German Shepherd Puppies Blog

It is said that a cat may look at a king, but the dogs have one better. A German Shepherd named Major who belonged to Franklin D Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States famously ripped the pants of Ramsay MacDonald, the British Prime Minister!

It’s quite a joke actually, and the symbolism of this can’t be missed if one factors in the date of this occurrence. The incident took place at just the time when Britain was preparing to go to war with Germany. Being bitten by a German Originating Dog inside the White House wasn’t quite the way to inspire confidence in people!

Poor Major was banished to another residence of Roosevelt and the story ends there. But keep in mind henceforth that a dog may bite off the pants of a Prime Minister!

You have probably heard the word Alsatian. What connection does it have to the German Shepherd? Well, the the proper English name for the breed is the German Shepherd Dog, which is a literal translation from the German: “Deutscher Sch?ferhund”. However, they are usually simply called “German Shepherds”. In countries , where the police force uses only German Shepherds, the breed is colloquially called dog the “Police Dog” as well. In 1919, the breed was given the name: Alsatian Wolf Dog, due to anti-German sentiments after World War I. The word Alsatian comes from the word Alsace which is a traditionally German-speaking French area on the west bank of the Rhine. With time, the ‘wolf dog’ part was dropped due to a fear that it would create a negative connotation. The name Alsatian is still used in the U.K, in Ireland and in France. Only in 1977, did the name: German Shepherd become recognised in the U.K. In the United States, the breed was originally known as the ‘German Sheep Dog’ by the AKC Germany. In 1917, the name was changed to ‘Shepherd Dog’ due to anti-German sentiments. Only in 1931 did the word ‘German’ was once again become associated with the breed in teh US. In Germany, Northern- and Eastern Europe the breed is still commonly known as Sch?ferhund.