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Origin of the Shepherd
The founder of the German Shepherd, Max Emil Frederick von Stephanitz, was born
in Germany December 30, 1864. In school he excelled in French and was said to
have been so fluent that the audience in his graduation ceremony thought he was a
Frenchman. Shortly afterwards upon graduation, he become a career officer and
served in the Veterinary College of Berlin. Max's motto throughout life was "Do right
and fear no one". He eventually was promoted to Cavalry Captain, a very highly
respected position in his society at the time. Shortly after upon promotion, he
married an actress and was encouraged to resign from his position, because
marrying an actress was considered below a Cavalry Captains social standards
during the time.
Von Stephanitz experimented with many breeding dogs in the 1890's. It wasn't until
he observed the Shepherds work ethic while herding sheep that he became truly
fascinated with the animals sophistication and envisioned a dog available to all
sheepherders in Germany. In 1899 he attended a small dog show where he found
and bought his first Shepherd named Hektor Linkrsheim, but immediately changed
the dogs name to Horand von Grafrath. Two weeks later, von Stephanitz and his
friend Artur Meyer founded a dog club known as Verein fur Deutsche Schaferhunde
(SV), where von Stephanitz become the vice president. Horand then became
registered as the very first German Shepherd dog in history.
Horand's traits were to be the guidelines that von Stephanitz wanted to create his
new breed of German Shepherds. German Shepherds were never bred for their
beauty, but rather for their usefulness, nobility, and intelligence. He determined the
dog should be bred for their intelligence and their physique required to perform
laborious work. Von Stephanitz donated several German Shepherds to policemen,
and demonstrated their usefulness in capturing criminals. The dogs were then

recognized by the German Army and were employed in World War one as
messenger dogs, searched dogs for wounded soldiers, sentry and guard dogs, and
watch dogs for when soldiers were away from duty.
After World War One, the German Shepherd became increasingly popular in the
United States. American soldiers brought back home stories describing the breeds
heroic nature. Soon movie-makers in Hollywood popularized Strongheart, the first
German Shepherd movie star in The Silent Call (1921) and another German
Shepherd named Rin-Tin-Tin in The Man From Hells River (1922). Everyone in
America sought to own a German Shepherd, and the breed became a figure of
social status. Captain Von Stephanitz passed away on April 22, 1936.
German Shepherds were used again in the Second World War, but this time by both
Allie and Axis forces. Sadly due to lack of food and resources in wartime conditions,
many German Shepherds were killed by bombings, gunfire, or had to be shot by
their owners to prevent them from starving to death. After the war ended, the goal
of many dog breeders was to regain the breeds former qualities. Although there
were few traditionally bred German Shepherds left in Germany, Captain von
Stephanitz left breeders a breeding formula to produce top-quality dogs only within
a few short years. Many of these second generation German Shepherds were then
introduced to America.
Captain von Stephanitz accomplished a goal that no other dog breeder has done. He
formed a breed from a sheepherders dog that has become one of the most
versatile canine companions of history. His SV organization is the largest dog
breeding organization, and his work has influenced many other German Shepherd
clubs around the world. He has created a Workers Dog that can be a show dog,
obedience worker, police dog, sentry dog, guard dog, attack dog, movie star, dog
for the blind, hunting companion, or just a loveable member of the family.