German Shepherds - Puppy

German Shepherds - Puppy - Introduction

The first man to be credited with the advent of German Shepherds was Captain Max von Stephanitz, who founded the Vereine fur Deutsche Shaferhunde (SV), the first on earth German Shepherd Club in 1899. Incorporated into the development of the breed were cattle guarding dogs and European drover dogs.

Picture source: Kolenda Kennels © 2001

Initially shepherding was the basic purpose for breeding of the dog, which is observable through the name of the breed. However, in the course of time, with new capabilities being discovered and further promoted, German Shepherds started gaining popularity among the military and the police services. The German shepherd dog also exhibited excellence in rescue and search operations.

All those traits and abilities played a crucial role during the two world wars. However, these events did take their toll on the attitude of peoples toward the German Shepherd, as they did anything that bore even the slightest relation to Germany. For a long time even the name of the breed was excluded from all lists of dog breeds and replaced with “Alsatian”. It was not before 1977 that German Shepherds had their common name reestablished in documents and in the minds of people.