Black-backed and German Shepherd can be considered to be different names for the same breed to a certain extent. The black-backed dog, also known as the Kunming dog, is the offspring of a cross between a German shepherd and a native Chinese dog. It belongs to the family Canidae, the genus Canis, and the gray wolf subspecies.

The German Shepherd, native to Germany, is a medium-sized dog breed. Agile, smart and easy to train, suitable for various complex working environments. In China, German shepherds were introduced and then crossed with local Chinese dogs to produce the black-backed dog breed.