German Shepherd owners

[caitlinsmom]

Please tell me about your experiences with a German Shepherd.

 

Here is our situation: My brother has a papered dog that will be having a litter in the next two weeks. He called tonight and asked if we wanted one. We are currently renting (with the plan to buy it) a house on over an acre, mostly fenced. We have lots of neighbors with dogs, a couple that wander and check things out (drives me crazy!). We have a flock of chickens with plans to add more come spring and possibly a mini cow. The pasture is fenced for the cow and possibly the chickens, depending on how many we get. There are 6 of us, the youngest being 3.

 

My main concerns are how well the dog would do with chickens roaming about. I do worry about how to properly train it as I've heard that without training all their smarts can turn destructive. Is this a dog that needs to have another canine friend? Does their curiosity cause them to wander a lot? What kind of monthly expense should I budget? Is the German Shepherd a generally healthy dog?

 

We've always adopted dogs that were older and trained. I have no idea how to do the puppy stage or if I even want to. :) Please share what knowledge you have please.

[staceyobu]

We've never owned a shepherd, but my parents have owned one since before I was born.

 

They are prone to hip dysplasia. i think a lot of bigger dogs are likely to get this.

 

They shed like CRAZY. Seriously... the shedding is ridiculous.

 

They are one family dogs. Very protective. This is part of why my parents own them... for protection.

 

Good with little kids.

 

Definitely need training. It's one thing to have an out of control chihuahua. It's something else to have an out of control dog that is territorial and the size of a horse.

 

We had guinea pigs growing up with a german shepherd and they left them alone. So, I would think the chickens would be okay. Our beagle, however, seems to catch wild birds like there is no tomorrow. Blech.

 

My parents have owned them in pairs and solo. They seem to have done fine either way.

[gracesteacher]

if you are on fb a friend of mind has a page there called The German Shepard Dog Community. Her husband is a dog trainer. There are a lot of great people on there that give really good advice.

[Pippen]

We've never owned a shepherd, but my parents have owned one since before I was born.

 

They are prone to hip dysplasia. i think a lot of bigger dogs are likely to get this.

 

They shed like CRAZY. Seriously... the shedding is ridiculous.

 

They are one family dogs. Very protective. This is part of why my parents own them... for protection.

 

Good with little kids.

 

Definitely need training. It's one thing to have an out of control chihuahua. It's something else to have an out of control dog that is territorial and the size of a horse.

 

We had guinea pigs growing up with a german shepherd and they left them alone. So, I would think the chickens would be okay. Our beagle, however, seems to catch wild birds like there is no tomorrow. Blech.

 

My parents have owned them in pairs and solo. They seem to have done fine either way.

 

 

We had one for a short period (maybe a year) while growing up. He was very protective of us kids. He also wasn't trusting of my father--so much so that when my mom would spank us the dog was fine with it but when my dad would the dog would go into protection mode. Actually that was good sense on the part of the dog...but also led to his becoming our former dog.

 

There is a German Shepherd in our neighborhood that the owner had no control over. It was not good.

[jujsky]

We have only ever had shepherds and a shepherd mix. In my completely biased opinion, they are the most wonderful, loyal, intelligent, beautiful dogs imaginable. They are herding dogs, so I'm not sure how they would do with chickens. If you get it as a puppy it should do fine with them, I'd imagine. The herding instinct is stronger in some than others. Some will nip a bit if they have a strong instinct, but they are also extremely intelligent, trainable dogs so they can learn to curb that instinct if they have it. German Shepherds (except my boy Logan, the laziest GSD on the planet) need a job. They love to work. They can be strong-willed, but if you channel that drive and intelligence into training, you'll have a great dog. They are awesome with kids! Both of our purebreds (bought as puppies years apart from different breeders) love all children and are so gentle with them. You should see what my DD does to these dogs! She dresses up the geriatric dog in princess tiaras, and she's all over Logan constantly. He actually listens to her a bit better than he listens to me. Though they're gentle, they can also be very protective, which can turn into being overprotective if you don't get them socialized early and don't correct any negative, aggressive behaviors they might exhibit towards strangers. The dogs have very individual personalities, so it's really impossible to say what your dog will be like, other than in very general terms.

 

As another poster said, they are prone to hip dysplasia. They're also prone to something called (I think) degenerative mylopothy, a break-down of the nerves in the spinal column, which eventually leads to paralysis. This usually happens in older dogs. Our dog's sister was 8 or 9 when she got it, our Elsa started showing signs of it last year when she was 11. 9-12 is about the average life span, although I've heard of the rare dog that makes it to 14 or 15. They DO shed like crazy! They have double-coats so they shed somewhat year-round and go through a couple of major sheds each year. I've found that a Furminator brush helps.

 

Honestly, I have a hard time imagining getting another kind of dog. We toy around with the idea of getting another breed from time to time, but keep coming back to the GSD. It has all the traits we could hope for. The shedding sucks, but it's a minor annoyance for all the benefits the breed brings to us.

[gardenmom5]

I had a fabulous gs. she was great with kids, and very smart. she also got very hyper around chickens. (and mice hiding out in the wood pile.)

 

eta: she was also a better mother to the neighbors kittens than their cat was. (pity she couldn't feed them because mama cat found it a bother.)

[Bensmom]

I love GSD. They are super smart, great with kids, and protective of their family. Our GSD/lab mix loves to roam. She was also pretty destructive as a pup because we didn't meet her energy demands. (A daily stroll and running in the yard alone wasn't nearly enough). They need interaction, training, and work to do to stay out of trouble. You won't be able to just let one loose with your chickens. They are so smart I think it could be trained to leaved them alone but it will definitely take training! Our GSD mix catches and eats squirrels, rabbits, birds, and will catch snakes. She had to be trained to leave the cats alone. Occasionally she still likes to "taste" one of the cats (puts her huge mouth over the cats neck and drools). We just calmly tell her to "stop tasting her brother" and she hangs her head in shame and walks away. (This does not seem to perturb the cat btw). And yes they shed and get hip dysphasia. Her hip meds cost a dollar a day. Food and monthly meds for fleas and ticks are more for a bigger dog but seems to vary some depending on where you live. A 35lb bag of quality dog food lasts about 2 weeks for my 2 dogs.

[AimeeM]

We have a GSD (Luke). Incredibly loyal, fiercely protective, great with the kids.

We've had him since he was a pup. We were advised, by the owner of a GSD rescue, to not bring an older GSD rescue into the home with another dog and children.

 

Start training EARLY. Puppy class is very helpful and then continued obedience training.

 

I would never trust my Luke with chickens. He WOULD eat them. Period. 'Course, that could just be mine. Luke also has a *thing* about men in uniform (UPS men beware!).

 

They shed like CRAZY. Daily brushing.

 

Luke has been very healthy.

[Jann in TX]

We have always had a German Shepherd or a shepherd mix.

Our first dog was a rescue--she was a 1yr old sheperd-corgi mix-- She looked very much like a shepherd with sawed off legs (about 3/4 of what you would have expected for a shepherd). She was an excellent family dog (our older girls were 5 and 3 when we got her. She did need a friend though-- so we got a pure shepherd.

 

We have had 4 pure bred shepherds and 2 shepherd mixes. We currently have a 6yr old shepherd/lab mix and a 1yr old full GS puppy (even at 120 pounds he is still very very much a puppy). Both are solid white.

 

We lovingly refer to them as 'German Shedders'. We overlook the hair issue-- they are so worth it.

 

Our GS's have always been 'indoor' dogs. Most have been huge 'floor rugs' needing only a good walk each day to keep them happy. They were happiest when they were our 'slippers'.

 

Our current puppy is coming along nicely with his training. He also has a ball drive and has been our most active GS yet. The good news is that he brings the ball back and places it right in your hand every time (of course begging you to throw it again and again). He also loves his disk (frisbee). DH is really getting attached to this guy-- moreso than the others (besides being absolutely georgous and smart he is FUN).

 

Some of our shepherds liked to chase squirrels-- most liked to chase deer. All have been best friends with our cat. Our puppy has no interest in birds or squirrels (but deer he will NOT leave alone).

 

Training/working with/socializing is VERY VERY important from the beginning. If you get a puppy find a LARGE BREED trainer immediately (I advise against going to a class at someplace like Pet-Smart). The trianer will work with YOU on how to work with your puppy. A good trainer will evaluate YOUR puppy and help you grow a balanced dog. It may only take a session or two for you to get the hang of it-- and will be so worth it in the end. Large breed puppies are very different to work with-- they can't get away with the same bad behaviors most smaller breeds can!

 

We have never had an issue with chewing (shredding dog toys/beds yes though). I give my shepherds raw meaty beef neck bones several times a week. I also keep beef knuckle and knee bones around.

 

We did NOT crate-but we did block off a small bathroom with a baby gate as a 'play pen' and sleeping area until they were fully potty trained and trustworthy-- AND sleeping through the night. German Shepherds need to be able to sleep fully stretched out-- so a crate big enough for this would not only be crazy expensive, but would be too big to deture 'accidents'. We rarely had an accident in the bathroom past the first week or so (until we got their 'timing' down). I used HUMAN blue pads (bought off of Amazon) for the bathroom floor at night-- no scent to attract an accident, but easy to clean up if there was one.

[beaners]

If your brother is breeding dogs, he ought to be a great source of this kind of information. Doubly so because some traits are more specific to certain lines, and he should know all about temperament and health issues with the dogs he is breeding.

[Remudamom]

We had one growing up. Very intelligent, good with our other dogs and with cats, very protective with children. In fact, once when we had company playing in the yard Heidi was so protective of the children she wouldn't let one of the fathers leave with his son. She treed him on top of the car when he scooped his child up and he had to be rescued. No one was going to "kidnap" a child while she was on duty.

[jujsky]

We have always had a German Shepherd or a shepherd mix.

Our first dog was a rescue--she was a 1yr old sheperd-corgi mix-- She looked very much like a shepherd with sawed off legs (about 3/4 of what you would have expected for a shepherd). She was an excellent family dog (our older girls were 5 and 3 when we got her. She did need a friend though-- so we got a pure shepherd.

 

We have had 4 pure bred shepherds and 2 shepherd mixes. We currently have a 6yr old shepherd/lab mix and a 1yr old full GS puppy (even at 120 pounds he is still very very much a puppy). Both are solid white.

 

We lovingly refer to them as 'German Shedders'. We overlook the hair issue-- they are so worth it.

 

Our GS's have always been 'indoor' dogs. Most have been huge 'floor rugs' needing only a good walk each day to keep them happy. They were happiest when they were our 'slippers'.

 

Our current puppy is coming along nicely with his training. He also has a ball drive and has been our most active GS yet. The good news is that he brings the ball back and places it right in your hand every time (of course begging you to throw it again and again). He also loves his disk (frisbee). DH is really getting attached to this guy-- moreso than the others (besides being absolutely georgous and smart he is FUN).

 

Some of our shepherds liked to chase squirrels-- most liked to chase deer. All have been best friends with our cat. Our puppy has no interest in birds or squirrels (but deer he will NOT leave alone).

 

Training/working with/socializing is VERY VERY important from the beginning. If you get a puppy find a LARGE BREED trainer immediately (I advise against going to a class at someplace like Pet-Smart). The trianer will work with YOU on how to work with your puppy. A good trainer will evaluate YOUR puppy and help you grow a balanced dog. It may only take a session or two for you to get the hang of it-- and will be so worth it in the end. Large breed puppies are very different to work with-- they can't get away with the same bad behaviors most smaller breeds can!

 

We have never had an issue with chewing (shredding dog toys/beds yes though). I give my shepherds raw meaty beef neck bones several times a week. I also keep beef knuckle and knee bones around.

 

We did NOT crate-but we did block off a small bathroom with a baby gate as a 'play pen' and sleeping area until they were fully potty trained and trustworthy-- AND sleeping through the night. German Shepherds need to be able to sleep fully stretched out-- so a crate big enough for this would not only be crazy expensive, but would be too big to deture 'accidents'. We rarely had an accident in the bathroom past the first week or so (until we got their 'timing' down). I used HUMAN blue pads (bought off of Amazon) for the bathroom floor at night-- no scent to attract an accident, but easy to clean up if there was one.

 

 

I agree with everything she is saying except the crating. Elsa and our old dog weren't crate fans, but dealt with them (we were childless and both working when we were first dog owners so they needed to be crated during the day). They were happy to give them up once I was a SAHM and they were old enough to not destroy the house when left alone. Logan might be the exception to the rule, but he LOVES his crate! I've never seen anything like it. He is only crated at night because he chases our cats (the prey drive is strong in that one) and I think he would flip out if he wasn't. He runs into it with so much joy on his face, and if we forget and have the door to it closed when he goes upstairs he's miserable and starts whining. He has plenty of room because he usually sleeps curled up or sprawled out on his back with his back legs scrunched up against the back of the crate and his front legs stretched out. He's such a dork! He's definitely a "floor mat and foot warmer" like the above poster's dogs.

[kewb]

My family owned GSD when I was a kid. Great dogs. When I was a baby and started crawling our shepard would lay at the top of the stairs and nudge me away when I got close.

 

They definitely need training. They need to know all the time that they are not the alpha.

 

The shedding! Clumps of hair all the time even with frequent brushing. My father once got so fed up he vacuumed the dog. Such a good boy he stood there and took it. Months later my mother stepped away from the vacuum to take a phone call and he chewed up the vacuum cleaner hose. It was pretty funny to me.

 

The Hip Displasia is a big thing and I still remember the heartbreak when our first shepard became paralyzed from it.

 

They are great dogs and would not hesitate to get another if I were in the market for another dog.

[jennynd]

My Aunt had one when I was little and My Hubby has one when he was little.

they are SUPER protective. My aunt's GS slept was my cousin and will wrap him around to keep the boy warm. My hubby's went a bit extreme, he won't let ANYBODY close to my husband.

They are very very good dog (second to Lab, IMO :))

[AKshanmar]

While we are more lab people (we apparently like dogs who aren't that smart!) We did have a GS mix at the beginning of our marriage. Theo was so smart and so obedient. However, after we started having kids, we realized we couldn't trust him when we were there. Although he loved the kids as non-mobile babies, He couldn't stand the kids in "his space", my fears were confirmed when he was accidently left alone with my daughter, and snapped at her. He also had to be muzzled at the vet, again, a space issue. We found a non-kid home, and I hope things worked out for him.

 

However, I think you are at a much better stage to start out with a GS than we were! I highly recommend a good trainer. I have one I love here, in Alaska, but I doubt that would help you much. After my experience with Theo, I have loved working with a trainer. I would look into specific training for the chicken situation ahead of time. We had another dog go "chicken crazy" because the neighbor let his chickens wander onto my property, and she got one. That became her obsession the whole summer.... it didn't end well. However, Theo, the GS, had actually caught one once (same neighbor) and put it down when I told him too.

 

Good luck! There is nothing better than a dog... (I hope the cat sitting on my lap is looking the other way.)

[gardenmom5]

I love GSD. They are super smart, great with kids, and protective of their family. . She had to be trained to leave the cats alone. Occasionally she still likes to "taste" one of the cats (puts her huge mouth over the cats neck and drools). We just calmly tell her to "stop tasting her brother" and she hangs her head in shame and walks away. (This does not seem to perturb the cat btw).

 

we ended up giving our gs to a neighbor - my girls were very small and I honestly did not have time for her. she was a great dog. they had a cat - she would hold him down and "wash" him. he was not amused, but couldn't stop her. he, being a cat, would bring "gifts" for his owners. she thought it was for her and ate the thing. the cat looked like it was going to cry - the dog ate her "toy". (I think it was a live mole. I loved that cat's ability to catch moles. now he's gone, and i have mole problems.)

 

as for the shedding - I would also use the vacuum. she loved it.

[Cindy in the NH Woods]

I have a GSD, and she is an excellent animal, but she has a very high prey drive and I wouldn't trust her for a minute with chickens running around her. I really would love to raise chickens for eggs, but as of right now would find it too stressful worrying that the dog would kill them. I think Tessa really just wants to "herd" little things that scuttle around (like chickens & cats) but she gets too excited and would need quite a bit of supervision to be certain that she wouldn't grab one. Our cats know to stay away from her.

[bzymom]

I love German Shepherds as a breed (I tend to like big dogs), but have not owned one. I did want to chime in just to agree with the recommendation for heavy training, which I am sure you would do.

I have seen many of these dogs owned by people who do not put in the time and the dogs are out of control. They end up giving them up or living with a bossy, pushy shepherd who controls the house, cannot be walked and does not do well with other dogs or people outside the immediate family.

 

I hope you post pix of your puppy if you decide to take one!

[gardenmom5]

I love German Shepherds as a breed (I tend to like big dogs), but have not owned one. I did want to chime in just to agree with the recommendation for heavy training, which I am sure you would do.

I have seen many of these dogs owned by people who do not put in the time and the dogs are out of control. They end up giving them up or living with a bossy, pushy shepherd who controls the house, cannot be walked and does not do well with other dogs or people outside the immediate family.

 

I hope you post pix of your puppy if you decide to take one!

 

that goes for any dog. Rule one:

dogs are pack animals. be the alpha.

 

I watched a guy in the park with a very nice chocolate lab - the dog was obviously the one in control. having trained a GSD, I showed him a few pointers, and that dog was more than happy to obey me within minutes.

 

big dogs espeically need to be socialized. (small ones do also, but bratty small ones are easier to deal with than bratty big ones.) just because it's a "nice" dog doesn't mean it doesn't need to learn manners. sil was dogsitting one over thanksgiving. I'd met the dog (retreiver?) before, nice, but NOT adequately socialized e.g. sticking her nose in people's plates before her owner put her outside. she grabbed my son's flip-flop (he was jumping on the tramp) and just wanted to play keep away with them on unfenced acreage past dusk. it was totally chewed up before getting it back. If it had been my place, she'd never have gotten away with it as she'd have been caught - no matter how many people it took to corner her. I don't care how nice of a dog people think she is - she's not well mannered and needs to learn who is boss even though she's a "breed people think is automatically nice".

[Katy]

I've had two. The first the Christmas after I turned 3. My parents gave him to me so that the dog would be loyal to me rather than jealous of me. He was all kinds of wonderful.

 

Once when my mom got a little too stern with the yelling at me he got between us and barked at her.

 

They are quite strong and they really do need immediate obedience training. I highly reccomend a book called Smarter Than You Think about dog training.

 

Don't take the puppy if you don't like your brother's dog. NEVER EVER EVER get one from any sort of puppy mill situation or mean owners- you'll have a very anxious dog and no matter how many thousands of dollars you spend on training he'll get increasingly agressive. I'm all for dog rescues, but I wouldn't try to take in an agressive dog when there are children in the picture.

 

Acclimate him to chickens from the first day you bring him home. Bring a chicken right up to him, hold it above him, make sure he knows the chicken has a higher status than he does. If he learns this from the puppy stage you have the highest chance of him getting along with chickens.

 

They get to be fairly large and eat a lot. Our second had food allergies - he would get itchy and have diarrhea if he ate anything other than grain-free lamb or salmon dog foods, which was a lot more pricey than Beneful. Chicken or Beef table scraps were especially bad. He couldn't resist a loaf of gluten-free bread and was known to steal it off the counter when cooling. He'd have awful gas for a week.

 

Make sure you get him fixed at a very young age. A lot of agression is hormonally driven, so with this breed in particular you want to be sure to get the hormones out of the picture before that agression becomes learned behavior.

 

I wouldn't worry about them becoming destructive if left alone unless you have another dog (Border Collie, Australian Shepherd or English Shepherds especially) that also become destructive when alone who would teach the GSD that behavior. We once had an English Shepherd destroy a steel crate that a GSD couldn't. She worked on one weld at a time and shredded everything else in the room in a mere 8 hours. After that the GSD could destroy his crate too.

[boscopup]

Please tell me about your experiences with a German Shepherd.

 

 

Our experiences have been wonderful. We've had 4 GSDs since we got married. Bosco, the dog in my avatar, was our honeymoon puppy. Seriously. We went to see him on our honeymoon when he was less than 2 weeks old. :D We also got to meet several of his family members, both mom and dad, grandma (mom's side), and several cousins/aunts/uncles. Grandma sat on the couch with us. ;) When we brought Bosco home, we used a crate, and that went very well. He had to be crated for the first 2.5 years when we left the house, because otherwise he would chew stuff. Yes, that was 2.5 years. We started Bosco in obedience classes around 12 weeks old, and we did weekly classes until he was about 6 or 7? Whenever the two-legged puppies became too much for us to do classes anymore. He was easy to train, especially if I used a tennis ball as a reward. He had a lot of ball drive. He was German show lines, so his relatives had done Schutzhund (and we did it ourselves for a year, but had to stop due to the closest club being an hour and a half away), but he wasn't as drivey as a working lines dog would be. If you were ready to go, he'd go. If you were laying around, he'd lay around quite happily. Around 10-11 months old, he became an adolescent teenage brat. That was awful. When he got to the other side, all was good, and he was the best dog. I took him everywhere. He even laid down in the middle of the trombone section during a community band concert a few times. I didn't have him neutered until he was 2, for health reasons, but I did not allow him to breed, and he actually was never a problem being intact. I wouldn't recommend waiting on neutering unless you are absolutely going to be responsible for the dog - making sure he absolutely won't breed. Or if you got a female, I think it's usually better to spay them after the first heat cycle, though I have only had females come pre-spayed from rescue, so I haven't researched that side as much.

 

Bosco didn't have hip dysplasia or any other issues with joints, but those are very common in the breed. Bosco died at age 9 of bloat, which is also common in the breed, especially those individuals with deep, narrow chests, which he had.

 

While Bosco was still alive, we adopted Kira, who was a bit of a nut, though she was good with my kids. They had to watch that they weren't around her when she chased leaves - she didn't pay attention to what she was snapping. But she was overall fine. She stayed outside a lot. Bosco hung out with the kids inside a lot. I have a picture of DS1 giving Bosco a "hair cut"... He had placed cards along his side while laying on his side, and now he was wiping them off. It was cute. Bosco was wonderful with the kids. He greeted every one of my babies with a kiss on the face as they came in the door as a newborn. He died when my youngest was 3 weeks old, so I'm really glad that my youngest got to receive that doggy welcome kiss from my first "baby". :)

 

Healthwise, Kira had some diarrhea issues that weren't allergy related and weren't a sensitive stomach, but they got worse when she was kenneled. I have to wonder if she actually had EPI, which is also found in the breed (probably a lot more rare, but this breed more commonly has it than many other breeds). When she was 8, she started to have seizures on occasion, and then her back legs started to go out. We put her to sleep a couple months ago when her front legs started to go out also, and it was affecting her quality of life.

 

When Bosco died, we adopted Dax. Dax is a GSD mix. He does not have a GSD temperament at all. He has the coloring, fur, and pointy ears of a GSD. That's about it. :lol: He's been wonderful with the kids though, and he was a good "easy" dog for when I had a newborn. He is 6 now and doing great. So far, no issues.

 

When Kira died, we got Keiko. She's a dark sable, 18 months old. She had been dropped off with 2 puppies back in September. She is an awesome dog - wonderful temperament, learns quickly. Healthwise though... She has elbow dysplasia. She goes in for surgery later this week.

 

Here is our situation: My brother has a papered dog that will be having a litter in the next two weeks.

 

 

AKC papers mean absolutely nothing. You can breed two skittish or aggressive purebred dogs and still get papered dogs as a result.... skittish, aggressive ones, most likely. And in this breed, temperament problems are a huge issue. There are a lot of skittish GSDs out there, and they are dangerous.

 

So before you make a decision, some questions to ask:

 

1) Why did he breed his dog? If it's to make money, run away.

2) Are both parents OFA certified (or "a" stamped or PennHip certified) for hips and elbows? If not, run away. Yes, you can get a dysplastic dog from dogs with OFA certified hips/elbows, BUT the disease is hereditary, so you don't want to be breeding a known dysplastic dog.

3) What are the parents' temperaments like? Especially the mother? If their temperaments are not rock solid, run away.

4) What can he tell you about the extended family? The parents, littermates, and other dogs in the lines of both parents?

5) Do the parents have any titles? Show, obedience, agility, herding, Schutzhund? If not, I'd ask again why he bred the dog.

6) What are the strengths and weaknesses in the parents and in the lines they come from?

7) What kind of lines are the parents? (American show lines, German showlines, German working lines, DDR, Czech, etc.) Sometimes that can give you some clues as to what kind of drives and such you'll be dealing with, though it's not exact, as every dog is different!

 

He called tonight and asked if we wanted one. We are currently renting (with the plan to buy it) a house on over an acre, mostly fenced. We have lots of neighbors with dogs, a couple that wander and check things out (drives me crazy!). We have a flock of chickens with plans to add more come spring and possibly a mini cow. The pasture is fenced for the cow and possibly the chickens, depending on how many we get. There are 6 of us, the youngest being 3.

 

 

GSDs can be trained to be good with chickens if you get them as puppies. I know one lady that has several GSDs, and she can set a baby chick on one of dog's muzzle, and he'll just let it wander around. Now MY dogs would all eat your chickens. :lol: Bosco was not around lifestock until he was 5 years old, and the other 3 dogs have all been rescues who have some prey drive. All of my dogs have lived with my cats, but most do want to chase them, at least sometimes. Especially the one that swats and puts up a fight - she's more fun. ;)

 

My main concerns are how well the dog would do with chickens roaming about. I do worry about how to properly train it as I've heard that without training all their smarts can turn destructive. Is this a dog that needs to have another canine friend? Does their curiosity cause them to wander a lot? What kind of monthly expense should I budget? Is the German Shepherd a generally healthy dog?

 

 

GSDs aren't typically wanderers, though both of my recent rescues bolt for the door and go down the street. Sigh. They used to be strays though, so that probably contributes. Bosco could go outside off leash, since he was trained well. Kira used to get out and then come to the front door. She never wandered off our property. They are very intelligent dogs, so they're easy to train, but yes, if they are bored, they can be destructive, especially as young puppies. Keiko is crated when we leave the house. I don't trust her to not chew things yet. Dax is fine loose, but he's 6. Kira was never able to be left loose in the house, but I suspect she was working lines. She really needed a job to do (she would have made a great narcotics or bomb sniffing dog). Even at age 11, she would still chew things

 

Bosco did not have a canine friend for the first 5 years, but he did a lot better when he had one. For the few days that Dax was an only dog, he was pretty mopey. It was a huge difference when we brought Keiko home. He loves her. :001_wub: I do think it's best to have two GSDs, but I would not get two at the same time. You get one, train it, and THEN add another one. Getting two puppies would be absolutely insane. Just throwing that out there. :D

 

We've always adopted dogs that were older and trained. I have no idea how to do the puppy stage or if I even want to.

 

 

Think toddler stage, but with sharp teeth that can crush bone. ;)

[caitlinsmom]

Thank you all for your responses! I appreciate it.

 

I have more info on the situation.

 

Apparently my brother never meant to breed her. He has two GSD, a male and a female who share a mother. The last day of the females heat the male got to her. He was going to spay her the next week. This will be her first litter. After finding this out I looked around on inbreeding. Apparently this was the exact way they honed the traits the dog is known for however this kind of freaks me out. Do I want a dog that is inbred? Wouldn't that create a whole other set of problems? When I asked bro about this he said that when he spoke to the vet about it the vet claimed it's not a huge deal but it can cause good or bad traits to become more dominate.

 

Which brings me to my next concern. I don't care for my brothers dogs. They aren't bad in anyway they have just been poorly trained in my opinion. They have no manners as far as I am concerned, however they do respond quickly if my bro or SIL actually say something. They don't jump, bite, or destroy things but they just seem pesky to me, I can't really put my finger on what part of their behavior I dislike. I avoid going over because their house smells so strongly of pet urine. As for known issues my brother said the female has a sensitive stomach (they have to buy special dog food) and the only down side to the male is he is wimpy (brothers words).

 

So knowing that, what would you suggest? I am leaning toward passing on the offer and looking at the original breed we considering (Anatolian Shepherd).

[staceyobu]

Thank you all for your responses! I appreciate it.

 

I have more info on the situation.

 

Apparently my brother never meant to breed her. He has two GSD, a male and a female who share a mother. The last day of the females heat the male got to her. He was going to spay her the next week. This will be her first litter. After finding this out I looked around on inbreeding. Apparently this was the exact way they honed the traits the dog is known for however this kind of freaks me out. Do I want a dog that is inbred? Wouldn't that create a whole other set of problems? When I asked bro about this he said that when he spoke to the vet about it the vet claimed it's not a huge deal but it can cause good or bad traits to become more dominate.

 

Which brings me to my next concern. I don't care for my brothers dogs. They aren't bad in anyway they have just been poorly trained in my opinion. They have no manners as far as I am concerned, however they do respond quickly if my bro or SIL actually say something. I don't know what the bad traits of these two dogs are because of the bad training. They don't jump, bite, or destroy things but they just seem pesky to me, I can't really put my finger on what part of their behavior I dislike. I avoid going over because their house smells so strongly of pet urine. As for known issues my brother said the female has a sensitive stomach (they have to buy special dog food) and the only down side to the male is he is wimpy (brothers words).

 

So knowing that, what would you suggest? I am leaning toward passing on the offer and looking at the original breed we considering (Anatolian Shepherd).

 

 

Have you owned other breeds of dogs? I would try to put your finger on what you think is "pesky" behavior. Is it normal dog stuff? Breed specific dog stuff? Or lack of training?

 

As far as I know, German Shepherds should be easy to potty train... so your house shouldn't smell like urine. However, I do think pets can create an odor... so I'd be leery if you are absolutely opposed to it seeming like a dog lives in your house.

 

I wouldn't think inbreeding would be too much of an issue if this is the first time it's happened (instead of getting a dog from a line of inbred dogs). However, I am no expert in that and would try to find someone who is. Do you know anyone who is a vet that you could talk with?

 

Also, if you are unsure at all, I would pass. There are lots of other german shepherds out there if you change your mind and want one later!

[MotherMayI]

I am a huge GSD fan and I currently have 2, but I think you might want to wait for the Anatolian. I am not concerned about the line breeding so much, but I think you open yourself up a can of worms by taking a puppy. What if it doesn't work out? Will there be animosity or awkwardness on either side? Without knowing if your brothers dogs "could" be amazing dogs since they haven't put in the training I would be concerned.

 

My GSDs have and will kill our chickens if given the opportunity. We did not get them as puppies though. I think the Anatolian was bred to care for your flock.

 

 

 

Thank you all for your responses! I appreciate it.

 

I have more info on the situation.

 

Apparently my brother never meant to breed her. He has two GSD, a male and a female who share a mother. The last day of the females heat the male got to her. He was going to spay her the next week. This will be her first litter. After finding this out I looked around on inbreeding. Apparently this was the exact way they honed the traits the dog is known for however this kind of freaks me out. Do I want a dog that is inbred? Wouldn't that create a whole other set of problems? When I asked bro about this he said that when he spoke to the vet about it the vet claimed it's not a huge deal but it can cause good or bad traits to become more dominate.

 

Which brings me to my next concern. I don't care for my brothers dogs. They aren't bad in anyway they have just been poorly trained in my opinion. They have no manners as far as I am concerned, however they do respond quickly if my bro or SIL actually say something. I don't know what the bad traits of these two dogs are because of the bad training. They don't jump, bite, or destroy things but they just seem pesky to me, I can't really put my finger on what part of their behavior I dislike. I avoid going over because their house smells so strongly of pet urine. As for known issues my brother said the female has a sensitive stomach (they have to buy special dog food) and the only down side to the male is he is wimpy (brothers words).

 

So knowing that, what would you suggest? I am leaning toward passing on the offer and looking at the original breed we considering (Anatolian Shepherd).

 

[AngieW in Texas]

We love our GSD puppy. She is probably a mix rather than a purebred because we got her from a shelter.

 

Our GSD puppy was much mouthier than any other puppy we have ever had and that seems to be a breed trait. At least on the GSD forums, everybody talks about how their puppies become landsharks as soon as teething starts. As soon as Kylie's last adult teeth were in all the way, her mouthiness dropped down to almost nothing.

 

Kylie has far more energy than any puppy we have ever had. I take her for a 1.5-2 mile walk every morning and then I run her around in the afternoon with fetch or the flirt pole.

 

Up until she was 6mo, she had to have eyes on her 24/7 when she wasn't in her crate. Now she can actually be left alone downstairs for an hour or so at a time. She also sometimes goes outside for extended periods. We couldn't let her do that when she was teething because she would eat all the acorns on the ground. She isn't constantly looking for something to gnaw on now.

 

GSD puppies require a lot of training. We've done the puppy kindergarten class and I want to do the basic companion class and then get her started on treiball when she's 9mo. I like the idea of treiball better than agility because it's something she can do even when she is older and it won't be tough on her joints.

[Katy]

Honestly if you don't like the parents and the father is "a wimp" I'd see that as a huge red flag and decline.

 

If you DO want a GSD later, I really reccommend visiting several different breeders first so you can get a feel for what would be the best fit for your family. You might find that perfectly trained GSD's are something you love. Or you might find they give off too much"dog" scent and that you'd really be better off with something like a poodle mix.

[boscopup]

I would definitely pass. If the male is a "wimp", I wouldn't want a puppy from that dog.

 

The Anatolian would be better for your livestock anyway. They are bred to guard the animals. GSDs are bred to herd them. Huge difference! :) I had a Great Pyrenees that was like a big, fluffy goat. My GSDs, otoh, would eat the goats.