German Shepherds?

[BonBon06-11-05]

I'm thinking about getting a german shepherd ... anyone else have one?

[monkey]

Not at present time. But our family had one when I was a child in Vietnam. German shepherd is the most loyal and children friendly dog I've known. We had so many good memory with our dog. Especially, our German shepherd Kiki had saved me from drowning in the family's pond. There are many more qualities that he had which I could not find it in any other type of dog such as hunting, guarding, and playing with kids. I would recomend to pick the one you love and give him/her a little training session. I think you would have a wonderful time. Good luck!!!

[jnettie]

I had a German Shepherd/Collie mix when I was a kid. He was a great dog! I agree, protective, especially of kids in the family, but sweet too.

Plus, aren't they just incredibly beautiful!

[Rico'sAlice]

We have a GSD. We got her from a shelter at 6mo. She is not protective at all! Of course I can't predict what she would do if a stranger actually attacked. But in general she is our wimpy dog.

My husky mix is much more protective, but I don't see at as a positive. Without good handling it seems that protectiveness can get turned into aggression.

But we did find the GSD extremely easy to boundary train, she has amazing recall. She also has a good vocabulary in terms of differentiating between toy, ball, stick & bone. She is very good with kids climbing on her, pulling her tail, ears, etc. (The fact that kids should be trained to properly interact w/ dogs is another thread) She cries and runs away, but never growls or snaps at them.
While she is very tolerant of touching, she is not a snuggler. Our other two love to be pet, always want to lick our faces, lie next to us. She will only let us pet her for a minute and then gets bored. I don't know if that is a breed trait at all. Her first six months she was tied up outside and left alone. So that if probably a factor.

Other issues to consider are the year-round shedding and the hip dysplasia issues. The popular thinking on hips is that the main thing is having the parents screened. I personally do not buy into this. Not that genetics don't play a factor at all, but I view the main issues as being improper feeding (any type that encourages maximum growth rate. Slow growth is better.) and forced exercise (long walks, extended games of fetch) during the growth period (first year or two)

But beautiful...absolutely!!!

[kemorr]

Make sure that you do your research thoroughly and buy from a breeder who has a long history of producing healthy, non-aggressive, well adjusted German Shepherds. Unfortunately, due to their popularity, there has been a lot of badly bred GSDs and they are one of the breeds that has a lot of health issues (cancer, autoimmune disease, hip and elbow dysplasia, intestinal diseases, allergies etc) that they are particularly susceptible to. In the last 6 months, I have had to euthanize an 18 month old GSD for aggressive oral cancer and a 2 year old GSD for an aggressive systemic autoimmune disease. Many of them that I see also have "personality issues", ranging from extreme aggressiveness with anyone outside of the family to severe shyness/submissiveness. That being said, if you're lucky enough to find a good one, they can make wonderful family dogs.

[Vegastrtle]

Many of them that I see also have "personality issues", ranging from extreme aggressiveness with anyone outside of the family to severe shyness/submissiveness. That being said, if you're lucky enough to find a good one, they can make wonderful family dogs.

Our GSD/Basenji mix has issues. She's protective of me (towards other dogs...very people friendly) and is very nervous around new things. Most of her issues are improving a bit (we've been working with trainers and take her to day care for LOTS of socialization). She's also very smart...which means training is easy...but selective hearing can be a problem ;)

[Chimichanga]

My grandma had a purebred german shepard. That dog was the sweetest dog ever. However, she did train him to attack my grandpa (they went through a very mess divorce). When he came over to her house for Christmas (the only time they were civil) she would have to muzzle the dog and keep her locked up in the garage. If she hadn't the dog would have torn my grandpa's arm off or something.

With that said, Rascal was the sweetest dog to everyone else. My mom never had a concern with my sister and I playing with the dog - and we were young.

As with any breed, you're going to have to do your homework. if you opt for a purebred, you'll need to find a reputable breeder.

[Dotsie]

I think they are the best dogs ever. But...they are very vocal i.e. whiny. That's the only thing that can get on my nerves with my dog, but other than that, she is the perfect pet.

[Missy2U]

I sure DO have one. And he's a big one. :) He has some issues as he was a shelter dog and had some bad times before us, but overall, he's the best pet we've ever had. He's very protective, very loving now that he trusts us - but we can't let him out off leash and he can't stand other dogs.

[shopaholic]

great thread. I am in an apartment now so I don't want to get a dog...but as soon as I have a home w/ a nice yard I want to get a german shepard.

[Hello Kitty]

I would recommend contacting a local schutzhund club in looking for breeders of GSDs, regardless of whether you want to train them (beyond puppy class) or not. Most people have strong feedback on the breeder they used and it will help narrow your choices as there are a lot of breeders of GSDs.

[jnettie]

We have a GSD. We got her from a shelter at 6mo. She is not protective at all! Of course I can't predict what she would do if a stranger actually attacked. But in general she is our wimpy dog.
Spider (yes, I, at 3 years old, named our dog Spider) was generally a whimpy dog unless he thought someone was going to hurt me. :D That was the only time he ever growled. Usually, he'd come running and barking whenever people came over. If you knew him, you'd know that was his way of greeting you, but it was scary if you didn't know him. So, even though he was a sweet guy, people though he was a scary dog, and that's all that really matters if you want a guard dog. ;)

[Rico'sAlice]

So, even though he was a sweet guy, people though he was a scary dog, and that's all that really matters if you want a guard dog. ;)

Yes, I'd second that. I always feel so safe when I am with her, just because people look at her and move away. Assuming that if she is GSD she is an attack dog.

But really, just look at how vicious she appears:
http://images.snapfish.com/346874377%7Ffp342%3Enu%3D3254%3E8%3A9%3E%3A%3C6%3E WSNRCG%3D32336674646%3A5nu0mrjhttp://images.snapfish.com/346874297%7Ffp335%3Enu%3D3254%3E8%3A9%3E%3A%3C6%3E WSNRCG%3D3233545767476nu0mrj