The German Shepherd Dog is
respected and admired throughout the world for its
versatility, intelligence, and loyalty. It has existed as a
recognized breed for a relatively brief period of time
compared to other dog breeds. The early shepherd dogs of
Germany were of several types suited to their environments.
Coat length and texture, color, and build all varied but
these types all possessed ruggedness, intelligence,
soundness, and the ability to do specialized work.
With advances in transportation and communication came the
forming of societies of herders and the first trends toward
selective breeding of herding dogs, record keeping, and a
gradual trend toward one type of dog which could work
equally well under all conditions. In 1881, the first formal
club, the "Phylax" society was formed but lasted only about
three years.
In 1889 Captain Max von Stephanitz began the
standardization of the breed. It all started at a dog show
in Karlsruhe in western Germany. A medium-sized
yellow-and-gray wolflike dog caught his attention. The dog
was of the primal canine type, supple and powerful, and
possessed endurance, steadiness, and intelligence. He was a
working sheepherder, born with this ability, requiring no
training other than direction and finish to become
proficient at the task. This dog, Hektor Linksrhein, was
purchased by von Stephanitz, renamed Horand von Grafrath,
and became the first registered German Shepherd Dog.
Von Stephanitz founded the Verein für Deutsche Sch·ferhunde,
SV (German Shepherd Dog Club), becoming the first president,
and in a short period of time achieved the standardization
of form and type in the breed. A standard was developed
based on mental stability and utility. The captain's motto
was "Utility and intelligence". To him beauty was secondary,
and a dog was worthless if it lacked the intelligence,
temperament, and structural efficiency that would make it a
good servant of man. A breed standard was developed as a
blueprint dictating the exact function and relationship of
every aspect of structure, gait, and inherent attitude.
Von Stephanitz inbred heavily on Horand and also Luchs, his
brother, to consolidate the bloodline. Horand's best son,
Hektor von Schwaben, the second German Sieger, was mated
with his half-sister as well as through daughters of his own
sons,
Beowulf, Heinz von Starkenberg, and Pilot III.
Intense inbreeding also concentrated undesirable recessive
originating from the mixing of the original strains. Von
Stephanitz then inserted unrelated blood of herding origin
through Audifax von Grafrath and Adalo von Grafrath.
As Germany became increasingly industrialized and the
pastoral era declined, von Stephanitz realized the breed
might also decline. With the co-operation of police and
working dog clubs a set of specific tests was developed in
tracking, formal obedience, and protection work. This was
the prototype of the present Schutzhund trials. He persuaded
the authorities to utilize the German shepherd dog in
various branches of government service. The dog served
during the war as Red Cross dogs, messenger dogs, supply
carriers, sentinel, tracking and guard dogs.
The first German Shepherd Dog exhibited in America was in
1907. Mira von Offingen, imported by Otto Gross, was shown
by H. Dalrymple, of Port Allegheny, Pennsylvania in the open
class at Newcastle and Philadelphia. The first championships
awarded German Shepherd Dogs was in 1913. 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.
 With
the end of World War I came a new appreciation for the
breed. The German Army had made good use of the breed as a
war dog. Tales told by returning U.S. fighting men, some
bringing shepherds with them, and the intelligence and
striking appearance of the dogs caught the attention of the
general public.
Rin-Tin-Tin and Strongheart, whose movies played on
variations of the "boy and his dog" theme, shot the
popularity of the breed sky-high. Puppy factories flourished
to meet the demand, gutting the American market with poor
quality "German police dogs", resulting in a down-turn in
popularity of the breed.
Serious breeding did continue such as by Mrs. Harrison
Eustis, of Fortunate Fields Kennels, in Switzerland. Her
approach was completely scientific with exhaustive research
of breedings undertaken. The most widely known usefulness to
which her dogs were put was as guide dogs for the blind at
the famous Seeing Eye in Morristown, New Jersey.
In 1922 Germany introduced a system of regular breed surveys
- a criticism of each dog, with a graded description and
recommendation for (or against) breeding. This type of
system never caught on in America due largely to the
cultural differences inherent in American society. However,
good dogs were still produced as German dogs were easily
available for American dollars highly sought after in
inflationary Germany.
Continued on next
page, Click Here. |