" The SV breed standard states the eyes of the GSD should be as dark as possible.
Ever wondered why Captain von Stephanitz (and most humans) preferred dark-coloured eyes to light-coloured eyes even though his role model, the grey wolf, has light eyes—as do most species of predators—and whether the severe negative weighting that many specialist judges apply to light-coloured eyes is justified? i.e. in the GSD specialist show arena, other than light eye colour, the absolute best dog in a class of 50 V-rated dogs with the eye colour seen here would be relegated to the middle of the class under many judges maybe even further behind. That is a 'very heavy penalization' for a dog whose primary reason for being is a working, herding, guarding, trotting dog. The answer needs to be other than 'light eyes spoil the dogs expression'. That is true, of course, but the point of my post is 'why is that our perception.' (Perception: a belief based on how things appear to the observer.)
A teaser - In the eyes of a shepherd, where does eye colour rank relative to function I wonder?
I have always wondered why sir Stephanitz preferred dark eyes over lighter pigments, while some of the foundation animals did not have their eyes as dark as we see in GSDs today. How can there be a link between the dark eyes and the canine's endurance and ability to herd and trot in all terrains?
Light eye is not my preference either, but the point is that it is still within breed standard guidelines and should not be penalised heavily. A lot of anatomically correct dogs were relegated because of light eyes. But we sit with a far bigger problem today, over angulation and hocks. If judges only were as strict on this as they were on eyes as unlike unsoundness eyes have no detrimental effect on the working dog."
So my question is .. do I show this to Steve? LOL
