Advice on what to look for when selecting a German Shepherd

[1_click_off]

Any advice on what to look for breeder or breed wise? I have been looking at getting either a German or Dutch Shepherd for a few years. My old buddy passed on. Thinking it is time for another 4 legged buddy.

Heard that some shepherds have hip issues. Want to avoid that or any other unknown.

I have plenty of land to roam on, but house is adjacent to a somewhat busy road. Got a couple younger kids and plan to have her inside the house for the most part. Just too dang hot outside.

I like the protective aspect of the breed and we don’t have a lot of visitors. Golden Retrievers are great dogs, but I want something that won’t lick an intruder.

Basically looking for the tips on what to watch out for or avoid with the breed.

[JC5188]

Any advice on what to look for breeder or breed wise? I have been looking at getting either a German or Dutch Shepherd for a few years. My old buddy passed on. Thinking it is time for another 4 legged buddy.

Heard that some shepherds have hip issues. Want to avoid that or any other unknown.

I have plenty of land to roam on, but house is adjacent to a somewhat busy road. Got a couple younger kids and plan to have her inside the house for the most part. Just too dang hot outside.

I like the protective aspect of the breed and we don’t have a lot of visitors. Golden Retrievers are great dogs, but I want something that won’t lick an intruder.

Basically looking for the tips on what to watch out for or avoid with the breed.

I think member Bulletdog is who you should reach out to. He is a trainer of high end GSDs

[SteyrAUG]

The more "ultra pure bred" the more likely you will have a dog with hip issues. This is one instance where pedestrian is sometimes better than pedigree.

Obviously avoid the puppy mills where dogs might be in poor health or subjected to conditions that result in problems. Temperament is probably the most important. If the dog won't come to you when you visit, it might have been abused which takes a lot of commitment and effort to overcome or it just might have a poor disposition and could be reclusive / aggressive both of which have their own challenges.

If you can, try and find a rescue or shelter dog. Nothing feels better than literally saving a dogs life. I would look for good overall health first, then temperament / disposition and my last consideration would be papers / champion parents or whatever.

[Campbell]

Make sure you are ready for a Dutch/Belgian.... absolutely super dogs, but can be a bridge too far for some owners....
Be happy to point you towards some breeders if needed. Good luck with your purchase👍🏻

[JC5188]

Doubled

[Coal Dragger]

On the health issues look for a breeder that is breeding specifically for good joint health. That means the dog and bitch will both be at least 2 years old with certified hip and elbow x-rays, usually a breeder will note that their breeding animals have this. Figure a few generations of dogs with good joint health stacks the deck in your favor for a healthy pup.

Obviously you want to meet the puppy’s parents, if you have kids take your kids and see how the adult dogs are around them. Also how each pup is around your kids will be important.

On the protective nature, you need to decide if you want a working line dog or not. If you do prepare to devote time to training and keeping the dog occupied.

We currently have an adult female that is coming up on 8 years old. She’s small at only 60lbs but she is also healthy and very mobile. She loves our 2 year old son, but can be aloof at times with him.

Our 9 month old Rottweiler puppy on the other hand is bonkers about our little boy, in fact he followed our son around at the kennel and we selected him because of it. Those two are thick as thieves, and the Rottweiler has twice so far put himself between the boy and a potential threat (at least in the dog’s mind). My mom and my mother in law both, just playing and the toddler made toddler noises. Each time the Rottweiler put himself between them and the boy, no growling or teeth barred, no barking, just an already big black brick of a dog seeing what’s going on with his favorite person. He didn’t know the grandparents well at the time, but by the end of the week he was trying to be a lap dog with them too.

Our GSD female is also protective, but not nearly as proactive, she’s always super alert but less likely to physically make herself a barrier. She’s more likely to vocalize.

[Campbell]

BTW, solid breeders can back up their dogs hips (OFA)

[1_click_off]

If you can, try and find a rescue or shelter dog. Nothing feels better than literally saving a dogs life.

Had a very abused dog show up at the house one day. Would not come to me but looked like she felt she had nowhere else to go. So I started feeding her. She eventually warmed up and it took about a year before I could pet her without a wince/flench. Started acting like I was coming in for a smack and then started telling her she was a good dog and petting her nice. That helped a lot.

The next dog was from a farmer on the roadside. Best dog I ever had. The mom was half husky half wolf, dad was Australian Shepherd. I picked the only one with brown eyes and without the mane. That was the best dog ever. Smart, tough and acted like a 2 year old dog even though he was 14. One day he just started stroking out and had to put him down. No joint issues, teeth were great, he was deaf though. Took us all in total shock he was great up until that day.

This is the first dog I have been seeking out to purchase.

[SteyrAUG]

Had a very abused dog show up at the house one day. Would not come to me but looked like she felt she had nowhere else to go. So I started feeding her. She eventually warmed up and it took about a year before I could pet her without a wince/flench. Started acting like I was coming in for a smack and then started telling her she was a good dog and petting her nice. That helped a lot.

The next dog was from a farmer on the roadside. Best dog I ever had. The mom was half husky half wolf, dad was Australian Shepherd. I picked the only one with brown eyes and without the mane. That was the best dog ever. Smart, tough and acted like a 2 year old dog even though he was 14. One day he just started stroking out and had to put him down. No joint issues, teeth were great, he was deaf though. Took us all in total shock he was great up until that day.

This is the first dog I have been seeking out to purchase.

There is one thing you can't buy, knowing you gave those dogs a better life than anyone else was probably capable of doing. Not saying don't buy a dog, but if the rescue option exists (and one of the best dogs I ever had was literally a stray that got caught trying to climb under my fence) I typically go that route.

If the German is a few notches down on activity from the Dutch, I may lean that way. It will be a family dog and not worked hard. I think I will have a lot of chewed up stuff out of boredom if I go Dutch and that’s not fair to it.

I have a Belgian. I've worked with a lot of dog trainers over the years and I know a bit about training dogs, but just being in my 40s and not being able to devote a lot of time to her was hard on her. If I'd have been in my 20s it wouldn't have been as challenging. But I literally would have to take bike rides every day just to run the extra energy out of her. Belgians and Dutch definitely need a job and a defined role or they just go stir crazy.

[Bulletdog]

I have a Belgian. I've worked with a lot of dog trainers over the years and I know a bit about training dogs, but just being in my 40s and not being able to devote a lot of time to her was hard on her. If I'd have been in my 20s it wouldn't have been as challenging. But I literally would have to take bike rides every day just to run the extra energy out of her. Belgians and Dutch definitely need a job and a defined role or they just go stir crazy.

I have four mals right now. I like to have two up and running all the time. My older female is 11 and ready to retire. My primary is 8 and going very strong right now. Working all the time. He's the one in my avatar. I started two new pups a few months ago. They are littermate brothers and six months old now. I'm raising one and my co-trainers are raising the other, but we all trade off periodically. Dog training is my career and my hobby outside of work, so all I do is work them every day. They come to work with me and go hawking with me too. I don't know how a person would do it if they didn't have a job like mine. My hat is off to you. I've seen the "stir crazy" you mentioned. They either get super fearful and bite out of sheer terror and panic, or they get aggressive and bite for entertainment. They seems to like to hear the hairless apes squeal. Scary dogs in the wrong hands, but they can do more than any other breed on the planet in the right hands. It takes an inordinate amount of time and effort to make them in to good dogs, but when a person puts that time in, the result is pure magic. They become almost telepathic with their person. They learn new things is a fraction of the time it takes "normal" dogs. They can perform physical feats that appear to bend the laws of physics. I've always said: "They make a German shepard seem stupid and a border collie seem slow." You can train them to do things that other breeds are bred to do, better than those other breeds. They can out retrieve a retriever. They can bird dog better than a bird dog. I've used mine to hunt rabbits with hawks, they are better than any traditional rabbit hunting dog. They can man track better than a bloodhound.

Yes. I'm a fan. I don't see myself ever not having one, but I readily admit that they are the wrong dog for most people. I talk people out of them all day long. My current two pups are my eighth and ninth mals. The future looks bright. Very bright.