This particular breed was almost put to extinction because of the adversity during the World War I and World War II; fortunately it was saved by Werner Jung, a German fancier. He was really dedicated to saving the German shepherd breed as he roamed around the entire Germany in 1958 to look for Pinschers on farms and even manage to smuggle a bitch in black and red color from the eastern part of Germany. Its quite amazing how the dogs he got from the farms, the bitches he smuggled and the 4 huge Miniature Pinschers was able to revive the breed and to think that that most of the German shepherd in the present era came from those dogs. So, much credit should be given to Werner Jung for a job well done.

Contrary to the popular notion that the German shepherd is a much smaller version of Doberman, it is actually a breed with longer and older history. This breed is indeed flexible dog – it was once a farm dog and ratter. At the present, the dog is just a companion dog at most part and shows dog.

During the latter part of 1970s and early 1980s, the first German shepherd dog came to the United States but it was only until the year 2003 when the American Kennel Club gives recognition to the dog and currently holds the position of 198th rank amongst the other registered dogs in AKC.

However, his goal of having the best herding dog was side tracked as Germany was turning to industrialization. But, due to the intelligence, strength and agility of the breed, it easily found its way to work for the police and the military.  The popularity of the breed went over the top when World War I veteran, Corporal Lee Duncan brought home a puppy from France and trained him into the famous canine, Rin Tin Tin.

If this post made you want to learn more about the history of the breed, you should consult the German Shepherd Handbook. It contains a very thorough section about the history of the breed including how they came to exist, how they developed, how different cots evolved, behavioral differences between different bloodlines, the breed standard, the consequence of the popularity of the breed, where the “Alsatian Wolf Dog” name comes from and a lot more. To find out more, visit the official German Shepherd Handbook website.