Was born to a noble family on December 30th, 1864 and died on April 22, 1936, which was the 37th anniversary of the club he and Artur Meyer founded together. Von Stephanitz is credited with having developed the German shepherd dog breed as we currently know it, set guidelines for the breed standard, and was the first president of the Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde (SV).
Max von Stephanitz was a career cavalry officer and spent some time serving at the Veterinary College in Berlin. Here he gained valuable knowledge about biology, anatomy, and the science of movement, all of which he later applied to the breeding of dogs. He was promoted to Captain in 1898 and shortly after was asked to leave the service when there was a scandal concerning his new wife, who was said to be an actress (a dishonorable profession at that time).
Max von Stephanitz purchased property near Grafrath in the 1890's where he began experimenting with dog breeding. He used many of the techniques utilised by English dog breeders of the period. He was primarily interested in improving the German sheep herding dogs because they were local and were the working dogs of his time. Von Stephanitz enjoyed attending dog shows and observed that there were many different types of shepherding dogs in use in Germany but there was no breed standardization. He greatly admired those dogs with a wolfish appearance and prick ears who also were intelligent, had sharp senses and willingness to work and believed that he could create a better working dog that could then be used throughout Germany.
He purchased his first dog Hektor Linkrshein in 1899 and changed his name to Horand von Grafrath. Horand was used as the primary breeding stud by von Stephanitz and other breeders and is the foundation of the German shepherd breed as we know it. Stephanitz used the knowledge he had acquired during his years at the Veterinary College and established a grand design he wanted breeders to aim for with judging based on angle of bones, proportions, and overall measurements. Horand's son Hektor von Schwaben and his grandsons Heinz von Starkenburg, Beowolf and Pilot were also instrumental in standardizing the breed. Dogs from other areas of Germany such as Frankonia, Württemberg and Thuringia were also used as breeders.
On April 22, 1899 von Stephanitz founded the Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde (SV) with his friend Artur Meyer. Three sheep masters, two factory owners, one architect, one mayor, one innkeeper and one magistrate joined them as co-founders. Along with establishing a breed standard the SV also developed a Zuchtbuch (Breed Register). Twenty years later they published the Körbuch (Breed Survey Book), which determines a dog's suitability for breeding based on their physical and mental characteristics, and not based solely on show wins. Under von Stephanitz's guidance the SV became the single largest breed club in the world and it was his idea to introduce the breed to other types of work such as delivering messages, rescue work, sentry duties, and as personal guard dogs. The German shepherd made his world debut in these roles during the First World War.
The first Schutzhund trial was held in Germany in 1901 and tested the dogs abilities in tracking, obedience and protection. The English Kennel Club honored the breed with its own register in 1919.
Captain von Stephanitz died in 1936 after the Nazis had taken the SV away from him by threatening him with internment in a concentration camp. However, his memory lives on in a breed of dog renowned for its beauty, loyalty, nobility, intelligence, temperment, and strong working instincts.
The SV is still in existence and is headquartered in Augsburg, Germany.
In 1913 the German Shepherd Dog Club of America was formed by Benjamin Throop and Anne Tracy, with 26 charter members. 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 tabu. 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
According to the official documentation of the Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde (SV) e.V. (Society for the German Shepherd Dog, “SV” for short) – legal domicile in Augsburg, Germany, member of the Verband für das Deutsche Hundewesen (VDH, German Kennel Club) – the “SV” as the founding club of the breed is responsible for the breed standard of the German Shepherd Dog. Established in the first General Meeting at Frankfurt/Main on 20 September 1899 according to suggestions by A. Meyer and Max von Stephanitz and in addition to the amendments of the 6th General Meeting on 28 July 1901, the 23rd General Meeting at Cologne/Rhineland on 17 September 1909, the Executive Board & Advisory Board Meeting at Wiesbaden on 5 September 1930 and the Breeding Committee & Executive Board Meeting on 25 March 1961, revisions were resolved within the framework of the World Union of German Shepherd Dog Clubs (WUSV) Meeting on 30 August 1976.
Revisions and catalogued measures were resolved with the Enabling Resolution through the Executive Board and Advisory Board from 23/24 March 1991, amended through the Federal Conventions from 25 May 1997 and 31 May/1 June 2008.
The German Shepherd Dog, whose methodical breeding was started in 1899 after the foundation of the society, had been bred from the central German and southern German breeds of the herding dogs existing at that time with the ultimate objective of creating a working dog inclined to high achievements. In order to achieve this objective, the breed standard of the German Shepherd Dog was determined, which relates to the physical constitution as well as the traits and characteristics.
The German Shepherd Dog is medium-size, slightly elongated, powerful and well-muscled, with dry bone and firm overall structure.
Important dimensional ratios
The height at the withers amounts to 60 cm to 65 cm for male dogs and 55 cm to 60 cm for female dogs. The trunk length exceeds the dimension at the height at the withers by about 10 – 17 %.
The German Shepherd Dog must be well-balanced (with strong nerves) in terms of character, self-assured, absolutely natural and (except for a stimulated situation) good-natured as well as attentive and willing to please. He must possess instinctive behaviour, resilience and self-assurance in order to be suitable as a companion, guard, protection, service and herding dog.
The head is wedge-shaped, and in proportion to the body size (length about 40 % at the height at the withers), without being plump or too elongated, dry in the overall appearance and moderately broad between the ears. Seen from the front and side, the forehead is only slightly arched and without any or with only a slightly indicated middle furrow.
The ratio from the cranial region to the facial region is 50 % to 50 %. The width of the cranial region more or less corresponds to the length of the cranial region. The cranial region (seen from above) tapers evenly towards the nasal bridge with gradually sloping, not sharply depicted stop in the wedge-shaped facial region (foreface) of the head. Upper and lower jaws are powerfully developed.
The nasal dorsum is straight, any dip or bulge is undesirable. The lips are taut, close well and are of dark colouring.
The nose must be black.
The teeth must be strong, healthy and complete (42 teeth according to the dental formula). The German Shepherd Dog has a scissor bite, i.e. the incisors must interlock like scissors, whereby the incisors of the upper jaw overlap those of the lower jaw. Occlusal overlay, overbite and retrusive occlusion as well as larger spaces between the teeth (gaps) are faulty. The straight dental ridge of the incisors is also faulty. The jaw bones must be strongly developed so that the teeth can be deeply embedded in the dental ridge.
The eyes are of medium size, almond-shaped, slightly slanted and not protruding. The colour of the eyes should be as dark as possible. Light, piercing eyes are undesirable since they impair the dog’s impression.
Ears – The German Shepherd Dog has erect ears of medium size, which are carried upright and aligned (not drawn-in laterally); they are pointed and with the auricle facing forward. Tipped ears and drooping ears are faulty. Ears carried rearward when moving or in relaxed position are not faulty.
Neck – The neck should be strong, well-muscled and without loose neck skin (dewlap). The angulation towards the trunk (horizontal) amounts to approx. 45 %.
Body – The upper line runs from the base of the neck via the high, long withers and via the straight back towards the slightly sloping croup, without visible interruption. The back is moderately long, firm, strong and well-muscled. The loin is broad, short, strongly developed and well-muscled. The croup should be long and slightly sloping (approx 23° to the horizontal) and the upper line should merge into the base of the tail without interruption.
The chest should be moderately broad, the lower chest as long and pronounced as possible. The depth of the chest should amount to approx. 45 % to 48 % of the height at the withers. The ribs should feature a moderate curvature; a barrel-shaped chest is just as faulty as flat ribs.
The tail extends at least to the hock, but not beyond the middle of the hind pastern. It has slightly longer hair on the underside and is carried hanging downward in a gentle curve, whereby in a state of excitement and in motion it is raised and carried higher, but not beyond the horizontal. Operative corrections are forbidden.
Forequarters – The forelimbs are straight when seen from all sides, and absolutely parallel when seen from the front.
Shoulder blade and upper arm are of equal length, and firmly attached to the trunk by means of powerful musculature. The angulation from shoulder blade and upper arm is ideally 90°, but generally up to 110°. The elbows may not be turned out either while standing or moving, and also not pushed in. The forearms are straight when seen from all sides, and absolutely parallel to each other, dry and firmly muscled. The pastern has a length of approx. 1/3 of the forearm, and has an angle of approx. 20° to 22° to the forearm. A slanted pastern (more than 22°) as well as a steep pastern (less than 20°) impairs the suitability for work, particularly the stamina. The paws are rounded, well-closed and arched; the soles are hard, but not brittle. The nails are strong and of dark colour.
The position of hind legs is slightly backwards, whereby the hind limbs are parallel to each other when seen from the rear. Upper leg and lower leg are of approximately the same length and form an angle of approx. 120°; the legs are strong and well-muscled.
The hocks are strongly developed and firm; the hind pastern stands vertically under the hock.
The paws are closed, slightly arched; the pads are hard and of dark colour; the nails are strong, arched and also of dark colour.
The German Shepherd Dog is a trotter. The limbs must be coordinated in length and angulations so that the dog can shift the hindquarters towards the trunk without any essential change of the top line and can reach just as far with the forelimbs. Any tendency towards over-angulation of the hindquarters reduces the stability and the stamina, and thereby the working ability. Correct body proportions and angulations results in a gait that is far-reaching and flat over the ground which conveys the impression of effortless forward movements. The head pushed forward and the slightly raised tail result in a consistent, smooth trot showing a gently curved, uninterrupted upper line from the ear tips over the neck and back to the end of the tail.
Skin – The skin is (loosely) fitting, but without forming any folds.
Coat - Hair texture
Hair: The German Shepherd Dog is bred in the hair varieties double coat and long and harsh outer coat – both with undercoat.
The guard hair should be as dense as possible, particularly harsh and close fitting: short on the head, including the inside of the ears, short on the front side of the legs, paws and toes, some-what longer and more strongly covered in hair on the neck. On the back side of the legs the hair extends to the carpal joint or the hock; it forms moderate ‘trousers’ on the back side of the haunches.
Long and harsh outer coat:
The guard hair should be long, soft and not close fitting, with tufts on the ears and legs, bushy trousers and bushy tail with downward formation of tuft. Short on the head, including the inside of the ears, on the front side of the legs, on the paws and toes, somewhat longer and more strongly covered in hair on the neck, almost forming a mane. On the back side of the legs the hair extends to the carpal joint or the hock and forms clear trousers on the back side of the haunches.
Colors are black with reddish-brown, brown and yellow to light grey markings; single-colored black, grey with darker shading, black saddle and mask. Unobtrusive, small white marks on chest as well as very light color on insides are permissible, but not desirable. The tip of the nose must be black in all colors. Dogs with lack of mask, light to piercing eye color, as well as with light to whitish markings on the chest and the insides, pale nails and red tip of tail are considered to be lacking in pigmentation. The undercoat shows a light greyish tone. The color white is not allowed.
Male dogs: Height at the withers: 60 cm to 65 cm | Weight: 30 kg to 40 kg
Female dogs: Height at the withers: 55 cm to 60 cm | Weight: 22 kg to 32 kg
Male dogs should have two obviously normally developed testicles which are completely in the scrotum.
Faults - Any deviation from the aforementioned points should be considered as a fault whose evaluation should be in exact proportion to the degree of deviation.
Serious faults - Deviations from the above-described breed characteristics which impair the working capability. Faulty ears: ears set too low laterally, tipped ears, inward constricted ears, ears not firm. Considerable pigment deficiencies. Severely impaired overall stability.
Dental faults - All deviations from scissor bite and dental formula in so far as it does not involve eliminating faults (see the following)
a) Dogs with weak character and weak nerves which bite
b) Dogs with proven “severe hip dysplasia”
c) Monorchid or cryptorchid dogs as well as dogs with clearly dissimilar or atrophied testicles
d) Dogs with disfiguring ears or tail faults
e) Dogs with malformations
f) Dogs with dental faults, with lack of: 1 premolar 3 and another tooth; or 1 canine tooth; or 1 premolar 4; or 1 molar 1 or molar 2; or a total of 3 teeth or more g) Dogs with jaw deficiencies: Overshot by 2 mm and more, undershot, level bite in the entire incisor region
h) Dogs with oversize or undersize by more than 1 cm
j) White hair colour (also with dark eyes and nails)
k) Long Straight Topcoat without undercoat
l) Long-haired (long, soft guard hair without undercoat, mostly parted in the middle of the back, tufts on the ears and legs and on the tail)