Max von Stephanitz
| Max von Stephanitz | |
|---|---|
Max von Stephanitz and Horand von Grafrath
|
|
| Birth name | Max Emil Friedrich von Stephanitz |
| Born |
December 30, 1864 Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony |
| Died | April 22, 1936 (aged 71) Dresden, Saxony |
| Allegiance | Germany |
| Service/branch | Cavalry |
| Rank | Captain |
| Other work | Developed German Shepherd Dog breed |
Max Emil Friedrich von Stephanitz (December 30, 1864 – 22 April 1936) was a German dog breeder who is credited with having developed the German Shepherd Dog breed as it is currently known, set guidelines for the breed standard, and was the first president of the Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde (S.V.).
Born in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, into German nobility, Stephanitz was a career cavalry officer and spent some time serving at the Veterinary College in Berlin. Here he gained valuable knowledge about biology, anatomy, and the science of movement all of which he later applied to the breeding of dogs. He was promoted to Captain in 1898 and shortly after took his release.
Stephanitz purchased property near Grafrath in the 1890s where he began experimenting with dog breeding. He used many of the techniques utilised by English dog breeders of the period. He was primarily interested in improving the German shepherding dogs because they were local and were the working dogs of his time. Stephanitz enjoyed attending dog shows and observed that there were many different types of shepherding dogs in use in Germany but there was no breed standardization. He greatly admired those dogs with a wolf-ish appearance and prick ears who also were intelligent, had sharp senses and willingness to work and believed that he could create a better working dog that could then be used throughout Germany.
He purchased his first dog Hektor Linkrshein in 1899 and changed his name to Horand von Grafrath. Horand was used as "the" primary breeding stud by Stephanitz and other breeders and is the foundation of the German Shepherd breed as we know it. Stephanitz used the knowledge he had acquired during his years at the Veterinary College and "...established a ‘grand design’ he wanted breeders to aim for with judging based on angle of bones, proportions and overall measurements." Horand's son Hektor v. Schwaben and his grandsons Heinz v. Starkenburg, Beowolf and Pilot were also instrumental in standardizing the breed. Dogs from other areas of Germany such as Franconia, Württemberg and Thuringia were also used as breeders.
...
Wikipedia