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The German Shepherd Dog (GSD) (German: Deutscher Schäferhund), is a large breed of dog originally bred for herding sheep. The German shepherds average weight is 80 to 95 lbs because when in herding they need to be able to move quickly and not be to heavy. The German shepherd is one of the most widely used police and military dogs, due to the amount of strength they have. Acording to military and police stations across the world, the German shepherd is one of the best guard dogs. The German Shepherd, these days, is used more as a guard dog. The GSD is also one of the most popular breeds in USA, and the UK.
Exact standards for the breed vary by country and organization, but the following criteria are generally part of the definition. The German Shepherd Dog is a large and strong dog, typically between 65 and 100 lbs, but have been known to reach 115+lbs. The height for males is typically 24 - 26in (60 - 65cm); for females it is 22 - 24in (55 - 60cm). The fur is a double-coat (under coat and outer coat). While some organizations accept long-haired German Shepherds, short-haired dogs are typically, and historically, preferred.
German Shepherds are easily identifiable by their large head, ears which stand straight up, wedge-shaped muzzle and compact legs. They also have a distinctive gait, as well as other breed-specific features. Their jaw strength ranges from 250-1200 pounds. Disqualifications for conformation-line dogs include white nails, a nose which isn't all-black, a muzzle which isn't predominantly black, non-erect ears, and very light-toned eyes.
German Shepherds are sparingly bred, by the efforts of a great few, for work function (working line) as was originally intended by the breed inventor Max von Stephanitz. Most often they are bred to conform to breed appearance standards (conformation line), although Max von Stephanitz distinctly stated, "Our shepherd dog is a service dog, and he must only be bred as a service dog. He must only be judged as a service dog. With service dogs, suitability ranks higher than beauty."
In Germany, Conformation line dogs are bred to not only proper physical appearance, but must also have working instincts (herding, prey drive) They are bred to conform to the published breed standards for appearance, health and workability, hence the strict rules of the German SV Schaeferhunde Verein for dogs in their Pink Paper breeding program to be titled and Küred (critiqued by a Judge). However, because they are bred for conformation to the breed standard of appearance, these dogs are most often found as quality pets, in breeder environments, and in sport (Schutzhund, IPO, AKC agility) and as volunteer Search and Rescue dogs.
Working line German Shepherds are typically excluded from the show ring, as most don't conform to the current interpretation of the breed standard for physical appearance. These dogs are bred to have an enduring work drive, and unwavering obedience. Of critical importance is the dog's ability to distinguish what constitutes a threat and what does not constitute a threat. Dogs that cannot make that distinction are eliminated from police and military programs.
Extremely well-suited for police and military work, these dogs are less suitable as pets for home environments, unless the owners are familiar with their dog's abilities and needs. Working line dogs are now employed in many police departments and government organizations across the globe such as the UK Police Service and the Metropolitan Counter Terrorism Command in the United Kingdom, and the ATF, the U.S. Marshals, and Customs in the USA. Working line dogs are frequently found in sport and as volunteer search and rescue dogs.
There are typically four recognized breed lines. The West German Lines contain conformation lines and are the best known of the various lines. The split between the working line and conformation line bred dogs has affected this line also, with the confirmation line specializing in beauty while the working line dogs are targeted towards performance and working related activities.
The DDR lines. In the former East Germany, German Shepherds adhered more closely to the old pre-war standard, marked by a straighter back, a longer and denser coat, and a darker color. The government sponsored breeding program fell when the wall fell; thus there are no longer any true DDR dogs being bred, although there are current attempts to preserve this distinct line amongst certain breeders.
Most Czech dogs had their origins in the government kennels of Z Pohranicni straze (z PS), Z Jirkova dvora CS and Z Blatenskeho zamku. One of the most prolific kennels, Z Pohranicni straze (Z PS), was founded in the year 1955 for the strict purpose of production and training of the dogs that would be solely used for the protection of Czechoslovakia's borders. The majority of these dogs were acquired from former East Germany.
The American lines are recognized by the AKC and the UKC; their appearance is different from the international conformation line (German line) German Shepherds, most obviously with sloping backs and "collapsed" hips, a disqualification for dogs in international competitions. This has led to the creation of the Shiloh Shepherd in the United States, which was originally a line of German shepherd whose breeder did not favor that feature in the American lines and wanted to preserve the way the breed originally looked.
German Shepherds are a range of colors; conformation-line dogs are most often black-and-tan or black-and-red. Combinations containing very light hues such as cream are typically considered faulty. All-black is usually, but not always, accepted. A white German Shepherd is automatically disqualified from the AKC, but is fully recognized as a pure-bred dog by the UKC. Working-line dogs are typically sable, solid black, bi-color, or black-and-red.
There are several different color-marking patterns. For conformation-line dogs, the "saddle" marking is probably the most well-known. This consists of a large black patch on the upper and mid back, extending partway down the dog's sides. The "sable" marking, which consists of one color with randomly-sized and -shaped patches or swaths of different-colored hair mixed in, is typical for working-line dogs. Some sable-pattern dogs have three colors in their coat; this is called agouti. The other popular marking is called "bi-color", and consists of a dog that is all one color (typically black) save for differently-colored paws and lower legs, and sometimes a swath on the belly.
Some groups or breeders have focused on variants of the breed that are not recognized by most kennel clubs as standard conformation German Shepherds. White Shepherds or Berger Blanc Suisse are recognized as a separate breed. German Shepherds have a double coat which sheds year round, with particularly heavy shedding in the Spring and Autumn.
Dogs with the long haired coat variation look somewhat like the Tervuren type of Belgian Shepherd Dog. The long hair gene is recessive. Popular myth holds that long-haired GSDs (sometimes called "fuzzies") are more affectionate, but there is little evidence for this beyond owner impressions. Long coats can come in two variations, both with an undercoat and without. Without the undercoat they have very little weather protection, but those longhairs with it fair as well as their short-haired companions, just with longer hair on the outside.
Kennel club treatment of long-haired German Shepherds varies. It is considered a fault under American Kennel Club and FCI (Fédération Cynologique Internationale, i.e. International Canine Federation) standards. Under other standards, such as Germany and the United Kingdom, long-haired German Shepherds are actively bred, registered, and shown, and specialized long-haired breeders exist. There is also a variation known as 'long, stock-haired German Shephard'; stock hair isn't registered directly as a fault and such dogs are able to participate, and are also known as plush coats.
The recessive gene for white coat hair was fixed in the German Shepherd Dog breed DNA by the late nineteenth and early twentieth century German breeding program that extensively used "color coated" dogs who carried a recessive gene for "white coats." The maternal grandfather of Horand von Grafrath, the first entry "SZ 1" in the SV Stud Book, was a white-coat German shepherding dog named Greif von Sparwasser. Whites can come in anything from pure white to a blondish golden colour. Normal pigment was expected to be present in the nose, pads, and eyes. White was designated a disqualifying conformation fault by the SV (German Shepherd Club of Germany) in 1933 and by the German Shepherd Dog Club of America (GSDCA) and the German Shepherd Dog Club of Canada (GSDCC)in the mid-1960s. White German Shepherds were disqualified from dog shows and other organizations mainly because of their fur color. Their color was known to be noticed too easily in the dark and difficult to spot in the lighter conditions such as snow.
German Shepherds are highly intelligent and agile dogs, with a strong work drive. They are often deployed in various roles such as police, guarding, search and rescue, therapy, service-dog, and in the military applications. The breed has a personality marked by direct, fearless willingness to protect what it considers its "den" (i.e. house, car, and property in a home situation) and "pack" (i.e. human family in a home situation). It is poised, but when the occasion demands, eager and alert; both fit and willing to serve in its capacity as a companion, watchdog, guide dog for people who are blind, herding dog, or guardian, whichever the circumstances may demand.
Proper socialization as a puppy is one of the two key factors which determines what a dog's temperament will be as an adult. Genetics is the other. They go hand-in-hand; a dog with certain genetics cannot be trained to be stable and friendly, and by the same token the genetics most fit for training are meaningless if the dog is not well-socialized as a puppy. The "ideal" German Shepherd should be alert and fearless in defense of its den and pack, but loving and non-aggressive within the home environment.
As is common of many large breeds, German Shepherds are susceptible to elbow and hip dysplasia. Proper breeding is needed to breed these traits out of their dogs, so that the dog may enjoy a pain-free life and stay suited for work situations. These breeders typically require that their puppies' hips and elbows be x-rayed, and the x-rays approved and certified by the OFA when the puppy is fully-grown (age two), in order for the puppy to be allowed to be bred. Recent American breeders have failed to maintain the same standard regarding the hind quarters of the breed as in other countries and dogs presenting the weaker hind quarters are disqualified in international shows.
Other health problems sometimes occurring in the breed are von Willebrand's disease, skin allergies and canine degenerative myelopathy. German Shepherds, like all large bodied dogs, are also prone to bloat. They have an average lifespan of 10-12 years.
German Shepherds also are prone to pancreas deficiency, which is where the pancreas stops creating enzymes and the animal is unable to pass any faeces. There is medication available, but it is not 100% effective. Unfortunately, it does not cure the problem, and the treatment is fairly expensive.
Other illness that may occur are: Panosteitis-(definition from AKC encyclopedia) Excessive formation of bone growth or different maturity around some joints on young dogs resulting in intermittent lameness. Cauda equina syndrome-Group of neurological signs resulting from compression of the spinal nerves of the lumbosacral region. Pyotraumatic dermatitis-(no definition). Malignant neoplasms-(no definition). Pannus(chronic superficial keratitis)- Potentially blinding inflammation of the cornea,including abnormal growth of vascularized pigment over cornea.
The proper English name for the breed is German Shepherd Dog (a literal translation from the German Deutscher Schäferhund) but they are usually informally referred to as GSDs or as "German Shepherds". In addition, the sobriquet police dog is used in many countries where the GSD is the predominant or exclusive breed used by the police force. In Germany the dog is referred to as just Schäferhund (shepherd dog) and often held as an ordinary companion dog.
Anti-German sentiment was still high in the wake of World War I (1914 - 1918), and change of German-oriented names in the UK - including that of the Royal Family - were common at the time when a few dogs were taken to Britain and the United States. In 1919, the English Kennel Club gave the breed a separate register. Since it was feared that the name German Shepherd Dog could be an impediment, the name Alsatian wolf dog was introduced, from Alsace, a traditionally German-speaking French area on the west bank of the Rhine which had been annexed by the German Empire in 1870 but restored to France in 1918. The 'wolf dog' part was dropped shortly thereafter for fear of causing undue criticism of the breed. This name is still occasionally used in the United Kingdom, Italy and the Republic of Ireland.
The German Shepherd breed was invented by "Captain Max" von Stephanitz in 1899. His first German Shepherd, named Horand von Grafrath, is the genetic basis for the German Shepherd as we know it today.
The German Shepherd was originally conceived as a sheep-herding dog, hence its name. Throughout the years, the specific working drives of tracking, obedience, and protection have been intentionally highlighted in the breed by selective breeding, making German Shepherds very well-suited for active working environments. German Shepherds first came to the attention of the British authorities at the beginning of the twentieth century where they were already being used extensively by German forces on the Western front during the first world war. German Shepherds were used commonly by the Germans during the time of World War I.
There are many prestigious titles available for German Shepherds, covering everything from conformation to herding abilities. Schutzhund trials were invented for evaluation German Shepherds, and measure the dogs' abilities in the areas of protection, tracking, and obedience. Most world-class conformation dogs are titled to the second or third (which is the highest) level of Schutzhund before they're bred.
The German Shepherd dog is one of the most widely-used breeds in a wide variety of scent-work roles. These include search and rescue, cadaver searching, narcotics detection, explosives detection, accelerant detection, and mine detection dog, amongst others.
Famous Shepherd Dogs:
Ace the Bat-Hound
Beauty and Beast in the 2006 remake of Wes Craven's film
The Hills Have Eyes
Blondi, pet of Adolf Hitler
Bullet, the Wonder Dog - Roy Rogers' dog
Charlie, from All Dogs Go to Heaven
Clipper, pet of John F. Kennedy
Jerome from the anime Ginga Legend Weed
Jerry Lee, James Belushi's police dog sidekick in the
films K-9, K-911, and "K-9: P.I."
John from the anime Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin
Luks, pet of Josip Broz Tito
Major, pet of Franklin D. Roosevelt
Mukhtar, the police dog in the Russian TV serial Mukhtar
Returns and Return of Mukhtar - 2
Rebel, from Champion the Wonder Horse
Rex (also known as Reginald von Ravenhorst) from
Kommissar Rex
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