German Shepherd  dogs (GSD)  have a sturdy, muscular, elongated body with a light, solid bone structure.

Fact 1. GSDs  are used as working dogs due to their courageous, keen, and alert characters. GSDs are often used as police dogs due to their reliability and innate intelligence.

Fact 2. GSDs were created in 1899 by a German Captain, Max von Stephanitz, by cross-breeding long-haired, short-haired, and wire-haired local herding and farm dogs from Wurtemberg, Thurginia, and Bavaria.

 Fact 3. GSDs are  recognized worldwide as the leading police, guard, and military dogs.

Fact 4.  The popularity of GSDs accelerated because of movies such as Rin-Tin-Tin and Strongheart.

Fact 5. There are an estimated 78.2 million GSDs of which there are about 3.5 million GSDs in the U.S.

Fact 6. The original dog who played the role of Rin-Tin-Tin was a Red Cross dog during WWI. Rin-Tin-Tin made 26 movies for Warner Brothers before his death in 1932.

Fact 7. Rin-Tin-Tin II sired Rin-Tin-Tin IV. Both GSDs were involved in the filming of The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin which was shown on ABC between 1954 and 1959.

Fact 8. An exemplary GSD was Kanaka from the Ontario Provincial Police Canine Team who was responsible for numerous rescues and arrests. Kanaka had tracked a lost hunter for 20 hours across freezing swamps.

Fact 9. GSDs’ admirable qualities include: loyalty, tranquility, intelligence, athletic, eager to learn, cheerful, serious, and strong.

Fact 10. The history of Rin-Tin-Tin goes back to WWI in Germany in 1918. The U.S. forces found, in a bombing raid, the sole survivor of a German war dog kennel, a GSD female and five newborn puppies. Two puppies were adopted by a corporal named Lee Duncan who named them Nanette and Rin-Tin-Tin. The dogs were trained based on the model set by the German Army.