German Shepherd – a Dog with Intelligence.

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 that dates from the late 19th century. They are part of the Herding group that was originally developed as a working dog for herding sheep.

Often employed by the military and police for their obedience and intelligence. The German Shepherd is nearly always one of the top 3 global breeds.
The breed originates from a dog called Hektor Linksrhein. He so impressed Von Stephanitz that he purchased it and changed the dogs name to Horand von Grafrath and founded Alsatian Dog Society.
Horand became the centre-point of the Alsatian breeding programs and was bred with many other society member dogs.
The German Shepherds popularity has grown quickly throughout the 20th Century, though taking dives in popularity in the early days due to health problems from poor breeding and after the world wars with anti German sentiment. This caused the UK Kennel Club to rename it to “Alsatian Wolf Dog”, a while later 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 Alsatian 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 between 55 and 65 centimetres ( 22 and 26 in) at the top of the back and weigh between 22 and 40 kilograms ( sixty lb).

The German Shepherd’s face has a long square cut muzzle, a doomed forehead, a long neck, powerful jaws, large 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 a variety of colours, the most common being the tan/black and red/black versions with black saddles and masks.   Rarer versions 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 sheds all year round and a thick undercoat. The long-hair variety is rarer.
The Alsatian, 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 strength makes the breed sought after as police, guard, and 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 banned in areas as a result. Statistically, in the States, the German Shepherd is responsible for more unprovoked indiscriminate bites than any other breed, and have a reputation to attack smaller dog breeds.

Additionally research has shown that German Shepherds are the breed third most likely to attack a person and in another report found that Alsatians accounted for almost half of the dog bites that required medical attention, compared to a more typical twenty of bites requiring medical attention, not a surprise with their powerful jaws and scissor teeth.

There is no problem with the Alsatian breed, it is the fault of the owners. As with all clever active dog (or person), if they are not regularly active and kept occupied, they can become troublesome. Good dog training and dog socialisation are crucial for a dog like the German Shepherd. The Alsatian is different from the collie, which a lot of its aggressiveness has been breed out from show strains, the German Shepherd does not seem to have lost this character.

The German Shepherd are great with the family they know, but can be over protective of their home and family – why they are a great guard dog. Due to this they may appear a bit aloof.

Alsatians learn well and are very obedient and not easily distracted, but due to their strong character,  you need to be very forceful with them.
The Alsatian 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 families regularly ask dog walkers to help out by walking them for several 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 may cause arthritis. The German Shepherd 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 you think this may be a problem, go straight to the veterinary. Bloat 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 high rate of dogs with bloat have cardiac arrhythmias ( forty 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 varying degrees of bleeding tendency, usually in the form of easy bruising, nosebleeds and bleeding gums. .

In spite of these problems, the Alsatian is sturdy with simple dog care and the average lifespan of a Alsatian is around nine years, which is normal for a large dog.

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 superb clever dog that will bond well with you, if you have the time and dedication for him. Not advised for busy working families.