We feel your pain. All the prefix’s and suffix’s are confusing and don’t seem to mean anything to someone who doesn’t do this for a living or doesn’t speak German fluently. We are still getting our brains wrapped around some of it ourselves, but here is a general overview so that you know what creates value in a GSD.
So… what do the show classifications mean?
“a” – The “a” designation of females means that hips and elbows have been certified as “normal”
SG – Very Good
V – Excellent
VA – Excellent Select rating given only at the Sieger Show (VA1 is the best classification, then VA2 and so on)
FH – Higher rating in German Shepherd tracking ability
SCH
Training involves 3 levels of Schutzund (German) for “Protection” training. The “1” designation is lower than the “3”.
Kkl 1a
A Koerklasse dog that has a Schutzhund degree and would have demonstrated sufficient ability as a working dog to qualify for breed evaluation.
IPO / IGP – (Internationale Prüfungs-Ordnung) is International Trial Rules for sport training classifications. It also involves 3 levels where the “1” designation is lower than the “3”.
BH
(Begleithundprüfung, which translates as “traffic-sure companion dog test”) is a temperament test in Basic Obedience for companion GSDs. A German Shepherd must pass this before it
Other Health Classification
OFA
The OFA classifies hips into seven different categories: Excellent, Good, Fair (all within Normal limits), Borderline, and then Mild, Moderate, or Severe (the last three considered Dysplastic)
Pennhip Certified
PennHip radiographs are more sensitive for detecting hip dysplasia than OFA radiographs
DM Cleared
Means the dog is extremely unlikely to develop Degenerative Myelopathy (DM is a disease that affects the spinal cord, resulting in slowly progressive hind limb weakness and paralysis)
