A pure breed, such as this German Shepherd dog, is homozygous for the particular characteristics for which it has been bred. Captain Max von stephanitz began the standardization with a breed. It all started with a dog in Karlsruhe in western Germany. A medium sized yellow-and-gray wolf like dog caught his attention. The dog was the primal canine type, supple, and powerful and possessed endurance, steadiness, and intelligence. He was a working sheepherder, born with this ability, requiring other then direction and finished to become proficient at the task. This dog, Hektor Linksrhein, was purchased by von Sephanitz, renamed Horand von Grafrath, and became the first registered German Shepherd Dog.