A Morphometric Study on the Skull of the German Shepherd Dog (Alsatian)

In this study, a total of 33 skulls of German shepherd (Alsatian) puppies between 45 and 105 days old were used. Animals were divided into two groups. Group 1 included puppies between 45 and 60 days old, and group 2 included those between 61 and 105 days old. In group 1, a skull weight of 36.95 g, a skull length of 113.96 mm, a maximum zygomatic width of 66.52 mm, a cranial length of 71.31 mm, a maximum neurocranium width of 52.11 mm, a viscerocranial length of 50.28 mm, a skull index of 58.43, a cranial index of 73.24, a facial index of 133.13 and a cranial volume of 55.38 ml were measured. In group 2, a skull weight of 61.17 g, a skull length of 143.38 mm, a maximum zygomatic width of 73.54 mm, a cranial length of 83.38 mm, a maximum neurocranium width of 53.70 mm, a viscerocranial length of 68.64 mm, a skull index of 51.44, a cranial index of 64.57, a facial index of 107.96 and a cranial volume of 75.75 ml were obtained. In order to determine the likely relationship, if any, between the indices and the other parameters, correlation coefficients were computed. It was found that all the measurements increased with age, while indices decreased, and an insignificant positive correlation was found between cranial volume and skull weight. The data obtained in this study may be of use in the consideration of the German shepherd type. For German shepherd dogs, which are a dolichocephalic race, it should be agreed that, in line with growth, the farther the values are from the mean value, the higher the defect rate of a puppy is. Also, the data may be of use in investigating the correlation between, for example, nasal cancer risk and the shape of the skull.