"Old German Shepherd" refers to the working sheep and cattle-herding
dogs of Germany. Varying in type, dogs from among these strains were used
in the late 19th century/early 20th century in the development of the modern
SV-registered German Shepherd Dog. While the SV-registered dogs came to
have a standardized appearance and came to be bred more as police, service,
companion and show dogs, herdsmen in Germany continued to breed their sheep and
cattle dogs as they always had. The Old German Shepherds were bred solely
for their usefulness in herding, and outward appearance remained
variable.
Today there is a registry for these dogs, the Arbeitsgemeinschaft zur Zucht
Altdeutscher Hütehunde (AAH), formed to preserve and promote the Old
German Shepherd varieties as working stockdogs. To be registered, the dogs
must prove their ability to work on sheep or cattle. Coats may be short,
medium-length, or long; shaggy, wiry, or smooth-textured. Colors include black,
black-and-tan, shades of brown or red, grey, blue merle, or brindle. Ears
are semi-erect, erect, or sometimes folded close to the head. Some have
natural bobtails. Old German Shepherds are characterized by their
hardiness, endurance and easy-keeping qualities. They can be found
throughout Germany working flocks and herds.
One notable
strain of the Old German Shepherd is the Westerwälder Kuhhund
(Cowdog), first mentioned in the late 13th century. This dog has a natural
heeling tendency (nipping low at the heels of the animals) and typically has a
medium-long, hard coat of red-brown with black shadings. Used for herding
large groups of cattle, taking them to and from the villages and keeping them
together on unfenced pastures, it has also been employed in sheepherding .
When itinerant sheepherding and open-field cattle herding declined in
Germany, the Old German Shepherd varieties diminished in numbers. The
German Society for the Preservation of Old and Endangered Domestic Animal Breeds
has listed them as critically endangered. But numbers are now beginning to
grow again.
Below are some examples of German herding dogs
from early in the century. Dogs like these, registered by the SV, figured
among the ancestors of the modern German Shepherd Dog. For pictures of
present-day Old German Shepherds, visit the AAH website, linked
above.