The
History and Popularity of German Shepherd Dog in India
By Sanjit Kumar Mohanty
Joint Secretary, GSD Club of India
German Shepherds have always played a big role in Indian Dog Show
Scenario. Today the German Shepherd as a breed in India is very popular
among the dog lovers, breeders as well as show enthusiasts. Before
independence, keeping a German Shepherd in the house used to be luxury and
only the elite class of people like Royals, Landlords or English Officers
were privileged to keep them.
Post Independence, one could see
them only in rich and royal families. It is really interesting to know
that the German Shepherd Dog then an un recognized breed known as D.S.H IN
ITS FATHERLAND (GERMANY) was registered for the first time in India in
1910 ,by Mr. H. Triefflich who imported dogs from Germany. Till 1919 there
was no evidence or registration, but royals and canine lovers kept on
importing and the dog was then known as Alsatian the wolf dog, in the year
1919, captain P. Banerjee imported a dog named FOCH who was bred by Mr.
Wright of U.K, and got registered with the INDIAN KENNEL ASSOCIATION, this
is the first German Shepherd which was shown in Indian soil, at the 14th
championship show in CALCUTTA (KOLKATA) on February 1921.
His highness the maharaja of Jind
got fascinated with the breed and brought a pair bred by Mrs. E.M Cross,
these dogs were born in 1920,from the same litter Mr. A.A.L Parson got a
male named VIKING, all the three dogs were shown at the 7th Mussoorie show
held on 23rd September ,1921.
At the same time flt. lt. bouverie brine had two
bred-in-india dogs.
In 1923 Mr. Frank Colinwood imported a bitch from
U.K. during this time a lady named Mrs. Normandy Rodwell imported AIRMANS
CHAUKE and AIRMANS THALIA from the U.K.
AIRMANS CHAUKE became India�s
first GSD (then Alsatian) champion in 1925.
The breed was admired and loved in
this time. People like MRS. C. CH. VAN DE GRAFF, HIS HIGHNESS RAJA OF
POONCH, PRINCE BAHADUR SHUMSHARE, CAPT. HEM SHUMSHARE JUNG BAHADUR RANA,
AND HIS HIGHNESS MAHARAJA OF PATIALA PATRONISED THE BREED.
In 1924 H.H The Maharaja of Patiala imported from
Germany Alf von Eiswerdier and Asta Vom Franzosenfoch. Also in 1927, he
imported MAX V.D SECRETAINERIE , BIANKA V.D SECRETAINERIE, AND ALSO THE
FAMOUS GERMAN CHAMPION FRIDO V.D SECRETAINERIE, AND KORA AUS DER
KATCHENSTADT. ALL THESE DOGS WERE BRED BY THEN FAMOUS BREEDER FROM GERMANY
MR, SCHWABER who later moved to England.
In 1926 h.h maharaja of Jind imported BALDO V.D
SECRETAINERIE, THEN people
like Raja Bahadur of Bhadri, Major J.W. Goldsmith, flying officer M. D.
Ommanney, Mrs. f.e.g Godfrey, lt. col. Appleby and Mrs. G. Corlly smith
took keen interest in development of the breed in India.
These eminent people decided form an association and
founded the Alsatian club of India in 1928, and the office �bearers were:
President-G.E.G.JAMESSON, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE �MRS LYN CARLISELE, MRS.
CULLEY, MR. C. A. HARDBOARD, PRINCE BAHADUR SHUMSHERE, FLT.LT.M.D.OMMANEY,
HON. SECRETARY AND TREASURER-MRS,M.D.OMMANEY.
THIS CLUB PRESENTED cup for the
best Alsatian, also Frido V.D SECRETAINERIE, challenge cup for the best
Alsatian born in India and many other trophies and awards from 1930- 33 in
the Indian kennel association championship shows. During this period apart
from the above mentioned ladies and gentlemen, people like Mr. M.A.K
Fraser from south Mrs. W. Knox Chick from north, Mrs. E. H. Fido, Dr. L.
C. Smith and Miss. K. H. Wheatley took up the breed seriously to
popularize the breed in India. Mr. J. W. Goldsmith became the first
breeder to breed a Indian�bred champion.
Due to some uncertain reasons the
Alsatian club of India of 1928, ceased to function in the early part of
1934,
Again due to efforts of some earlier members and patrons, in 1934
February, there was a meeting at the Bombay show and Mrs. Lyn Carlisle was
appointed hon. secretary and treasurer, capt. H. Harrison became the
president, members present were, Dr. L. C. Smith, Mrs. H. C. Captain.
Mrs. Lyn Carlisle issued the first
pamphlet of the club in March 1934, due to some reason, Mrs. Lyn Carlisle
was un willing, Dr. L. C. Smith took over from her and published the first
magazine of the club in July 1934. Then the kennel club of India
(successor to the Indian kennel association) was approached for the
registration and affiliation, on 4t October 1934, K.C.I gave recognition
to the new club. Both Capt. Harrison and Dr. L. C. Smith put their efforts
to make the club asucess story and tried to popularize the breed. Monthly
meetings, discussions and seminars were conducted for members, breeders
and fanciers of the breed. Workshop on the breed standard, training,
health related issues were conducted by experts like Capt. Harrison, Mr.
Grove, and Mr. N. C. Bose. Even Capt. Harrison in one occasion described
the anatomical difference between a wolf and a Alsatian (gsd), by getting
a live wolf in the seminar.
Training and obedience classes were a regular feature at the Calcutta
maiden. The first
championship show of the club was conducted on the 23rd august of 1936,at
Calcutta (Kolkata), there were around 54 exhibits present in the show and
Capt. Harrison judged the show. In the mean time the bred was getting very
popular in Bengal. When Mrs. Corley smith left India most of her dogs were
brought b V.D SECRETAINERIE y Mr. G. N Dey and Mr. N. C. bose. Mr. G. N.
Dey acquired the great stud dog Ch. Lipper Von Grafenstein, and Thea Vom
Hain.
And
was a great advocate of the breed with passion, his sudden demise lost a
ardent supporter of the breed according to his last wish Dey memorial
trophies were created.
Mr.n.c bose aquried golden eagle of maresquel, Ella
vom Grunnensteg,Basko Von Raventhalshof,Donner vom Billhoff,mr.bose bred
very good gsds, and produced many show stunners.he definitely contributed
for the upliftment of the breed in India.
Mr. s.g.goho was another fancier who imported FERRO
V.D SECRETAINERIE,QUANDEL V.D, SECRETAINERIE, ELLA VON HUMMELLACHE,ERLE
VON HUMMELLACHE RFROM GERMANY.AND AVENGER STRATHSHAW OF ESEE FROM
AUSTRALIA.
A FEW OTHER personalities who took great intreast in
the breed and club were raja bahadur of rajnagar,patet saheb of
dhenkanal,mrs.gardiner, capt dina nath,mrs n.d.monte,the raja saheb of
rampura, and mrs hillwood of concord kennel.
In august 1937 a committee meeting of the club was
held to change the breed name from Alsatian to Alsatian(german shepherd
dog), and also to change the name of the club from Alsatian club of india
to Alsatian (g.s.d) club of India,the proposals were approved by the
committee and was forwarded to the kennel club of India,the kennel club of
India on the advise of kennel club of London granted the changes on
October ,1937.
With the beginning of second world war office bearers
and many member from the forces went for their active service duty, it was
not possible take out the club magazine and much activities from 1941.
But notably some members like Mr.
a.k.bose,mrs g.wicker-sham,mr.r.p.mitter,mrs d.f.morton,Mr. ashoke
mukherjee,mr.b.n.ghose,mrs Chadbourn,mrs p.dendrino,seth hari kishore,Mr.
h.inwood,lt.col.d.k.oldrini,Dr.l.c.smith, mrs taylor,capt m.z.khan
continued to breed and show.
In 1945 mr.harrison returned, and the club started
activity,Mr. r.p.mitter took over the charge of secretaryship from
mrs.I.M.ROSETTI.
MR. mitter ran the club till 1948,then he handed over
the club to capt.j.m.banerjee .the club members and office bearers put
their efforts and time to make it a success.with more than two hundread
members the club magazine was very successful with informative writting by
Mr. Harrison,. In the year
1952 the club got affiliated to the Alsatian league and club of great
Britain,and in liu of its affiliation received as a present ---�bontfield
challenge cup�for the best bred in India out of sire and dam imported from
great Britain.and also a trophy for the best Alsatian imported from
u.k.,on attaining championship .the club regularly sponsored tropheys and
prizes, in dog shows all over India.
In the mean time there was ban on importing dogs due
to foreign exchange regulation act.
In 1954 ,the club obtained import licence from the
government,and six dogs were imported to help the members.
In 1955 the club revised its
constitution and rules,. The
glorious landmark in the history of the club under the able stewardship of
r.p.mitter was on the 11 th December ,1960, when the great german
authority on the breed ,herr Heinz roper, came and judged the 21st club
show at Calcutta.the way in which he judged the german shepherds, and
demonstrated to the exibitiors and Indian judges, the qualities to look
for in a german shepherd as a working dog.
The silver jubilee show of the
Alsatian(gsd)club of India was held at calcutta,in 1963 at that time the
country was under national emergency rule.how-ever the show became very
successful ,with mrs,g.m.barrington as the judge,she is probably one of
the worlds greatest living authorities of the breed at that point of time.
For the success of this show letter of congratulation
were received from raja saheb of bhadri,cdr Harrison,herr wener funk ,james
.y.baldwin,german shepherd dog club of America inc,
When cdr Harrison left India to
settle in Australia became the patron of german shepherd club of
Australia.
. In the late 60s, German Shepherds from England and
Germany came to India. People like Nawab Ahmed Hussain, Nawab Nazeer Yar
Jung, R. P. Mitter, Ashok Mukherjee, Rajasaheb Bhadri, Maharaja of Baria,
L. C. Smith, contributed a lot to the growth and popularity of the German
Shepherds in the country. Especially, Mr. L. C. Smith from Bangalore
produced top class dogs under the prefix �Sydenberg�, blending bloodlines
from Ramacon Swas Buckler and Ajax von haus Dexel. Nawab Nazeer Yar Jung
from Hyderabad, with his Prefix �Paighas� imported lot of quality German
Shepherds from Germany, England and Australia and bred many obedience and
show champions. Ch. Brando of Blue Blood, Ch. Nara von der Kahlerheide,
Paighas Jung, Iccra Talismann were some of the dogs owned by them.
Then, a German Shepherd enthusiast
from southern India, Mr. M. J.Krishna Mohan, owned a beautiful specimen
Ch. Meridanes Dick. The dog won laurels in the show rings and created
interest and love for the breed among the GSD fanciers. Mr. Krishna Mohan
also imported some quality German Shepherds from top kennels from Germany,
but his untimely demise was a great loss to the breed in India.
In the
meanwhile, German Shepherd as a breed has become very popular for the
Indian dog show ring as well as pet lovers. Mr. D. Krishnamurthy
(Kingsway), Mrs. Y. Hemchandra (Yashbans), Mr. S. P. Mishra (Shivas),
Capt. Pupala Ashok (Tanfield), Mr. A. Venkateshan (Sansburg), Karlstad
kennel from Kolkata, Mr. Bharat Bhushan Beri form Kolkata, Chanchal Sarkar,
Kolkata, Iqbal Singh Dhillon (Rising Star), Amritsar, Amar Iqbal Singh
Bhinder (Super Star), Mr. C. V. Sudarsan (Chennai), contributed a lot to
the steady rise in popularity of the GSD as a show and pet dog in India.
In early 80s Mr. S. P. Mishra from Hyderabad imported many dogs from
Germany and produced some good stock, viz., Ch. Shivas Zambo. An NRI from
the US, Mr. Puri registered a kennel in the name of �Bronx Shepherds� and
imported some American champions; Pride vom Cypress, a top American winner
Avalon�s Hot Shot created interest and hype for Shepherds in Northern
India.
Mr. M. C. Sharma of Jhajjar Shepherds came into the picture with one of
Indian bred top winning Avalon�s Hot Shot son; he later imported German
Shepherds from various top show winning lines in Germany and contributed
to the gene-pool of North India with dogs like Till vom haus Beck, Nicos
von der Wanasse, Zender van Noort.
At that time Mrs. Y. Hemchandra (Yashbans)
imported lot of German dogs combining the herding and show lines. One of
her famous imported female was Gilka vom Kirschental. She had got a very
beautiful, darkly pigmented male nick named �Kai� who produced some good
offsprings.
This was a time when India saw a large number of
German imports in the show rings; the craze for German bloodlines grew
among breeders as well as owners of Shepherds. A gentleman named Mr.
Venkateshan with the prefix �Sansburg�, who was into Dobermans earlier,
got into German Shepherds; he imported many German dogs and bitches in
whelp from famous show lines of that time, viz., Norbert van Noort, Ajax
van Noort, Cagney von Grahenheim (Uran son proved to be a top producer),
Zambos von der Kahlerheide, Beta von der Kahlerheide, Lana vom haus Mohn,
Woyna von der Kahlerheide, Gera van Noort and widened the gene-pool in the
country. He won two titles of the Dog of the Year with his top winning
female, Ch. Tussy von der Kahlerheide and with his dog Ch. Norbert van
Noort. His kennel produced some top dogs and bitches like Sansburg Mark,
Sansburg Zito, Sansburg Fiona,sansburg dino. His last German import Fox
vom Wildsteigerland is still contributing to the German Shepherd gene pool
in India. Mr. Venkateshan was instrumental in forming the German Shepherd
Dog Club of India along with Mrs. Rajlaxmi Reguraj and Mr. C. V. Sudarsan
and became the Secretary of the German Shepherd Dog Club of India. Latter
on the club was affiliated to w.u.s.v germany.
At the same time, a young
businessman from Pune, Mr. Sanjay Desai got involved in German Shepherd
showing and breeding; he got success in shows with his Shepherd, Ch. Ago
vom Kirschental (Reserve Dog of the Year) in partnership with Mrs. Y.
Hemchandra. Later, he started showing and breeding under the prefix �Dogmatix�.
He imported many quality German imports. He brought some of the finest
Weinerau bloodline in the country. His famous winners were Orfano Blue
Iris, Berny Blue Iris, Ferris Blue Iris, Fia Blue Iris, India Blue Iris,
Odessa Fidelius, Stobuko Yohanessberg (one of the top producers form
Germany), Uro vom Hambachtal, Dasty von der Weinerau, Uras von Blue Rose,
Ful di casa Nobili (presently one of the top producers in the country),
Vigor drei Birckenzwinger,2009 german v-9-igor von der rommelsh bach. Mr.
Desai�s dog Hero von haus Mohn won the Dog of the Year award; he produced
numerous champions like Nash of Dogmatix, Urla of Dogmatix, Quant of
Dogmatix, Fan of Dogmatix, Chikey of Dogmatix, Tasha of Dogmatix and
continues to breed quality Shepherds.he is the first breeder from India
whose breeding is now being shown in germany. He is the present Secretary
of the German Shepherd Dog Club of India.
Mr. Amar Iqbal Singh Bhinder from
Amritsar, who is very knowledgeable in German Shepherds, bred some of the
finest females in the country. He had a beautiful German import bitch
called Senta von der Aliusburg, who was a Quino Arminius daughter. From
his kennel, a bitch named Nathalie of Superstar became a showstopper and
won many Best in Show lineups.
In Bangalore, late Mrs. Rajlaxmi
Reguraj was a great ambassador for the breed. She joined the GSD movement
by importing quality dogs and bitches. A dog owned by her �Ch. Kora�,
became the first German Shepherd to be The Dog of the Year. From her
kennel �Fleetwood and Artegal� came a finest female, Artegal�s Will of
Fire and many others. Her son Mr. Nagendran Reguraj, who was an All Breed
Judge and very knowledgeable in German Shepherds, handled all her dogs to
glory and top positions. Mrs. Reguraj played a vital role in forming the
German Shepherd Dog Club of India and was the first President of the
Club.the g.s.d fraternity lost afriend at the untimely demise of Mr.
nagindiran reguraj.
Mr. Amar Iqbal Singh Dhillon, an Ex Member of
Parliament, entered the German Shepherd scene with his American import
Darengo Leonhaus Journey and got some success in the show ring; he later
shifted to German bloodlines. Under his kennel prefix �Rising Star�, he
produced a lot of champions. The significance of his breeding is that he
uses all the best import males available in the country. One of the top
female produced at his kennel is �Ch. Kelly of Rising Star�. In his late
80s, he is still an active participant and makes it a point to be present
in major dog shows and specialty shows.
In Delhi, Karwinder Singh and his sister Nina Anand,
bred some quality dogs under the prefix �Fienberg�, with their German
stock from Fidelius. They had a very beautiful Quando Arminius daughter,
Gina von der Burg Reihnstein.
Mr. C. Ramaswamy from Coimbatore, under prefix �Goldwins�
bred some excellent specimen, like Goldwin�s Marko and Goldwin�s Olimbus
and many others from his German imports Sony von der Romerau, Dango von
der Kahlerheide.
The mid 90s saw a young breeder from Bangalore, Mr.
K. E. Ramesh join the group; under the prefix �Atensberg�, he imported a
few bitches and dogs combining the bloodline of Quando Bohawald and Gorbi
von Badboll and produced more than 50 champions of correct size and
expression to everybody�s surprise. Atensberg Pinto and Atensberg Max were
very popular show dogs.
Late Mr. Vijay Singh of Patiala was a great
enthusiast and had a great passion for the breed. His kennel �Aye Vee�,
produced very good specimens. He imported some of the famous winners like
Videx Kimo, Videx Tula, Videx Nathalie, Fipssi vom Sultzblick, Rocky von
haus Tepferd, Fedor von Steinwaypark. He was the Past President of the
German Shepherd Dog Club of India. His untimely demise was a great loss to
the German Shepherd Breed in India.
In mid 80s Mr. Bharat Bhushan Beri
from Calcutta imported some quality German Shepherds from kennel �Estherlager�
of Holland, owned by respected SV Judge J. G. Hann. His dog Goya von
Estherlager won multi Best in Show lineups. Mr. Beri imported a beautiful
female �Tina van dan Alheides Hoeve� and later imported an Ulk Arlett son
�Yupp von Estherlager�; he imported many dogs from famous kennel �Bedwin�
and contributed to the gene pool of the eastern part of the country. Mr.
Chanchal Sarkar, from Calcutta imported a pair �Shooterways Xargas and
Shooterways Yana�. This pair produced some excellent dogs and bitches from
every litter.
In south, Mr.
Vijay Varghese, imported many good dogs like Xero vom Saverland, Wastly
von Arlett, Jock von Restrauch, Verena vom Bewei, Tell von Winnloh and
many bitches. He sold Xero vom Saverland and Wastly von Arlett to an
experienced breeder from Pune, named Mr.Azim Farooqui. He produced some
excellent specimens out of these two dogs, under his prefix �Fags�. He is
regularly importing dogs from top German Lines like; Igor de Brunskilltal,
Hulk aus Agrigento, Eros vom Nindorfer Haus for his breeding program.and
his his home breds like fags fanny,and now fags nash are top specimen.
Another passionate enthusiast, Mr.
Pradeep Kumar Ghosh from Calcutta imported manys from Germany and Bedwin
kennel of England contributing a lot to the gene pool of the east. His
famous winning dogs were Ciricho of Titenhof, Ch. Fando of Dogmatix who
did lot of winning in eastern show circuit.
In early 90s Mr. S. Pathy from
Coimbatore, owner of famous �Sanscraintes� kennel, took interest in German
Shepherds and imported top class German Shepherds from Australia, England
and Germany. He bred quality stock to improve the breed; his import Wadcre
Dexi won numerous Best in Show lineups.
Mr. Guruprasad from Chennai who
has a very good eye for German Shepherds, imported a glamorous dog called
Yasso von der Urbecke. Yasso won a lot in Indian show circuit. Mr.
Guruprasad bred some outstanding specimensout of Yasso and his import
female, Gora de Grupeto and later on imported dogs like Flyn von Sanmarko,
Cent von der Urbecke to contribute to the development
of the breed in southern India.now is a committee member of german
shepherd dog club of India.
In the meanwhile, a lady from Chennai, Mrs. Kala
Krishna under prefix �Vinmin� imported a dog from Australia, Ch. Augnadow
Cruister Classic; he was a deeply pigmented, masculine dog of good
proportions. Later, she imported quality dogs from Germany,viz., Farinja
von der Kahlerheide, Fanti vom Murrtal, Nita vom Murrtal, Quartz vom
Murrtal. Quartz vom Murrtal proved to be an outstanding producer of many
champions of her kennel.still she breeds quality dogs with her imports.
The year 2001 saw a new beginning,
when a young man of Afghan origin named Abdullah Noori, got fascinated by
GSDs. India saw a top winning and producing dog, V 10 � Quando von
Nordlandzwinger a VA Scott v Deodatus son. Before that, in the year 2000,
Mr. Noori�s import SG 34 � Karly vom Murrtal (Litter brother to VA Kevin)
had become Dog of the Year in India. But Quando impressed the Indian show
ring and created hype and enthusiasm among GSD lovers. With his ring
presence, anatomy and movement, he became Dog of the Year for three
consecutive years and also was crowned twice as the Indian Sieger. Quando
produced a lot of top show winning progeny. Mr. Noori imported lot of
winning dogs like; V 7 Fedor Steinway Park, SG 11 Rocky vom Haus Tepferd,
V 11 Bob von der Grafenburg, and 1st VA bitch Hannie vom Team Fiemereck to
contribute to the gene pool in India.
At present, a young breeder named
Vishwas Raj (Bangalore - Wolfenhaus), has been very successful with his
imports as well as his home breds. His imports, Xavier von der Urbecke,
Delfa von der Urbecke, Yossy von der Urbecke, Lutzi von Stefanopertal have
been very successful in the show ring.
Mr. Kapil Krishnamurthy from
Coimbatore under the prefix �Kingsway�, has imported some very good
shepherds from Germany. He has a quality Nero Nobachtal son and double
sieger Yasko vom Farbenspeil son, Rascos von Messebau. He also has some
top quality bitches in his kennel and is producing some good specimens out
of them.his home bred kings way mika became a sensation we he clinched the
vice sieger tittle in open class male category, in 11th Indian sieger show
at coimbatore.
A young man named p.nityananda with his kennel prefix
kingsland,from south a passionate breeder ,produced many champions by
using the top producing sire eros frost-krammer,kingsland presented a
progeny group by eros, in 2009 indian sieger show .and his home bred dogs
are continiously winnining in all breed and speciality shows.
Apart from the above, Late Mr.
Rajinder Malhotra, Mr. Mukul Vaid, Mr. Jagteshwar Singh, Sheriff Dayan,Mr.
vivek jaychandran, Mr. Amar Parekh, Mr. Subhash Patil, Mr. Ajit Mathew,
Mr. Vijay Ramakrishna, Mr. Pradeep Kumar, Mrs. Sashikala Giri, Mr. Saibal
Chakrabarty, Mr. Somnath Ghosh, Mr. Avijoy Mukherjee, Mr. S. R. Prusti,
Ms. Gauri Nargolkar, Mr. Ajmer Singh Dadhwal, Mr. vishal sudam, Mr. Peter
Moses, Mr. Satish Shukla, Mr.
Aniruddh Singh, Mr. Sunny Dhaliwal, Mr. Abhai Kaul,
Mr. P. A. Suresh, Mr. Jaskirat Singh Sethi, Mr. Sukhbir Singh Paintal, Mr.
Harchand Singh, Mr. N. Santhosh, Mr. Ramabhadran, Mr. Jagdeeshwaran, Mr.
T. P. Roy, Mr. I. Dhanashekhar, Mr. M. Mothes, Late Mr. Manuben Joshuaraj
have contributed immensely to the GSD movement and development in the
country.
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