Thinking about getting a German Shepherd?
DO YOUR RESEARCH
German Shepherds were first registered as a breed a little over 120 years ago. In 1899 Max Von Stephanitz and his friend Herr Artur Meyer, took notice of a wolf-like dog with black and yellow markings at a dog show in Western Germany. They were highly impressed by the dog’s intelligence, discipline, energetic and affectionate traits, so much so, they went on to form the German Shepherd Dog Club and created the guidelines for the breed’s standard.
German Shepherds need their handler to be their leader and show them direction at all times. Dogs were not meant to lead humans, but if you give them the chance, they will assume the role. If owners do not present strong leadership at all times, German Sherpherds will take the lead and that is when issues arise. By being a strong leader for your dog, you relieve them of stress.
It is vital that you instil good manners in your dog from an early age. Do not mollycoddle a German Shepherd pup and do not let them away with behaviour that will not be deemed as ‘cute’ when they are fully grown.
Many people wrongly assume that working their dog means just walking them. An intelligent breed such as the German Shepherd also needs a lot of mental stimulation and will thrive with an active lifestyle.
It is essential that all German Shepherd pups are socialised at an early age, most importantly socialisation is paramount during their key development stages, with both dogs and humans. Socialisation must continue throughout their lives.
German Shepherds are active dogs and are known to be self-assured. They have a willingness to learn and an eagerness to have a purpose. German Shepherds can become overprotective of their family and territory, especially if not socialised correctly.
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German Shepherds are a highly intelligent, curious and obedient breed.
According to renowned, PHD & Canine Psychologist, Stanley Coren, German Shepherds are the third smartest dog breed in the world. The number of scent receptors in a dog’s nose is one of the key measurements of how sharp a dog’s nose is. On average, German Shepherds have 220 million scent receptors. For reference, we only have 5 million scent receptors.
Teaching tips for your German Shepherd
It is important to be aware that your German Shepherd puppy tagging along beside you, and basically becoming your shadow, although can be cute, it can also lead to problems in the future.
For example, seperation anxiety can occur, which can, and is widely recognised as a behavioural problem. Dogs suffering from seperation anxiety can lead to excessive barking, becoming destructive & attempting to escape from their garden/house etc. This is why it is vital that you give pup some alone time as this will help their dog accept being alone, for short periods. Some dog owner's use crates for short seperation periods. Crates must not be used for extended periods of time as this could also lead to major behavioural and physical issues, ie growth development. Other solutions are to leave your pup in a contained area for short periods of time, this will help condition them to being left alone & help them mature into a self assured, confident young developing German Shepherd. If you cannot provide any of the advice mentioned, we would suggest you consider a different breed of K9, as German Shepherd's are a large working breed, with many things to be taking into consideration and seperation anxiety is but one!