This Week In Germany: April 23, 1999 obtained from Germany-Info.Org

A Century of Canine Achievement German shepherds the world over are due for a few extra dog biscuits and an appreciative pat on the head this week. Tuesday (April 22) marked the golden anniversary of the popular breed. The first officially recognized German shepherd, a male named Horand von Grafrath, was introduced by Max-Emil Friedrich von Stephanitz at a Karlsruhe dog show on April 22, 1899. Canine historians say the arrival of Germany’s best-loved dog breed was by no means a matter of course, since late-19th-century fashion favored more diminutive breeds. But von Stephanitz was smitten by the idea of developing the “ideal working dog,” and by crossing a carefully selected array of sheep herding stock from Württemberg, Thuringia and Alsace, he eventually produced a whelp that lived up to his dreams. “Von Stephanitz practically created the German shepherd from the drawing board,” says Reiner Voltz of the German Shepherd Association in Darmstadt (Hessen). The criteria von Stephanitz developed to distinguish the line is still used by breeders in as many as 60 countries. In order to qualify, a dog must have a shoulder height of 22 to 25 inches, a thick coat with woolly underhair, a strong musculature, upright ears and a tail. True German shepherds, according to von Stephanitz, have an even disposition - they should be neither aggressive nor fearful. More than two billion pure German shepherds have been registered since the beginning of the von Grafrath line. Their particulars are on file in the office of the German Shepherd Association in Augsburg (Bavaria), where some six dozen members are involved in the task of keeping the 100-volume registration book up to date. The only dogs who make the list are those with a flawless family tree, the group stresses. German shepherds have been put to work in many capacities over the years, Voltz notes, but today 90 percent of Germany’s 500,000 shepherds are simply pets. The rest are employed by the police or customs service, work as seeing eye dogs, or provide assistance in rescue operations in emergency situations ranging from avalanches to earthquakes. Widely regarded as one of the most “all-round” of the world’s 400-odd dog breeds, the German shepherd, experts say, is likely to continue making history for many decades to come.