German shepherd puppy's?

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iAMASHOWJUMPER

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Just wondering out of interest whether any of you have any experience of german shepherd's?
easy to house train?
seperation anxiety?
shedding (i imagine they shed a lot due to long coats, but i could be wrong?)
and any other information?
thanks in advance:D
 
They're smart, easy to house train, like company, shed a LOT, need a job, need a lot of exercise (after 12 months) and more importantly, mental stimulation.
Need a lot of socialisation and early training, they can be gobby and they can go through a horrid adolescence/teenage period.

The question is, what type of home you can offer and is it the right home for a GSD :)

Badly bred specimens, of which there are too many, can suffer from hereditary health problems, find the right breeder.
If you are prepared to pay £200 right this very minute, for a pup with no health tests on the parents, you might as well rescue, there are too many in rescue (pound near me has a litter of ten week old pups :()
 
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No expert on GSD though have friends with them including one who is now 9 months old. She specifically went for a working line but did it knowing the dog would be a little more challenging to train ( which he was) but she had help lined up and knows the breed well. The dog is lovely though I am always taken aback by the sheer size of the dog compared to my three!
 
Everything CC said:D. If you do decide to have a GSD do loads of research on the type you want, and then look for pups from parents of good steady temperament, that are hip and elbow scored (with low scores), and preferably the sire haemophilia tested too.

If it is your first time owning the breed I would avoid a full working line, as Luci says they can be hard work!
 
agree with cavecanem :)

i was brought up with them and owned one myself when i left home, she was the perfect dog but i put alot of training into her, it also helped that i worked on a yard so she was with me all day, i lost her far to soon at the age of 7 :( due to a tumor in her tum, i was heartbroken and have never felt ready to get another.
 
Iamashowjumper, if you have not been put off :p PM me your location, budget, set-up, list of needs and wants and I will try and recommend a good breeder.

Agree, do not go for a working-bred dog as your first GSD without first spending some time getting to know a few, I have had the breed my whole life and have only just got my first working lines dog, after a lot of research and he is certainly a handful :p yes, they look amazing but they can be seriously hard work for a novice.
 
flower08 said:
agree with cavecanem :)

i was brought up with them and owned one myself when i left home, she was the perfect dog but i put alot of training into her, it also helped that i worked on a yard so she was with me all day, i lost her far to soon at the age of 7 :( due to a tumor in her tum, i was heartbroken and have never felt ready to get another.
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Me too, my boy was 6 1/2 took him to vet cos he was limping, thought hips as you do, they x rayed and found his spleen was enlarged, they could have removed it but x ray showed enlarged heart so they couldn't gaurantee he would recover/get through the op, they medicated for the heart and he died about a week later, gutted. We already had another mongrel bitch who out lived him, she was 16 when she was pts. We rehomed a springer at 14 months old, not a breed I would have gone for due to their scatty reputation but she is a gem, chilled and lovely to have around, would def have another but of course couldn't gaurantee that one wouldn't be scatty lol
 
I had one with a tumour on her spleen as well but she was ten years old.
She went very quickly, inside the space of a week.

I guess we've been lucky but only my current older male has been in poor health (skin conditions and urinary tract issues) in both a lifetime of myself and my mother owning GSDs.

If you do your research on which lines to go for and which to avoid, the breed is well documented and monitored and all this information is there if you choose to look for it, and not fall for the hard sell of less than reputable breeders.

I do see and hear people say they will never have another GSD because of a bad experience with a much-loved dog, but I feel if you consign yourself to a life without one because of something that could have happened to a lot of other breeds, you're missing out x
 
Fabulous dogs agree with everything that has been said. We've had them since I was a baby (now 22) and just taken on a 12 month old rescue dog, who is just such a sweetie but hard work!
She has 3 walks a day, never runs out of energy, always under your feet....but she is just beginning her education with us and we hope that she will carry on improving as she has done and become a well mannered obedient dog.
They take a lot of consistent, firm training - they are not by any means stupid, they just need reminding now and then ;) health and temperament research is the key - even when you have done your research, bear in mind things can still go wrong speaking from bitter experience (our last girl had awful skin problems all her life, the only one from her litter).
Good luck if you decide to go ahead, they are brilliant dogs.
K x
 
CaveCanem said:
I had one with a tumour on her spleen as well but she was ten years old.
She went very quickly, inside the space of a week.

I guess we've been lucky but only my current older male has been in poor health (skin conditions and urinary tract issues) in both a lifetime of myself and my mother owning GSDs.

If you do your research on which lines to go for and which to avoid, the breed is well documented and monitored and all this information is there if you choose to look for it, and not fall for the hard sell of less than reputable breeders.

I do see and hear people say they will never have another GSD because of a bad experience with a much-loved dog, but I feel if you consign yourself to a life without one because of something that could have happened to a lot of other breeds, you're missing out x
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yes i do think im missing out, im a mod on a gsd forum and i love being on there, at the moment with 7 whippets and 1 choc lab i havent the room for one :D but iv promised myself that i will own another one one day!
 
NOISYGIRL said:
Me too, my boy was 6 1/2 took him to vet cos he was limping, thought hips as you do, they x rayed and found his spleen was enlarged, they could have removed it but x ray showed enlarged heart so they couldn't gaurantee he would recover/get through the op, they medicated for the heart and he died about a week later, gutted. We already had another mongrel bitch who out lived him, she was 16 when she was pts. We rehomed a springer at 14 months old, not a breed I would have gone for due to their scatty reputation but she is a gem, chilled and lovely to have around, would def have another but of course couldn't gaurantee that one wouldn't be scatty lol
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yes it was my girls spleen to, your springer sounds lovely :D i love how they are always so busy when out on walks!
 
Ostrich said:
I can offer a home to one of your whippets if you like, to free up some space? :p Not sure the 4 greyhounds would appreciate another interloper though....:D
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lol, take your pick :D:D

allthedogsinfrontroom.jpg
 
Ostrich said:
OMG that picture was your hounds :D:D:D:D Someone posted it on here a little while ago having seen it on Facebook - it is fantastic :)

I will go for a nice brindle please, it is a colour I havent got at the moment :D
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lol, i have two fawn brindle and one blue brindle.

i dont suppose you can remember who posted my pic? i didnt know you could post someones pic's from there.

sorry for totally hijacking the thread :o
 
Ostrich said:
The blue brindle will do nicely thank you :D I have just looked back at all my posts because I am sure I commented on the thread, but I cant find it :confused: Bear with me, I shall investigate further and PM you if I find a name :)
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thank you, im not really very happy about it tbh!

as for the blue brindle, thats charlie and hes a hyper thug!! :D:D
 
LOL its fine, and phew! im jus glad its not my pic, i was having a major panic attack :D i was thinking omg who can see my pic's on fb!! lol,

thats a great pic though!
 
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