Alsatian – a Wonderful Dog.

The German Shepherd Dog also known as an Alsatian comes literally from the German Deutscher Schäferhund. They are a relatively new breed of large-sized dog that dates from the late 19th century. They are part of the Herding group that was originally developed as a working dog for herding sheep.

The Alsatians strength, intelligence and obedience they are often employed in police and military roles. They are also one of the most popular breeds around the world.
The breed originates from a dog called Hektor Linksrhein. He so impressed Von Stephanitz that he purchased it and changed the dogs name to Horand von Grafrath and founded the Society for the German Shepherd Dogs.
Horand became the centre-point of the German Shepherd breeding programs and was mated with many other society member dogs.
The Alsatians popularity has grown quickly through the 20th Century, though it had some problems in popularity in the early days due to health problems from poor breeding and after the world wars with anti German sentiment. To such an extent that the UK Kennel Club renamed it to “Alsatian Wolf Dog”, eventually the wolf dog addition was dropped and in 1977, the breed officially became the German Shepherd Dog. The German Shepherd popularity was fuelled by animal actors such as Rin Tin Tin and Strongheart. Now it is globally the third most popular dog breed.

They are a large dog of around 60 centimetres ( 22 and 26 in) at the withers and weigh around 30 kilograms ( 49 and 88 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 most common being the red/black and tan/black varieties with black saddles and masks. Less common variations include the sable, all-black, all-white, liver and blue varieties, which may not fit country breed standards. Alsatians have a double coat. A dense close thick outer coat, which is shed continually and a thick undercoat. There is also the rare long-hair variant.
Like many working dogs, German Shepherds were bred for their intelligence, 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 strength makes the breed sought after as police, guard, and 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 banned in areas as a result. Statistically, in the States, they are responsible for more random bites than any other dog breed, and have a reputation to attack smaller dog breeds.

Additionally studies have shown that Alsatians are the breed third most likely to attack someone and in another report found that German Shepherds were responsible for around fifty percent of the dog bites that needed medical attention, versus a more normal 20% of bites needing medical treatment, not surprising with their strong jaws and scissor teeth.

The problem is not with the dog, but the owners. As with any bright active dog (or child), if they are not regularly active and kept occupied, they can become troublesome. The German Shepherd needs to have puppy socialisation and good education from an early stage. Unlike the collie, which a lot of its aggressiveness has been removed by breeding for shows, 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. Due to this they may appear a bit aloof.

Alsatians are rapid learners and are highly obedient and not easily distracted, but due to their strong personality, you need to be very forceful with them.
The Alsatian 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 regularly ask professional dog walkers such as London dog walking to help out by walking them for a few hours a day.
Poor breeding has led to common health issues, elbow and hip joint problems (dysplasia) which often causes the dog pain and may cause arthritis. The German Shepherd also is susceptible 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.

Alsatians, like many deep bodied dogs are sensitive to bloat, this is a very dangerous and often rapidly fatal problem, so if in doubt consult a veterinary. Bloat is a build up of gas in the stomach, caused by a number of different causes. 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 Alsatian often suffers from Degenerative Myelopathy, or DM is a neurological disease and are predisposed to Von Willebrand Disease, a common inherited bleeding disorder, which shows in differing degrees of bleeding tendency, commonly in the form of easy bruising, nosebleeds and bleeding gums. .

In spite of these problems, the German Shepherd is robust with simple dog care and the average lifespan of a Alsatian is 7 – 10 years, which is typical for a dog of this size.

The Alsatian has a great nose so is one of the often used in a wide variety of scent-work roles, including cadaver searching, search and rescue, explosives detection, narcotics detection and mine detection.

So the Alsatian is a superb intelligent dog that will bond well with you, if you have the time and energy for him. Not advised for busy working families.