Did you know?
The first recorded German Shepherd dog was registered in Germany in 1899 and was called Horand von Grafrath.
Following World War 1 the dogs became known as 'Alsatian Wolf Dogs' in the United Kingdom because many people found reference to 'Germany' or 'German' offensive.
Many German Shepherd Dogs have become famous film stars such as 'Rin Tin Tin' and more recently 'Gerry Lee' in films such as 'K9'.
German Shepherds were first registered with the Kennel Club in the UK in 1919.
All domestic dogs can trace their ancestors back to gray wolves and demonstrate many of the traits of their wild cousins.
The dogs sense of smell in forty times greater than that of a human.
German Shepherd dogs are characteristically black and tan but can be completely black or, occasionally, completely white.
A dogs eye sight is twenty times more sensitive to small movements than the human eye and works best at dusk or dawn when they generally hunt in the wild.
The 'Dicken Medal' is the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross and has been awarded to several dogs for their courage supporting the armed services.
German Shepherd dogs on average weigh 40 kg's and bitches 32 kg's.