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GERMAN SHEPHERD DOGS

distinctive German Shepherd Dogs
since 1984

Max vom Stephantiz

The German Shepherd Dog in Word and Picture. Max v. Stephanitz. Second Entirely Revised American Edition. Reprinted 1982, Hoflin Publishing Ltd.

PP 380-381.

"The breeding of shepherd dogs is the breeding of working dogs; and this must always be the aim, or we shall cease to produce shepherd dogs.... In order to have any chances of success at Exhibitions, breeding must be effected on a large scale; which can only be done in a regular Kennel. But breeding on a large scale and in a Kennel is the ruin of all sound shepherd dog breeding. I have already spoken at length of the curse of kennel-keeping. Kennel breeding, however, doubles and multiples the evil, and irrevocably spoils all which comes under its influence. We shall hear more about this in what follows. A large number of dogs can only be kept in a Kennel, but in so doing we heap up injury upon injury, because a large collection of shepherd dogs is a contradiction in terms. It is not possible to breed and keep shepherd dogs in herds, because they only become wild and deteriorate. The shepherd dog will only be taken as a personality; his master must be able to busy himself with him; especially when he is dealing with a young dog; and that is only possible with one or at the most a very few, but never more. Breeding in quantities must always become a curse to the breeder, because it leads him along the wrong path and deprives him of all real joy in his breeding. Finally, it leads - and this is a further and very real danger for breeder and for the race - to breeding for business considerations only. It follows from the name, that this has nothing more to do with the dog-lover, or with the utility of the dog-race, and not even with Sport, which indeed has only been too often advanced as a cloak for such practices. When it comes to breeding for business - which is never effected by dealers, at least not by official dealers -, the dog is only a business commodity and nothing more, and is bred and treated as such. There again, we encounter another danger for the race. The dog is no longer bred from the point of view of his services to the race, but only because he has a certain market value. In other words, the direction of the breed is influenced no longer by the experts, but by the buyers. The buyer, however, is mostly an unsuspecting novice, or else one who knows or cares nothing for the weal or woe of the race as yet. He knows nothing of racial type, nothing of the value of aptitude for work, he often only has an eye for appearances and wishes his dog to be imposing and remarkable, and sometimes even a ruffling swashbuckler.

Dog-breeding must be the work of a dog lover, and cannot be a profession, as is the case with other animals, and a means of acquiring bread and butter. If it once becomes that, then it will be dog-dealing that has nothing more to do with serious dog breeding, but on the other hand, too often has to do with the law. The work of breeding service dogs must, first and foremost, be the work of dog lovers... The dog lover in his breeding aspires after no material and external advantage. He allows himself to be contented with the fact that association with noble, beautiful and gifted creatures, the observation of the phenomena of their lives, and the examination of all that happens in their breedings afford him a whole cycle of pure joys and contentment, and allow him to penetrate further into the secrets and the mysteries of Nature. These joys will repay him, (who indulges his fancy without self-seeking,) for all the sacrifices in money, time and trouble, and even for all failures and disillusions."

P. 571

"Trust is a sine qua non, and obedience is the foundation of every training: both go hand in hand, and both are inseparable. Blind and servile obedience is not rooted in trust, but in fear, and only rebels when out of reach of the whip. Such service we do not demand from our dogs, but an obedience which is joyful and always willing, founded on love for the master, and such, (as we have already seen) founded on the satisfaction of a natural craving, which therefore must be consolidated by a wise training from earliest puppyhood. With a young dog who is obedient in this sense, who waits upon the eyes and the mouth of his master, who comes joyfully when called, even from his feeding dish, or from his companions at play, because he knows he will be rewarded for his obedience by a kind word and by an affectionate pat, by a special tit-bit, or, as the highest reward, by a sharing in the activity of his master: with such a dog every thing is possible later on, for joy in work is combined with its accomplishment. This, as the outpouring of the power accumulated in the dog, is the result of sound nerves and a serviceable body build: and here again it is a matter of breeding, and training both directed to a special purpose with a definite goal in view."

P. 279

"The trainer must develop to its highest perfection - provided the breeder has done his duty - whatever the individual dog possesses as a natural endowment physically and mentally. "Like master, like man" says the proverb, and thereby expresses the fact that man makes his impression on his surroundings. If anything in these dependents of man displeases us, it is only man's own fault. Thus the dog is the reflection of his master: the foundation is laid by his trainer. It is quite possible for a later owner to develop and extract many other traits, but the basic foundation i.e. confidence and absorption in the will of his master, must be laid down from the very first moment. All the wonderful qualities of character possessed by a good shepherd dog will therefore only be brought to light when he remains in the same hands for a very long time, preferably from puppyhood, where having obtained a footing in the house, he shares the joys and sorrows of the family, their work and their duties. Here then is formed the intimate relationship of confidence which so often makes us see human features of high quality in the actions of the dog. Here the animal's conduct is ennobled by an understanding and loving humanity. Freedom of movement, which makes dogs change their place, like servants, is favourable neither to the development of their characters nor of their faculties; and our dog is completely ruined in mind and body wherever he is treated only as merchandise, (which, indeed may have a high monetary value as such), or when he is regarded as an adjunct to feed vanity."

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