The German Shepherd breed today is a far cry from the original flock dogs used in Germany in earlier times. Sheep herding dogs were a necessary part of the German agricultural scenes and were quite a mixed lot. It wasn't until the formation of a group known as the Association for German Sheepdogs SV, (now a large group of fanciers numbering more than 50,000) that a more uniform dog began to evolve. The German Shepherd Dog standards and breeding policies are strictly regulated by this club as are most breeds in Germany. This regulation includes the registration of litters and approval of the quality of each puppy within a litter. In former days the "culling" of the litter meant that puppies who did not qualify would be destroyed, nowadays such puppies can only be sold as pets and may not be registered. This strict supervision of the German Shepherd Dog in Germany has led to a very uniform breed in both physical attributes and instinctive abilities.