Dutch Shepherds - Pictures

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Dutch Shepherds - Breed History

Dutch Shepherds are also known by the names: the Dutch Farm dog, the Hollandse Herder, the Hollandse Herdershond, and the Hollandischer Schaferhund. The breed began in the Netherlands where the Dutch Shepherd was used as a working dog. The Dutch Shepherd was used on farms to herd sheep and guard them while out at pasture. Towards the end of the 1800s the Dutch Shepherd breed was almost all gone. The Dutch formed the first Dutch Shepherd club in 1898 to increase the breed's number. At this point, the Dutch Shepherd became a family pet and continued to do some work activities. The Dutch Shepherd today is used for police work, guarding, rescues, herding, and a family pet.

The Dutch Shepherd breed became "official" after the Nederlandse Herdershonden Club was set up in 1898. The Dutch Shepherd Dog was entered into the Studbook in 1896. Before the start of the Breed Club, the dogs were bred solely for their working capacities. Because there were no strict rules regarding breed type, it evolved into a type on its own. The standard of points, as first established, has changed several times over the years. The changes in the standard only served to refine what was already a known and established type. Changes included a gradual increase in the size of the breed and a fault defined by too much white. As photographs from the end of the last century and today will 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. Dutch Shepherds themselves have remained true to form, and many of them would do well in the show ring today.

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