Question by sjdfdj: How come the GSD has the word Dog in its name?
Are there like German Shepherds in the world that have nothing to do with the dog breed?
Best answer:
Answer by Sandra R
No idea. Been asking that question for decades. I guess it was one of those things that stuck somehow and now is common place so people rarely question it anymore. LOL!
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So does:
Bernese Mountain Dog
Pyrenean Mountain Dog
Old english Sheepdog
Chinese Crested Dog
Portugese Water Dog
Bulldog
It’s just that rather than having a ‘name’ for the breed (ie Alsatian is an alternative name for the GSD) the breed title is more of a ‘description’
Hope that makes sense.
Probably so they won’t get mixed up with human sheep herders (shepherds) who live in Germany…
German Shepherds were originally called German Herding Dogs, but the name was too vague and broad, so they switched it to the German Shepherd Dog. The breed was originally bred for it’s working ability, not it’s looks. therefor several german herding dogs were used, and there wasn’t a really set look to the breed. broad look, broad name. When a reliable physical standard started to form, a set name formed.
There was no specific reason DOG was left in the name. German shepherds were bred to be the perfect working dog, perfect herding dog, so they became the german shepherd dog. And no, there are no other “german shepherds” out there. there are other german herding breeds out there