The "Shiloh Shepherd™" is not an established "breed". There has been no effort toward full recognition, and the developer (Breed Founder) of these dogs does not plan on applying for recognition until the gene pool base has been sufficiently established. Once that occurs all ISSR Shiloh Shepherds™ will be recognized as a distinct "breed" of dog, like other AKC/CKC breeds.

For the past ten years Tina Barber (Breed Founder) has been actively trying to properly educate future breeders in all aspects of population genetics as they apply to this "breed" under development. Occasionally one or more of these students will reject her strict controls and attempt to form their "own" club registry. This has been extremely detrimental to the future welfare of these dogs. Various such factions often persist in producing sub-standard quality puppies with major health risks, yet sell them for extremely high prices! Such activity only leads to the tarnishing of the great reputation that the Shiloh Shepherd™ has enjoyed in past decades when all breeding was done under the supervision of Shiloh Shepherd™ Kennels (Tina Barber) in New York.  

Backyard breeders have used the "Shiloh Shepherd™'s" popularity to establish their own money train using my name, but are not able to fulfill the quality for which it has stood! Some smaller groups have even gone to the extent of locating "long haired" GSD look-a-likes at dog pounds or from newspaper ads just so that they could be bred and their puppies sold as "Shiloh Shepherds™" for thousands of dollars.  

Please don't be fooled by the variety of "initials" like ARBA, FIC (1990-94), FAC (1996-97), ISSDCR (1998-2001, now defunct), NSBR (2001), SSBR (2001), ISSDCR II "2001", ISSKR (1994-96, now defunct), SSBA (2001), TSSR (2002) USSDC/r (2002), etc.

This is certainly a Buyer Beware situation.  Before you purchase a puppy, please take the time to read all of the information we have provided for you in our Learning Center!

To help you even further we have established very active discussion forums that you may join to meet other Shiloh people:

ShilohShepherdFriends and Shiloh STM (training method)

Please be sure to dedicate some of your time to better educate yourself about the real "Shiloh Shepherd™" as well as the pitfalls that you need to avoid. We are here to help you select a suitable companion that will be your best friend for many years to come. Please allow us to assist you through the Shiloh Maze, so that you will emerge a winner!

Tina Barber
Breed Founder

For a complete listing of ISSR Licensed Breeders, please visit International Shiloh Shepherd™ Registry.

This article was written by Tina M. Barber exclusively for the Shiloh Shepherd Learning Center in July 2000 and was last updated in 2003.

Shiloh Shepherds™ |  What's in a Name | Learning Center | Registries | Confusion | Shiloh HIstory at a Glance: the first 40 Years | Caveat Emptor: Buyer Beware! |