The Alsatian Wolf Dog Becomes The German Shepherd Dog
As the American Kennel Club explains, the German Shepherd dog was at one point renamed as the Alsatian Wolf dog.
This was in the post-World War I period when all things German temporarily fell out of favor.
But the new breed name didnt stick. It lasted only long enough to cause lingering confusion about how closely the German Shepherd is related to the wild wolf.
Underneath the very wolf-like appearance of the modern GSD, the fact remains that German Shepherds and all other dog breeds share the designation of Canis lupus familiaris, the domestic dog, an offshoot of Canis lupus, the wolf.
Where Do German Shepherds Come From
German Shepherd/OriginAs the name suggests, the German Shepherd originated in Germany in the late 1800s. The most intelligent, responsive and obedient local shepherd dogs in Germany were bred to create what is now known as the German Shepherd. This breed was responsible for herding sheep and protecting flocks from predators.
Breed History: Where Did German Shepherds Come From the-dog-blog posts breed-hi
Why Wolves & Wolf
Dogs have been bred for thousands of years to do what people want them to do.
Its in their genes to not only please people but to watch them constantly to see if the person is going to ask them to do something. They also ask people for affection.
Wolves are just the opposite and many wolf-dog mixes also suffer from this character flaw, especially if theyre half-wolf.
They often wont look at a person and dont solicit affection from people. Since they have no drive to please people, they wont.
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Where Have All Domesticated Dogs Evolved From
A number of genetic studies of the genome of the domesticated dog clearly show that the dog is derived from gray wolves more closely than any other Canid.
A Canid is part of the biological family Canidae which is a lineage of carnivores that includes domestic dogs, wolves, foxes, jackals, dingoes, and many other extant and extinct dog-like mammals.
Groom And Bathe Your German Shepherd 3
So, I already went over that your German Shepherd will blow his coat twice a year once in the fall, once in the spring. Though you cant stop the fur clumps from eventually coming out, you can help to get rid of more of it at once by bathing and grooming him during these periods.
Rather than allowing his undercoat to gradually fall out as the two-week blowing period progresses, you can loosen up any remaining fur and get rid of it at bathing time.
Never over-bathe as this strips your German Shepherds natural oils causing dry skin which then causes further shedding.
There are also specific de-shedding dog shampoos and conditioners you can get to release the undercoat during the bath. You can even find ones enriched with Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids, such as the FURminator deShedding Ultra Premium Dog Shampoo that help reduce shedding from Amazon, and Ill cover the benefits of these at number 7 below.
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History Of The German Shepherd Dog Breeds
Dogs share a common ancestral background with gray wolves, hence why you will often find most people say German shepherd look like wolves. In the 1800s, the most common dogs among shepherds included a pack of herding dogs known as continental shepherd dogs. This group composed of the Belgian Shepherd, German shepherd, and Dutch Shepherd dog breeds.
Once identified as Alsatian Wolf Dog, the German Shepherds are not part of wolves but are part of a large biological family known as Canidae. This family group comprises wolves, foxes, and dingoes.
Historically, the first German shepherd dog breed was developed in 1899 by Max von Stephanitz. Captain Stephanitz got an influence after attending a dog exhibition in Germany. It is at this place that Max von Stephanitz came across a dog . And this dog had wolf genes in its system.
Furthermore, he had a belief that dog should work and help man. And such a drive saw him purchase this dog.
Max von Stephanitz also wanted to give rise to a new and standard dog breed, particularly for herding. It is after he noted that there were a variety of shepherd dogs in the native country.
Impressed with the dogs intelligence, strength, physical appearance and obedience, Max von Stephanitz purchased the dog and renamed him Horand von Grafrath.
Horand von Grafrath is the father of German shepherds.
Genes of other gray wolves family Like Thuringian cause most current GSDs to have a high percentage of wolf-like traits.
How The Breed Gained Popularity
The UK Kennel Club was an instrumental group during the early years of dog breeding and domestication. The UK Kennel Club didnt accept the GSD on its registry until 1919, and when they did, there were only 54 of them registered.
The small numbers didnt last long, though. 7 years later, in 1926, the number of German Shepherds had grown from a mere 54 to over 8,000. By this time, GSDs were becoming internationally well known. This was partly due to world events at the time.
The breed of dogs was internationally-recognized towards the end of the first World War because many soldiers returned home with stories about the dogs. They told their families and friends about how friendly, strong, and loyal these amazing dogs were.
Naturally, people saw potential in the breed. Animal actors from the United States helped to further spread the popularity of the German Shepherd, and soon they were becoming registered in the United States.
The first one registered in the US was named the Queen of Switzerland, but she was not able to contribute very much to the breed itself. While she may have helped to spread popularity, her children did not survive thanks to improper breeding techniques. This hindered the growing popularity of the breed, but dogs this amazing were bound to find their popularity again.
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Where Does A German Shepherd Wolf Mix Live
German Shepherds can survive in a house, the woods, or any outdoor areas with adequate space for locomotion. They don’t instantly adapt to all environments hence need to be trained with a lot of time and effort to familiarize them with the surroundings. These wolfdogs also don’t always welcome strangers but this to can be curtailed through training.
The History Of Dogs And Wolves
Wolves, like dogs, are members of the genus Canis and they in the history of evolution. In fact, dogs are direct descendants of gray wolves, who are still around today. So in other words, dogs are just domesticated wolves.
There are over 150 different breeds of dogs in the world today, reflecting how human breeding has forced the evolution of dogs into many different smaller subtypes. However, at their core, dogs are merely a subspecies of Canis lupus, the wolf. Dogs are Canis lupus familiaris. While biologists at one time made a distinction between dogs and wolves, dogs are now just considered a subspecies of wolves.
While early biologists assumed that the wide amount of diversity seen in dogs must have reflected interbreeding with various types of wild canines, modern DNA science implies all dogs are directly descended from wolves. However, it is possible that the domestication of dogs occurred multiple times in different areas, making multiple groups of dogs that came from unique common wolf ancestors.
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How Do They Reproduce
Wolf hybrids dogs are bred by professionals who have been doing this through generations and charge a high price for it. In some instances, this can be about $1000. The wolf’s average litter size is four to six puppies while the German Shepherd has eight puppies. German Shepherd Wolf Mix litter size is normally about six puppies. In most instances, they are adopted post-birth. Six weeks after this is a crucial time period for the offsprings as this is the time where they learn and need to know how to socialize. Training and socialization need to be conducted simultaneously and regularly to German Shepherd Wolf Mix puppies to get a good environment to grow.
How Can You Tell If Your German Shepherd Is Part Wolf
If youve never seen past family or medical records of your German Shepherd, you will be happy to know that your dog will not be part wolf.
German Shepherds were never bred with wolves when the breed was standardized in Germany in the 1890s, which means that there is no element of wolf in their DNA. Still, they are part of the Canidae family in the same way as other domesticated dogs are.
However, you can still commit to a genetic test to see if your German Shepherd has come from a family that attempted to breed a wolf into the genetic line. Also, when buying or adopting your GSD, the seller should make you aware of if the dog is part wolf.
Still, if the genetic test proves that no parent was either a wolf of part wolf hybrid, its highly unlikely that your German Shepherd is part wolf.
In this guide, we go over:
- Preparing to adopt a dog
- Dog supplies you will need
- Choosing the right dog to adopt
- & much more!
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Does Germany Allow Pit Bulls
The rules vary from state to state in Germany, but most consider Pit Bulls, Staffordshire Bull Terriers and American Staffordshire Terriers too dangerous. Their import is banned. You can also go to www.zoll.de for a detailed list of banned breeds and other information about restrictions on dangerous dogs.
Wolf: Straight From The Wilderness
This is a wild animal. That means that domestication is not natural for the Wolf and does not come easily. It also means that you cannot expect a dog with wolf genes to be predictable.
Wolves are predatory creatures with strong hunting instincts. Other animals, especially smaller critters, are seen as food, not friends. As well, wolves are shy around humans.
There are two different Wolf species that have been bred with a German Shepherd.
The Saarloos Wulfhund
This is a German Shepherd Timberwolf mix. It was created in 1935 by Leendert Saarloos from the Netherlands. Saarloos sought a new hybrid with more natural traits to shape a hardy working dog.
The result was not what he expected. Instead, the Saarloos Wulfhund is cautious, reserved and lacking in ferocity. Despite its unfavorable characteristics as a working dog, the hybrid thrived as a wolf like companion dog.
It can reach up to 30 in in height and weigh up to 100 lbs . It has a muscular, athletic build with a dense coat of fur that can be gray, red or white in color.
The Czechoslovakian Wolfdog
This mix was created in 1955 in Czechoslovakia when a German Shepherd was bred with a Carpathian Wolf.
The idea was to produce a mix with the intelligence, trainability, and pack mentality of the German Shepherd as well as the physical prowess and stamina of the Wolf.
This Wolfdog was bred to be used as an attack dog for the special military forces as well as rescue, tracking, herding, and hunting.
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Where Do Black German Shepherds Originate
The Black German Shepherd or Black Shepherd is not a separate breed. They are purebred German Shepherds with a solid black color.
Even the American Kennel Club recognizes and includes them in the German Shepherd breed standard.
This breeds history started in Germany, hence the name. They come from a line of different herding canines such as Berger Picard, with the goal to make them better working dogs.
In the 1900s, the German Shepherd arrived in the United States. The breed was gaining popularity, but it was cut short by the First World War. The term German became a taboo, so they were renamed to American Alsatian or Shepherd dog.
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Which Dog Is Best For Police
I know that you already know the answer. German Shepherd is the number one choice in th eunited states and many other countries for K-9 police work.
As a police Dog There are several tasks that a German Shepherd do :
- Tracking suspects.
And many more services are covered for this loyal and full of love Dog.
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The History Of The German Shepherdposted By Larissa On Mar 7 2017 In Uncategorized
You can guess from the name, the German Shepherd originates from Germany. After getting lots of positive feedback from my last post about the history of the Dachshund , Im keeping the theme of German dogs and will be writing about how and why the German Shepherd came about.
ein Welpe a puppy. Photo by Marilyn Peddle
The German Shepherd originated in Germany in the 19th century and was bred to be a working dog. As the name suggests, the German Shepherd was bred to herd sheep. The breed was created by a man called Max von Stephanitz because of its characteristics: selbstsicher , klug , schnell und aufmerksam which altogether make the perfect working dog.
A Change in NameThe original name in German is der Deutscher Schäferhund, and literally translates to the German Shepherd. During World War I the name was changed by the UK Kennel Club as they were worried that the name would affect the popularity of the breed as it was associated with Germany . They changed the name to Alsatian Wolf Dog but after the war they changed it to Alsatian as they thought by calling the breed a wolf it might give off the wrong impression. Eventually the name was changed back to German Shepherd, although it is still common to hear the breed being called Alsatian.
A mans best friend. Photo by gomagoti
If you own a German Shepherd then let me know in the comments below! I hope you enjoyed these posts on the history of these two popular breeds of dogs.
Bis zum nächsten Mal!
German Shepherd Genetic Origin: Related To The Wolf
Maybe youre interested in German Shepherd breed in general
Or, maybe youre looking at buying a German Shepherd and you want to know a bit more about the German Shepherd origin.
Either way, the bloodline in terms of how the original German Shepherds were bred is pretty interesting.
We discuss the dogs used to breed the first German Shepherds, and whether wolf genetic material was involved.
Lets take a deeper look into the origin
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How Many Types Of German Shepherd Dogs Are There
These cute yet ferocious little bodyguards are categorized into two breeding types, the working line and Show Line. You would be surprised to know that there are 5 different types of show line German Shepherd dogs that you can find. The most popular distinction that separates them among their different types is the color of their coats.
German Shepherd is also sometimes differentiated by the length of their hair and coat, but that is generally done only for purebred German Shepherds. Apart from being characterized based on their looks, they are also differentiated based on their personality and health, which is known as working lines.
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Alsatian And German Shepherd Dogs Differences And Distinguishing Features
A very common question among dog lovers around the world is whether the Alsatian and the German Shepherd dogs are one and the same, or are they different. If you take a straw poll, I am pretty sure you are going to get contradictory answers. This is hardly surprising considering the fact that they look so alike. So, what is the truth then? The truth is they are the same dog with only different names.
Surprised? You should be.
What differentiates the Alsatian from the German Shepherd Dog?
There seems to be a raging debate among dog lovers for quite some time now, with many claiming that they are different, as different as apples and oranges and are bred for different purposes. Some claim that there are structural differences between the dogs, others say that it is the size and color, while even others wants to stress on their places of origin. The proponents of the last theory say that Alsatian originated in Alsace in France while the German Shepherd in Germany.
With so many claims and counter claims, any dog lover is bound to get confused and helpless. So let me put things into perspective for you.
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When Did Your German Shepherd Become A Dog
The question of precisely when the wild wolf became a domestic dog and a companion to humans continues to be hotly debated.
Because dogs are so universally loved, every year it seems new research comes out disproving former theories or at least shedding additional light on the why and how of verified facts.
But there is still a ton of research left to do to sort out a theory from fact.
The most recent data suggests that all domestic dogs, including the German Shepherd, began to diverge from their wild wolf ancestors between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago.
Earlier research data points to the exact time period as being closer to 40,000 than 20,000 years ago.
This still seems like a pretty wide range of time, but not in evolutionary terms. To make matters even muddier, as this short YouTube video on the Origin of Dogs explains, conflicting studies continue to pop up suggesting wolves were domesticated more than once in more than one region of the world.
Maybe this is just an example of a great idea that was too good to limit to one time period and region.
But what exactly does this mean when we look at the German Shepherds genetic relationship to the wolf? Part of the confusion here starts with this dog breeds name!