Often they used to be called Alsatians. Now they are German Shepherd Dogs. A French writer on sporting topics tells us that a century ago a Prussian Captain von Stephanitz thought he should synthesise the shepherd dogs of various provinces; his dream was to produce the ideal dog. He laid down draconian rules of selection for the breeders in order to produce this most perfect dog. The colour or texture of the coat was not important to him. He was interested only in the dog's working ability.
The breed developed into a dog that could do anything and everything. Originally a guardian of flocks of sheep, it retained, from its original function, the instinct of defending what was entrusted to it, even at peril of its own life. So this is the dog most used by the army, the police, the customs service. The dog has an excellent memory and is most adaptable. It plays a big role in detecting mines and explosives generally; also in finding drugs and in tracking people who have disappeared or wrongdoers who have fled. German Shepherds are to the fore in searching ruins after earthquakes, or under snow when skiers are engulfed in an avalanche. The dog often shows itself more effective than modern techniques of detection. Dogs working after an avalanche, this article declares, can find a person buried under six metres of snow, or two metres if it is compacted. It takes a team of 20 men 20 hours to probe one hectare of snow - the dog can do the same in one hour.
The dog, it has said, has a remarkable olfactory system. It has 180 to 220 million olfactory cells - if that's the correct term - compared with five million in humans. In Sweden, Finland and Russia the dogs are trained to detect copper and nickel, in which, it is claimed, they can outdo a geologist equipped with technical devices. They are trained in America, the writer tells us, to detect escapes of gas or petrol and even to know when cows are coming into heat! Only Labradors or golden retrievers can be compared with them as guide dogs for the blind.
The dog needs to be exercised, to run, to be played with. While it is good with the members of the family, the German Shepherd is basically a one-person dog. The formula, according to this article, is that it be brought up from an early age with an iron hand in a velvet glove, in justice and co-operation. "As the master is, so is the dog." Y