German Shepherd Review

Overall Rating

German Shepherd dogs are one of a kind. They are so intelligent, alert and loyal to their master. They are the best form of security and protection whether it be your home, car or family. They also have the most character and personality I have seen in a dog, they know when they are pushing their luck or if you're in a sad mood, they can be crazy, i.e., one of mine spins like a mad dog in circles on my bed or they can be calm and sensative to your mood. The more situations you introduce your dog to the better they will cope with it, i.e., busy places, young children and other dogs.

On a recent visit to my vets with one of my shepherds thay did say that this is the breed they see most often with problems whether it be skin, joints, etc., due to the breed being overbred. This is proved correct with one of my dogs who has had lots of problems, yet I know other gsd who have had very healthy long lives. They also need strong training and owners so they know your the boss, unless they know this they can be really challenging, (but this is because they are so intelligent).

German Shepherd - For all the bad points I have listed, the good points definitely outweigh them and I will definitely be getting another one in the future. They are great family pets - my 18month old loves to cuddle both of mine and they are starting to enjoy the attention she gives them (although they were a bit wary at first). They do not need massive amounts of physical exercise as this can have a real negative effect on their joints when they get older, but they do like to be mentally stimulated. Mine are both 1/2 long coat and 1/2 short and they really do not molt as much as you would think, especially compared to some of the shorter haired breeds.

The protectiveness is definitely for my lifestyle a real bonus as I walk them alone through fields and woods, and previously when in my car alone before I had a weird man coming over to me while I was just finishing at a petrol garage, seeing him coming nearer and near made me quite worried as I could tell he was coming for my car and a couple of barks from one of my dogs sent him walking in a completely different direction, to my relief. Admittedly, the security image of them can scare other dog walkers off a bit, but I have always found once they know you and your dogs and their personalities then everything is fine.

Members' Comments onsasha999's Review

• catylin on 13th Apr 2006

  Birds molt, dogs shed.

• balloon on 27th Aug 2006

  Catylin - that was a bit pathetically critical don't you think?

• catylin on 26th Sep 2006

  Critical yes, pathetic no. For if no one was criticized and we did not learn from our mistakes, however small we would become ignorant and uninformed. Maybe it was a grammatical error, maybe it wasn't, well I just informed her of the correct way of commenting on a dogs hair loss, now when she speaks to someone in person she won't sound stupid.