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Shiloh Shepherd, ISSA — BetterBred Breed Page – BetterBred.com
BetterBred Breed Profile

Shiloh Shepherd, ISSA

Temperament: Loving, loyal and outgoing companions, with a drive to work.
Height: 28 inches/76 cm or more (males) and 26 inches/66 cm or more (females)
Weight: min 110 lbs/50 kg (males), min 80 lbs/36 kg (females)
Life Span: 9-14 years
Outlier Index ?
0.22
Born before 2016: 0.21 Born after 2024: 0.13
Avg Genetic Rel. ?
0.02
Born before 2016: 0.03 Born after 2024: 0.06
Internal Relatedness ?
-0.02
Born before 2016: -0.04 Born after 2024: 0.24
Shiloh Shepherd, ISSA
#NameGender OIAGRIR
1 Gallico's Awesomely Loved Fennel F 0.13 0.06 0.24
2 Guardian's Indomitus M 0.24 -0.06 0.17
3 Guardian's Bodacious Bodhi M 0.17 0.08 -0.04
4 Guardians Lady Pearl of Timberland F 0.20 0.00 -0.08
5 Riverwind's Bolt of Mischief v SNS M 0.24 0.06 -0.09
6 Jewel's Enchanting Merlin M 0.11 0.06 0.09
7 Jewel's Enchanting Jasmine F 0.15 0.04 -0.09
8 Wilderness Crown Jewel Zevik M 0.20 0.03 -0.03
9 Ziva Bright Like a Wild Diamond F 0.13 0.03 0.19
10 Greystone's Dark Frozen Wilderness F 0.26 -0.08 0.11
Shiloh Shepherds originated over half of their founders from the Shiloh kennel breeding program of GSDs which began in the 70s; 16 out of 20 of the founders contain dogs directly or indirectly from that kennel. Two of these Shiloh founders from that line had crosses from other breeds, such as flock guardian dogs and malamute. Later, some outcrosses were done to a long haired GSD/GSD derived herding stock, a white shepherd, a GSD, and a Czech wolfdog.
Like many large breeds, Shiloh shepherds are prone to bloat (GDV). They also suffer from hip dysplasia, occasional panosteitis. Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency is also a concern in Shiloh shepherds.
Genetic analysis of the breed shows that dogs from different regions fall within the same breed, but with some different genetics developing in different regions of the world. United States based Shilohs appear to have genetics that compare to dogs worldwide, while other regions appear to be becoming genetically distinct. This breed has thus far been found to have very low levels of average alleles of 4.33 and also low effective alleles of only 2.63. This indicates a severe bottleneck likely due to low number of founders for the breed. The currently tested population of Shiloh Shepherds is in Hardy Weinburg equililbrium or close to it, which means breeders are doing a good job not inbreeding at present.

Average metrics by birth year for dogs with recorded birthdates in the BetterBred database.

A 3D genetic map of enrolled Shiloh Shepherd, ISSA dogs in the BetterBred database, based on allele-sharing distance across 33 STR loci. This is not a complete picture of the breed — it reflects only dogs whose owners have enrolled them. Drag to rotate · scroll to zoom · hover for dog names (public profiles only).

Historical founders — oldest 25% of enrolled dogs     Current gene pool — most recent 50% of enrolled dogs
Building plot… this may take a minute for larger breeds.

The Dog Leukocyte Antigen (DLA) region controls immune function and is the most polymorphic portion of the canine genome. Every dog carries two sets of DLA haplotypes — one from each parent — which almost never recombine across generations. Frequency percentages reflect how often each haplotype appears across all allele copies in the breed, not the percentage of dogs carrying it.

Class I Haplotypes

HaplotypeFrequency
1052
37.9%
1068
26.7%
1165
21.1%
1167
7.3%
1166
4.4%
1172
1.1%
1160
0.6%
1001
0.6%
1035
0.2%
1045
0.2%

Class II Haplotypes

HaplotypeFrequency
2017
37.9%
2053
34.1%
2080
21.1%
2022
4.4%
2024
0.6%
2033
0.6%
2003
0.6%
2001
0.6%
2026
0.2%
2039
0.2%

Class I & II Combinations

Class IClass IIFrequency
1052 2017
38.3%
1068 2053
26.7%
1165 2080
21.3%
1167 2053
7.2%
1166 2022
4.3%
1160 2024
0.6%
1172 2033
0.6%
1001 2001
0.4%
1172 2003
0.4%
1035 2026
0.2%
1045 2039
0.2%

The Canine Diversity Test from UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory is the foundation of BetterBred’s breed management tools. Testing your dog adds to the breed database and gives you access to the full suite of breeding analysis tools.

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OI
Outlier Index

The Outlier Index (OI) measures how unusual a dog’s allele combination is relative to the tested population of its breed. A higher OI means the dog carries alleles at lower frequencies across the breed — genetic variants that are underrepresented in the population as a whole.

Dogs with high OI are genetically valuable because they carry diversity that most other tested dogs don’t share. Breeding them thoughtfully into the broader population helps redistribute lower-frequency alleles rather than allowing them to become even rarer over generations.

The breed average shown here reflects all dogs tested in the BetterBred database. The senior and youngster comparisons show whether diversity is trending up or down in recent generations.
AGR
Average Genetic Relatedness

Average Genetic Relatedness (AGR) measures how similar a dog’s DNA is, on average, to every other tested dog in the breed. It reflects the dog’s mean kinship — how closely related it is to the population as a whole.

A lower AGR means the dog is more genetically distinct from the majority of the breed. Dogs with low AGR carry alleles at lower frequencies across the tested population, making them higher-priority candidates for inclusion in a well-managed breeding program.

AGR is conceptually related to mean kinship used in conservation genetics for managed species populations. A declining AGR average in younger dogs suggests the breed is successfully redistributing genetic diversity across generations.
IR
Internal Relatedness

Internal Relatedness (IR) measures how much identical genetic material an individual dog inherited from both parents. IR is a useful indicator of inbreeding: lower IR generally reflects lower inbreeding, and it is widely used and reported in the scientific literature.

A high IR is not the cause for alarm it might appear. Elevated IR can often be resolved in a single generation by pairing with a dog whose ancestry is less represented in the breed. It is a signpost, not a sentence.

BetterBred reports IR for reference, but it is not our primary breeding guidance tool. OI and AGR together give a more complete and actionable picture of a dog’s genetic value to the population.

AGR tells you which dogs are genetically unusual relative to the population. OI tells you which dogs are most valuable to preserve. OI specifically weights mid-frequency alleles, identifying dogs whose ancestry is underrepresented in a way most likely to benefit the breed.