The Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde (Society for the German Shepherd Dog), commonly abbreviated SV, is the German Shepherd dog club founded by Max von Stephanitz in 1899, as the successor of the Phylax Society. The society set forward the standards of the breed and were responsible for the creation of the modern German Shepherd Dog.
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After the disestablishment of the Phylax Society in 1894, many members still harboured the desire to create a well-rounded dog by selectively breeding local German dog breeds. One such member was Max von Stephanitz, a cavalry officer and former student of the Berlin Veterinary College. Von Stephanitz harboured the belief that dogs should be bred for working purposes rather than for show, and in 1899, while attending a show, he was shown a dog by the name of Hektor Linksrhein. Von Stephanitz was so impressed by the strength and intelligence of the dog that he purchased it, changed its name to Horand von Grafrath and founded the Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde[1] on April 22, 1899 and instated himself as the first president.[2][3] The group was formed along with Von Stephanitz's colleague, Artur Meyer, and nine other members.[4]
After the club's establishment, Von Stephanitz's dog, Horand von Grafrath was named the first German Shepherd Dog and was the first dog added to the organization's breed registry.[5] From that point onward Grafrath was used by the club as the basis for what qualities the breed should exhibit.
Von Stephanitz believed strongly that a dog's working ability was of the utmost importance and aesthetics should be ignored. Thus, in order to avoid the arguments which lead to the disestablishment of the Phylax Society, the society's first breed standard, which Stephanitz wrote himself, read "A pleasing appearance is desirable, but it can not put the dog's working ability into question ... German Shepherd breeding is working dog breeding, or it is not German Shepherd breeding".[6][7]
The society is now the national German Shepherd Club of Germany and coordinates breeding, dog shows and titles.