sound Temperaments.
By the late eighties, another inbred line (known as the Baker line) was discovered that seemed to be very compatible with the foundation lines. After crossing several combinations of the Baker/Ursa lines and the Baker/Kari lines - and then back into each other, remarkable results were recorded.
To avoid the genetic bottleneck that arises from intense line breeding, a specially bred out-cross was introduced in 1989. This out-cross, designated MAW (Malamute, American Shepherd and White Shepherd) added hybrid vigor which was needed to maintain the desired temperament, size and sound health qualities found in the Shiloh Shepherd.
In 1990, Tina separated her "breed" type from the AKC and on September 1st, 1990, the FIC agreed to register the "Shiloh Shepherd" (named after the kennel of origin) as a distinct variety of the modern German Shepherd Dog. This was due to the consistent results that were being obtained from Tina's long and intense breeding program.
Unfortunately, it soon became evident that the FIC was not able to maintain the strict requirements that Tina insisted upon. In 1991, the International Shiloh Shepherd Registry (ISSR) was established and took over all registry functions. The next two years were spent tracking down volumes of LMX data taken from breeder books, pedigrees and memory. In 1993, a uniquely intense Data Base program was designed by The Complete Computer Place (TCCP) to document these volumes of data. The TCCP was under contract to the ISSR and continued to maintain these records up until early 2011 when a new database program was written and developed specifically for the ISSR.
In 1998, an Alt Deutscher Schaeferhund imported from Germany was introduced to the gene-pool and in 2000, a White Shepherd from a strict breeding program in Canada was added. These 2 outcrosses, when added to the established Shiloh lines have improved hips and added confidence, while strengthening the gene-pool without losing any of the original qualities for which Tina had been breeding.
These 2 non-German Shepherd outcross dogs were carefully selected and approved by the Breed Founder. To outcross to German Shepherds is a step backwards in the development of this breed and would be defeating the entire purpose of separating from them in the first place.
The breed is still considered to be under development as the gene-pool is limited and not recognized by any major organizations.
