Deutscher Schäferhund or the German shepherd is a breed of dog. They are a breed of medium to large sized dogs which originated Germany. German Shepherds are classified as working dogs. In the English language the dogs are officially recognised as German Shepherd Dog which can also be abbreviated as GSD. They are also known as Alsatian in the Great Britain.
If we were to consider the bread at large, the German Shepherds have come about only recently. Their origins back to the year 1899 when they were developed originally for herding sheep. The characteristic features of these dogs are: strength, intelligence, trainability, and obedience. German Shepherds due to their abilities are much preferred for works such as: disability assistance, search-and-rescue, police and military roles, and even acting. As far as their popularity numbers go, they hold the second position in the United States of America and the fourth in the United Kingdom.
The Description
Usually the German Shepherds can be seen ranging from medium to large sizes. This particular breeds height at the withers, that is the ridge in-between the shoulder blades ranges between 60 and 65 centimetres or 24 to 26 inches for the males. Now, as far as the females of the breed are concurred, their height ranges between 55 and 60 cnetimetres or 22 and 24 inches.
The standard weight for the males ranges between 30 to 40 kilograms or 66 and 68 lbs and for the females, their weight usually remains between 22 and 32 kilograms or 49 and 71 lbs.
The head of this fog is typically domed attached to a rather longish and square cut muzzle. German Shepherds have quite a forceful bite and this is due to their very strong jaws. They have a black nose. Typically speaking, their medium sized eyes which are brown in colour along with their facial structure – all of this gives them a very unique, lively, intelligent and self-assured character. Their ears always stand erect and open at the front and also are parallel to each other. Also, their ears almost gracefully move backwards as and when these dogs make a move. When these dogs are in fast paced motion their neck gets lowered to facilitate this movement and then it also gets raised if and when the dog is excited about something. Their tails reach to the hock and are quite bushy.
GSDs coats are two layered in their composition which makes it quite close and dense. The undercoat is thick which adds immensely to the structure and makes the coat look even denser. The breed can be divided into two varieties depending on the kind of fur coat the dogs have, that is – the medium and the long. The long hair variety is quite rare because of the recessive character of the long hair gene, this has made them numbered. There are of-course treatments available but again the treatments also differ across standards and their acceptance is also contested widely. The German and UK Kennel Clubs does recognise these methods but not in their complete form.
As far as the colour of the dog goes, they are seen in either tan or black or in the red and black combination. Most of them have a black mask along with black body markings. These markings can range from being like a classic saddle and then to being a complete over all blanket. In addition to these you can also find the German shepherds having the sable, pure-black, and pure-white, liver and blue varieties. From these, the all black and the sable verities are acceptable in accordance with most of the standards.
Intelligence
So to say, the unique feature of German Shepherds is their acute sense and intelligence. They are famous for this very characteristic feature. One of the famous books titled as: The Intelligence of Dogs which was penned by Stanley Coren ranks the GSD on number three, right behind Border Collies and Poodles in terms of their intelligence quotient. Stanley Coren explains in his book that these astute dogs can easily pickup abilities and simple tasks only after five repetitions and he also numerically proves that they are able to respond to their first command almost 95% of the time. In addition to their senses they are also quite strong physically. It is precisely because of these features that the German Shepherds are most suited for police, guard and search and rescue dogs. The GSD is the only breed which can learn and interpret instructions at their level of pace.
Temperament
The German Shepherds can be classified to be moderately active and a breed that is in terms of breed standard they are regarded as self-assured. They are particularly marked by their willingness to learn, also because they are by nature eager, they tend to follow their purpose quite adamantly. GSDs are inherently curious creatures which is one of the added reasons which makes them the best guard dogs along with being perfect for search missions. Moreover, they also tend to become overprotective of their own families and territories. Therefore, it is rather mandated that they be socialised correctly so that they do not harm anyone. This is also one of the reasons as to why they do not befriend strangers that quickly. In any case, they are incredibly intelligent and obedient.
Aggression and Biting
It is all about training and socialising the German shepherds well, by a matter of any standard the GSD will be safe for all sorts of environments. Take the example of the United States of America. Here for instance, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that from the roughly 4.5 million individuals who are bitten by dogs each year, the aggressive breeds such as – chow chows and German shepherds which are classified as bully breads are often less to be blamed than other breeds.
One of the interesting facts about the bite force comes from the show called Dangerous Encounters which airs on the National Geographic Channel. This show concluded that a German shepherd is capable of exerting a force of 1060 Newton or 238 lbs worth of bite force. Furthermore, among the other breeds that were tested were: the Rottweiler which exerted a force ranging between 1,180 and 1,460 newton, a Pitbull was able to reach 1050 newton or 235 lbs, moreover, as far as the force exerted by humans measures a mere 380 newton or 86 lbs.
The breed
Max von Stephanitz was a famous dog breeder hailing from Germany who is credited for the German Shepherd breed. Furthermore, he had marked certain criteria’s as per which the breeding of this breed would be controlled and the defective births would be eliminated at once. His ideology was to breed them in a very strict environment and only use them as work dogs. He wanted above all that the German Shepherds should only be bred for their intelligence and working abilities. However, this ideology of his has somehow become less followed by the many breeders.
History
At around the 1850’s in Europe certain attempts were underway through which breeds could be standardised. Particular traits in certain breeds were meant to be preserved and dogs were desired to assist in sheep herding and protection purposes. These breeding processes were practiced quite avidly in Germany. One of the main objectives for the herding process was the fact that these new dogs should have the intelligence, speed, strength and keen senses of smell. As a result were breeds such as the German shepherd.
The year 1891 was marked by the formation of a certain Phylax Society. This organisation was constituted with the intention of standardising the various developmental plans that had been undertaken for the native dog breeds in Germany. Despite their intentions politics and internal conflict resulted in the abandonment of this society just after three years of their constitution. The origin of these conflicts was based on the beliefs of certain members. In any case this society did manage to inspire many dog breeders to go towards standardised processes independently.
In the due course of time as the cities grew and became industrialised, the predator population declined which then resulted in the rendering of sheepdogs as almost useless. However, this did not deter the growth and love for the sheepdogs. This was because a realisation arose pertaining to the intelligence, strength, versatility and sense of these creatures.
Von Stephanitz in the year 1899 attuned a dog show event where he saw a dog by the name of Hektor Linksrhein. This dog was in-fact the result of the selective breeding process which he was propagating. The results and everything else that Von Stephanitz saw made him happy and thus he purchased that particular dog immediately.
The German Shepherds have also been featuring in a wide range of media. One of the earliest known films based on canines was the Strongheart, it was released in the year 1921. This film was followed by another one which was released the very next year. This film feature the most famous German Shepherd – Rin Tin Tin. German Shepherds also featured in the most popular Canadian show – The Littlest Hobo. Interestingly enough – Ace the Bat-Hound, Batman’s dog which featured in comics first in 1955 and then again in 164 along with having certain sporadic appearances between 1964 and 2007 is also a German shepherd.