The German Shepherd Dog is a relatively new breed, having been developed in the
late 1800's by German cavalry Captain
Max von Stephanitz.
Von Stephanitz's ultimate goal was to breed an all-purpose working dog. He had admired the herding dogs of his native Germany and saw in them the potential to become an all-purpose working dog. In 1899, von Stephanitz established his breed club, the Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde, SV, which is still in existence today.
Von Stephanitz's foundation stud dog, Horand von Grafrath, became not only
the first dog registered with the German Shepherd Club, but also the prototype
for the German Shepherd breed.
Horand von Grafrath
Von Stephanitz established and standardized the look and type for German Shepherds throughout the world. With the working abilities and function of the dog in mind he created the Schutzhund trial that tested the breed worthiness of the individual Shepherd, and he prohibited the breeding of dogs that could not pass the trial. This trial system gave rise the rapid developments of many of the breed’s abilities. Schutzhund "means protection dog" and reflects the expectations that von Stephanitz had of his breed.
While the function of the German Shepherd was guarding and shepherding flocks of
sheep, the reduction in the sheep population provoked leading German breeders to
find new uses and purposes for their sheepdogs. The potential was already
present in the breed’s principal stock, because from 1901 on, participation in
police competitions permitted the development of these dogs’ utilitarian
potential. They rapidly established themselves in the various state services,
including the army, the police, and the fire service and built a reputation as a
multi-purpose breed
The German Shepherd Dog Club of America's first specialty show was at Greenwich,
Connecticut in 1915. In 1917, when America entered World War I, all things
German became tab00. The American Kennel Club changed the name of the breed to
the Shepherd Dog and the German Shepherd Dog Club of America became the Shepherd
Dog Club of America. In England, the name of the breed was changed to the
Alsatian. The name Alsatian prevailed until all hostilities ended with Germany,
but is still used to this day in some countries.
Further Reading & Breed Links