The History of the German Shepherd – Part 3

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312 – February, 2025

By Amy Fernandez

German Shepherd history truly does read like a bad novel, endless drama with no resolution. The breed emerged at the ideal time and place for the world to celebrate its ingenious design. By any definition, it was the breed the world needed. But, like many breeds before and since, it wasn’t quite ready for the publicity juggernaut that came its way. Even so, things went well as long as someone was driving the bus.

That’s really been the trouble all along. There was plenty of infrastructure in place to say ‘verboten’ when necessary. But those safeguards were designed for normal circumstances. How could anyone have predicted the existential forces that continually ran things into the ditch?

Political scientists continue debating the causes of World War I, but from the perspective of German Shepherds, who was planning for that? Likewise, who could have predicted the breed’s pivotal role in the fledging film industry? As soon as that wave of German Shepherd hysteria subsided, it was hit by the national media promotion in World War II. That energy was still going strong when the immortal German Shepherd star, Rin Tin Tin, transitioned to the newest hot thing–television. The steady undercurrent of breed development, driven by generations of dedicated breeders, breakthroughs in the science of canine behavior and genetics and growing public awareness of responsible ownership–well…all that was steamrolled in this story.

Numerically, the German Shepherd is still doing fine. But the breed’s public image is in tatters. Its structural and mental soundness have become media fodder. Both of these topics encompass myriad issues but let’s keep this within a reasonable word count.

Click here to read the complete article
312 – February, 2025

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