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, farmers began selectively breeding the German Shepherd, to create what we see today. A driving force of the time was Doktor Gerland who presented the worlds first trained police dogs just prior to the turn of the century. These events helped to bring the development of sheep dogs to the attention of many influential people in Germany. Many soldiers were blinded during the First World War and German Shepherds were trained in large numbers by the German authorities as 'seeing eye'. Other countries, including Great Britain, then attempted to train dogs based on this German program. The British dog trainers, however, experienced a great deal of negativity from the general public. 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. 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 wolf's blood than any other breed. The year 1925 saw the breed's official Australian history begin. Graziers and pastoralists in Australia began to express concerns that the breed was dangerous. This was partly based on the British re-naming of the breed, Alsatian Wolf-Dog. Australian graziers and pastoralists started to express fears that German Shepherds would mate with dingos and produce a powerful and intelligent sheep killer. Powerful lobby groups such as the Western Australian Pastoralists and Graziers Society started to call for the breed to be declared a dangerous noxious pest. The year 1929 saw the Australian Government respond to the continued fears of the graziers and pastoralists by placing a directive against the import of the breed into Australia. The Government then passed legislation in the next few years to officially legislate against the importation of German Shepherds into Australia. At this stage only about 55 to 60 official imports had entered Australia. During World War II the breeding stock in Germany was greatly reduced. The tragedy of war once again highlighted the breed's useful qualities and helped to restore the reputation of the German Shepherd. This conflict also saw large numbers of dogs being trained to detect the presence of various types of unexploded devices. This activity has evolved into today's explosive and drug detector dog programs, which have been extremely effective for law enforcement agencies world wide. The years following the Second World War saw world wide resurgence in the popularity of the German Shepherd. The situation in Australia, sadly, had not

improved with the import ban still in place. The lack of new blood lines made it difficult for Australian breeders to make improvements to the breed. Through various lobbying of the Australian Government a one year trial lifting of the ban on importing the breed into Australia commenced during 1973. The trial was a success and in 1974 the import ban was permanently lifted. During 1974 the formation of the World Union of German Shepherd Dog Clubs occured. The importing of new blood lines made available to Australian breeders the genetic material that they required to advance the breed In 1999 the 100th anniversary of the German Shepherd Dog was marked by worldwide celebrations. Today the German Shepherd remains one of the most popular breeds of dogs in the world. The founding club has grown to over 100,000 members, which makes the SV the largest single dog breed club in the world. The founder of the breed Captain von Stephanitz believed that, "The breeding of shepherd dogs is the breeding of working dogs; and this must always be the aim, or we shall cease to produce shepherd dogs. The breed is still extensively used as a working dog around the world, however most are owned as companion animals, where they make an ideal family pet because German Shepherds are good with children and other pets. It is believed that dogs that closely fit the breed standard will have the physical and mental characteristics to enable them to have the potential and willingness to work in a variety of tasks without undue stress. As with most dog training effective socialisation and training is of utmost importance in any attempt to capitalise on this genetic potential. The other area of importance is the general health of the animal. It is not worth putting extensive training into an animal that may suffer from potential health problems, such as Hip or Elbow Dysplasia.