Posted: 1/3/2010 5:49:56 PM EDT
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Would a GSD be good outdoor acreage dog? My fiance and I are looking at buying a roughly 5 acre farm place with 10 acres attached and we would both love to get a German Shepard.
I'm also curious how well/practical it would be to put in an "invisible fence" around the 5 acre farm place to keep the dog from running off as it is only 1/2 a mile from a relatively busy (for South Dakota) highway. thanks |
Ours are trained where their boundaries are and do not cross them. No electric fence although we did consider it when we got this last dog.
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GSD's are family dogs - yes, they do like to herd - but they will not do well left to their own devices. They should be inside dogs.
I mean, letting it run around outside with you is one thing, I don't know about letting it live outside (Is that your question, letting it live outside?). |
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A friend of mine has had 4 or so in his lifetime and they have all been outside dogs so I guess I didn't foresee it being an issue.
This type of dog would probably be a no-go indoor dog with the Mrs. b/c of the amount of hair they shed. I could be way off base with my theory but it is my opinion that any dog can be an outdoors or indoors dog (assuming they can physically handle it) as long as they are used to it. If you raise a pup with you all the time and then suddenly boot him outside he's probably going to have issues with it. |
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Quoted:
Would a GSD be good outdoor acreage dog? My fiance and I are looking at buying a roughly 5 acre farm place with 10 acres attached and we would both love to get a German Shepard. I'm also curious how well/practical it would be to put in an "invisible fence" around the 5 acre farm place to keep the dog from running off as it is only 1/2 a mile from a relatively busy (for South Dakota) highway. thanks One of our local members is a GSD breeder of a few champion dogs. I will point her in this threads direction. |
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GSDs are at their best when raised around people, in the house.
the acreage is great, but keep the dog close for at least the first couple of years. the dog will bond with you, and be less likely to wander off. he'll also be more likely to have strong protective feelings toward you. |
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This type of dog would probably be a no-go indoor dog with the Mrs. b/c of the amount of hair they shed.
Buy her a vacuum cleaner. GSDs that don't spend ALOT of time with people will get mean. GSDs that don't spend ALOT of time with their owners will forget who is the alpha dog....not good when it's a dog that can whip your ass. Get a cat and you'll be happier. seriously |
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As others have said, GSDs are people dogs. Their preferred position in life is within arm's reach of their human. They will do best if they are allowed to be near you as much as possible. It will also make training easier. A good, smart GSD that is simply allowed to be near you all the time may not even need any formal training. They will pick up on what you want just by watching you. If they bond with you properly, and you teach them the boundaries of your (their) land, you may not even need to think about a fence.
Otherwise, your plan sounds like GSD heaven. With that much land you might want to think about a matching pair, male and female. |
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Quoted:
As others have said, GSDs are people dogs. Their preferred position in life is within arm's reach of their human. They will do best if they are allowed to be near you as much as possible. It will also make training easier. A good, smart GSD that is simply allowed to be near you all the time may not even need any formal training. They will pick up on what you want just by watching you. If they bond with you properly, and you teach them the boundaries of your (their) land, you may not even need to think about a fence. Otherwise, your plan sounds like GSD heaven. With that much land you might want to think about a matching pair, male and female. Thats kind of what we were thinking. I'd get a male and then a couple years later get a female. Is there any practical way to effectively and efficiently deal with the hair. i.e. something that is relatively easy and doesn't take an unreasonable amount of time. |