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15 Things You Didn’t Know About The German Shepherd Dog

| Published on February 22, 2015

Think you know this breed? Here are fifteen facts you may not know about the amazing German Shepherd Dog.

#1 – Why it’s called the GSD

The German Shepherd Dog is one of the few breeds who official name includes the word “dog.” Why? So people knew when you were talking about a German shepherd human, who tends the livestock, or the dog helping him.

Image source: @GuineaFowlFlock via Flickr
Image source: @GuineaFowlFlock via Flickr

#2 – Schutzhund

This sport was developed in the 1900’s specifically for the German Shepherd Dog. According the United Schutzhund Clubs of America, “It was designed to test the natural instincts of the breed and to weed out the dogs that were either unstable or untrainable.” (www.germanshepherddog.com)

Image source: @Michael via Flickr
Image source: @Michael via Flickr

#3 – Max von Stephanitz

Do you know this name? You should – he’s considered the “father of the GSD breed.” In 1889 he started to standardize a breed of shepherd dogs after seeing a “medium-sized yellow-and-gray wolflike dog” that caught his attention. (www.gsdca.org)

Image source: "Max von Stephanitz" by Anonymous - GermanShepherdSETC.com. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Image source: “Max von Stephanitz” by Anonymous – GermanShepherdSETC.com. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Click page 2 below for the next facts!

#4 – Hektor Linksrhein

Renamed Horand von Grafrath, was the first registered German Shepherd Dog – and the dog that Max von Stephanitz first saw at that dog show.

Image source: "Horand von Grafrath SZ1 aka Hektor Linksrheim" by Original uploader was Beachrunningdude at en.wikipedia - Transferred from en.wikipedia; transferred to Commons by User:Quadell using CommonsHelper.. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Image source: “Horand von Grafrath SZ1 aka Hektor Linksrheim” by Original uploader was Beachrunningdude at en.wikipedia – Transferred from en.wikipedia; transferred to Commons by User:Quadell using CommonsHelper.. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

#5 – Mr. Popularity

The GSD is the second most registered dog in the United States. This is most likely due impart to the breeds diversity – they are popular as family, guard, performance, show, police, military, and service dogs. There isn’t much this dog can’t do.

Image source: @SarahFilipiak via Flickr
Image source: @SarahFilipiak via Flickr

#6 – War Dog

Unlike the doxie who was ridiculed for being German, WWI helped to increase the GSD popularity in the United States. American Soldiers saw what the dogs were capable of while fighting the Germans and many brought dogs back with them to the states.

Image source: @TheU.S.Army via Flickr
Image source: @TheU.S.Army via Flickr

#7 – Strongheart

Before there was Rin-Tin-Tin, there was Strongheart. He was one of the earliest canine stars and even has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He starred in six movies. (www.imdb.com)

Image source: "Strongheart - Dec 1921 Photoplay" by Unknown photographer - Photoplay (Jul - Dec 1921) (1921) at the Internet Archive. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Image source: “Strongheart – Dec 1921 Photoplay” by Unknown photographer – Photoplay (Jul – Dec 1921) (1921) at the Internet Archive. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

#8 – Rin-Tin-Tin

Of course you know who Rin-Tin-Tin is, but did you know he was named after a French puppet because he was bred and rescued in France, not Germany? And, he is said to be “America’s First Rescue Dog.” Finally, he was awarded the American Humane Association’s first Legacy Award in 2011. He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. (www.rintintin.com)

Image source: "Rin Tin Tin 1929" by Warner Brothers - eBay itemphoto frontphoto back. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Image source: “Rin Tin Tin 1929” by Warner Brothers – eBay itemphoto frontphoto back. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

#9 – Shepherd Dog

By 1914, the breed was so popular in America that there was talk of changing the name to “sheepdog” or “shepherd dog” – dropping the German attribution. In 1917 the AKC does in fact remove the word “German” in front of the breed’s name. It remained that way until 1930, when members of the Breed club voted to change it back. (www.gsdca.org)

Image source: @Jan-WillemReusink via Flickr
Image source: @Jan-WillemReusink via Flickr

#10 – Filax of Lewanno

There are so many heroic GSDs in the breed’s history that you cannot possibly name them all. But Filax of Lewanno was honored at Westminster in 1917 for bringing 54 wounded soldiers to safety in WW1. (http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/)

mage source: @Beverly&Pack via Flickr
mage source: @Beverly&Pack via Flickr

#11 – First Guide Dog

In 1929, Mrs. Harrison Eustis founds “The Seeing Eye” to train GSD dogs for use as guide dogs for the blind. Morris Frank was a blind man reading about the WWI veterans who were blinded and using these amazing dogs as guides. He contacted Eustis was already working with GSDs in Switzerland, and the rest is history.  (www.seeingeye.org)

Image source: @U.S.DepartmentofAgriculture via Flickr
Image source: @U.S.DepartmentofAgriculture via Flickr

#12 – The Thirteen Club

The German Shepherd Club of America has a club for GSDs that are twelve years of age or older. It’s a fun way to recognize your super senior. (www.gsdca.org)

Image source: @GRVOTV via Flickr
Image source: @GRVOTV via Flickr

#13 – Colors

While many people think the GSD only comes in the familiar black & tan, black, or white, the AKC actually recognizes eleven colors—the ones mention about as well as: bi-color, black, black & cream, black & red, black & silver, blue, gray, liver and sable. (www.akc.org)

Image source: @JanTruter via Flickr
Image source: @JanTruter via Flickr

#14- Worldwide Popularity

The GSD does not just enjoy popularity in America. There are hundreds of thousands of fanciers in 78 countries worldwide. There are 250,000 purebred GSDs in Germany alone, with about 15,000 puppies born a year. There is even a World Union of German Shepherd Dog Clubs. (https://www.schaeferhunde.de)

Image source: @AndyMabbett via Flickr
Image source: @AndyMabbett via Flickr

#15 – Lack of Westminster Wins

Despite its roaring popularity in America, The German Shepherd Dog, as a breed, as only one the coveted Best in Show title at Westminster Dog Show once, in 1987.  The dog was Ch. Covy Tucker Hill’s Manhattan, owned by Shirlee Braunstein and Jane Firestone. He is also the only dog from the herding group to ever win.  (www.westminsterkennelclub.org)

Image source: Covy-Tucker Hill German Shepherds
Image source: Covy-Tucker Hill German Shepherds

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