Whats the difference between an Alsation and a German Shepherd?

they are exactly the same dog. i think people who are scared of them tend to call them alsations, bu tthe correct name is german sheperd. :)

i have a gsd and have had gsd's nearlly all my life, i have a book? about the history of gsd's and i have read that many years ago they were called alsations but then as the history of this breed unfolded apparently as they are orrigionally from germany and were used alot as sheep and cattle dogs there name developed into german shepherd.
now whether or not this is infact true i do not know but it made good reading, im sure ive still got the book so if i have i will read again to see if i can find out more.

They were originally German Shepherd Dog but at the time of the war there was opposition to all things German hence the change to Alsatian. It was not that long ago that the name was officially changed back to GSD. Certainly I can remember it happening.

Best wishes, John

There is no difference. The correct name for the breed, according to the Kennel Club breed standard, is German Shepherd Dog (Alsatian).

This makes it a lot clearer for me! I thought alsatian's were the short coated and german shepherds were long coated :o
Another lesson learnt!