How is the historical context best described regarding the White German Shepherd's current status?
It is a preservation of an original genetic expression that the mainstream breed chose to discard for aesthetic reasons.
The historical narrative suggests that the White German Shepherd is not a recent mutation or a completely novel evolutionary outcome. Instead, it represents a conscious effort by dedicated breeders to preserve a genetic expression—the white coat—that was present in the original foundation stock but was subsequently discarded by the mainstream German Shepherd breed standard for primarily aesthetic reasons, starting around the 1930s. These independent lines actively work to maintain the core health and structure traced back to the original German stock before the color ban became broadly enforced across major international clubs.
