Breed Profile
--Written By Tiami Coleburg
--Photographed and Co Written By Tanna McGill
Breed:
German Shepherd
Owner Level:
For experienced involved dog owners
Why are these dogs typically in animal shelters?
Other common reasons that owners leave their German Shepherd at a shelter are: Owner's inability to provide for this breed's intense emotional needs, socializing, training requirements and improper behaviors, which usually develop out of frustration, lack of proper training and inadequate exercise. Basically too much dog for an inadequate owner. Behavior problems can range from simple, such as house training, excessive activity level, digging, cat and dog aggression, property damage, to serious, such as human or stranger aggression and fear biting. Serious human or stranger aggression can be caused by their guarding tendencies, lack of socialization, abuse, or bad breeding. Some German Shepherds arrive at shelters because of owner neglect and abuse.
Who should own this breed?
A German Shepherd owner should be an extremely responsible person committed to the care, training and exercise of their dog. Such an owner should be knowledgeable about this breed type and the needs of the breed they are taking on. The heroic stories of German Shepherds and their lifesaving work and dedication for mankind are warming to the dog lovers heart. But they can also be misleading as these dog require a lot of time and work. Police dogs, seeing eye dogs, therapy dogs, good citizens award dogs; these dogs all got there with a good, involved owner/handler at the other end of the lead.
German Shepherds should never be allowed to roam loose in any public areas, or around strange dogs. German Shepherds should be securely contained when not supervised by an adult.
These dogs shed a lot. If you are offended by dog hair do not get a Shepherd.
Some German Shepherds are not good with small animals or cats. They can also have livestock issues, due to their herding instincts.
These dogs require a large commitment of time and energy from the owner. They do not come as a good to go dog and will be a reflection of the owners effort and commitment.
This breed should be spayed/neutered. Un neutered males can become male dog aggressive and hard to mange and are predisposed to some cancers. Unspayed females can become moody/difficult and predisposed to uterine problems and cancers.
One of the main keys to successful German Shepherd ownership is ongoing, positive obedience training and socialization.
Is this breed good with children?
Children and dogs should never be left alone and unattended, even for a moment. Young children do not have proper dog etiquette and dogs do not understand a child's behavior. This can result in tragedy with any breed of dog. German Shepherds tend to love and be dedicated to their human family and can be especially fond of children. The dogs temperament, socialization, training levels all need to be considered. These dogs can have a natural herding and prey drive instinct that can be a conflict or a danger with children. Like children, each dog is different in personality, energy and patience levels. So, each dog and child relationship should be considered individually.
How easy is training and house training with this breed?
German Shepherds are highly intelligent and generally, if in tune with their trainer, can learn some tasks in 2 to 10 repetitions. Like humans each dogs abilities, likes and dislikes will vary. In general a learning German Shepherd is a happy German Shepherd. Good training gives the German Shepherd and all dogs the ability to speak the same language with us. These dogs learn so quickly it is pretty easy to confuse or teach them bad habits if one is not careful. Give a German Shepherd good structure, leadership and rules in their life or they will structure their own life, make their own rules. These dogs should attend structured classes with a good instructor. The time required to housetrain a German Shepherd will vary depending on each dog and on the method used. Positive methods and consistency will work best for all training with this breed. Crate training seems to be of great assistance for most dogs in house-breaking.
Socializing this breed?
Socialization is one of the necessary requirements to successful German Shepherd ownership. Training and socializing is a must, not an option with this breed. The unsocialized German Shepherd can be dangerous. The highly intelligent German Shepherd, with it's protective and herding nature, if it is not channeled properly, can lead to serious trouble. This breed when unsocialized and not properly trained can become prone to fear biting, uncontrolled prey drive instincts, inappropriate herding traits, and dangerous guarding instincts. This breed is reserved with change, so they need to be continually exposed to a large variety of environments and experiences. They should be given the social skills and taught manners early on and on a ongoing basis. A German Shepherd should exhibit a reserved-to-friendly personality with strangers. They should not be aggressive. A German Shepherd that shows aggression, excessive shyness, skittish behavior should be evaluated by a professional trainer and behaviorist immediately. The German Shepherd can be the dog and friend of a lifetime in the hands of a loving, committed, involved owner. These amazing dogs are wasted or worse on any lesser owner.
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