Origin, Early History and Geneology 
23 
consistently. The Thuringian dogs were large, 
usually of the wolf coloring with the prick ears 
and were consequently much sought for by those 
who bred for show purposes. The dogs of Wurtem- 
berg, on the other hand, often carried a soft ear, but 
they had the advantage of perfect tail carriage, while 
the Thuringians were inclined to ring tails. They 
had further a fine shepherd conformation with a 
wealth of bone, too much so in some instances and 
these heavy-boned dogs were sluggish and lacked 
style, which the Thuringians had in abundance, but 
the combination of the two strains, with the elimi¬ 
nation of the faults of each of them, brought forth 
the ideal shepherd. 
