The German Shepherd (German: Deutscher Schäferhund, German pronunciation: ) is a breed of medium to large-sized working dog that originated in Germany. In the English language, the breed's officially recognized name is German Shepherd Dog (GSD). The breed was officially known as the. Alsatian in the UK from after the First World War until 1977 when its name was changed back to German Shepherd. Despite its primitive, wolf-like appearance, the German Shepherd is a relatively modern breed of dog, with their origin dating to 1899. The East-European Shepherd is a variety of the German Shepherd bred in the former Soviet Union with the purpose of creating a larger more cold resistant version of the German Shepherd, it lacks the physical deformities bred into western show lines of German Shepherds and has become one of Russia's most popular dog types.