Welcome to our website. We would like to take this opportunity to share with you some of the history of the German Shepherd Dog.
Welcome to our website. We would like to take this opportunity to share with you some of the history of the German Shepherd Dog.
Within this site you will see that our shepherds are not just breeders. They are working, loving, members of our family. They are raised around children, and other animals. Each dog is unique. We pride ourselves in an excellent bloodline for many purposes creating very versatile companion. We will start training our puppies as soon as they are weaned. However no matter how "well trained" the puppy may appear I personally recommend researching the breed and doing your homework before making the commitment to purchase any breed and especially a German Shepherd Dog (GSD).
The GSD is the product of one man's intense and powerful vision. This man was Captain (Rittmeister) Max Emil Frederich von Stephanitz (1864-1936). Von Stephanitz's epiphany came on April 2, 1899, while attending the Karlsruhe Dog Show with his friend, Arthur Meyer. There he saw - and forthwith purchased - a four-yr-old yellow and gray dog about 25" tall at the withers that possessed all the qualities he believed essential in the perfect dog: intelligence, ability, weatherproof coat, and beauty. The dog was named Hektor Linksrhein, but von Stephanitz renamed the dog, Horand von Grafrath. This began the trend toward using von within the GSD's name, which in Germany suggests a noble ancestry. This animal became the foundation dog of the German Shepherd Dog breed.
From there von Stephanitz set out to explore what physical and mental characteristics went into a great dog. He became the cofounder and first president of the Verein fur Deutsche Schaferhunde (club for German Shepherd Dogs), or simply SV, founded in 1899, and he controlled and directed it with an iron fist. He strived to find the perfect mate for what he believed was the perfect dog and so began WWI.
After the war the GSD's excellent qualities were so highly regarded that breeders around the world went into a frenzy to import the dog. As a result puppy mills and fake pedigrees became the norm. Von Stephanitz understood the danger immediately, and he worked to create a Koerung (breed survey) that evaluated all dogs for breeding purposes and rejected from registration those who failed.
Von Stephanitz was finally defeated, among other reasons, by the Nazis, many of whom were members of SV. The Nazis pushed him out by imposing their own rules, to promote themselves rather than the good of the German Shepherd. They essentially took over the club, and von Stephanitz, a broken man, gave up and quit in 1935. He died one year later, on April 22, 1936, the 37th anniversary of the founding of his beloved SV.
And so began the legacy of one man's dedication and hard work which has not been forgotten. Here at Beschutzer Shepherds, we are proud to give you the German Shepherd Dog held to the standards that von Stephanitz so desperately strived to achieve. Let his dream and hard work be a reminder to all the breeders.
We feed and recommend Royal Canin brand dog foods.
