The History Of The German Shepherd – Part 2

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344 – The Annual, 2024-25

By Amy Fernandez

Despite its unshakable popularity, there is clearly a messaging disconnect about the German Shepherd. The proximate result of that confusion has translated into an endless stream of misconceptions and media bashing. Before taking a look at the back story underlying this mess, let’s stipulate two facts from the get-go. This is not the breed for a novice owner–or any owner unprepared for an intense commitment to the partnership. And certainly bad breeding has contributed substantially to the breed’s ongoing woes. Still, it is hard to understand exactly how things veered so far off course. After all, this is probably the most German of all German breeds. Meticulous planning and stringent regulations are woven into the national identity–and that certainly holds true for the creation of this breed. Nothing was left to chance.

In that respect, the German Shepherd stands apart as a rare exception to most purebred evolution where goals, planning and documentation tended to be sprinkled into the story as things went along. The history of German Shepherd development reads like an operations manual.

This characterization is not merely historical cherry picking. Every step, from the breed’s creation to its entry into the K9 workforce, was extensively scrutinized and recorded by multiple sources. In addition to the German club records, much of that history was detailed in a fascinating 1934 account of the breed by Elliot Humphrey and Lucien Warner titled Entitled Working Dogs – An Attempt to Produce a Strain of German Shepherds Which Combine Working Ability and Beauty of Conformation. The book focused primarily on the creation of the famed Swiss kennel Fortunate Fields, but that entire narrative was grounded in a detailed analysis of German Shepherd behavior. Regardless of stringent breeding, the authors knew from experience that no training method would succeed–especially the complex demands of Seeing Eye training–without that preliminary focus. The authors described their program as a “school for gifted children.”

Click here to read the complete article
344 – The Annual, 2024-25

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Posted by AnthonyA on Jan 10 2025. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.