History of the Breed
The breed is an old country-breed, of Dutch origins. In times gone by, shepherds and farmers needed a versatile dog. A jack-of-all-trades, with few demands and adapted to the harsh and sparse existence of the time.
From those dogs the Dutch Shepherd Dog, as we know it today, evolved. This also explains the character traits that have been preserved virtually unchanged to the present day. The dogs were very loyal to the pack, intelligent, and they were bred for suitability to the work on the farm and for the shepherd rather than physical type. Over time, suitability bred conformity. By the late 1800s Dutch Shepherd Dogs shared the same skills and, for the most part, the same physical appearance. Because of the industrialization, sheep, shepherds, and their dogs were no longer needed. Afraid the dogs would die out with the last of the shepherds, a group of enthusiasts met to set up a breed club for the Dutch breed. The Nederlandse Herdershonden Club (NHC) was founded on June 12, 1898, and set the first breed standard for the Dutch Shepherd dog.
After the NHC was set up in 1898; the breed became "official". The oldest known Dutch Shepherd Dog that was entered into the stud book was born in 1896. The NHC set itself the task of structuring breeding activities. Before the existence of the NHC, the dogs were bred solely for their herding capacities. And although the breed had evolved into a type on its own, there were no strict rules regarding type. However, as photographs from the end of the last century and today show, the type was already well established and has changed so little that it is often only the quality of the photograph that gives away the fact that it is over 100 years old. The dogs themselves have remained true to form, and many of them would do well in the show ring today.
Until 1914 there were many changes in the breed standard. The coat varieties were narrowed down to short, long, and rough hair. All colors were permitted provided that they weren't too colorful. White however, was restricted to chest and toes.
The desire to create a breed that would clearly distinguish itself from the German and Belgian shepherd dogs led to a color restriction in 1914. The minimum sizes for the short and rough haired varieties were raised by about two inches, with a little less for the longhaired variety. From that moment on all white was forbidden. Those drastic restrictions in permitted color and/or size led to an enormous deterioration of the available genetic material. More than anything, the exclusion of all white excluded an enormous amount of dogs from the breed pool since white is such a dominant gene.
In 1928 some white was permitted again, and in 1934, some old colors were re-introduced as permitted colors. It was too late however. The breed base was small and a lot of good dogs had already been excluded due to the several color and structure changes. The clock could not be turned back again. In 1960 the colors were restricted back to the way things were in 1914. Only this time the auburn longhair disappeared.
There are records of some GSD crosses into the short haired version that occurred between 1910 and 1916. But it took quite some time to get rid of the subsequent undesirable traits. After the second world war there was definitely a need for some fresh blood, and dogs of unknown background, along with some Belgian Malinois, were suggested for the short haired version, and Belgian Tervuerens for the longhair. One thing was for sure however, nobody had any desire to breed to German Shepherds again since that little episode before the First World War had taken several years to straighten back out.
A well known dog fancier wrote about the Dutch Shepherd Dog in 1910:”….bearing a great resemblance to the wolf.” Of course this is not entirely true, but it is another aspect that shows that the Dutch Shepherd still has many of the characteristics of its wild forebears.
From those dogs the Dutch Shepherd Dog, as we know it today, evolved. This also explains the character traits that have been preserved virtually unchanged to the present day. The dogs were very loyal to the pack, intelligent, and they were bred for suitability to the work on the farm and for the shepherd rather than physical type. Over time, suitability bred conformity. By the late 1800s Dutch Shepherd Dogs shared the same skills and, for the most part, the same physical appearance. Because of the industrialization, sheep, shepherds, and their dogs were no longer needed. Afraid the dogs would die out with the last of the shepherds, a group of enthusiasts met to set up a breed club for the Dutch breed. The Nederlandse Herdershonden Club (NHC) was founded on June 12, 1898, and set the first breed standard for the Dutch Shepherd dog.
After the NHC was set up in 1898; the breed became "official". The oldest known Dutch Shepherd Dog that was entered into the stud book was born in 1896. The NHC set itself the task of structuring breeding activities. Before the existence of the NHC, the dogs were bred solely for their herding capacities. And although the breed had evolved into a type on its own, there were no strict rules regarding type. However, as photographs from the end of the last century and today show, the type was already well established and has changed so little that it is often only the quality of the photograph that gives away the fact that it is over 100 years old. The dogs themselves have remained true to form, and many of them would do well in the show ring today.
Until 1914 there were many changes in the breed standard. The coat varieties were narrowed down to short, long, and rough hair. All colors were permitted provided that they weren't too colorful. White however, was restricted to chest and toes.
The desire to create a breed that would clearly distinguish itself from the German and Belgian shepherd dogs led to a color restriction in 1914. The minimum sizes for the short and rough haired varieties were raised by about two inches, with a little less for the longhaired variety. From that moment on all white was forbidden. Those drastic restrictions in permitted color and/or size led to an enormous deterioration of the available genetic material. More than anything, the exclusion of all white excluded an enormous amount of dogs from the breed pool since white is such a dominant gene.
In 1928 some white was permitted again, and in 1934, some old colors were re-introduced as permitted colors. It was too late however. The breed base was small and a lot of good dogs had already been excluded due to the several color and structure changes. The clock could not be turned back again. In 1960 the colors were restricted back to the way things were in 1914. Only this time the auburn longhair disappeared.
There are records of some GSD crosses into the short haired version that occurred between 1910 and 1916. But it took quite some time to get rid of the subsequent undesirable traits. After the second world war there was definitely a need for some fresh blood, and dogs of unknown background, along with some Belgian Malinois, were suggested for the short haired version, and Belgian Tervuerens for the longhair. One thing was for sure however, nobody had any desire to breed to German Shepherds again since that little episode before the First World War had taken several years to straighten back out.
A well known dog fancier wrote about the Dutch Shepherd Dog in 1910:”….bearing a great resemblance to the wolf.” Of course this is not entirely true, but it is another aspect that shows that the Dutch Shepherd still has many of the characteristics of its wild forebears.
