German Shepherd Obedience Training

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Is a German Shepherd the Right Dog For Me?

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The German Shepherd Dog also known as an Alsatian comes literally from the German Deutscher Schäferhund. They are a relatively new breed of large-sized dog originating in the late 19th century. They are part of the Herding group that was originally developed as a working dog for herding sheep.

The Alsatians strength, intelligence and obedience they are often employed in police and military roles. They are also one of the most popular breeds around the world.
The breed originates from a dog called Hektor Linksrhein. Hecktor so impressed Von Stephanitz that he bought it and renamed him to Horand von Grafrath and founded the Society for the Alsatian Dogs.

Horand became the centre-point of the society’s breeding programs and was mated with many other society member dogs.
The German Shepherds popularity has increased quickly throughout the 20th Century, though it had some problems in popularity in the early days due to health problems from poor breeding and after the world wars with anti German sentiment. To such an extent that the UK Kennel Club renamed it to “Alsatian Wolf Dog”, a while later the wolf dog addition was dropped and in 1977, the Alsatian Dog was back as the official name, though it is still often known as the Alsatian. The German Shepherd popularity was fuelled by animal actors such as Rin Tin Tin and Strongheart. Now days it is globally the third most popular dog breed.

They are a large dog of between 55 and 65 centimetres (around 24 in) at the top of the back and weigh between 22 and 40 kilograms (60 lb).

The German Shepherd’s face has a long square cut muzzle, a doomed forehead, a long neck, strong jaws, big erect ears (that are often pulled back when on the move), black nose and brown, medium-sized eyes. With a bushy tail.

German Shepherds come in a variety of colours, the normal versions are the tan/black and red/black versions with black masks and saddles. Less common types include the sable, all-black, all-white, liver and blue varieties, which may not fit country breed standards. German Shepherds have a double coat. A thick close dense outer coat, which sheds continually and a thick undercoat. The long-hair variety is rarer.
Like many working dogs, Alsatians were bred for their intelligence, and are considered to be the third most intelligent breed of dog (Border Collies is deemed to be number one by Stanley Coren in his book The Intelligence of Dogs). This intelligence combined with their power makes the breed sought after as guard, police, search and rescue dogs, being able to quickly learn various tasks and interpret instructions better than other large breeds.
Alsatians are known for aggression and have been restricted in areas as a result. Statistically, in the States, the Alsatian is responsible for more unprovoked indiscriminate bites than any other breed, and have a known tendency to attack smaller dog breeds.

Additionally studies have shown that German Shepherds are the breed third most likely to attack someone and in a different study, German Shepherds were responsible for nearly half of the dog bites that required medical attention, compared to a more typical twenty of bites requiring medical treatment, not a surprise with their powerful jaws and scissor teeth.

There is no problem with the German Shepherd breed, it is the fault of the owners. As with any clever active dog (or person), if they are not regularly active and kept occupied, they can become difficult. The German Shepherd needs to have puppy socialisation and good education from an early stage. The Alsatian is different from the collie, which a lot of its aggressiveness has been removed by breeding for shows, the German Shepherd does not seem to have lost this character.

They can bond very well with their family, however they can become over-protective of their family and territory. Due to this they may appear a bit aloof.

Alsatians are rapid learners and are very obedient and not easily distracted, but due to their strong character, you must be very forceful with them.
The Alsatian will need to have two good walks a day. They are not a dog for a busy family who cannot give them the time and attention. For this reason, busy couples often ask professional dog walkers such as London dog walking to help out by walking them for several hours a day.
Poor breeding has led to common health issues, hip and elbow joint problems (dysplasia) which often causes the dog pain and often causes arthritis. The Alsatian also is susceptible from monorchidism (one testicle), weakness of temperament, and missing teeth, as well as folded or bent ears which never fully turn up when reaching adulthood. The Alsatian is often has ear problems due to his large and open ears.

Alsatians, like many deep chested dogs are prone to bloat, this is often fatal, so if you think this may be a problem, go straight to the vet. Bloat is a gas build up in the stomach, caused by a number of different causes. The symptoms of distress for no apparent reason, a firm distension of the abdomen, general weakness, depression, problems breathing, hypersalivation, and retching without vomiting. A large percentage of dogs with bloat have cardiac arrhythmias (around forty percent), loss of appetite, vomiting and weight loss.

The German Shepherd often suffers from Degenerative Myelopathy, or DM is a neurological disease and are predisposed to Von Willebrand Disease, a common generic bleeding disorder, which shows in differing degrees of bleeding tendency, usually in the form of easy bruising, nosebleeds and bleeding gums. .

In spite of these problems, the German Shepherd is robust with simple dog care and the average lifespan of a Alsatian is around nine years, which is typical for a large dog breed.

The Alsatian has a great nose so is one of the most widely-used breeds in a wide variety of scent-work roles, including cadaver searching, search and rescue, explosives detection, narcotics detection and mine detection.

So the Alsatian is a great clever breed that will love you, if you have the time and dedication for him. Not advised for busy working families.

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