Some German Shepherd Facts
Knowing some German Shepherd Facts and knowing a bit of history as to where and how the breed came about is a great way to get started. This can also help you learn some Dog First Aid and other health concerns that come with this breed. Here is some German Shepherd Information that you should know.
The German Shepherd breed has been around for about 110 years with its main roots dating back to 1899. They were originally bred to herd sheep and to guard them from any natural predators. Some interesting German Shepherd facts are that Max von Stephanitz, the creator of this breed, believed strongly that dogs should be bred for hard work. While living in Germany, he attended a dog show and became very impressed with one of dogs that was presented at the show. This dog, Hektor, was the result of a couple of generations of selective breeding and Max von Stephanitz found that this was the prefect dog who carried strong traits in strength, intelligence, speed, loyalty and immediately so he purchased him. This dog, now re-named Horand von Grafrath, was the first German Shepherd.
Horand von Grafrath was bred with other dogs possessing other desirable workmanship traits. Max von Stephanitz found that the most favorable of Horand's puppies, was a puppy he named Hektor von Schwaben. Max von Stephanitz found everything he thought was a needed to be a successful working dog, with Hektor von Schwaben. Hektor was inbred with another of Horand's children and the next generation was again inbred to prefect the breed of the dog. Due to excessive inbreeding, all German Shepherds share the same genetic link. The modern German Shepherd has been noted as something that is not what Max von Stephantiz envisioned his breed to be. He believed that when breeding German Shepherds the process should be strongly controlled to reduce any birth defeats and diseases or anything that will affect the German Shepherd Dogs purpose, which is to work. From careless breeding however, that Max von Stephantiz was unable to control, several genetic problems have arisen such as hip dysplasia, degenerative myelopathy, color-paling, missing teeth, and other genetic problems. German Shepherds range between 22 and 26 inches in height and weigh anywhere from 49 to 88 pounds. German Shepherds usually have a litter of eight puppies and live about an average of thirteen years. Another German Shepherd Facts is not all German Shepherd are born with pointy ears, a lot of them become floppy or droopy in their adulthood if nothing is done to keep them up straight. The first German Shepherd to be trained as a seeing eye dog was in 1928. The German Shepherd Dog was trained in Switzerland then later shipped to a blind teenager who lived in Tennessee in the United States. The female dog was originally named Kiss, but the name was later changed to Buddy. Nemo was the first German Shepherd to come back from the Vietnam war in 1967. He was given honors upon his return and is considered the first German Shepherd hero. Learn More German Shepherd Facts
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