The German Shepherd, also known in Britain as an Alsatian, is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899.
Adult male
Illustration from 1909
Sable bitch (left) and dog (right)
Skeleton in the Museum of Veterinary Anatomy of São Paulo, Brazil
Old German herding dogs, including old German sheep dogs or old German shepherd dogs are a group of traditional types of working, herding dogs from Germany. They are landraces consisting of working strains of dog, and some of them are the types from which the modern German Shepherd Dog was developed as a standardised breed. The landraces are not recognised by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale, but some have their own standards which are for working ability, not appearance traits.
Old German herding dog, landrace: Ost- bzw. mitteldeutsche Gelbbacke ('east- or central-German yellow-cheek')
German: Harzer Fuchs ('Harz fox')
German: Tiger
German: Schafpudel ('sheep-poodle')