In German those dogs are called “Deutsche Schäferhunde”, which literally translates to “German shepherd dogs”. My guess is, that this was simplified to just “german shepherds” over time.
In dog breeding/training circles, people still say “German Shepherd Dog” fairly often, even though you can just omit the “Dog” part in casual conversation. The initialism “GSD” is extremely common, too.
In German those dogs are called “Deutsche Schäferhunde”, which literally translates to “German shepherd dogs”. My guess is, that this was simplified to just “german shepherds” over time.
In dog breeding/training circles, people still say “German Shepherd Dog” fairly often, even though you can just omit the “Dog” part in casual conversation. The initialism “GSD” is extremely common, too.