22 
The Shepherd or Police Dog 
first consideration being, of course, their value as a 
working dog, and much depended upon the district 
in which he was used and the work that he was re¬ 
quired to perform, either as a quick lithe dog to he 
used for sheep or a more powerful animal for the 
herding of cattle. Climatic conditions also played 
an important role in his development and finally, 
since he was the constant companion of his master, 
a certain pride was felt in his good appearance and 
this was probably the first stimulus toward the de¬ 
velopment of the handsome dog we know today. 
The first concrete effort to establish a specialty 
club for the development of the breed was made in 
1891, when the club known as the Phylax was 
formed by the admirers of the breed. However, 
since the entire effort of this club seemed to be the 
furthering of outward appearances and the produc¬ 
tion of a certain type, with a consequent loss of his 
intelligence and working ability, this club made very 
meager advancement, especially since those that were 
vitally interested in the dog kept him first for his 
working qualities and therefore the year 1894 
marked the passing of the club. 
In 1899 a group of real fanciers and breeders or¬ 
ganized the Verein fuer Deutsche Schaeferhunde, 
known to the fanciers today as the S. V. and estab¬ 
lished a stud book that stands today as a model of its 
kind. 
At this time a number of shepherds in Thuringia 
had established large kennels and were breeding- 
