German Shepherd– a Great Dog.
The German Shepherd Dog also called the 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 German Shepherds strength, intelligence and obedience they are often employed in police and military roles. They are also one of the most popular breeds around the world.
The breed originates from a dog called Hektor Linksrhein. Hecktor so impressed Von Stephanitz that he bought it and renamed him to Horand von Grafrath and founded the Society for the German Shepherd Dogs.
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 through 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. This caused the UK Kennel Club to rename it to “Alsatian Wolf Dog”, eventually the wolf dog appendage was dropped and in 1977, the German Shepherd Dog was back as the official name, though it is still often known as the Alsatian. The Alsatian 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 around 60 centimetres ( 22 and 26 inches) 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, 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.
German Shepherds come in a variety of colours, the normal versions are the tan/black and red/black types with black masks and saddles. Less common types include the sable, all-black, all-white, liver and blue types, which may not fit country breed standards. Alsatians have a double coat. A dense close thick outer coat, which is shed 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 intelligence combined with the German Shepherds power makes the Alsatian desirable as guard, police, search and rescue dogs, being able to quickly learn various tasks and interpret instructions better than other large breeds.
German Shepherds have a reputation for aggression and have been restricted in areas as a result. Statistically, in the USA, they are responsible for more unprovoked indiscriminate bites than any other dog breed, and have a reputation to attack smaller breeds of dogs.
Additionally studies have shown that German Shepherds are the third most likely dog breed to attack someone and in another report found that German Shepherds accounted for around half of the dog bites that needed medical attention, versus a more typical 20% of bites requiring medical attention, not surprising 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. Unlike the collie, which a lot of its aggressiveness has been breed out from show strains, the German Shepherd has not lost this streak.
They can bond very well with their family, however they can become over-protective of their family and territory. Due to this they may appear a bit aloof.
Alsatians are rapid learners and are highly obedient and not easily diverted, but due to their tough character, you need to be very firm with them.
The Alsatian must have two good walks a day. They are not a dog for a busy family without time for attention. For this reason, busy families often 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 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. The Alsatian is often has ear problems due to his large and open ears.
Alsatians, like many large bodied dogs are sensitive to bloat, this is often fatal, so if you think this may be a problem, go straight to the vet. This 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 large percentage of dogs with bloat have cardiac arrhythmias ( 40 percent in one study), loss of appetite, vomiting and weight loss.
The Alsatian also suffers from Degenerative Myelopathy, or DM is a neurological disease and are more likely to have Von Willebrand Disease, a common generic bleeding disorder, which shows in differing 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 7 – 10 years, which is normal for a dog of this size.
The Alsatian has great olfactory sensitivity so is one of the often used in a wide variety of scent-work roles, including search and rescue, cadaver searching, narcotics detection, explosives detection, accelerant detection, and mine detection dog, amongst others.
So the German Shepherd is a great intelligent dog that will love you, if you have the time and energy for him. Not advised for busy working families.
