Posted: 11/7/2006 10:46:07 AM EDT
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Thinking about getting a German Shepherd. Tell me about them, how they interact with you, your kids, do they like to go for car rides? Aggresive? Territorial? Intelligent? Oh! and don't forget to post pictures of your GS! |
Cute pups! 
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 Billy  Kriegen Iso, Ilse and Panzer  First and foremost, there are MANY outstanding breeds of dogs out there. Giving me an idea of what you want your dog or dogs to do will help me. As with ANY dog breed, do your research and buy from someone reputable. You don't have to spend 8K and a get a dog from Chech/German Schutz III stock, but you do have to make sure that the parents and grandparents have a documentable medical history screening for things like displaysia. Now I am going to contradict myself and tell you to look at rescued GSDs because I am actively involved in the effort and I have seen some OUTSTANDING dogs. GSDs are smart AND stubborn. If you fail in your role as trainer and LEADER of the pack, you're life is going to be miserable, the dog's life is going to be miserable and likey you'll be looking for a way to get rid of the dog. Sheep |
Ok, I have a minute now: 1) They tend to bond to one person and are exceedingly loyal. They can be extremely good with children as they are pretty tolerant but need to be introduced to the children when they are young for best results. 2) They are VERY active and need to play/work. If you neglect them, they WILL make you pay. They can be wilful and will test you to see what they can get away with. If you are not diligent with discipline you are buying yourself trouble. 3) They like lots of space. Territorial? HELL YES. They think that they own everything that they can see. 4) Intelligent, yes. This is good for a variety of reasons but it is also the reason that they need to be engaged in some sort of activity as much as possible. They are generally not the kind of dog that is content to lay in front of the fire. They can get bored very easily. My girls want to play all day, every day in any weather and they don't care to be still very much. This is not as true as they age but they are still very active even when they are older. 5) They love car rides. My girls love to stick their heads out of the moonroof while going down the highway...must be quite a sight! My mom actually has a litter right now that is about 4 weeks old. I will post some pics tonight when I get home if I have time. |
Well I have had big dogs up until 2 years ago when my dog passed away. My wife decided she wanted small dogs, so I got stuck with these anklebitters. They just really aren't my cup of tea. I need a big dog to be able to play with. I need a dog that will spend time outside with me all the time. I enjoy having the company of a dog when I'm outside playing or working. Right now the weather is getting colder and my smaller dogs don't like it so much. I also like taking my dog places with me. My small dogs hate being in the car, so I want one that can hang out in the truck with me if I'm running to the hardware store, or wherever I may need to go. I definately need a breed of dog that will be ok with the smaller dogs, a cat, and my two daugheters (ages 18 months, and 4 years). My in-laws just adopted a GSD from some breeder. The dog is adorable and very playful. I've just been thinking about it a lot, I've always wanted a GSD and everyone tells me they are just the greatest breed of them all. |
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From what you are describing, GSD sounds like a good match for you, so long as you are willing to dedicate the training time. As the other posters have said, GSDs are NOT couch potatoes. If you ignore them, they will make up games to play, usually games involving destroying something that they percieve you like. Your wife is going to have to be on the ball working with the dog as well because the LAST thing you want is a GSD in the pack that views itself farther up in the hierarchy than human members of the household. They are loyal. They are great with kids and if raised around them from a small age, you won't get a more loyal defender of the family. In this case, a puppy is probably a better bet than a rescued GSD, depending on the age of your kids. Little kids + full grown GSD just coming into the household can = issues. Again, this is a dog that is going to want to play EVERYDAY. I run with my partner and my two house dogs in the AM before leaving for work. Then I spend 10 hours in the car with my partner, then I come home and spend an hour or two in the yard with all three, then there's a walkie-walkie in the PM with all three again. On the weekends, all three go on a long hike up in the Mtns. If I deviate from this, my campers get unhappy. The worst thing about them....shedding. No way around it. Sheep |
This is good advice. US dogs have the radically sloped front to rear hindquarters. The first two dogs in my first post are US lineage dogs, both rescues BTW. European dogs, particulary German and Eastern European dogs are stockier, heavier and in general have FAR fewer hip problems than US dogs. Sheep |
Good, I don't want another couch potato dog.
Hahaha! I hope this wouldn't be a problem. I would probably spend more time with the dog then the wife and she may get jealous! However my wife loves animals, and as a child grew up with GSD and loves them. She has trained all three dogs I've had as an adult and helped her parents train their dogs as a child. I have no doubt in my mind she would do a fantastic job!
Thats what I was thinking. Introducing an adult GSD in to our big family may not work out well for the dog, or the kids.
I'm not as activate as you are, I have an office job and I can't bring him to work with me everyday  But I definately will have time in the morning and after work to play, and of course on the weekends I will have all day to play. |
Yeah from my reading I see a GSD suffer from Hip displshia(sp?). I just don't have a ton of money to buy a dog. Most dogs I've had were either given to me because the previous owner couldn't take care of it, or I bought it for $50 for the same reason. |
Based on your wife having previous GSD experience, my vote is GO FOR IT!
Having a 3 GSDs wake you up at 0-dark-thrity to go for a run is a great way to stay in shape  Since I am single atm, my other two kids are home alone 4 days a week, 10 hours a day, but I do have a dog-door that allows them to hit the backyard whenever they want. I don't really worry about break-ins. As long as they know you are coming home (or there's someone else at home for them to hang-out with) to play, you are good to go. Sheep |
If you're getting a puppy, it's not really an issue. If you got the adoption route (and this is still a viable option - you just have to take the whole family) then I would go with a male, as a female is more likely to view your wife as competition over the long run. Since your wife does have previous experience with GSDs, I'm far more comfortable in saying that adoption of a resuce dog might be a good way to go. Both the adopted dogs in my first post are absolute putty in the hands of kids. You just have to choose carefully. These folks are the power-house GSD rescue in Illinois: GSDRescue.org Sheep |
LOL please elaborate on this!?
Thanks for the link I'll check them out! |
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Wonderful dogs, great with kids. If your kids spend time outside, they are a great watch dog. Mine would have shreded anyone that came to harm my kids or wife, but when I was home, she was "Off Duty". Smart, loyal and loving. She passed away a year ago this New Years. Maddie was a great dog. We still miss her. 
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I know you're asking about GSDs but have you considered a Lab? Simply for the family angle. GSDs are wonderful dogs but if you want a dog that may be easier for the kids, wife and other pets to deal with, but still have all of the qualities you described, a Lab might be worth looking into. Just my 2 cents. |
My last big dog Rosco was a lab. I loved him, don't wanna replace him with another lab, but boy was he destructive and had terrible seperation annexiety when I left for 10 minutes. |
 As far as the wife thing above, the person who I bought her from told me one of the females(they own 2 females and 1 male) wouldn't even let her wife in bed with them at one point. The same dog used to wake him up 4 times a night and he could never figure out why. Eventually he got sick since hes sort of an elderly man and while kept in the hospital they found out that he stopped breathing 4 times in the middle of the night so the dog literally was saving his life. As for car rides, she LOVES them! I had to drive her 6 hours back home, she cried for maybe 5min max and ever since then she would rather go for a drive than a walk. GREAT dogs |
It's based on how much time and training your are going to devote to the dog. You are going to be the Alpha Male of the pack. Your GSD (if female) is going to want to be the Alpha Female, if she's an older dog. Older female GSDs typically do not do well with other female dogs, and again, depending on how you train and socialize with the dog, she may view your wife as competition for the Alpha Female slot. This is easy to manage with training and socialization, but you have to be dedicated to it. Part of the problem that most people have with GSDs is that they aren't aware how smart these dogs are. Give them an inch, they take a couple hundred miles. Sheep |
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I have had 3 sheppards, and one sheppard mix. Two were not good dogs which I gave away, but both were excellent with my daughter and other kids, they just were not what I wanted. The sheppard Mix was 3/4 G.S. and 1/4 Chow, he was the best dog I ever owned. He had all the qualities of a good German Sheppard, with a bit of a chow's attitude. He would do anything to protect my daughter, was wonderful with kids, was an excellent yard dog, and was smart enough to know the difference between regular company and people we did not know. He would not let anyone into the yard he did not know. However, our neighbor's grandkids and their friends 2-7 years old would climb the fence to pet him and he loved it. When we moved to the country he was even good around the cattle. My last sheppard was an old female that I took off of some elderly people who were no longer to take care of her. She was an excellent excellent dog, smart, minded well, very good around livestock and other dogs. She hated coyotes with a passion though. If you get a good sheppard they are excellent, but if you get a bad one (stupid) you will know pretty quickly. |
Here is Magnum. He is 15 months old, around 105lbs or so, hasnt been weighed in awhile. He is as intelligent as people say GSDs are. VERY protective of his two "sisters", my 2 youngest daughters, 5 and 3. He is still pretty hyper, hopefully he will grow out of it. Part of that comes from not exercising him enough. They need tons of exercise. Very good guard dog and a great family pet. I love having him around when I have to be gone overnight, which is exactly why I got him. Spend the time to teach him the basics and make sure he knows who the alpha male is and you will have a great dog for many years. ETA: forgive the mess in the background and the partial woody that Mag is sporting in the pic. |
I understand what you mean, but here is the deal. One of the dogs was abandoned by its mother when it was only 1 week old so the person that gave it to me bottle fed it. It had Zero socialization skills and was a 'fear bitter' and would not stay in a fence. I tried and tried with her, but she would not get better...... she was given to another guy who likes dogs and ended up escaping from her fence there and wondered off... The other sheppard I had was alright, but he was goofy as heck. I also needed a dog with a more aggressive attitude. He was not what I needed so I gave him to a good home. The other two good dogs I mentioned, I also had to work with a lot. I see your point about more often the owner's are stupid, I agree with you 100%. Too many people just let their dogs get old w/o spending anytime at all with them, then get aggrivated when the dog isn't anything like they wanted it to be. |
THE GLOVES ARE OFF!!!!! THAT'S NOT MAGNUM, THIS IS MAGNUM: my.break.com/media/view.aspx?ContentID=169721 Just kidding, it's a great name for a shepard but I picked it 6 months before you did. My Magnum turns 2 this month. GSDs are great dogs that require a bunch of attention. My wife and I never raised another dog together, but we have raised Magnum together INDOORS since he was a pup. I think raising him indoors was an advantage as we were able to give him a lot of attention. As another has posted, GSDs shed a lot. I wouldn't trade my 80 lbs of unconditional love and loyalty for nothing! You couln't pick a smarter, more loyal dog than a GSD. edited 'cause of spelling and to appologize that I can't put together a logical response due to the fact that I've been drinking. ...and to add watch my video!!! |
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There are alot of pros and cons, many of which have been mentioned. They are big and powerful, and can clear a table (or knock over a toddler) by swinging their tail (not that they do this on purpose). They have a massive 2 layered coat which needs to be brushed daily. You will have hair everywhere. Being the dominate man over this dog is a challenge, because GSD's are smart enough to call your bluff. As someone said, they will challenge you. Having said that, there isn't much I wouldn't do for my GSD. $100 bottle of pain medicine from the vet? No questions. Science Diet because he shits normal dog food out like water? No problems. I love my dog...he is my best friend. |
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agree about the time you have to dedicate to exercising them, training, ect. they are working dogs by nature and have to have something to do. All dogs are intelligent in my opinion, but in my honest opinion, overall, german shepherds are more intelligent than other breeds. That said, don't discount rescuing a full grown german shepherd from a humane society. Although I can't suggest what someone else should do or think about these matters, it's a shame people often buy pure breds from breeders that will live and eventually be sold regardless, when there's a lot of healthy dogs who would be great family in animal shelters and on limited time unless they are adopted. Mixed breeds tend to be healthier and more appreciative of being rescues, and there's lots of pure breds, even german shepherds, on rescue sites such as petfinder.com anyhow. Of course I do have a pure bred german shepherd, I like having a german shepherd because of the type of dogs they are, but for every german shepherd I've had I've had a lot more strays or rescues. .  |