German Shepherd – a Wonderful Dog.

The German Shepherd Dog also known as an Alsatian comes literally from the German Deutscher Schäferhund. The Alsatian is a relatively new breed of large-sized dog originating in the late 19th century. They are part of the Herding group that was originally developed as a working dog for herding sheep.

Often employed by the military and police for their obedience and intelligence. The Alsatian is nearly always one of the top 5 global breeds.
The breed originates from a dog named Hektor Linksrhein. He so impressed Von Stephanitz that he purchased it and renamed him to Horand von Grafrath and founded German Shepherd Dog Society.
Horand von Grafrath became the centre-point of the society’s breeding programs and was mated with many other society member dogs.
The German Shepherds popularity has increased rapidly throughout the 20th Century, though taking dives in popularity in the early days due to genetic health issues from poor inbreeding and after the world wars with anti German sentiment. To such an extent that the UK Kennel Club renamed it to “Alsatian Wolf Dog”, eventually the wolf dog appendage was dropped and in the late seventies, the German Shepherd Dog was back as the official name, though it is still often known as the Alsatian. The German Shepherd popularity was helped by animal actors such as Rin Tin Tin and Strongheart. Now days it is in most countries the third most popular dog breed.

They are a large dog of between 55 and 65 centimetres ( 22 and 26 in) at the withers and weigh around 30 kilograms ( sixty lb).

The German Shepherd’s face has a long square cut muzzle, a doomed forehead, a long neck, powerful jaws, big erect ears (that are often pulled back when on the move), black nose and brown, medium-sized eyes. With a bushy tail.

German Shepherds come in many colours, the normal versions are the red/black and tan/black varieties with black masks and saddles. Less common versions include the sable, all-black, all-white, liver and blue varieties, which may not fit country breed standards. Alsatians have a double coat. A dense close thick outer coat, which sheds all year round and a thick undercoat. There is also the rare long-hair variant.
Like many working dogs, German Shepherds were bred for their intelligence, and are considered to be the third most intelligent breed of dog (Border Collies is deemed to be number one by Stanley Coren in his book The Intelligence of Dogs). This attribute combined with the Alsatians power makes the German Shepherd desirable as police, guard, and search and rescue dogs, being able to quickly learn various tasks and interpret instructions better than other large breeds.
Alsatians have a reputation for aggression and have been restricted in areas as a result. Statistically, in the States, the Alsatian is responsible for more random bites than any other breed, and have a reputation to attack smaller dog breeds.

Additionally studies have shown that German Shepherds are the breed third most likely to attack a person and in a different study, Alsatians were responsible for almost fifty percent of the dog bites that mandated medical attention, compared to a more typical twenty of bites needing medical treatment, not surprising with their strong jaws and sharp canine teeth.

The problem is not with the dog, but the owners. As with any bright active dog (or child), if they are not regularly active and kept busy, they can become troublesome. The Alsatian must have puppy socialisation and good education from an early stage. The German Shepherd is different from the collie, which a lot of its aggressiveness has been removed by breeding for shows, the Alsatian does not seem to have lost this character.

The Alsatian are great with the family they know, but can be over protective of their home and family – why they are a great guard dog. Due to this they may appear a bit aloof.

German Shepherds learn well and are very obedient and not easily diverted, but due to their strong personality, you need to be very firm with them.
The German Shepherd will need to have two good walks a day. They are not a dog for a busy family without time for attention. For this reason, busy couples regularly ask professional dog walkers such as London dog walking to help out by walking them for a few hours a day.
Poor breeding has led to common genetic health problems, hip and elbow joint problems (dysplasia) which is painful for the dog and may cause arthritis. The German Shepherd also suffers from monorchidism (one testicle), weakness of temperament, and missing teeth, as well as folded or bent ears which never fully turn up when reaching adulthood. The German Shepherd is often has ear problems due to his large and open ears.

Alsatians, like many large chested dogs are prone to bloat, this is often fatal, so if you think this may be a problem, go straight to the veterinary. Bloat is a build up of gas in the stomach, caused by a number of different causes. The symptoms of distress for no apparent reason, a firm distension of the abdomen, general weakness, depression, problems breathing, hypersalivation, and retching without vomiting. A high rate of dogs with bloat have cardiac arrhythmias ( 40 percent in one study), loss of appetite, vomiting and weight loss.

The German Shepherd often suffers from Degenerative Myelopathy, or DM is a neurological disease and are predisposed to Von Willebrand Disease, a common inherited bleeding disorder, which shows in variable degrees of bleeding tendency, usually in the form of easy bruising, nosebleeds and bleeding gums. .

In spite of these problems, the German Shepherd is sturdy with simple dog care and the average lifespan of a German Shepherd is seven to ten years, which is typical for a large dog breed.

The Alsatian has great olfactory sensitivity so is one of the most widely-used breeds in a many roles requiring this ability, including cadaver searching, search and rescue, explosives detection, narcotics detection and mine detection.

So the German Shepherd is a wonderful clever dog that will bond well with you, if you have the time and dedication for him. Not advised for busy working families.