German Shepherd/Alsatian

[Sammc]

Are these the same?

[agnes61]

yes they are the same animal

[Schutzengel]

German Shepherd is the correct name.
Alsation is the name most people use.
Both are the same dog.

[terambulan]

The german is shaggy whereas the alsation is smooth coated.

[paddywak]

Doesn't matter terambulan, (just checked my KC registrations) Che my previous dog was short haired (smooth) and Max is long haired (shaggy) and both are GSDs according to their registrations.

[paddywak]

If I remember rightly the name Alsation came into common use in the late 30's when, due to the political situation, German became an unpopular word. In many countries such as the USA for instance they have never been called anthing other them German Shepherds, as agnes 61 and schutzengel say they are one and the same

[welshlibranr]

I seem to remembe that they origijnated from an area in Germany called Alasatia, and that's where the name Alsatian came from, I preferred to call mine German Shepherds, which is what they were.......

[tooshie]

sammc, hi,
paddywac is right, pc ruled the day but they are both the same breed. lovely dogs or bitches.

[jules77]

and in addition you have the 'straight' back, or the 'roach or banana' back style.

Personally, I think the dogs with banana backs make them look like cripples, but that is another topic.

[cris r]

Totally agree with Jules on that one, and all for show

[fredpuli47]

They are the same.Alsatian means 'from Alsace' Alsace lies on the border of France and Germany and changed hands between the two several times in history.At the time of World War I it was German but the French regarded it as French.That's when and why this German breed was renamed.We started calling it Alsatian because France was on our side and anything German was hated.The dachsund and the Pomeranian were not so fortunate, and fell out of favour.There are stories of dachsunds being put down because they were 'German'.

(The Royal Family changed its German family name to Windsor ,for the same reason, at this time.)

The shape: it's the show breeders of modern times who insisted upon breeding for the 'squatting bitch' look, with the hindquarters set low. As late as 1960, the straight back was still generally accepted. That's how the breed was originally.Back in 1901, when the first breed club was established in Germany,it was straight-backed as well as being a 'squarer',shorter bodied, dog. It did change a bit thereafter but was always straight backed.(Purists have 'reconstructed' the original square, straight backed, shape and called the result the Shiloh Shepherd).

[kita1]

The GSD 'types' and 'cousins':

http://www.shawlein.com/The_Standard/13_Breed_ Type/Breed_Types.html


The Shiloh and King shepherds have had crosses introduced (Alaskan Malamute, Akita etc.) so are not technically pure German Shepherd Dogs.

Not too sure if I like the Panda colouring!

[Sammc]

Thanks all. I had one as a child and she was brilliant, would love another when I get a bigger garden!

[lankeela]

The official breed name is German Shepherd Dog (Alsatian).
These days, the breed is mainly split into two types, Germanic (or Continental) and English. The afficionadoes of the English type prefer to call them Alsatians, and they tend to be heavier bigger bodied dogs with shorter legs and extreme hind angulation. The Germanic type dogs are less heavy bodied and with correct (according to the standard) body/height ratios, although some tend to have a more roached back (the standard asks for a straight back but this does not mean level - it should slope from withers to croup). There are some very nice 'middle of the road' types combining the best of English and Germanic bloodlines, which are the type I prefer, although both sides have their followers who will not accept anything other than 'their' type and will not place a dog from the 'other side' when judging. I judge (fairly I hope) all dogs from each side according to my interpretation of the standard, and although I prefer middle of the road/Germanic I have been known to put up English dogs if they are better specimens that the Germanic ones present. This is one of those arguments than will never be solved, and I have spent more hours than enough discussing the differences in type.

[lankeela]

Now you've got me at it, been searching through all my favourites for a site that shows the difference. Found this one which illustrates the main difference between the heavy English and the correct Germanic type:

http://www.justshepherds.com/othergsds.htm

I was lucky enough to know Shootersway Lido, who not only was a top show dog, but also an excellent obedience worker.

[Kleiber]

I was just going to add my penny's worth, when I read lankeela's reply - she said virtually what I was going to say.
Lankeela, did you ever hear of a GSD bloodline containing the words "Jugoland"? They were bred by a lady called Maria Pickup (I'm going back about 30 years!!), but I used to have one called Limburg Isak of Jugoland and he was the best dog I've ever had!! He was a Police dog and so unfortunately I wasn't able to breed from him, but I'd love to know if the line is still going. K x