I encountered a German Shepherd ‘meet’ over Hankley Common (Surrey) last weekend. It’s always an impressive sight, seeing such a large number of the same breed running around and thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Even better when the owners are all so good humoured and approachable – and not a cross word from any of the dogs present!
A wonderful advertisement for the breed.
We had German Shepherds when I was growing up. Mum was constantly warned, “you shouldn’t have that kind of dog with young children” and she (very sensibly) ignored such advice, allowing us to have the very best hairy guardian in Kim – my GSD playmate.
I recently wrote about her and the history of this fascinating breed for Canine Chronicle.
Here are some photographs of German Shepherds (Deutscher Schaferhund) from ‘Dogs Of All Nations’ (1904). Interestingly, the early standard included Long-haired and Wire-haired dogs (I’ve included pics of both) alongside some early winners -including a lovely photo of the renowned, “Beowulf”.
Enjoy!