White GSDs do occur but are not accepted in the show ring. Black is the most common major coat colour. The colours the GSD comes in are are black, ash and iron gray with brown, yellow or light brown markings. They have a wonderful long reach with their front legs, covering the ground in a smooth, graceful manner. Their coats are impressive: the outer coat being hard, coarse and flat hair with a thick undercoat. Although substantially built, these dogs are not square but made up of smooth curves, the length being greater than the height. The dogs are agile and well balanced in the fore and hindquarters and carry themselves with pride. Their appearance should be of a muscular, alert dog with a noble and aloof attitude. GSD's are one of the most easily recognised breeds in the world. However, it is felt that the best GSDs still come from Germany. Allied soldiers admired the dogs’ intelligence and courage and brought many of them home after the war, thus establishing the breed in other countries. During World War I the Germans used GSDs as messenger dogs and to locate the wounded. It was through this club and the work of the Rittmeister that GSDs were developed for use with the police and armed forces, thus saving the breed from extinction during the difficult times at the beginning of the 20th century. GSDs were first shown in 1882, and in 1899, the Verein fur Deutsche Schaferhunde, which is the German breed club for GSDs, was formed. At the end of the 19th century, Rittmeister Max Emil Friedrich von Stephanitz dedicated himself to the refinement and protection of the GSD. Finally, one cannot forget its frequent television and film appearances. It is also used as a guide dog in the United States and has an honourable career with both police and armed forces.
Originally bred for herding, this breed has been used more extensively in this century for guard and protection work. Its appearance, almost wolf-like, would suggest an even earlier ancestry. Formed from a variety of different types of shepherd dogs, the German Shepherd Dog (or GSD) can trace its origins back to the 7th century.
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