German Shepherd Details

Bring home your very own deputy sergeant

Origin:  Germany

Origin of Name: The German Shepherd was named by the breeder Captian Max von Stephanitz who registered the first breed under the name Horan as his first Deutsche Schaferhunde, which when translated in English means ‘German Shepherd Dog’. They were primarily used for herding sheep and cattle.

Introduction

The German Shepherd, as some call it, is one of the most handsome dogs around. Their agility and good looks made them the first canine stars. This may come as a surprise to some but in the 1920s Warner Bros was on the verge of bankruptcy. A film featuring a German Shepherd called Rin Tin Tin saved them. The film name is Where the North Begins. This movie was such a hit the breed become very popular. Rin Tin Tin received more than 10,000 fan mails in a week.

German Shepherd aka Hektor Linksrhein came into existence in the year 1899 in Germany after a man’s search for an intelligent, loyal and working dog came to a fruitful end.  The first name that this beautiful German Shepherd was christened with was Holland and he was the first entry in the society for German Shepherd started by Von Stephanitz. The funny thing is that for decades German Shepherd was referred to as an Alsatian Wolf dog especially in the U.S because of anti-German sentiments which dominated the world after the world wars. The name was changed back to German Shepherd after a series of protests led by groups across the world.

This breed falls under the medium to large category and weighs around 35 to 40 KG. Its lifespan is about 11-12 years and this beauty looks great in its double coat which is mostly tan/black and red/black in color.  It isn't too furry which saves a lot of vacuuming trouble.

This breed was bred originally as dogs which would work hence the Shepherd in their names. Living true to their name they can still be seen toiling, most recently with the Delhi Metro Personnel.  This breed of dogs are fiercely loyal and stay true to their nature by guarding their owner’s property with their life. German Shepherds are also famous for their intelligence and they pick up things rather quickly. You know the phrase curiosity killed the cat, most probably it was a German Shepherd which had a hand in it (due to its curious nature). These curious dogs may look threatening but they are protective and a great friend to have.  German Shepherds also have a keen nose and hence are used in a lot of places as sniffer dogs. German Shepherds are also friends with the cops as they help them in a lot of dirty police work.  This breed is adaptable, it doesn’t mind the cold or the heat as long it is trained properly and put to work.  A German Shepherd is also a great exercise companion, it loves working out and going for runs.  German Shepherds can give cold vibes to strangers but once assured that the stranger means no harm to its owner, it quickly becomes friends with the stranger.

The best word to describe a German Shepherd is a Protector. Its majestic stature, smooth coat, and vigilant eyes coupled with its strong nose and loyalty prove him to be one of the best companions to have. It will show its love by protecting you and being loyal to you. GSDs are one of the most intelligent dogs and it is a common sight to see them being used a lot in the armed and police forces. There are more than 8000 Shepherds employed in the US police force.

History

Their intelligence and training ability made them an integral part of both World Wars. The story of the origin of German shepherd dates as back as early 1850's, where people across Europe were looking for ways to make sure that dog breeds are standardized. The purpose of the new age dogs was twofold – to help to guard the sheep’s that people around that time had along with slight assistance on other tasks of sheep herding. On a community level. this was taking place in Germany where in local villages cross breeding between different kinds of sheep dogs was taking place. There were certain traits that were kept in mind while breeding these kinds of dogs, the traits were that of Intelligence, for quick action; loyalty to make sure that the guard didn’t sway easy; speed to ensure that the dogs were always on their toes and a certain amount of basic strength.  There were many cross breeds that came up in various villages around Germany, all of them differing in slight ways from each other but more similar because they were supposed to fill the same purpose of being a guard dogs. To overcome these differences of breeds, there was a society by the name of Phylax which was formed. This society was one of a kind as it proved to be the pioneer for the revolution which asked for standardization of dog breeds. The Phylax society had certain ongoing conflicts about the aim of dog breeding, the conflicting sides being – dogs need to be bred for solely work or certain emphasis needs to be paid to how it looks as well. These conflicts led to its dissolution after three years.  An ex member of the Phylax society at this time when there was a growing administration for an intelligent sheepdog started looking for that perfect breed. His name was Max von Stephanitz and he was strongly opinioned that dogs should be bred solely for working purposes and the biggest problem that he faced was that he couldn’t decide upon a dog which he believed would be suitable. In 1899 Max von Stephanitz went to a dog show and came across the breed that was for him, love at first sight.  His name was Hektor Linksrhein and we were a product of a number of cycles of cross breeding. For Stephanitz, he checked all boxes and hence he brought the dog who in modern day is known as a German shepherd.

After the first German shepherd dog was brought he was christened to the name Horand Var Grafrath, so the first dog of the German shepherd generation was called Horand. Stephanitz went on to form a society for German Shepherds and Horand was made to mate with a number of dogs which displayed likely traits that were wanted. The most successful of the cross breeding was a dog called Hektor von Schwaben. Horand then mated with pups from Hektor and hence there were a substantial number of Pups produced through Horand. A lot of credit is though given to Stephanitz who through his tenuous efforts gave birth to the society and ensured that there is healthy breeding of the German shepherd dogs. 

The qualities that inspired Stephanitz in this medium sized dog was how protective he was and his curiosity was inspiring along with his intelligence. Horand was a beautiful dog and loyal to the core, which led to the dog being such a hoot. There were about 57 thousand German Shepherd’s by the year 1923 all due to the efforts of Stephanitz. Parallel to the time when this breed was getting developed there was also this crisis where the need of breeding dog was lessening. There was a downfall in sheep raising which led to the downfall in needing guarding dogs which would take care of the sheep. Later because if the heightened sense of sense in the breed, he was promoted as a police dog. He was also promoted as a helper for the blind people. German Shepherd today is a dog of service which finds his use in many places. 

Their strong, protective instincts made them a superstar with security and armed forces; and ever since then, there has been no looking back. Their loyalty and amazing intelligence have made them the perfect service dog. Impressed by their loyalty and bravery, this breed was taken to the USA in 1906.

There are a lot of people who believe that this breed was bred from the wolf but it is not true. The Dutch breeders tried interbreeding wolfs in the 1920s but the dog could not be domesticated.