9781422279359

Developing the breed There are hundreds of dog breeds and many have their roots in the very distant past. However, the German Shepherd is a relatively young breed, developed in Germany at the end of the 19th century. Its story began as a

herding dog, but through the vision of one man who developed the breed’s mental and physical quali- ties, the German Shepherd found his place as a true partner to humans. InruralGermany, farm- ers used a variety of herd- ing dogs, and although the dogs shared similar characteristics—such as intelligence, strength, and endurance—they varied in appearance depending on the region. The sheep-

dogs working in the highlands and the hills were small, stocky, gray dogs with erect ears; the sheepdogs working on the plains were larg- er and more athletic, able to trot effortlessly all day on the flat terrain. The first German Shepherd Dogs Captain Max von Stephanitz is known as the father of the breed. In 1889, he saw a working yellow and gray shepherd dog at a dog show in Karlsruhe in western Germany. The dog looked like a wolf, and possessed stamina, power, intelligence and steadiness. Von Stephanitz bought the dog, renamed him Horand von Grafrath, and registered him as the first German Shepherd Dog. He was impressed by the German Shepherd Dog’s herding her-

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