Alsatian is a Great Dog.

 

The German Shepherd Dog also called the Alsatian comes literally from the German Deutscher Schäferhund.  They are a relatively new breed of large-sized dog originating in the late 19th century. They are part of the Herding group that was originally developed as a working dog for herding sheep.

Often employed by the military and police for their obedience and intelligence. The Alsatian is nearly always one of the top 5 global breeds.
The original dog was called Hektor Linksrhein. Hecktor so stunned Von Stephanitz that he purchased it and renamed him to Horand von Grafrath and founded Alsatian Dog Society.
Horand became the centre-point of the Alsatian breeding programs and was mated with many other society member dogs.
The German Shepherds popularity has grown quickly throughout the 20th Century, though it had some problems in popularity in the early days due to genetic health issues from poor inbreeding and after the world wars with anti German sentiment. This caused the UK Kennel Club to rename it to “Alsatian Wolf Dog”, a while later the wolf dog addition was dropped and in the late 70s, the breed officially became the German Shepherd Dog. The Alsatian popularity was helped by animal actors such as Rin Tin Tin and Strongheart. Now it is in most countries the third most popular dog breed.

They are a large dog of between 55 and 65 centimetres (around 24 in) at the top of the back and weigh between 22 and 40 kilograms ( 49 and 88 lb).

The Alsatian’s face has a long square cut muzzle, a doomed forehead, a long neck, strong jaws, big erect ears (that are often pulled back when on the move), black nose and brown, medium-sized eyes. With a bushy tail.
 
Alsatians come in a variety of colours, the normal versions are the red/black and tan/black versions with black masks and saddles.   Rarer versions include the sable, all-black, all-white, liver and blue varieties, which may not fit country breed standards. Alsatians have a double coat. A thick close dense outer coat, which sheds all year round and a thick undercoat. The long-hair variety is rarer.
The German Shepherd, like many working dogs is very intelligent,  and are ranked as the third most intelligent breed of dog by Stanley Coren in his reference study and book “The Intelligence of Dogs”. This intelligence combined with their strength makes the breed desirable as police, guard, and search and rescue dogs, the Alsatian rapid learning ability and ability to interpret instructions are better than other large breeds.
German Shepherds have a reputation for aggression and have been banned in areas as a result. Statistically, in the States, they are responsible for more random bites than any other breed, and have a known tendency to attack smaller breeds of dogs.

Additionally research has shown that German Shepherds are the third most likely dog breed to attack a person and in another report found that German Shepherds accounted for around half of the dog bites that needed medical attention, compared to a more normal 20% of bites needing medical attention, not surprising with their powerful jaws and scissor teeth.
 
There is no problem with the German Shepherd breed, it is the fault of the owners. As with any clever active dog (or child), if they are not regularly active and kept busy, they can become troublesome. The German Shepherd needs to have puppy socialisation and good instruction from an early stage. The Alsatian is different from the collie, which a lot of its aggressiveness has been breed out from show strains, the Alsatian has not lost this streak.

The Alsatian are great with the family they know, but can be over protective of their home and family – why they are a great guard dog. Due to this they may appear a bit aloof.

German Shepherds learn well and are highly obedient and not easily diverted, but due to their strong character,  you need to be very firm with them.
The Alsatian must have two good walks a day. They are not a dog for a busy family without time for attention.  For this reason, busy couples regularly ask dog walkers to help out by walking them for several hours a day.
Poor breeding has led to common health problems, elbow and hip joint problems (dysplasia) which is painful for the dog and often causes arthritis. The Alsatian also is susceptible from monorchidism (one testicle), weakness of temperament, and missing teeth, as well as folded or bent ears which never fully turn up when reaching adulthood. The Alsatian is often has ear problems due to his large and open ears.

Alsatians, like many deep chested dogs are prone to bloat, this is a very dangerous and often rapidly fatal problem, so if you think this may be a problem, go straight to the vet. Bloat is a build up of gas in the stomach, caused for varying reasons. The symptoms of distress for no apparent reason, a firm distension of the abdomen, general weakness, depression, problems breathing, hypersalivation, and retching without vomiting. A large percentage of dogs with bloat have cardiac arrhythmias (around 40 percent), loss of appetite, vomiting and weight loss.

The German Shepherd also suffers from Degenerative Myelopathy, or DM is a neurological disease and are predisposed to Von Willebrand Disease, a common inherited bleeding disorder, which shows in varying degrees of bleeding tendency, usually in the form of easy bruising, nosebleeds and bleeding gums. .

In spite of these problems, the German Shepherd is sturdy with simple dog care and the average lifespan of a Alsatian is 7 – 10 years, which is typical for a dog of this size.

The Alsatian has great olfactory sensitivity so is one of the most widely-used breeds in a wide variety of scent-work roles, including cadaver searching, search and rescue, explosives detection, narcotics detection and mine detection.

So the Alsatian is a great clever dog that will bond well with you, if you have the time and dedication for him. Not advised for busy working families.