The German Shepherd Dog also called the Alsatian comes literally from the German Deutscher Schäferhund. The Alsatian is a relatively new breed of large-sized dog that dates from the late 19th century. Originally a herding dog, particularly for sheep.

Often employed by the military and police for their obedience and intelligence. The German Shepherd is nearly always one of the top five global breeds. The original dog was called Hektor Linksrhein. He so impressed Von Stephanitz that he bought it and renamed him to Horand von Grafrath and founded German Shepherd Dog Society.

Horand von Grafrath became the hub of the Alsatian breeding programs and was mated with many other society member dogs.
The German Shepherds popularity has increased rapidly through the 20th Century, though it had some problems in popularity in the early days due to genetic health issues from poor inbreeding and after the world wars with anti German sentiment. To such an extent that the UK Kennel Club renamed it to “Alsatian Wolf Dog”, a while later the wolf dog addition was removed and in 1977, the German Shepherd Dog was back as the official name, though it is still often known as the Alsatian. The German Shepherd popularity was fuelled by animal actors such as Rin Tin Tin and Strongheart. Now it is in most countries the third most popular dog breed.

They are a large dog of around sixty centimetres (around 24 inches) at the withers and weigh around 30 kilograms (60 lb).

The German Shepherd's face has a long square cut muzzle, a doomed forehead, a long neck, powerful jaws, big erect ears (that are often pulled back when on the move), black nose and brown, medium-sized eyes. With a bushy tail.

Alsatians come in a variety of colours, the normal versions are the tan/black and red/black versions with black saddles and masks. Rarer versions include the sable, all-black, all-white, liver and blue types, which may not fit country breed standards. German Shepherds have a double coat. A thick close dense outer coat, which is shed all year round and a thick undercoat. The long-hair variety is rarer.
The Alsatian, like many working dogs is very intelligent, and are ranked as the third most intelligent breed of dog by Stanley Coren in his reference study and book “The Intelligence of Dogs”. This attribute combined with their power makes the breed sought after as guard, police, search and rescue dogs, being able to quickly learn various tasks and interpret instructions better than other large breeds.
German Shepherds have a reputation for aggression and have been restricted in areas as a result. Statistically, in the USA, they are responsible for more random bites than any other breed, and have a reputation to attack smaller breeds of dogs.

Additionally studies have shown that German Shepherds are the breed third most likely to attack a person and in a different study, Alsatians accounted for nearly half of the dog bites that needed medical attention, versus a more typical twenty of bites needing medical attention, not a surprise with their powerful jaws and sharp canine teeth.

The problem is not with the dog, but the owners. As with all intelligent lively dog (or person), if they are not regularly active and kept occupied, they can become difficult. Good dog training and dog socialisation are crucial for a dog like the Alsatian. Unlike the collie, which a lot of its aggressiveness has been breed out from show strains, the Alsatian does not seem to have lost this character.

They can bond very well with their family, however they can become over-protective of their family and territory. This can give them an aloof personality.

Alsatians learn well and are very obedient and not easily distracted, but due to their tough personality, you must be very forceful with them. The German Shepherd must have two good walks a day. They are not a dog for a busy family who cannot give them the time and attention. For this reason, busy couples often ask professional dog walkers such as London dog walking to help out by walking them for several hours a day.
Poor breeding has led to common genetic health issues, hip and elbow joint problems (dysplasia) which is painful for the dog and often causes arthritis. The German Shepherd also suffers from monorchidism (one testicle), weakness of temperament, and missing teeth, as well as folded or bent ears which never fully turn up when reaching adulthood. Due to the large and open nature of their ears, Shepherds also are prone to ear infections.

German Shepherds, like many large bodied dogs are sensitive to bloat, this is a very dangerous and often rapidly fatal problem, so if you think this may be a problem, go straight to the veterinary. This is a build up of gas in the stomach, caused for varying reasons. The symptoms of distress for no apparent reason, a firm distension of the abdomen, general weakness, depression, problems breathing, hypersalivation, and retching without vomiting. A high rate of dogs with bloat have cardiac arrhythmias (around 40 percent), loss of appetite, vomiting and weight loss.

The German Shepherd also suffers from Degenerative Myelopathy, or DM is a neurological disease and are predisposed to Von Willebrand Disease, a common generic bleeding disorder, which shows in variable degrees of bleeding tendency, commonly in the form of easy bruising, nosebleeds and bleeding gums. .

In spite of these problems, the Alsatian is sturdy with simple dog care and the average lifespan of a German Shepherd is seven to ten years, which is typical for a dog of this size.

The Alsatian has a great nose so is one of the most widely-used breeds in a wide variety of scent-work roles, including search and rescue, cadaver searching, narcotics detection, explosives detection, accelerant detection, and mine detection dog, amongst others.

So the German Shepherd is a wonderful intelligent breed that will bond well with you, if you have the time and energy for him. Not advised for busy working families.