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The German Shepherd Dog Essay

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German Shepherd Dog

The German Shepherd is not only one of the world's most popular companion dogs, but also probably the most widely used breed for service work. The development of the German Shepherd Dog, along with a number of existing breeds, helped pioneer the modern use of dogs for service and community work that we can see today. For a breed of dog that has only been officially recognised for just over 100 years, it has made an outstanding contribution to mankind worldwide.
The origins of the breed came from various sheep dogs found in Germany during the last century. In the second half of the 19th century, dog breed fanciers began to fix the type of sheep dog found in Germany that would eventually form the basis of the modern …show more content…

The success of guide dogs has since been proven worldwide. The United States also later formed a Seeing Eye Dog School using German Shepherds. This occurred in 1929 in the US State of New Jersey. Although the Labrador retriever does the majority of guide dog work in Australia, the German Shepherd remains one of the most popular choices for this type of work worldwide.
During the 1920's, canine movie stars such as Rin Tin Tin and Strongheart made the breed extremely popular outside of Germany. Great harm was caused as unscrupulous breeders, keen to cash in on this newfound popularity, introduced poor breeding practices which, along with some irresponsible owners, worked against the founding principles of the breed.
Anti German sentiment following the First World War, caused the British to re-name the breed as the Alsatian Wolf-Dog. Although all dogs are thought to have evolved from wolves, the name Alsatian Wolf-Dog led some people to believe the German shepherd had been directly bred from wolves. The truth is that the German shepherd carries no more wolves’ blood than any other breed.
The year 1925 saw the breed's official Australian history begin with the importation of Crufts winner Ito of Fallowdale into Australia. Also on the same boat was Pinkerton Rhoda. As a number of further importations followed, graziers and pastoralists in Australia began to express concerns that the breed was dangerous. This was partly based on the

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