Generally considered dogdom's finest all-purpose workers, GSDs are large, agile, muscular dogs of noble spirit and high intelligence. For such deep-chested, solid dogs, they move quickly with great nimbleness afoot. The GSD's natural gait is a free-and-easy trot, but when duty calls they can turn it up a notch or two and reach great speeds. Standing as high as 26 inches at the shoulder and built like a brick doghouse, the GSD when viewed in outline presents a picture of smooth, graceful curves rather than angles.
