German Shepherd Dog

We elaborate about German Shepherd puppy breed with German Shepherd temperament, training, appearance, weight, life spam and much more information about this breed.

German Shepherd Other Names:

GSD, Alsace.

German Shepherd Weight

75 – 95 lbs.

German Shepherd Average life span

12 – 13 years.

German Shepherd Appearance

German Shepherds are one of the most easily recognizable breeds in the world. They have a muscular, athletic and agile body.

German Shepherd Temperament

German Shepherds are smart, energetic, loyal, protective, and loving. A well-trained German Shepherd is good with children. They get along well with other animals if they are socialized from an early age. This dog is not suitable for everyone and they will demand a lot of your time. If treated with kindness and trained responsibly, it makes an excellent pet as they build a faithful bond with their owners. However, if these dogs are not trained and socialized they can become dominant and misbehave. In short, a German Shepherd is a loyal and dedicated dog if he has a loyal and dedicated owner. They make excellent watchdogs, love to be involved in family life, and do not respond well if left alone for long periods of time. This breed is known to suffer from separation anxiety,

Training

The German Shepherd is exceptionally domesticable. Training should be positive, consistent, and start from an early age. They are a very intelligent breed and as such require a great deal of mental stimulation. Starting with basic obedience, the GSD can learn activities that require agility such as tracking, salvage, and rescue or personal protection.

Cleanliness

German Shepherds lose a lot of hair all the time, so they require daily brushing to remove dead hair, so the more you brush it, the less it will shed. Ears and nails should be checked regularly.

Exercise

Although relatively calm and collected indoors, the German Shepherd needs a lot of outdoor exercise to keep fit. Long daily walks are essential as well as physical activities such as recovery. If you don’t have the time to commit to plenty of exercise to meet the demands of this breed you shouldn’t have. Be careful not to over-exercise them when they are puppies as they need time for their joints and muscles to strengthen.

Health

Hip Malformation or Dysplasia: Results in a poor fit between the head of the femur bone and the acetabulum of the hip. This condition can be alleviated by surgery, although with consequences for dogs and owners since dogs with dysplasia usually produce puppies with the same condition. Buyers should ask if both the parent of the puppy they are interested in has been recently tested and is free of hip dysplasia. Don’t take yes for an answer without seeing a certificate and ask for a copy to take to your vet.

Dysplasia-elbow. It may be due to different growth rates of the three bones that make up the elbow. In the most affected dogs, the elbow joint may become loose or loose and, in mildly affected dogs, it can lead to painful arthritis.

Gastric torsion : Although it is not a hereditary condition, it frequently affects many dogs, including the German Shepherd. This is a very serious condition. When a dog has it, the stomach can twist and become blocked, causing gas to build up. If not treated quickly it can be fatal. With this disease also appear useless attempts to vomit and salivate. It can also lead to cardiovascular collapse, which usually occurs when you exercise after eating. The incidence of gastric torsion in adult dogs can be controlled by eating healthy twice a day and, of course, by allowing time for digestion before taking him for a run in the park.

Von Willebrand disease (VWD):It is an inherited (non-sex-linked) autosomal bleeding disorder characterized by prolonged bleeding times (somewhat similar to hemophilia in humans) and a mild to severe factor IX deficiency. The DNA test for Von Willebrand disease is now available. Reproduction between carriers can produce offspring that, in theory, will be 25% healthy, 50% carriers, and 25% sick. Ideally, the reproductions are in healthy pairs or of healthy and carrier where the disease would not affect any of the puppies. Not all dogs affected with VWD will have serious bleeding problems, but they are at risk every time they need to undergo surgery or have an accident. Only some unlucky dogs affected by the disease will seriously bleed from a puncture or minor wound.

Panosteitis (also known as ‘long bone disease’, ‘wandering lameness’, or ‘pano.’) Most commonly seen between the ages of five to 12 months, for unknown reasons, common in the German Shepherd breed . It is caused by the overgrowth of long bones. Normally, a dog affected by this condition will grow correctly, although it can sometimes cause a lot of pain.

History

The first Shepherd Dogs of Germany were of different types depending on their environment, the length of the coat, the texture, the color, varied in them, but all had robustness, solidity, intelligence and ability to perform specialized work. Captain Max Von Stephanitz, is the man hailed as the father of the breed. It all started in 1889, when he visited a dog show in Karlsruhe in West Germany with a friend. He saw a dog that so impressed him that he bought it right there. This dog, named HektorLinksrhein, later renamed Horand von Grafrath, was the first dog to be registered as a German Shepherd. Von Stephanitz also formed a society that called him VereinfürdeutscheSchaferhunde or SV, a milestone in the history of the breed and ushered in a new era for her, from this date, the German Shepherd was recognized as a specific breed. The captain’s motto was “Utility and Intelligence.”

As Germany became more and more an industrialized country and the pastoral era declined, Von Stephanitzse realized that the breed could also decline so, with the cooperation of working dog clubs and the police, he brought them into office. specific tracking and protection work, convinced the authorities to use the German Shepherd dog in various branches of public administration. The dog served during the war as Red Cross dogs, messenger dogs, supply carriers, sentinels, tracking dogs, and guard dogs.