Editing German Shepherd (section)

== Numbers ==
{{globalise|date=October 2019|section|UK|USA}}
[[File:Fritzi GSD puppy.jpg|thumb|A nine-week-old puppy]]
When the [[The Kennel Club|UK Kennel]] accepted registrations in 1919, 54 German Shepherds were registered. By 1926 this number had grown to over 8000.<ref name="gsd-history" /> The breed gained international recognition after the end of World War I. Returning soldiers spoke highly of the breed and animal actors [[Rin Tin Tin]] and [[Strongheart]] popularised the breed further.<ref name="palika-25">{{Cite book|last=Palika|first=Liz|year=2008|title=Your Happy Healthy Pet: German Shepherd Dog|publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]]|isbn=978-0-470-19231-3|page=25}}</ref> The first German Shepherd Dog registered in the United States was Queen of Switzerland. Her offspring had defects as the result of poor breeding, which caused the breed to decline in popularity during the late 1920s.<ref name="palika-25" />

Popularity increased again after Sieger Pfeffer von Bern became the 1937 and 1938 Grand Victor in American Kennel Club dog shows, only to have another decline at the conclusion of World War II, due to anti-German sentiment.<ref name="palika-25" /> Popularity increased gradually until 1993, when they became the third most popular breed in the United States. {{as of|2016}}, the German Shepherd is the second most popular breed in the US.<ref name="palika-25" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.akc.org/reg/dogreg_stats.cfm |title=AKC Dog Registration Statistics |access-date=15 July 2008 |publisher=American Kennel Club |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511200854/http://www.akc.org/reg/dogreg_stats.cfm |archive-date=11 May 2012 }}</ref> It is typically among the most frequently registered breeds in other countries.<ref name="palika-25" /> It was the third-most registered breed by the [[American Kennel Club]] in 2020,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeds/the-most-popular-dog-breeds-of-2020/|title=The Most Popular Dog Breeds of 2020|first1=Jan|last1=Reisen|date=16 March 2021|website=[[American Kennel Club]]}}</ref> and seventh-most registered breed by [[The Kennel Club]] in the United Kingdom in 2016.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/media/1098176/top_20_breeds_2015_-_2016.pdf|title=Top Twenty Breeds in Registration Order for the Years 2015 and 2016|publisher=[[The Kennel Club]]|access-date=22 January 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210043039/https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/media/1098176/top_20_breeds_2015_-_2016.pdf|archive-date=10 December 2019}}</ref>