German shepherd

The German Shepherd (also known as the Alsatian Shepherd) is a breed of dog that takes its name from its country of origin, Germany, where it appeared at the end of the 19th century. The International Cynological Federation recognizes him under the name of Deutscher Schäferhund. Use A famous example is the dog Rintintin, a fictional dog, originally a real dog. In the 1950 television series, the dog Rintintin is both an army dog ​​and a little boy's personal dog. As such, he carries out a wide variety of missions: tracking, surveillance, assistance... even porterage, while also remaining a "house dog". The German shepherd is a working dog, used as a guide for the blind, he is also able to find survivors who are victims of avalanches or earthquakes as in Haiti recently, his flair is also used to find drugs or explosives. The German shepherd accompanies his master anywhere, so he can be parachuted in order to be able to carry out particularly delicate interventions. This versatility is the result of a great complicity between the master and his dog, which makes him an excellent guard dog since he will defend the property and the family of his master. Thus the education of the German shepherd is a fundamental not to be neglected. Common health problems This section is empty, insufficiently detailed or incomplete. Your help is welcome ! Gastric dilatation-torsion syndrome: turning of the stomach, this occurs mainly if the dog puts in the effort after eating, it is therefore essential to give him his food at the end of the day, before sleeping, so that he has time to digest. This complication can be treated provided it is taken care of quickly, but it is very commonly fatal. Also, if the dog has it, the risk factors for the dog dying from stomach upset are increased tenfold. Hip dysplasia: dysplasia is a malformation or deformity resulting from an anomaly in the development of a tissue or an organ. In the German Shepherd, it is a hereditary condition. It can be detected by radiography, or prevented by choosing the breeders: the inclination of the back, sought until recently by the standards of the breed, is a facilitating or aggravating factor. German Shepherd Degenerative Myelopathy

In 1878, German breeders of dogs with shepherding abilities made a first attempt at regrouping with the aim of improving their dogs. These are very varied from a phenotypic point of view, especially depending on the region: for example, the Württemberg type has erect ears, while the Thuringian type has drooping ears. There are also different dogs in Bavaria or Hesse. But their main point in common is their character which makes them good guardians of herds and goods: intelligence, obedience, vigilance, incorruptibility. We also find robustness and rusticity in all of them since until now the empirical selection that has been carried out was only aimed at obtaining good working dogs. In 1891, the breeders, and in particular Count von Hahn and Captain Riechelmann, established a first genealogical book and tried to establish a society, the Phylax, but the project did not succeed. It is the cavalry captain Max Emil Frédéric von Stephanitz who will be the true "father" of the breed. After having admired the skills of sheepdogs for a long time, he decided to buy one on April 3, 1899. His original name was Hektor von Linksrhein, whom he later renamed Horand von Grafath. This one is gray and yellow, rather of the Thuringian shepherd type (but with erect ears). Von Stephanitz and Arthur Meyer then created the breed club on April 22, 1899 in Karlsruhe (“Verein für deutsche Schäferhunde” or SV), the captain will be at its head for thirty-five years. On September 28, 1899, the first breed standard was published, and in 1900, Horand inaugurated the SV origin book (“Zuchtbuch”). What will later make the strength of the breed is the largesse of its leaders in the first definition of the German Shepherd: "any sheepdog living in Germany which, thanks to the constant exercise of its qualities as a sheepdog, achieves the perfection of his body and his psyche within the framework of his utilitarian function”. The goals are clear, so it is by and for work that the selection of the German Shepherd begins. The club quickly presents an important and organized activity. From 1902 a journal was published for all its members, and in 1903 a selection register was created with the compilation of the performances of the breeders. Progress will be rapid because it is well managed at the national level and well monitored by the efforts of breeders (1,215 members in 1906). We begin to look for females of the same type and to organize exhibitions to standardize the race, and in particular a national exhibition of breeding which allows all the breeders of the country to choose homogeneous reproducers. Little by little, the German shepherd was found to have other uses than guarding herds (these having seen their numbers diminish). His qualities of robustness, his unparalleled flair and his unfailing obedience encouraged the German police to use him. In 1914, the SV and the army organized a demonstration of the possibilities of the German Shepherd in times of war, for which he then paid a heavy price. Adolf Hitler owned his first German Shepherd in 1921. However, he was forced to send the dog to live elsewhere; he escaped and rejoined his master. Hitler developed a great respect for this breed of dogs from then on. He subsequently owned a German shepherd female dog named Blondi which was offered to him in 1941. In 1922, the Körung2 examination was set up for the selection of breeding animals; those who are declared suitable for breeding are registered in the Körbuch register. In 1926, the stud book already had 346,000 registered dogs. In the 1950s, the test of the shot3 and the test of character made their appearance. The SV is renowned for the dirigisme it imposes on breeding: limited number of matings, choice of stallion in agreement with the breeding supervisor, prohibition of mating a recommended female with a non-recommended male, etc. All of these measures are meant to guide the selection for the better. Katzmair and Funk succeeded von Stephanitz, then Dr Rummel in 1971. In 1974, the World Union of German Shepherd Associations (WUSV) was created, thanks to Dr Rummel's desire to unite, who encouraged "a fruitful dialogue, both for breeding and for use”. In 1982, Hermann Martin (von Arminius breeding) became president of the SV. The first WUSV working championship took place in Munster from September 16 to 18, 1988. In 1994, Peter Messler took over as head of the SV until December 2002; He was then succeeded by Wolfgang Henke. The members of the club show a lot of motivation and dynamism to see their breed evolve. They meet very frequently at meetings to talk about their dogs. In France From 1910, the importation of German shepherds begins in France and increases from year to year: 4,132 dogs arrive in France during the first half of 1912. It is Georges Barais (Beauchamps breeding) who will hold a capital place for the German Shepherd in France. In 1913, he created the Club du berger d'Alsace then, in 1920, the Société du Chien de Berger d'Alsace (SCBA) which really structured breeding. As soon as it was set up, it published a monthly bulletin despite the limited means at the time. On March 7, 1920, a first exhibition of berger d'Alsace took place in Bordeaux, judged by Georges Barais, and the report of the day was already available in the bulletin of April 1. It was not until October 8, 1922 that the French officially recognized the German origin of their favorite dog (they previously considered that this French breed had been stolen by the Germans in 1870) and the SCBA became the German Shepherd Dog Society. . She kept her breeding book and published pedigrees until 1958 (creation of the SCC). When Georges Barais died in 1955, it was Marcel Olive (Fort-Réal breeding) who succeeded him. The SCBA was and remains the first French breed club. It aligns its breeding policy with the country of origin to obtain the best possible results. In France, the first national breeding exhibition took place in 1958 in Vichy, with the rapid introduction of gunshot tests and screening for hip dysplasia. Since 1978, a character test has also been in place. This gathering was first called the “main breeding exhibition”, before becoming in 1987 the “national breeding exhibition” (definition of the SCC). Since 1989, it has been held every year in a different place. In Italy In Italy, the first German shepherd was called Olaf von Hohen Fichte, and was imported in 1949 by Danzio Gobbi (owner of the Alta Quercia breeding, he also later imported the famous Mutz von Pelztierfarm). On the same date, Leonardo Gatto Roissard (di Casa Gatto kennel) and Dr. Ignazio Barbieri founded the German Shepherd Club in Milan, then transferred to Modena in 1969 by Dr. Walter Gorrieri (di Val del Tiepido kennel). The latter formed the SAS (Società Amatori Schaferhünde) in 1977, which is the current breed club. The number of LOI4 registrations rose from 2,492 in 1949 to 5,222 in 1969. It was in the 1970s that the figures exploded: 28,857 births in 1976. This record number then fell and stabilized since the 1990s. The farms mentioned are those which marked the most the years from 1965 to 1975; later we can note the importance of the affixes: di Cà San Marco (F. Dolci), del Catone (S. Capetti), di Casa Mary (W. Pagin), d'Ulmental (Francioni). The president of the SAS in 2003 is Ezio Roman, almost 6,000 members are registered there. Italy has seen the birth of several great champions and even several German “Auslese5”, the most famous being certainly Max della Loggia dei Mercanti. The Italian breeder with the most international presence today is certainly Luciano Musolino's della Valcuvia, above all thanks to the dog Dux, which obtained the title of "Auslese" in Germany in 2001. In the United States In the United States, he seems that the first German Shepherd was brought back to this continent by Sergeant Lee Duncan, who had seen the exploits of this dog during the First World War. The breed achieved all its notoriety thanks to the success of its dog in the Rusty and Rintintin series. The club was founded in 1913 by S. Hastead Yates. He pursued a policy different from that of the Europeans by favoring beauty at work. With 25,000 entries in the stud book in 1926 and more than 100,000 in 1970, we can say that the German Shepherd also holds a very important place. In Spain In Spain, the German Shepherd Breed Club was founded by a group of sixty people on January 28, 1978, with Judge Andres Choclan Martos as its first president. In 1988, it had 2,286 members. Currently, the president is Manuel Martin and he has 3,000 members. Spanish breeders knew how to use breeders of various origins: German, Italian, French, then Spanish.

The well-trained German Shepherd is obedient. He often shows great intelligence. He can also be a very good watchdog. It must be trained firmly but without brutality. He is an outdoor dog, who appreciates wide open spaces and exercise. He is athletic, and needs to exercise regularly. In adulthood, the German Shepherd is often a very attached dog to "his family", so he instinctively protects children.