A POPULAR BREED Dogs are popular pets Today Americans own more than 78 million Around the world there are more than 400 dog breeds One of these is the German shepherd Let’s learn why the German shepherd is the second-most popular breed in the United States
A German shepherd won the Best in Show prize at the 2017 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
THE DOG FAMILY Dogs come in all shapes and sizes Yet all dogs belong to the Canidae family The name comes from the Latin word for dog which is canis This family includes coyotes foxes wolves and more Humans and dogs have lived together for at least 16,000 years In the beginning humans bred them to hunt Soon they trained dogs to do other jobs such as guarding property and herding livestock
Today some German shepherds are trained to be guide dogs
