The breed was developed by a German called Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899. Originally the breed was bred to herd and protect sheep, that is a working line breed. So intelligence, herding instincts, strength, courageousness, speed and keen sense of smell were characteristics chosen to incorporate into the breed. Over time two main groupings appeared, that being working line and show line, the show line being more interested in appearance.
It is the amalgam of these traits that has produced the modern day German Shepherd, as mentioned they come in various colours, Black and Tan, Black and Red, Black, Sable, Bi-color to mention a few. The working line Shepherds have a straight back while the show line have a sloping back, working line Shepherds have fewer health issues. Looking at each of these traits in turn provides a wonderful picture of German Shepherds.
Intelligence.
Stanley Coren, a psychology professor that studied dog intelligence, ranked German Shepherds number 3 out of 79 breeds with only the Border Collie and Poodle ranking above it. The famous Australian Cattle dog ranked 10 in the list. Within Coren’s categories the first 10 dogs were the “Brightest Dogs” meaning that they understood new commands after 5 or fewer repetitions and will obey a command first time 95% of the time or better. This makes the breed easy to train and will learn new tasks and commands faster than other breeds.
Temperament
The breed is extremely loyal, obedient and affectionate towards it’s family, to strangers it is aloof but not aggressive in well adjusted dogs. It’s intelligence makes it particularly curious and will take an interest in whatever it is you are doing. They are able to sense a human’s moods and gestures making them wonderful companion dogs, combined with their intelligence, loyalty and trainability they also make excellent therapy dogs. They are also very protective of their family, this needs to be kept in check to ensure a dog does not become overprotective. To get the best out the breed, apart from exercise, mental stimulation the other key ingredient is time, time with their family. They are a very social breed, they thrive on affection and being with their humans, they need human companionship.
Strength, Speed and Courage
To protect herds of sheep from wolves in Germany required a dog that possessed these three qualities. The standard German Shepherd male can weigh anywhere between 30 – 40 kg and run at up to 48 km/h making them both strong and fast. To stand up to a pack of wolves requires true courage, again this trait was bred into the breed to allow it to not only herd but also protect sheep.
Sense of Smell and Hearing
German Shepherds have an acute sense of smell which is why they are used in Search and Rescue, by the military to find explosives, by law enforcement to search for narcotics and cadaver searching after disasters. A German Shepherd has approximately 225 million scent receptors, humans have only around 6 million, making their sense of smell around 37 times greater. Also they can “air scent” as opposed to just ground based scenting, meaning that they are able to pick up scents carried over large distances in the air and locate the source. Their hearing is also vastly superior both in range and distance, they are able to hear sounds human can’t and hear them at much greater distances. These traits are vital when protecting a herd of sheep from marauding wolves.
Male versus Female
The main difference is size and weight, the males are decidedly bigger, however most everything else is very similiar. There are slight differences such as a male being more likely to bond with one person whereas a female is more likely to bond with multiple family members. The female having a maternal instinct is more likely to be more protective of children and monitor them to keep them out of harms way. In these respects a female German Shepherd makes a particularly good addition to a family with young children.