ARE ALSATIANS AND GERMAN SHEPHERDS THE SAME?

     

       Among many of  the pet owners there is always a confusion whether  Alsatian and German shepherds belong to a same breed or a different breed. when we look  into the history of German shepherds , we found many interesting facts about how the original name had been changed and how the breed got it back..

ORIGIN
     German shepherds was originated in Germany in 1899, as part of herding group. The breed was named as Deutscher Schaferhund meaning "German shepherd dog". It is abbreviated as GSD. It was so named due to its purpose of assisting shepherds in herding and protecting sheep.

HISTORY.
       After the conclusion of world war 1, due to the anti- German sentiments of the era, the breed was officially renamed by the UK kennel club to 'Alsatian wolf dog'.
      Alsace is a historical region in north eastern France bordering Germany and Switzerland. The predominant language of Alsace is Alsatian ,  and so the breed was named as "Alsatian wolf dog".
     But many breeders were worried that the name "wolf dog hybrid" would affect the breeds popularity and legality and so the name "wolf dog" was dropped and "Alsatian" remained for nearly five decades.
      In 1977 many dog enthusiast successfully campaigned about the original name of the Alsatian among the people and the UK Kennel club allowed the breeds to get registered again in the name of German shepherds. But AKC went back using the original name of German shepherd dogs in 1931. The word Alsatian was completely removed in 2010.

BREED CHARACTERISTICS.
     German shepherds are medium to large sized dogs. The standard height of male is 60 -65 cms and for females it is 55-60 cms. They live upto 12 to 13 years. They have a two layered coat and the coat has two variants- medium and long. The coat colour includes Black & Tan, Black& Red, Black &Silver, Blue,Gray, Liver, Black, Sable and White. AKC doesn't recognize white as a colour of this breed.
      They are preferred around the world for many types of work like disability assistance, search and rescue operations, police, military etc. They are loyal, intelligent, obedient, courageous, watchful, alert and confident.
     German shepherds are the second most popular dog breeds by registration world wide.