5 Things You May Not Know About German Shepherd Dogs
There are many facts about the German Shepherd Dog, and since I own two of them myself, I thought I would write some down in an article to share with you. These are some of the more interesting ones, some of which you may not have heard about. I will be writing more articles in the future about GSD’s and some will include some pictures of my two teenagers ‘Shadow’ and ‘Wolf’, but for now, let’s get into 5 things you may not know about the German Shepherd Dog.
1. The first German Shepherd movie star
Believe it or not Rin-Tin-Tin was not the first German Shepherd Dog to star in movies, but rather a dog called ‘Strongheart’. Strongheart, whose actual name was Etzel von Oeringen, starred in six movies in total, and was originally a German police dog before he found fame. However, Rin-Tin-Tin took over and starred in more than 25 movies, 27 to be precise, and both German Shepherd Dogs have their own stars on the Hollywood walk of fame.
Here is a picture of one of my German Shepherds, Wolf may not be a movie star, but he's sure the star of our home.
2.The Very First Guide Dog
Back in the 1920’s an American trainer was training German Shepherd Dogs to help blind people get around while living in Switzerland. These very first ‘guide dogs’ helped World War 1 soldiers who were blinded in battle. Moreover, the trainer Dorothy Eustis was noticed by a man called Morris Frank who had been blinded as a child and they both went on to create the first guide dog school in the U.S called “The Seeing Eye”
3. The Original Action Dog
German Shepherd Dogs have been used in almost every service job, for instance, police dogs, guard dogs and guide dogs, but during the war German Shepherds were used for their commitment and ability to be able to be trained for specific jobs. These dogs were trained and used by the Germans to carry ammunition, guard duty, sending and recieving messages along the battlefront and even search and rescue missions. In fact, one particular German Shepherd Dog called Filax actually spent more than a year on the front lines and was actually honored for rescuing more than 50 soldiers.
4. Mister Popularity
During the war American soldiers witnessed what these awesome dogs were capable of, and many of them were so impressed they brought back German Shepherd Dogs with them to the United States. Moreover, this is more than likely the reason they are so popular today, in fact they are the second most registered dog in the States. This is also probably down to the fact they are so diverse, they make great family dogs, performance dogs, show dogs, service dogs and more.
5. Black Produces Black, Or Does It?
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need two black German Shepherd Dogs to produce a black German Shepherd puppy. However, the parent dogs do have to have the right genes, because the black coat gene can be dominant in a black and tan German Shepherd. Black German Shepherd Dogs are rarer so are much more expensive, they generally are larger than the standard German Shepherd and some can have a mane around the neck area and extra fluffy tufts on the ears.
Thanks to www.anniemany.blogspot.com for sharing this amazing picture of 3 black German Shepherds.
I hope you enjoyed reading my latest article, I’m sure if you’re a German Shepherd Dog owner, like myself, you may have already known these facts. However, if you didn’t know some, or any of these facts, let me know which one was the most surprising for you. Moreover, if you would like me to cover a different breed of dog just let me know in the comments as I write articles about all breeds of both dogs and cats.
Sources: https://www.petinsurance.com/
https://animalso.com
https://www.shepped.com
Disclaimer: Although I thoroughly research every article that I write, and write them in my own words, you may undoubtedly find certain phrases or names that are readily available elsewhere online, these are just coincidences seeing as the topics I write about are very popular.