#germanshepherds

Admired and respected, the working class German Shepherd dog has been one of the most coveted dog breeds worldwide. Originating in Germany, the German Shepherd dogs proved to be excellent guardians and sheep herders in their earliest uses. They were, and have remained to this day, valued for their superior intelligence, ease of training, alertness, and muscular stamina. Officially introduced and recognized as a standard breed in 1899 by Captain Max Von Stephanitz, the German Shepherd has filled roles in police work, companions to the blind, search and rescue, security, herding, K9, and wartime participation. Today, the dog takes up 4.6 percent of the canine population among all registered breeds with the American Kennel Club. It can be recognized that Max von Stephanitz was the most important contributor in German Shepherd history.Original German Shepherd Dogs in Germany in the mid-1800sPurebred dogs and dog shows exploded in popularity all across Europe in the mid-1800s. New dog breeds were being defined and introduced into the show ring in unprecedented numbers. In Germany, where historically the value of a dog was based upon its utility and not what it looked like or whether it fits a breed standard, there were numerous different types of dogs working as shepherds and guardians in different parts of the country. Many were exceptional in their roles, but there was little uniformity in their size, appearance, or performance capability.The German Shepherd dog was first used as a working dog in the mountainous pastures of Germany, where herders needed an agile and competent dog to guard their sheep. This dog stood out as the most agile, intelligent, and faithful dog among other breeds, which were also used in this capacity.Phylax SocietyFormed in 1891, the Phylax Society was an attempt to create a standardized list of dog breeds in Germany. Society disbanded after three years of internal conflict over the most important traits of standardization—appearance and working ability.The Phylax Society Gets StartedIn 1891, a group of German dog fanciers got together with the intent of developing a distinct and uniquely German breed of shepherds. They called themselves the Phylax Society, a Greek word meaning "guardian" or "guardsman," and they set about searching for dogs to fit their idea of the perfect canine. Unfortunately, they had only a vague idea of what they thought the perfect canine should be. The biggest challenge faced by the Phylax Society was not a lack of quality dogs upon which to build a new, spectacular breed of dogs, but an inability to agree upon the traits that the perfect canine should possess. Some members felt that the dog's physical appearance mattered little as long as it could perform the tasks set to it with great agility and endurance. Others held that a conformation standard was most important, stressing beauty, or at least consistency of type, over ability. A few believed it was possible to have both beauty and physical talent and asserted that they would settle for nothing less.Phylax Society DisbandsThrough the mating of a number of dogs that fit no fully defined standard, the Phylax Society attempted to create a new German breed, but without success. Unclear as to whether beauty or brawn should prevail, they produced neither. Disappointed and frustrated, members began leaving the Society, and in 1894, it was disbanded entirely.However, the dream of a very special German breed of dogs did not die with the Phylax Society. A few of the members never lost sight of their goal, and one man, in particular, was poised to take up the cause in a decisive way.Max von StephanitzMax Von StephanitzMax Emil Friedrich von Stephanitz, credited with being the founder of the German Shepherd dog as a distinct breed, was born on December 30, 1864, in Dresden, Germany. His family ranked among the nobility, and his family expectations were that he would become a military officer, and even though he wanted to work in agriculture. He followed his family's wishes and ended up a career officer with the cavalry. This one choice proved to be pivotal, as it enabled Von Stephanitz to travel the country where he encountered a variety of working shepherd dogs.Later, he took the course at the Berlin Veterinary College, where he learned about biology, anatomy, and an area of study that some call "form to function," which is the science of movement based on conformation. During that time, he also gained much experience working with the Berlin Veterinary Hospital, which certainly influenced the formation of his ideas about what would comprise the ideal working dog. Von Stephanitz was an original member of the Phylax Society and felt that a superior German breed of herding dogs could be developed. The British were using breeding and culling techniques that they had developed to great success, and von Stephanitz believed he could do the same with German dogs.Once he retired from the military, Von Stephanitz purchased property near Grafrath in the 1890s and began experimenting with dog breeding. He was a common sight at dog shows and herding trials in Germany, where he observed that there were many quality dogs at the shows, but there was no standardization of type. Among the competitors exhibited, he preferred the wolf-like dogs with pricked ears and keen senses, possessing exceptional intelligence and willingness to work. He believed that by mating together superior dogs with these traits, he could establish an admirable breed for livestock herding and guarding throughout Germany.Max Von Stephanitz realized that the ideal working dog would need to be physically built for endurance as well as speed. Since a typical shepherd would be expected to keep a flock of over 200 sheep under control, the dog would need to be intelligent, obedient, and tireless. He would need to be courageous and have a strong instinctive nature toward protectiveness. He preferred that the classification be regulated to the dog's working ability and characteristics rather than appearance. Von Stephanitz's criteria called for a dog that could reason, even-tempered, agile, strong, and protective of its owner and his stock.In 1889, Max von Stephanitz attended a dog show in Karlsruhe, Western Germany in 1889 where a particular working dog caught his interest. Its name was Hektor Linksrhein and it demonstrated a powerful endurance, keen intelligence, and steady disposition. This particular dog was yellow and gray, mirroring the appearance of a wolf. Believing he had finally found the dog that encompassed so many of the characteristics he was looking for, the man quickly purchased the dog for the handsome sum of 200 German gold marks and renamed him Horand von Grafrath. This very dog became the first German Shepherd dog in 1889. Upon its foundation, Max von Stephanitz developed what is now known as the modern-day German Shepherd.Horand von Grafrath (Hektor Linksrhein) - First German Shepherd DogOrigin of German Shepherd BreedVon Stephanitz relied heavily on inbreeding of the German shepherd dog, tasking Horand and his brother, Luchs, to expand the bloodline through half-sisters and son's daughters. Three prime dogs resulted from the breeding: Heinz von Starkenberg, Pilot III, and Beowulf. Soon, unrelated bloodlines were introduced, which possessed herding origins, eventually expanding the bloodline. Heinz von StarkenbergMaintaining the German Shepherd as a Family DogMax von Stephanitz believed that the ideal breeders of German shepherds would be families with only a couple of breeding dogs in order to facilitate daily contact with the dogs as a way of carefully choosing the dogs which would enhance the breed in the future. He argued, "All the wonderful qualities of character possessed by a good shepherd dog will therefore only be brought to light when he remains in the same hands for a very long time, preferably from puppyhood, where having obtained a footing in the house, he shares the joys and sorrows of the family…and our dog is completely ruined in mind and body wherever he is treated only as merchandise…."Along these same lines, Max von Stephanitz did not believe in maintaining dogs in kennels on a regular basis and pointed out that such would necessarily result in dogs that would be unable to perform to their utmost ability. "Whenever the dog is kept in an enclosed kennel, he will not only degenerate physically, becoming stiff, sluggish and lazy but will also become mentally torpid and lose all his sharpness and vim."Breeding Methods and OutcomesA lot of work has been done to establish the new breed. Here are the most important stages and principles of breeding introduced by von Stephanitz.Creation of the Breed StandardAfter obtaining Horand, Max von Stephanitz worked to develop a standard for the breed. He created a studbook for German shepherds, registering Horand as the first stud dog. Max von Stephanitz, drawing upon his experiences with the Berlin Veterinary Hospital as well as his own observations, began a serious breeding program. Choosing dogs with desirable traits, he devoted years to establishing a recognizable breed type, focusing on the dog's abilities as a working dog. He also worked diligently to cull out physical traits which would weaken the breed as a whole.Versatility of the Breed Max von Stephanitz recognized a need to integrate German Shepherds into other areas of society and became a strong advocate for using the dog in military service, law enforcement, protection service, and rescue efforts. Von Stephanitz championed the resulting breed to serve in various branches of government service that would take advantage of its versatility. This included tasks in supply carrying, tracking, courier service, guard positions, and Red Cross duties.Always looking for ways to protect and improve the breed, Von Stephanitz paid close attention to trends in breeding and worked tirelessly to maintain the standard for which he is so well recognized. Discouraging breeding for beauty instead of purpose, Von Stephanitz's motto was: "Utility is the true criterion of beauty."Mating Combinations of the German Shepherd DogThe most lasting and notable mating combination of the German shepherd dog by von Stephanitz was an offspring of Horand, named Hektor von Schwaben. Hektor was inbred with another one of Horand's offspring, and this produced Beowulf. Beowulf produced 84 pups, mostly matings from Hektor's other offspring. Beowulf and his related bloodline are the German Shepherd ancestors of all dogs of this breed today, mostly owing to the efforts and attentive care of Max von Stephanitz. This was a huge factor in German Shepherd history and today's further development of the breed.BeowulfSociety for the German Shepherd Dog (SV)Von Stephanitz cannot be credited with single-handedly creating the foundation stock of the newly emerging German Shepherd Dog since Horand was himself the product of generations of selective breeding before von Stephanitz bought him. However, von Stephanitz was able to spot the dog's qualities from among all of the many specimens he saw regularly and calculate his potential as a breeding animal. On April 22, 1899, von Stephanitz was inspired to form a new organization, which he called Verein fur Deutsche Schaferhunde, or the Society for the German Shepherd Dog, commonly known as the SV. Along with long-time friend and co-founder Adolf Meyer, von Stephanitz recruited three sheep masters, two factory owners, an architect, an innkeeper, a mayor, and a magistrate to the SV.Von Stephanitz became the first president of the organization. He established the first criteria for the recognition of the breed. His motto was "Utility and Intelligence." He devised a blueprint that dictated the overall morphology, gait, and temperament, which became the primary identifiers for the breed.Right away, the SV established a breed standard against which all German Shepherd Dogs would be judged, along with a Breed Register to record bloodlines. The dog that von Stephanitz purchased earlier, Horand von Grafrath, was recorded as the first German Shepherd Dog in the new registry.A Grand DesignMax von Stephanitz wanted to do more than just fine breed dogs. He wanted a place in history. Taking what he had learned from his studies at the Berlin Veterinary College and through experience gleaned from his own prior dog breeding endeavors, he began a program of what some consider to be a rather ruthless approach to achieving goals. Ruthless or not, the steps taken by von Stephanitz in an era when genetics and DNA testing were not available proved to be almost prescient in their accuracy in extracting the best qualities of the dogs he bred and eliminating the unacceptable strains.Von Stephanitz knew that, in order to set a certain "type," dogs with similar backgrounds and traits must be bred together over several generations. He did not care to wait that long. To speed the process and to capitalize on the valuable qualities of his treasured stud dog, Horand, von Stephanitz quite intentionally implemented a process of line breeding and inbreeding to quickly stamp successive generations of puppies with the "right stuff."Inbreeding and Line BreedingPeople knowledgeable in animal husbandry understand that breeding like to like is the only way to establish consistent results when raising any type of animal. Every distinct species in existence owes its heritage to the concentration of its genes through either inbreeding or line breeding. Although frowned upon in some circles, inbreeding is the fastest way to concentrate genes. This method implies pairing close relatives such as brothers to sisters, fathers to daughters, mothers to sons, etc. Linebreeding is the pairing of less direct crosses, such as fathers to granddaughters or mothers to grandsons. The practice is still called line breeding even when the pairing is used for more distant relatives that are several generations removed.Linebreeding and inbreeding, when practiced carefully and with purpose, have the potential to produce spectacular results in the development of sought-after traits. Both inbreeding and close line breeding methods have their disadvantages as well. They are shunned by many breeders of all types of animals because along with a concentration of the good traits comes a concentration of the faults as well. It is to the credit of von Stephanitz that he understood which animals to select to continue the bloodline and which ones to cull without sentiment due to inferior qualities.Project ImplementationVon Stephanitz utilized both breeding techniques in pursuing what he called his "grand design." His goal was to produce dogs with superior conformation, loyalty, obedience, and courage. Toward this end, Horand was bred extensively and produced many offspring. Horand's most famous and successful son, Hektor von Schwaben, was bred to female offspring of Horand, thus producing the famous and influential Beowulf, among others. Beowulf and his brothers were bred back to daughters and granddaughters of Hektor, and it is to these offspring of Horand and Beowulf that all modern German Shepherd Dogs can trace their ancestry.Hektor von SchwabenBecause of the intense inbreeding of dogs early in the history of German Shepherd lines, the specific look and type that von Stephanitz was striving for became fixed in an amazingly short period. In particular, the pricked ears and the athletic, sloping angles of the shoulders, hips, and legs stamped his animals as the 'German breed'. Requirements and ControlVon Stephanitz knew, however, that he had to look for suitable unrelated dogs to create enough genetic diversity for the breed to survive. He did, of course, insist on remaining in complete control of choosing which dogs were registered and approved for breeding. Ultimately, he and the SV published the Korbuch, or Breed Survey Book, which was issued two decades after the founding of the SV. The Breed Survey Book detailed the guidelines to be followed when selecting German Shepherd Dogs for breeding. Von Stephanitz also insisted that dogs judged in shows be held to the same standards and not selected simply on the judges' preferences. He emphasized "utility and intelligence," but according to many, the dogs bred or culled in the beginning were selected based mostly on looks until there were enough dogs of sufficient age to begin judging them on their athletic ability and work ethic. Fortunately, the progeny of Horand inherited more than his looks.Continuing with his "grand design," von Stephanitz educated breeders on the form to function athleticism and essentially forced them to focus on the angle of the bones, the proportions and measurements of the body and legs, and the overall conformation of the dogs they were raising. The SV sent representatives to inspect litters of puppies recommended for addition to the registry. Those puppies deemed too small, weak, or imperfect were ruthlessly culled. Sometimes culling took place based only on the number of puppies in a litter. If the self-titled SV Breeding Warrens deemed that there were too many puppies for the dam to raise them adequately, pups were culled based on appearance and gender, with a slant toward preserving larger, more robust males.If by today's standards, the methods of the SV seem harsh, it is important to remember that such methods were not considered abnormal in the period. Animals were bred and raised primarily for utility, and the techniques used to establish the German Shepherd dog were considered normal husbandry. Certainly, the methods succeeded in creating a useful, recognizable breed in an amazingly short time.The 1925 SiegerBy 1925, Germany held a national conformation show to determine the best male and female German Shepherd each year. By the end of the show, only one dog in each gender would receive the coveted title of Sieger. Many of the most influential breeders would arrange to breed their best bitches to that year's Sieger dog, thus cementing the dog's impact on the breed as a whole.