The German Shepherd Dog
German Shepherd Dog The German Shepherd is not only one of the world’s most popular companion dogs, but also probably the most widely used breed for service work. The development of the German Shepherd Dog, along with a number of existing breeds, helped pioneer the modern use of dogs for service and community work that we can see today. For a breed of dog that has only been officially recognised for Just over 100 years, it has made an outstanding contribution to mankind worldwide. The origins of the breed came from various sheep dogs found in Germany during the last century.
In the econd half of the 19th century, dog breed fanciers began to fix the type of sheep dog found in Germany that would eventually form the basis of the modern German Shepherd Dog. Various attempts were made to form associations to develop the German Sheep Dogs such as the Phylax Club, which was formed in the early 1890’s, but disbanded in a few short years. Not only were dog fanciers discussing the breeding of dogs, but also the training of dogs was becoming of great interest. A driving force of the time was Doktor Gerland who presented the world’s first trained police dogs Just prior to the turn of the century.
These events helped to bring the evelopment of sheep dogs to the attention of many influential people in Germany. During 1899 a German dog fancier and cavalry officer Captain Max Von Stephanitz purchased a dog named Hektor Linksrhein which greatly impressed him. Stephanitz renamed the dog Horand v Grafrath. On 22 April 1899 Von Stephanitz, a few others formed “The German Shepherd Dog Club of Germany”. The club started a registration book and Horand v Grafrath became the first registered German Shepherd Dog.
On 20 September 1899, the club also adopted a breed standard based on the proposals of Von Stephanitz and later held its first specialty show at Frankfurt-am-Main, using he titles Steger and Siegerin. The development of the German Shepherd Dog had begun. Von Stephanitz who became President of the SV realised that increased industrialisation in Germany would reduce the demand for sheep dogs and, in co- operation with German authorities earlier this century, began trialing the German Shepherd in other roles to ensure its survival as a working breed.
Through his firm guiding hand the SV became the largest single breed club in the world, and the breed became one of the most versatile breeds known to man. German Shepherds slowly grew in popularity, and clubs for the development of the breed began to form n countries where the breed had been exported. As early as 1904, it is believed unofficial imports of the breed had arrived in Western Australia. By 1910 the breed had a firm foot hold in Europe, and in Germany the service potential of the dogs were realised by helping to equip over 500 Police stations throughout Germany with trained Police Dogs.
Still being used as a sheep dog, the German shepherd was also finding popularity with the German military. Von Stephanitz was adamant that the breed should remain a working dog, and constantly looked for new tasks to keep the breed working. The onset of the First World War, saw both the German and French military using the German Shepherd as well as a number of other breeds for various was to become the basis for modern search and rescue dog teams. Dogs were also used to carry ammunition, messages, cables and first aid supplies between the trenches, often through artillery and small arms fire.
Many allied soldiers, impressed by the bravery of the dogs, took captured German Shepherds home with them after the war. Many soldiers were blinded during the First World War and German Shepherds were trained in large numbers by the German authorities as ‘seeing eye’ dogs for the blind. Other countries, including Great Britain, then attempted to train dogs based on this German program. The British dog trainers, however, experienced a great deal of negativity from the general public at first, and it took some time to gain public acceptance for the program.
The success of guide dogs has since been proven worldwide. The United States also later formed a Seeing Eye Dog School using German Shepherds. This occurred in 1929 in the US State of New Jersey. Although the Labrador retriever does the majority of guide dog work in Australia, the German Shepherd remains one of the most popular choices for this type of work worldwide. During the 1920’s, canine movie stars such as Rin Tin Tin and Strongheart made the breed extremely popular outside of Germany.
Great harm was caused as unscrupulous breeders, keen to cash in on this newfound popularity, introduced poor breeding practices which, along with some irresponsible owners, worked against the founding principles of the breed. Anti German sentiment following the First World War, caused the British to re-name the breed as the Alsatian Wolf-Dog. Although all dogs are thought to have evolved from wolves, the name Alsatian Wolf- Dog led some people to believe the German shepherd had been directly bred from wolves. The truth is that the German shepherd carries no more wolves’ blood than any other breed.
The year 1925 saw the breed’s official Australian history begin with the importation of Crufts winner Ito of Fallowdale into Australia. Also on the same boat was Pinkerton Rhoda. As a number of further importations followed, graziers and pastoralists in Australia began to express concerns that the breed was dangerous. This was partly based on the British re-naming of the breed, Alsatian Wolf-Dog. Australian graziers and pastoralists started to express fears that German Shepherds would mate with dingos and produce a powerful and intelligent sheep iller.
Powerful lobby groups such as the Western Australian Pastoralists and Graziers Society started to call for the breed to be declared a dangerous noxious pest. The most significant year in the early Australian history of the breed was 1929. This year saw the founding of the Alsatian Club of Victoria, which is now known as the German Shepherd Dog Club of Victoria Inc (6SDCV). On 22 February of that year, the dog KCC Ch Claus von Eulengarten arrived in Melbourne. This dog was the 26th German Shepherd imported into Australia and was not only a show champion, but also a trained Police Dog.
The year 1929 also saw the Australian Government respond to the continued fears of the graziers and pastoralists by placing a directive against the import of the breed into Australia. The Government then passed legislation in the next few years to officially legislate against the importation of German Shepherds into Australia. At this stage only about 55 to 60 official imports had entered Australia. The early 1930’s saw the popularity and the numbers of German Shepherds wain. This meant that purist breeders were able to slowly rebuild the reputation and German Shepherd pressed into military service in large numbers.
The breeding stock in Germany was greatly reduced, as large numbers of dogs were lost during the war. The tragedy of war once again highlighted the breed’s useful qualities and helped to restore the reputation of the German Shepherd. This conflict also saw large numbers of dogs being trained to detect the presence of various types of unexploded devices. This activity has evolved into today’s explosive and drug detector dog programs, which have been extremely effective for law enforcement agencies world wide.
The years following the Second World War saw world wide resurgence in the popularity of he German Shepherd. The situation in Australia, sadly, had not improved with the import ban still in place. The lack of new blood lines made it difficult for Australian breeders to make improvements to the breed and Australian German Shepherds were unable to progress to the level of those found in Europe. Breeders in Australia had to make the most of a bad situation and struggled on. However, breed clubs such as the 6SDCV, and other groups started to promote the positive aspects of the breed.
They hoped that common sense would win through and that the import ban would be lifted in the future. In 1963, the German Shepherd Dog Council of Australia (GSDCA) was formed with the intentions of improving the standing of the German Shepherd and removing impediments, such as the Federal Government import ban. Owners of German Shepherds in Western Australia and the Northern Territory were not even allowed to breed from their existing stock. Through various lobbying of the Australian Government a one year trial lifting of the ban on importing the breed into Australia commenced during 1973.
The then Customs Minister, Mr Lionel Murphy, saw that the ban was ludicrous, and through the help of other politicians such as Mr Don Chipp (current Patron of the 6SDCA), was able to allay the fears of the farmers and graziers. The trial was a success and in 1974 the import ban was permanently lifted. At last breeders were allowed to bring in new blood lines from Europe which allowed great advancement and improvement in the quality of the breed in Australia. 1974 also saw the formation of the World Union of German Shepherd Dog Clubs, with the aim to promote breeding and training according to German standards.
This organisation was formed out of the former European Union of German Shepherd Dog Clubs due to the wishes of non-European clubs. In the immediate years that followed the lifting of the ban a steady improvement to the standard of German Shepherds found in Australia took place. The importing of new blood lines made available to Australian breeders the genetic material that they required to advance the breed and this has enabled them to move towards the standard of dogs found in Germany.
In fact in an ironic twist the Federal Government during the early 1980’s funded the Kamarn Breeders Foundation Ltd which produced about 70 litters of German Shepherds. A large number of these puppies went on to become working dogs such as police and guide dogs. After three years of grants the Federal Government removed support and the program eventually ceased. We can only wonder how much more contribution could have been made to the Australian community by the breed if the Federal Government had supported the breed earlier.
The Australian Customs Service currently benefits from a breeding program for Labrador Retrievers funded by the Federal Government. In 1993, the GSDCA with the assistance of the Australian Country of Origin standards and adopted the full FCI and SV Breed Standard. These recent developments and various 6SDCA breed improvement schemes have resulted n a vastly improved quality of the German Shepherd Dog in Australia, from that available prior to the lifting of the import ban. In 1999 the 100th anniversary of the German Shepherd Dog was marked by world wide celebrations.
To help celebrate that historic milestone the 6SDCV hosted the Centenary German Shepherd Dog Exhibition on Saturday 13 November 1999 at Bundoora Park, Bundoora, Victoria. The Right Honourable Sherryl Garbutt officially opened this historic event, who was the then Minister for the Environment and Conservation, and paid tribute to the service done by the breed. Highlights of this great day included exciting Agility, Fly Ball and Obedience Demonstrations. These demonstrations not only entertained the crowd, but also demonstrated the intelligence, agility and speed of the German Shepherd Dog.
The working side of the breed was also highlighted and included various demonstrations and displays. These featured Police Dogs, Search and Rescue, Pets As Therapy, Seeing Eye Dogs, Bomb Dogs, Sheep Herding and more. The claim of the German Shepherd Dog to be the most versatile breed of working dog was clearly evident as people walked about the various Government and Community Displays. Today the German Shepherd remains one of the most popular breeds of dogs in the world. The founding club has grown to over 100,000 members which makes the SV the largest single dog breed club in the world.
The founder of the breed Captain von Stephanitz believed that, “The breeding of shepherd dogs is the breeding of working dogs; and this must always be the aim, or we shall cease to produce shepherd dogs. The breed is still extensively used as a working dog around the world, however most are owned as companion animals, where they make an ideal family pet because German Shepherds are good with children and other pets. The breeds’ high intelligence, well balanced temperament, physical size, courage and affinity for people continue to make it a very versatile service dog.
These attributes can also be utilised in obedience training allowing the breed to exercise its intelligence and drives. German Shepherds also enjoy physical exercise and their owners must be prepared to regularly exercise them. Many owners test this training and fitness by competing in various conformation and obedience competitions. Conformation shows allow individual animals to be compared against the breed standard. The S. V. /F. C. I. breed standard states that the German Shepherd Dog should be suitable as an all round working, herding and service dog.
To achieve this a dog must be of well balanced temperament, steady of nerve, self assured, absolutely free and easy, and (unless provoked) completely good natured, as well as alert and tractable. He must have courage, combative instinct and hardness, in order to be suitable as companion, watch, protection, service and herding dog. The breed standard also describes the breed as being medium sized, slightly elongated, powerful and well muscled, the ones dry and the overall structure firm.
The height of the withers for dogs is between 60-65 cm, and for bitches is 55-60 cm. The length of the body is greater than the height at the withers by about 10 to 17%. The physical make up of the dog is described in further detail and helps enable the breed to carry out its intended purpose. In relation to movement the Breed Standard describes the German hindquarters may be thrust well forward under the body, and the forequarters reach equally far forward, without noticeable change in the topline. Any tendency towards overangulation of the