The German Shepherd Dog also known as an Alsatian comes literally from the German Deutscher Schäferhund. They are a relatively new breed of large-sized dog originating in the late 19th century. Originally a herding dog, particularly for sheep.
The Alsatians strength, intelligence and obedience they are often employed in police and military roles. They are nearly always one of the top 3 global breeds.
The original dog was named Hektor Linksrhein. He so stunned Von Stephanitz that he bought it and changed the dogs name to Horand von Grafrath and founded Alsatian Dog Society.
Horand became the hub of the society’s breeding programs and was bred with many other society member dogs.
The German Shepherds popularity has grown quickly throughout the 20th Century, though it had some problems in popularity in the early days due to health problems from poor breeding and after the world wars with anti German feelings. This caused the UK Kennel Club to rename it to “Alsatian Wolf Dog”, eventually the wolf dog appendage was dropped and in 1977, the Alsatian 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 it is globally the third most popular dog breed.
They are a large dog of around 60 centimetres (around 24 in) at the top of the back and weigh around 30 kilograms ( sixty lb).
The Alsatian’s face has a long square cut muzzle, a doomed forehead, a long neck, strong jaws, big erect ears (that are often pulled back when on the move), black nose and brown, medium-sized eyes. With a bushy tail.
Alsatians come in many colours, the normal versions are the red/black and tan/black types with black saddles and masks. Less common types include the sable, all-black, all-white, liver and blue types, which may not fit country breed standards. German Shepherds have a double coat. A thick close dense outer coat, which is shed all year round and a thick undercoat. The long-hair variety is rarer.
The German Shepherd, like many working dogs is very intelligent, 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 intelligence combined with their power makes the breed sought after as police, guard, and search and rescue dogs, the German Shepherd rapid learning ability and ability to interpret instructions are better than other large dog types.
German Shepherds are known for aggression and have been banned in areas as a result. Statistically, in the States, the German Shepherd is responsible for more random bites than any other dog breed, and have a reputation to attack smaller breeds of dogs.
Additionally research has shown that Alsatians are the breed third most likely to attack a person and in another report found that Alsatians were responsible for almost half of the dog bites that mandated medical attention, compared to a more typical 20% of bites requiring medical treatment, not a surprise with their powerful jaws and sharp canine teeth.
There is no problem with the German Shepherd breed, it is the fault of the owners. As with all bright energetic dog (or child), if they are not regularly exercised and kept occupied, they can become troublesome. Good dog training and dog socialisation are crucial for a dog like the Alsatian. The Alsatian is different from the collie, where a lot of its aggressiveness has been removed by breeding for shows, the German Shepherd does not seem to have lost this character.
They can bond very well with their family, however they can become over-protective of their family and territory. This can give them an aloof personality.
Alsatians are rapid learners and are very obedient and not easily distracted, but due to their strong character, 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 who cannot give them the time and attention. For this reason, busy couples regularly ask professional dog walkers such as London dog walking to help out by walking them for a couple of hours a day.
Poor breeding has led to common genetic health problems, hip and elbow joint problems (dysplasia) which often causes the dog pain and often causes arthritis. The Alsatian 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. Due to the large and open nature of their ears, Shepherds also are prone to ear infections.
German Shepherds, like many deep chested dogs are prone to bloat, this is often fatal, so if in doubt consult a vet. This is a gas build up 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 large percentage of dogs with bloat have cardiac arrhythmias (around 40 percent), loss of appetite, vomiting and weight loss.
The Alsatian also 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, commonly in the form of easy bruising, nosebleeds and bleeding gums. .
In spite of these problems, the German Shepherd is robust with simple dog care and the average lifespan of a German Shepherd is around nine years, which is normal for a large dog breed.
The German Shepherd has a great nose so is one of the most widely-used breeds in a many roles requiring this ability, including search and rescue, cadaver searching, narcotics detection, explosives detection, accelerant detection, and mine detection dog, amongst others.
So the Alsatian is a great clever breed that will bond well with you, if you have the time and energy for him. Not advised for busy working families.
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