Alsatian , Working Lines and German Shepherds - Page 1

What is the correlation? Is Alsatian another name for working lines / Border Patrol dogs and the german shepherd the show lines?

Please don't say Alsatia was the place where German Shepherd originated( I know that)

thx for all replies

It is my understanding that GSDs were called Alsatians during and right after WWII when anti-German sentiment was running high.  I suppose a public relations thing.

Hey PSP is like when we American would not call frech fries "French"  fries but "American" Fries? I have to wonder sometimes

"The Germans named the town San Diego when they settled here. I believe it means, a whales vagina."-----Ron Burgandy, Anchorman

Alsatian refers to the Alsace region of France, which is on the German border on the Rhine.  At one time both the German Black Forest area and the French Alsatian area were united.  I spent several months in Alsace working projects for my company a few years back.  Beautiful area, and fantastic white wines.

Alsatian referring to GSD's is merely a politically correct term, as all things "German" fell out of favor after a world war or two.  In Linda Shaw's article on "types" within shephered dogs she listed the Alsatian as a type of GSD, most commonly found on the UK, which had a small gene pool due to the restrictive quarantine.

I'll let my British cousins fill you in on the details.

Yvette

The name of the dog in England was changed to Alsatian because of all the family ties between the English royal family and their germanic names, Mount Batten, Bose-Lion, etc. Queen Victoria was related to the German and Russian  royal families among others.  Her son even looks like Czar Nicholas if you compare their pictures. Sentiments in England were anti German since 1914 or thereabouts. So the royal family had to change their name QUICK. They came up with Windsor. And the GSD was called Alsatian even into India.which was ruled by England until the end of WW2.  I have Indian people ask me all the time if my dog is an Alsatian.

Some of the stories above here, Vikram, are very funny indeed!

An "original" explanation for the Alsatian comes from Max von Stephanitz himself in his book. My copy from 1923 explains the name "Alsatian" very well, and way BEFORE the second world war. I must admit, Max was a very humorous man, the way he explains it is quite funny.

If somebody volonteers to translate from German to English, I'm willing to present it here.