German Shepherd: Nutrition, character, training and much more about the German Shepherd

By Roland Berger

Dogs of this breed are used as working dogs for a wide variety of tasks around the world. But they are also loyal friends and excellent family dogs. The most important thing is to educate the dog well and to use it optimally, because the German Shepherd dog does not tolerate boredom.

The book informed you about the:
Origin of the breed,
Demands on the attitude and the living space,
Hereditary diseases and what you should pay attention to when buying the dog.

Read everything about the nutrition and body care of the dogs. Use the numerous tips in the daily handling of your German Shepherd. This book answers many questions about these wonderful animals.
How does a puppy become trained?
Which commands are important?
How can pregnancy be prevented?
Why are automatic leashes bad for the dog?
What measures help to improve leash handling?

The book also includes over 15 illustrations with a lot of information's. The reward will be a loyal friend at your side who will gladly protect you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: XinXii
• Release date: Apr 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9783986469061

Book preview

Origin of the breed

The German Shepherd Dog - smart and docile

Friends of the beautiful breed of dogs often do not want to perceive the disadvantages of the animals. The fact is that a sheepdog needs very good education and, unfortunately, often plagued by hereditary diseases. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that you know what you are getting into with this breed. If you acquire a dog from a good breeding and educate it properly, you will enjoy your faithful friend for a long time.

From wolf to working dog

The history of the sheepdog begins, like all dog breeds, in the Stone Age, probably much more than 20,000 years ago. Bone finds show that there was already a connection between wolf and man at that time, however, most animals may have been on the menu of the people.

The first clear evidence that the wolf became the dog that accompanied humans on hunts is 8,000 to 9,000 years old. Maria Guagnin, an archaeologist from the Max Planck Institute for Human History in Jena, Germany, describes images of dogs carved into sandstone in the Shuwaymis area of northwestern Saudi Arabia. The images clearly show dogs with pointed standing ears and a curled tail on their backs, not wolves. They accompany people equipped with bows and arrows while hunting. The dogs bite the prey animals and are probably leashed.

Obviously, there were tame hunting dogs long before man became sedentary and practiced agriculture and animal husbandry. Genetic evidence shows that there was only one event that made a wolf and humans friends. Perhaps people noticed that wolves find a game faster than they do. At least one female wolf probably realized that humans could hunt down large prey and not claim them completely for themselves. So she could do without the dangerous hunt, thus had better chances to bring her young through. Today, this would be called a win-win situation.

It was only later that people trained dogs to protect fields, dwellings and herds. This meets the natural need of the dog to defend the territory and the pack.

The direct ancestors of the German Shepherd are short-haired and stock-haired herding dogs from Germany, which were found in many areas of Europe until the end of the 19th century. The dogs, which were common in Thuringia and Württemberg, are considered to be the origin of the breed. However, they were never pure herding dogs, but always guard and protection dogs at the same time. This explains the versatility of the dogs. While the mentioned herding dogs developed without targeted breeding, the German Shepherd Dog is the result of targeted breeding.

How the breed German Shepherd originated

Max von Stephanitz was enthusiastic about the type of dog and established a first breed standard for the German Shepherd Dog as early as 1891. He divided the breed into rough-haired, smooth-haired and long-haired dogs. His standard required pointed prick ears, an elongated muzzle and a downward carried, bushy tail. The dogs were to be 50-55 centimeters in height. The coat could be black, white, gray or red-yellow. Dogs of one color were allowed, as well as those with numerous markings. The model was the appearance of the Thuringian shepherd dog.

The progenitor of today's German Shepherds was Horand von Grafrath of the breeder Friedrich Sparwasser from Frankfurt. This dog was bought by von Stephanitz on January 15, 1898, in order to mate him with Württemberg shepherd dogs.

On April 22, 1899, friends of the new breed founded the Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde (SV) in Karlsruhe. The first president was Max von Stephanitz. Together with his friend Arthur Meyer he created a universal working dog. The first official breed standard was established at the first general meeting of the association on September 20, 1899 in Frankfurt am Main.

A dark chapter

Unfortunately, there is a dark chapter in the history of the breed, which is mentioned only because owners of the animals are sometimes misclassified. The breeding of the desired breed of German descent with a pronounced fighting instinct was accompanied by national socialist sentiments. Thus, the German army leaders (Hindenburg, Ludendorff, Hitler and Himmler) of the two world wars kept sheepdogs. In the Third Reich, the German Shepherd became a symbol of German virtues such as courage and loyalty. The animals were used as guard dogs in concentration camps, but also conscripted for military service. The latter, however, also happened with the war opponents.

To this day, the name German Shepherd Dog is frowned upon in England and other countries. The breed was renamed Alsatian Wolf Dog by the British Kennel Club as early as World War I throughout the English-speaking world. Later, it became Alsatian Dog (Alsatian dog), in order not to make it appear too wild. It was not until 1977 that the renaming was reversed by the British Kennel Club. However, the local dog breeders clubs can also keep the old name.

Curiously, the renaming to Alsatian Wolfhound led to the Commonwealth government banning the import of German Shepherds to Australia in 1929. It was assumed that they crossed with wolves and feared mixing with native dingoes, which would pose a danger to sheep. It was not until 1974 that the law was repealed.

No wolves in the ancestral line

There are always rumors that wolves were deliberately crossed in at the beginning of breeding. Allegedly, some breeders at the beginning of pure breeding would have tried to achieve the breeding goal faster by wolf crosses. The Swiss cynologist and non-fiction author Hans Räber describes this in the Encyclopedia of Purebred Dogs. He refers to a statement of von Stephanitz that the great-grandmother of the stud dog Hektor von Wohlen was descended from a crossing of wolf and shepherd dog. Later von Stephanitz has corrected this to the effect that this cross-breeding related to the male Hektor was already six generations ago.

Räber also mentions that the Swiss amateur cynologist Albert Heim was firmly convinced that wolves were repeatedly crossed with sheepdogs in Germany between 1870 and 1900. This had happened because it was supposed to protect against distemper. Heim attributed a striking deterioration in the character of sheepdogs after 1920 to the wolf crosses. Räber assumes, however, that a wolf was gladly claimed as ancestor, because the lovers of the breed appreciated this. Professional shepherds and also von Stephanitz himself advised against targeted crossbreeding because the offspring of such matings were not reliable. Thus, if there were such crosses, the offspring may have been excluded from breeding.

But the fact is, unfortunately, that German Shepherds sometimes have a not unproblematic character (see chapter Character of the animals).

Modern breeding goals

In the Verband für das Deutsche Hundewesen (VDH) e. V., the German Shepherd Dog used to be managed in the Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde (SV). Since March 2009 it has been bred in the Schäferhundeverein RSV2000. Still today the breeding goals set up by Stephanitz are valid. The shepherd dog should be a working dog, a helper and friend of man.

Figure 1: The Belgian Shepherd Dog (Malinois) resembles the original type as created by von Stephanitz.

Figure 2: German shepherd dog of modern type

For breeding approval, a licensing must take place from the age of 2 years. Prior to this, an X-ray examination for hip dysplasia (HD) and elbow dysplasia (ED) is performed, which results in a normal, almost normal or still approved. Dogs with moderate or severe form of HD or ED are excluded from breeding. In addition, the IPO test (Schutzdienst test level 1), HGH test (Herdengebrauchshund test) or the RH2 test (Rettungshundeteam test level B) and an endurance test must be passed.

If the requirements are met, the anatomy, the temperament and the working dog characteristics are judged at the licensing. The high breeding line puts predominantly value on an appealing anatomy, these dogs have a sloping back line according to today's taste. Unfortunately, this often leads to problems with the posture. In the performance line, the examiners place more emphasis on the suitability as a working dog. Therefore, they usually have a straight back.

In the GDR, more emphasis was placed on HD freedom. Since 1979 it was even allowed to breed only with HD-free dogs, so in 1985 94.4 percent of the shepherd dogs in the GDR were HD-free.

In the late 1960s, on the other hand, an unmistakable anatomical transformation of the German Shepherd began in the Federal Republic. The back lowered and eventually became round. The jumping power, endurance and agility decreased. The animals became larger and more massive and lost agility. After the reunification also the breeding lines were united, therefore the freedom to HD of the GDR line was lost again.

Breed characteristics

According to the VDH, the German Shepherd is a versatile working, herding and service dog. Which is one of the most popular dog breeds in the world.

Head and physique

They are medium-sized, slightly elongated dogs with a strong build and good muscling. Males reach a height of 60 to 65 centimeters with a weight of 30 to 40 kilograms. Females are smaller and lighter with a height of 55 to 60 centimeters and a weight of 22 to 32 kilograms.

On the body, neither fat nor loose connective tissue should prevent the muscles from standing out clearly. The chest is deep and arched. The angulation of the limbs should allow the greatest possible stride, but often leads to severe discomfort, especially in the performance line. Ideally, the hindquarters reach forward over the