Apologies for continuing this wildly off-topic chat, but I've always understood that it was after the first world war that the alternative name of "Alsatian" came about, when the breed was first being promoted intentionally. Germany wasn't good branding in the 1920s either.Southampton Gull wrote: ↑31 May 2024, 22:48 I've bred and worked German Shepherds for 20 years and owned them my whole life so I'm well aware of their history. It's just a bug bear of mine when I hear them mislabelled.
I get that the kennel club and dog breeding community in general might want to insist on the original name and that's fine within those circles.
That said, I think both names are equally understood and acceptable in common usage.
I personally prefer the name Alsatian. Growing up in the 70s/80s it was the more common name, and German Shepherd is such a mouthful.