Our aim is to promote the creation and recognition of a breed of dog to be called The Alsatian.

As you are probably aware, for many years the German Shepherd dog was known as the Alsatian in the UK. This was simply because after World War I it was believed that having ‘German’ in its name would be detrimental to the breed and thus it was renamed the Alsatian Wolf Dog. The Wolf Dog part was dropped as it too was thought to be detrimental. The name ‘Alsatian’ stuck and has been used extensively since then. More recently the Kennel Club (KC) decided to revert to the original name of German Shepherd Dog (GSD). It may be coincidence that they did so at a time when the relationship between the KC and a collection of GSD breed clubs was fraught over conditions that the KC were seeking to impose on the breed, particularly in regard to the conformation of the dog.

The history of the breed appears elsewhere on this site but it is a simple matter of fact that from about 1925 to the 1970s the dogs had pretty much the same outline and build. This is simply demonstrated by examining photographs of the ‘top’ dogs (Siegers) in Germany in each year. However, in the 1970s there was change of appearance of the dog largely due to the influence of a cabal of breeders who dominated the SV (Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde - Society for the German Shepherd Dog). The photographs below show the difference.

The change in shape of the dog has become progressively more exaggerated over the following years, with the result that there are now basically two seperate shapes, both being shown as German Shepherds. This situation has become farcical, as can be seen by show entries. Each distinct type can be found at separate shows and it is rare that either type will be entered for judging if the judge is believed to favour the other type.

The division is now so entrenched that it is rare for breeders of either type to recognise good qualities in the other type and, indeed, it is commonplace that disparaging remarks are frequently made by breeders of the one type about the other in public, especially on Internet forums, Facebook and Twitter.

We believe that the situation is now untenable and that the only way forward is for the two sides to completely seperate. Our proposal, in short, is that the German Shepherd remains as the breed name for those dogs which are in the current majority e.g. those of the SV type. The dogs that adhere to the original look of the breed will adopt the name ‘Alsatian’ and a new breed will be established for dogs that conform to that type. For those that think this is unrealistic we would direct you to the division in the Belgian Sheepdog where three separate breeds have been created from one genetically identical breed.

This introduction has been short. There is much more information on the following pages which expands the facts and the arguments for splitting the breed. Please note - this is not about starting a “them and us” war. It is simply trying to reach a situation where both sides can carry on breeding and showing the dogs they love by allowing a sensible solution to be reached. We already have support from breeders on both ‘sides’ and also from people outside the breed who recognise that there are problems within the German Shepherd breed and support our actions in trying to positively address them.

(For ease of reading and presentation each page has a link at the end of the page to the following page. Alternatively, there is a menu for access to individual sections in the left hand column).