In 1899 Max von Stephanitz founded the “Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde” – SV. Along with establishing a breed standard the SV also developed The Stud Book for German Shepherds (SZ – Zuchtbuch für Deutsche Schäferhunde). The first dog entered, SZ 1, was his dog “Horand von Grafrath”, he is considered the progenitor of the breed.
The SV draws up and issues the pedigrees for German Shepherds, not only in Germany but all over the world breeders register their puppies not only in the national Stud Book but also in the SZ.
Today more than 2 million German Shepherds are included in the SZ, an Online Database SV-DOxS is maintained by the SV.