[ARCHIVED THREAD] - German shepherds (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 6/21/2007 4:54:32 AM EDT
| I am considering this breed as a pet but I want to make sure I have the antiquate means of taking care of such an animal. I would like this dog to be a house dog, is this ok? I have 6 acres 3 of them fenced, is this enough space for the dog to have when I am at work? I work a 9-5 and rarely go out of town on business; do these dogs do ok for eight hours alone? I run 5 miles a day, is this enough exercise for an animal of this breed? Obviously he/ she will get more exercise/ play time than this, but is 5 miles a day an adequate amount of steady exercise? In regards to home owner policies (I have state farm) does anyone know if this breed is covered under them (I’ll call my agent later, just curious if anyone knows)? |
Get one, you will not regret it. I got mine for free from a lady who said she could not afford to feed him, his sister and their parents. He was already 18 months old when I got him. The lady said he had all his shots I called her vet and they said he had none.  He was sharing a cage with his sister and was really skinny, his ears will not stay standing up because of the ear infections he had as a pup. His dad is a king, she said, he was pretty big. "Moose" weighs 90# now and is a great guardian and buddy. He has been with us for almost 2 years. He loves to play and my 5 year old son has a ball with him. When my son and I wrestle the dog is on me, with his mouth around my arm or leg.  He knows not to bite me too hard. He also gets along great with my other dog "Bear" , black lab and my cats. Especially his cat "Dr Pepper". 
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You're good to go. They are the best breed IMO. Best of all attributes, jack of all trades. Great dog with kids and families. Look for German Shepard rescue groups. Give a needy dog a home and don't buy a $800 boutique dog. S.O. |
| I have one of these and he is a joy. He will let my grandson pull his ears and beat him with a fist, however he is very protective when strangers show up. As a house dog, I would remind you that they shed like crazy and you will have dog hair in every corner of the house if he spends much time inside. 3 acres fenced is plenty of running room. They are heat sensitive, so make sure he has a good shady place, preferably with good airflow and plenty of water. Running him five miles per day will make him the healthiest dog in Ohio I imagine. |
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I grew up with German Shepard's my entire life. Zeus, Brutus, Timba & Max. All were EXCEPTIONAL dogs. You'd be hard pressed to find a more trainable, smart, loyal, fearless dog. They truly are amazing....and make great family pets. The German Shepards "resume" is simply remarkable. If you've ever seen the program on the History Channel called "War Dogs", with that alone, anyone in their right mind would want one of these dogs. They embody the best characteristics of almost any breed I can think of. I've owned a Rottie too, and he was remarkable....but pound for pound....a GS is very hard to beat...just fantastic animals. |
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I have a GSD, Loki is 2 1/2 right now, he's from working dog lines but he's just a big housedog. I live on 8 acres of land and I have around 2 1/2 of it fenced with 4' high chain link. It is more than enough room for him and he never jumps or digs under the fence. My wife and I are Active .mil so most of the time Loki stays home all day. My wife does take him to PT 3 times a week and to work sometimes when she's able. During the day he has the run of the yard and he has access to the house through a dog door so he can escape bad weather. Most of the time when I get home he'll be in the house napping in his crate and enjoying the AC. GSDs make great pets but they are working dogs and very intelligent. You must make sure you provide plenty of physical and mental stimulation to keep them happy. Make sure you properly socialize them with people and other animals. Leaving a GSD tied up in back the yard with no stimulation or socialization will drive them insane. When we get home we spend at least an hour playing with him and doing some type training every evening to settle him down. I also recommend you look into Crate Training; there have been a couple of good threads on here lately about it. There are a few good forums for raising GSDs, I'll see if I can dig them up. |
+1 It is important for GS's to be of a HEALTHY weight for their size. Some unscrupulous breeders aren't careful about their breeding which can lead to hip problems. Keeping their weight controlled and getting routine vet visits will lessen the chances of it developing Hip Displasia. So a search for a GS rescue group and bring home someone who will lay down their life for you and your family. S.O. |
He/she is beautiful! S.O. |
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Growing up my Dad would only allow German Shepherds as our family pets. Dad always said the GSD was the only dog worth having. Always have enough room for them to run. Keep them busy. A bored Shepherd is a bad Shepherd. Be patient with them, they will test you and you have to be consistent with them. They will bully the weaker or younger members of their "pack". I also think some GSD's are too smart for their own good as well. But thats half the fun of owning them. Keep them busy, groomed, fed and watered and you will have a very loyal companion. |
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Sound! The German bred dogs are much less inbred and stronger/healthier… our GSD, 'Rory' was a German bred dog… he was a big fella! |
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Grew up with a German Shepard, they are the most loyal and friendly dogs. as long as they know you! great guard dogs too. Great dogs you really should get one, if we had the time and the land i probably have one too. ~S PS You have to lean German!! thats the only thing they listen too 
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I'm deployed right now so I don't have access to all the forums I found that have information on GSDs but this is a fairly good site to get you started: germanshepherds.com |
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Super dogs. We have a male that is 2 1/2. A bit of advice though, don't run them too much when they are young. "Those who know" state that over exercise in the first 1 1/2 can lead to hip problems in the future. Ours is the first one I have ever owned and there is nothing difficult about it. The shedding part is true though. |
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I have 7 acres and 2 GSDs. 7 Acres IS NOT ample room for these dogs to run loose. I suspect you would need 100+ acres to be able to allow them to be loose throughout the day without having them wander off the property. My girls can get a mile away in a BIG hurry. If appropriately fenced, however, it is plenty of room. As a result, they are kenneled whenever they are not being supervised. Great dogs but, especially when they are puppies, they are roamers. |
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I have a German Shepherd/Malamute cross. He s 130 lbs and the best looking dog I've ever seen. GSD's are supposed to be big dogs. Not the medium sized ones that you see nowadays. If I were to get another one I'd get a Shiloh or a King Shepherd. They seem to be more the old standard of big dogs with straight backs. I really dislike the medium sized dogs with the sloped hind quarters. Good luck with your purchase |
You need to do more training then. None of the GS's we had while growing up left our property. We had a 5 acre lot and they would not leave it without us. They would go right up to the edge and look back to us as if asking for permission but would not cross. They never took a dump in the yard either, only in the weeds where we didn't mow. Damn smart dogs. As was posted earlier they can be very curious and limit testers, show them the limits and make them stick to them, kinda like children. S.O. |
BAH! He doesn't know what he's talking about. Loki is from Alabama K9 His father is the Tinman vom ALK. From the site: "The Tinman vom ALK is the son of Bastin vom Kokeltal winner of the 2001 Bundessieger, 2002 USA National Schutzhund Champion, 2003 German Shepherd Champion, 2003 WUSV Championship highest scoring U.S. dog, 2003 Vice National Schutzhund Champion, 2004 Southeastern Regional Champion, and 2004 Vice National SchutzhundChampion; a grandson on the dam's side of the famous V Asko Von Der Lutter 2000 WUSV Weltmeiser V-1 World Schutzhund Champion." Loki is a pet, I haven't done any formal training with him. He's a big baby and the best dog I've ever owned. You must remember these aren't black labs, they are bred for working dogs and you must know how to handle this type of dog, but they do make great pets. |
I do love them too, in fact the only dog I like better is the Anatolian Shepherd. I just lost my Anatolian "Apollo" and I so miss my best friend. I'm gonna get a new Anatolian puppy sometime this December to alleviate the loss a little. |
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ours is a rescue... we got him from an inner city animal control... i think he was only about 9 months when we got him... he is still very much a puppy... + housebroken from the night we got him + great in the car + great around kids even when they bear hug him + extremely intelligent (learned sit, paw, down, roll over, and up in a matter of minutes, and knows both voice commands and hand signals) + extremely loyal and protective (especially if my fiancee is with him alone) + very attentive and lets us know whenever something sounds or looks out of place + best $25 i ever spent + saved him from guaranteed death - gets very excited to the point of not responding to me when he sees certain breeds of dogs (i think this is mostly due to his age and being a stray)  |
They are still puppies and need supervision. Yes, they do need more training. I was just trying to make the point that just because you have several acres does not mean you can "fire and forget" with these dogs, especially when they are young (read:untrained). They will go VERY far in a big hurry if left to their own devices. |
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Well, as for me, I hitch-hiked all over the country with my GSD, Buddy. That dog has been to more States than most people can name. He also travelled with me in a school bus/turned RV that I put together. Basically, I only slept inside a building about 20 or 30 times during a ten year period from the time I was 14 until I was 24. Most of that time was spent with Buddy. We were literally together 24/7/365. Best companion you could possibly imagine. Tell you one thing, before I had buddy, cops used to wake me up with guns in my face or with their boot. After I got Buddy, they woke me up politely from about 10 feet away. I cannot describe to you how good he was with kids. I spent time at different Native American and folk gatherings, and he would watch over any kids like a mother hen. He didn't have to be trained, he just knew exactly what to do at all times. Many GSDs do need work to keep them occupied in order to be happy. Be that patrolling a garden for varmints, watching kids, whatever. That shepherd name is not just a name, it is a deep seated instinct. If they are just left alone they will become restless and often troublesome. However, if you educate yourself about them and take the time to provide the right environment, I don't know what animal you could possibly find that would do you better. The way I have always seen it is, their either a German Shepherd or they are 'one of those other dogs.' 
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I trained a few for a PD. Tough little bastards, but not much weight to them. Never had hip problems with my imports. |
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I am also considering a GSD but I had one when I was very little and we had to get rid of her (Duchess, gave her to a friend with other GSDs) because she was much to rough for us and would bite and nip (I was around 4-6 when we had her.) Now I have a medium sized mutt that is about 5 yrs old (female) and was looking for another dog. Our current dog can adapt to new puppies fairly easy but when the GSD is older could the size difference be a problem? Would it be better to get a male or female to be compatible with the current female? Sorry for the small hijack btu I didnt want to start another thread. |
Bless you for saving that animal...more people need to look to shelters first when finding a pet. |
+1 S.O. |
A goofy photo: A cool video: my.break.com/media/view.aspx?ContentID=169721 Video may have non-work safe links and has been posted by me on AFR 1000 times. |
Not that they do it on purpose.
Good picture...no body is messing with your daughter.
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I have long been used to GSDs as a great pet breed, but these things are simply astounding. They are a perfect GSD times two. Bigger, healthier, milder temperament but still fiercely protective and -- even smarter than most GSDs, which is saying something. When I walk him around in public, he literally draws crowds. People will leave a pack of GSDs, Great Danes, or anything else to get a look at my Shiloh. As a chick magnet, there simply is no contest. ETA: What was some fool saying about dogs from the GSD lines don't make great pets?????? 
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They can do well in a house, my dogs are in the house much of the time. I would recommend crate training, and that is more than enough fenced area, but I would put him on a cable to limit where he goes while you're not there. 5 miles is plenty of exercise, but actually I wouldn't make him go 5 miles "daily", they are 1 of the breeds that can have hip problems and that much pounding might take a toll later in life, and you wouldn't ever notice it till then, and you certainly want to change where you run so he's not pounding pavement or sidewalk. When I'd run with my dog I'd run in the grass between the sidewalk and the roads as much as possible. They're a fun breed to have, don't discount getting 1 from a humane society though. photos beware, my 1st pure bred german shepherd, thor, and another of my dogs mafausa's memorial, they passed away 3 days from each other in aug. '03  and my current pure bred, fenris, a czech bred gsd, from when he was 1st here on   the dog was crazy when he was growing up  with my cattle dog, blue  couldn't beat out mafausa's brother scar though in a race to the stick in a lake  and at 1 year old    |