49 Fun Facts About German Shepherd

By what name is the German Shepherd also known in Britain?

Britain's Kennel Club renamed the breed the Alsatian (at first 'Alsatian Wolf Dog') after the First World War, fearing the word 'German' would hurt its popularity.

Who developed the German Shepherd breed from 1899?

An ex-cavalry captain and former Berlin Veterinary College student, he believed dogs should be bred strictly for work.

What ear shape does the breed standard require of an adult German Shepherd?

The German Shepherd standard calls for erect ears, moderately pointed and open to the front; ears that hang or fold are a fault in an adult dog.

Which society, formed in 1891 to standardise German dog breeds, collapsed after three years?

The Phylax Society, founded in 1891, broke up after three years when members split over breeding dogs for work versus looks; Max von Stephanitz had been a member.

What was the original name of the dog bought at an 1899 show and declared the first German Shepherd?

Bought at an 1899 dog show as Hektor Linksrhein, the dog was renamed Horand von Grafrath and became the first entry in the new society's breed register.

Max von Stephanitz founded which breed society in 1899, after buying the dog he renamed Horand von Grafrath?

The Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde claimed 50,000 dues-paying members in more than 500 branches in Germany alone by 1923.

Which dog, bred from Hektor von Schwaben alongside Heinz von Starkenburg and Pilot, links all German Shepherds?

Beowulf, a son of Hektor von Schwaben, was himself inbred, and it is from Beowulf's progeny that every German Shepherd draws a genetic link.

Which German regions supplied dogs bred to Horand in the early programme?

Horand was bred to society members' dogs with desirable traits and to stock from Thuringia, Franconia and Württemberg, the regions that fed the early programme.

Which country banned the import of German Shepherds in 1929 over fears they were dangerous?

Australia banned German Shepherd imports in 1929 amid fears the dogs would cross with dingoes and savage sheep; the ban stayed in force for more than four decades.

Which cowboy star's German Shepherd, Bullet, appeared in his 1950s television show?

Bullet the Wonder Dog, a German Shepherd, appeared with Roy Rogers, Dale Evans and the horse Trigger in The Roy Rogers Show, which ran on NBC from 1951 to 1957.

In which year did British kennel clubs allow the breed to be registered as German Shepherds again?

In 1977, after breeders' campaigns, the Kennel Club let the breed be registered as the German Shepherd Dog again; 'Alsatian' lingered in parentheses until 2010.

How many German Shepherds did the UK Kennel Club register in 1919, its first year of accepting them?

The Kennel Club registered just 54 German Shepherds in 1919, its first year accepting the breed; by 1926 registrations had passed 8,000.

What was the name of the first German Shepherd registered in the United States?

Queen of Switzerland was the first German Shepherd registered in the United States; her offspring had defects from poor breeding, which helped push the breed's popularity down in the late 1920s.

Which dog's wins as AKC Grand Victor in 1937 and 1938 revived American interest in the breed?

Sieger Pfeffer von Bern's back-to-back AKC Grand Victor titles in 1937 and 1938 restored American interest; popularity dipped again after the Second World War amid anti-German feeling.

Where did the German Shepherd rank among AKC-registered breeds in 2020?

The German Shepherd ranked third among AKC-registered breeds in 2020, behind the Labrador Retriever and the French Bulldog; it placed seventh at the UK Kennel Club in 2016.

How tall should a male German Shepherd stand at the withers under the breed standard?

The standard puts males at 60–65 cm at the withers and females at 55–60 cm; the AKC standard sets no official weight range.

German Shepherds can sprint at speeds of up to roughly what?

German Shepherds can sprint at roughly 30 mph (about 48 km/h), helped by a body that is longer than it is tall in an ideal 10 to 8.5 proportion.

Which German Shepherd coat colour means instant disqualification from conformation showing?

An all-white coat is a disqualification in the AKC ring and most other standards; blue and liver are serious faults, while sable and all-black are acceptable.

The gene for the long-haired German Shepherd coat is what?

The long coat is carried by a recessive gene, which is why long-haired pups are rarer; the FCI accepted the variety in 2010, while the AKC standard lists a too-long coat as a fault.

Black body markings on a German Shepherd range from a classic 'saddle' to what larger pattern?

Beyond the classic saddle, the black can spread into a larger 'blanket' pattern; most colour varieties also carry a black mask, with black and tan or black and red commonest.

Which larger, cold-hardy variety of the German Shepherd was developed for military and police service?

The East-European Shepherd is more moderate in structure and has become one of Russia's most popular dog types.

The White Swiss Shepherd Dog was recognised as a separate breed by the FCI in which year?

The FCI recognised the White Swiss Shepherd Dog as a separate breed in 2003; it descends from American White Shepherds, and its first stud dog was an American-born dog imported to Switzerland.

The Shiloh Shepherd was developed in the US in which decades?

Developed in the 1970s and 1980s, the Shiloh Shepherd was bred for size, back length, temperament and hip soundness, and the American Rare Breed Association has recognised it since 1990.

Where did Stanley Coren rank the German Shepherd on his list of breeds most likely to bark as watchdogs?

Stanley Coren placed the German Shepherd second, behind the Rottweiler, on his ranking of breeds most likely to bark as watchdogs; that alertness suits police, guard and search-and-rescue work.

Per National Geographic's Dangerous Encounters, a German Shepherd's bite exerts over how many newtons?

Dangerous Encounters measured the German Shepherd's bite at over 1,060 newtons (about 238 lbf), against roughly 1,000 newtons for a Labrador and 380 for a human.

The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals found what share of German Shepherds are affected by hip dysplasia?

The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals found 19.1% of German Shepherds affected by hip dysplasia; a small University of Zurich study found 45% of police working dogs had degenerative spinal stenosis.

Degenerative myelopathy, common in German Shepherds, is caused by a mutation in which gene?

Degenerative myelopathy is tied to a mutation in the SOD1 gene; a small UK study found 16% of young symptom-free German Shepherds homozygous for it and another 38% carriers.

Pituitary dwarfism in German Shepherds is caused by a mutation in which gene?

Pituitary dwarfism in German Shepherds is caused by a mutation in the LHX3 gene, which governs pituitary development; Utrecht University researchers identified the defect and developed a genetic test for it.

A 2005 Swedish insurance study found what share of German Shepherds had died by age 10?

The 2005 Swedish insurance study found 51% of German Shepherds had died by age 10, well above the 35% rate for all dogs in the same data.

Roughly what percentage of UK German Shepherds are estimated to have exocrine pancreatic insufficiency?

Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, in which the pancreas stops making digestive enzymes, is estimated to affect about 1% of German Shepherds in the UK; the breed is also tested for von Willebrand disease.

When Dorothy Eustis began formal guide-dog training in the 1920s, all the dogs were what?

Dorothy Eustis's 1920s programme in Switzerland trained only German Shepherd females; a later temperament test found Labradors calmer and friendlier, steering guide work toward them and German Shepherds toward police work.

In 2013, about what share of the dogs trained by Guide Dogs of America were German Shepherds?

In 2013 about 15% of the dogs trained by Guide Dogs of America were German Shepherds; the rest were Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers.

German herding utility trials for the breed are known by which abbreviation?

HGH stands for Herdengebrauchshund, the German herding-utility trial in which a dog patrols the boundaries of a grazing area to keep sheep off crops.

Zuyaqui, a German Shepherd preserved on display at a 'Narco Museum', worked for which country's forces?

Zuyaqui served Mexico's forces and is regarded as the dog that seized the most drugs in Mexican police and military history; his stuffed body is displayed at Mexico City's Museo del Enervante.

The BBC documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed quoted critics calling show-line German Shepherds what?

Pedigree Dogs Exposed (2008) quoted critics calling show-line German Shepherds 'half dog, half frog'; the Kennel Club then moved to retrain judges to penalise the extreme roached topline behind the poor hind-leg gait.

Which German Shepherd became one of the earliest canine film stars in 1921, a year before Rin Tin Tin?

Strongheart and Rin Tin Tin both have stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

What was the name of Hitler's German Shepherd, on which a cyanide capsule was tested in 1945?

Blondi died when Dr. Werner Haase tested the capsule; a bunker nurse later said the dog's death upset people there more than Eva Braun's suicide.

Which president's German Shepherd, Major, bit a senator and the British PM at the White House in 1933?

Franklin D. Roosevelt's German Shepherd Major bit Senator Hattie Caraway and tore British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald's trousers at the White House in 1933; nearly ninety years later Joe Biden's German Shepherds Champ, Major and Commander also lived there.

Inspector Rex, the German Shepherd TV detective, assists the homicide unit of which city's police?

Kommissar Rex, the Austrian series, ran from 1994 to 2004 with Rex serving the Vienna homicide squad; an Italian continuation later moved Rex to Rome and ran until 2015.

Kántor, a 1950s police dog turned 1975 TV hero, made German Shepherds the top breed in which country?

Kántor, a Hungarian police dog of the 1950s, became the hero of a 1975 TV series that made German Shepherds hugely popular in Hungary; his taxidermied body is kept at Budapest's Police Museum.

Which masked canine crime-fighter, a German Shepherd, debuted in DC Comics in 1955?

Ace the Bat-Hound, a German Shepherd, debuted in Batman #92 in 1955 and appeared regularly until 1964, returning only sporadically after that.

Which German Shepherd got the 2002 Dickin Medal on behalf of all 9/11 rescue dogs?

Apollo, an NYPD search-and-rescue German Shepherd, received the Dickin Medal on 5 March 2002 on behalf of all the dogs that worked at Ground Zero and the Pentagon.

Rifleman Khan won the Dickin Medal for rescuing a drowning soldier during which 1944 battle?

Khan swam back under fire to drag Lance Corporal Jimmy Muldoon ashore during the assault on the Walcheren Causeway in November 1944, part of the Battle of the Scheldt in the Netherlands.

Antis, a Dickin Medal German Shepherd, helped his owner flee which communist country postwar?

Antis and his master, Czech airman Václav Bozděch, escaped Czechoslovakia after the 1948 communist coup; the 1949 Dickin Medal citation also covered his wartime service in North Africa and England.

Lucca, a US Marine Corps German Shepherd, received the Dickin Medal in 2016 after losing a leg to what?

Lucca lost her left front leg to an IED blast in Afghanistan in March 2012, after two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan sniffing out explosives; she received the Dickin Medal in April 2016.

What was the name of the dog Hitler acquired in 1921, sparking his lifelong liking for the breed?

Hitler acquired Prinz in 1921 but, too poor to keep her, lodged her elsewhere; she escaped and found her way back to him, which cemented his attachment to the breed.

The 1989 film K-9 with James Belushi starred a real police dog named what?

Jerry Lee was played by Koton, a working Kansas City police dog rather than a trained film animal; Koton was shot dead in the line of duty in 1991.

Which German Shepherd was the wandering hero of the TV series The Littlest Hobo?

London, the wandering German Shepherd of the Canadian series The Littlest Hobo (1963–65, revived 1979–85), helped people in each town before moving on alone.

A 2024 UK study put the German Shepherd's life expectancy at what?

The 2024 UK study gave the German Shepherd a life expectancy of 11.3 years, trailing both crossbreeds (12 years) and purebreds overall (12.7 years).