History of the German Shepherd Dog
The German Shepherd dog breed has its origin in the
late 1800s when Max von Stephanitz from Germany began
developing a breed that would later become the dog we
know today as the German Shepherd.Von Stephanitz desired
to produce a dog breed that could be utilized as an
all-around working dog.
Developed from various farm and herding dogs of his
time, von Stephanitz's original German Shepherd was
derived from a herding dog he acquired in 1899, and
he and his friend Artur Meyer formed the Verein fur
Deutsche Schaferhunde which was the first club in the
German Shepherd dog breed history. This club and von
Stephanitz kept tight control over the breed until his
death in 1936.
He determined which dogs would be used to breed based
on how well they did in various shows and trials that
were the precursor to the Schutzhund tests still performed
today. His main criteria for judging a dog's success
were both its usefulness coupled with its intelligence.
Von Stephanitz also promoted the utility of the breed
to the German government for work in both the police
and the military as well as other all-purpose uses as
a working dog breed.
German Shepherd Breed History
Following the creation of the German Shepherd breed
by von Stephanitz in the early 1900s, the breed's popularity
soon soared and became one of Germany's most popular
dogs. Serving in both World War I and II, the German
Shepherd was a favorite military dog, primarily in Germany,
but American and British soldiers were also impressed
by the breed and brought the dog home following both
wars.
In fact, one of the most popular German Shepherds dogs
was Rin Tin Tin, originally from France, and brought
to America by an American GI following the first world
war. Rin Tin Tin went on to make 26 movies until his
death in 1932 and contributed to the breed's enormous
popularity.
In addition to its use in the police and military arenas,
German Shepherds have a history of usefulness in other
areas, is known as a successful show dog and has been
a popular family pet. German Shepherds were the first
dogs used as seeing eye dogs in the late 1920s and Helen
Keller, an avid dog lover, owned a couple of German
Shepherds.
The first German Shepherd Club in America was formed
in 1913 and the breed was recognized by the American
Kennel Club in 1908. Instantly recognizable, the German
Shepherd continues to be a popular dog breed, and the
German Shepherd is continually in the top five most
popular registered breeds as determined by the AKC.
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