History of the German Shepherd Dog

Centuries ago, several types of shepherd dog developed in Germany. In the regions south of the mountains, where the terrain was uneven and flocks moved up and down the hills in search of grazing, a comparatively heavy, compact and powerful type of dog developed.

On the northern plains, where flocks had to travel farther and more quickly, a smaller, agile, long-striding shepherd dog became more common.

In central Germany, long-coated dogs showing a mixture of the two types were found.

These dogs varied greatly in conformation. Coat length and texture ranged from short to rough and long coats. Colours were also extremely varied and included white, cream, mottled, blue and black in different shades, along with colour combinations that are still familiar today. Despite these differences, the various types shared four qualities:

• Endurance,
• Intelligence,
• Overall soundness, and
• The ability to perform their specialised work well.

This is the point at which people began to intervene actively in shaping what would become the German Shepherd Dog.

Expanding trade and new means of transport brought livestock owners together to talk about flocks and weather, crops and prices and, inevitably, to boast about their dogs. Rough attempts at selective breeding began. When a dog stood out for its working qualities, its reputation spread and other farmers bred their bitches to it, selecting from the litters those puppies that most resembled the admired sire. Groups formed around a shared interest in dogs and the desire to improve working ability. They corresponded with similar groups, exchanged dogs and kept breeding records. Gradually, greater structural uniformity emerged. A particular basic type was found to be especially suitable for shepherding and selection increasingly focused on that type. The many local physical varieties gradually blended into a rough, broadly useful working form capable of functioning under a wide range of conditions.

This was the situation when MAX VON STEPHANITZ, a cavalry captain later known as “the father of the breed”, began his campaign in 1899 to standardise the German shepherd dog.

On 3 April 1899, Stephanitz and his friend Arthur Meyer were in Karlsruhe attending one of the early all-breed dog shows. Their attention was drawn to a medium-sized yellow-and-grey, wolf-like dog standing quietly beside its trainer.

The dog was supple and powerful and clearly possessed great stamina, steadiness and intelligence. The trainer explained that the animal was not a show dog but a working shepherd. His name was “Hektor Linksrhein”. He represented the ideal Stephanitz had been looking for, and Stephanitz bought him for his Grafrath kennel. He renamed the dog “Horand von Grafrath”, founded the SV and registered him as number one. Stephanitz became the club’s first president and, in an extraordinarily short time, helped standardise a type whose essential features have remained recognisable ever since. To understand this achievement, it is useful to consider Germany at the time.

Chancellor Bismarck had recently unified the German-speaking states through military power. The Hohenzollern monarchy was growing in influence under Prussian dominance, and militarism was a major force in German political life. For many people, the uniform had become a symbol of authority. In this context, cavalry captain Max von Stephanitz became the dominant voice of the German Shepherd Dog Club. Breeders followed his strong directives on breeding, and the club became the guiding hand of the developing breed — a hand that largely reflected Stephanitz’s own vision.

On 20 September 1899, the breed standard was approved. It was revised in 1901, 1909, 1930 and 1961 and later refined and updated in 1976 with the formation of the World Union of German Shepherd Dog Clubs (WUSV). The standard was based above all on mental stability and usefulness rather than beauty, which Stephanitz considered a natural by-product of correct structure and function. He developed a programme of close breeding and rigorous selection intended to consolidate the breed’s strongest working qualities. He acted as judge, breeding expert and breed inspector, and under his uncompromising leadership the club became the largest dog-breeding organisation in Germany, with more than 30,000 members and hundreds of affiliated groups. It became one of the largest organisations in the world devoted to a single breed.

The captain’s motto was: “utility and intelligence”, with beauty considered secondary. He did not want fearful or unstable dogs in the breed; he demanded strong, healthy, reliable animals suited to their role as useful working friends and human companions. Von Stephanitz understood that the traditional pastoral era was drawing to an end in an increasingly industrialised Germany. With extraordinary persistence, and despite initial resistance and ridicule, he eventually persuaded the authorities to employ German Shepherd Dogs in a range of government services.

Throughout his life, Stephanitz wrote hundreds of pamphlets and the monumental work “The German Shepherd Dog in Word and Picture”, which for many years was regarded as a kind of bible by German Shepherd enthusiasts.

Today, advances in medicine, genetics and animal science mean that some of the book’s ideas are necessarily dated, but its historical importance cannot be denied and it remains valuable reading for enthusiasts of the breed.

Max von Stephanitz died on 22 April 1936. He had lived to see the work of a lifetime succeed. The German Shepherd Dog, as he had envisaged it, had become a breed of exceptional worldwide importance.

Source and images:http://www.ovejeroaleman.com/historia/historia.htm

This breed can show very strong protective behaviour towards its owners and human family. In some cases dogs may be poorly socialised with other dogs or even with unfamiliar people. If that is your situation, feel free to contact me and explain your case so that I can advise you.