Need some help please (about getting a GSD) Questions

Ok glad about the garden thing, I know a lot of people whom feel you need a huge house and garden for big dogs. Haha sounds like Honey as she never leaves my sight lol. Wouldn't a pup be better as they learn to adapt to your ways, an elder GSD will be set in it's ways and won't it be harder with Honey? Once again thanks for the help

Not at all, infact the right rescue adult dog will have been proven to have lived with others in harmony, be it male or female company. We've got two rescues, one we got as a pup, the other as an adult, and the adult has always been far more forgiving of other dogs in his territory etc whereas the pup has taken a lot more training to accept other dogs into her home, she is massively territorial, presumably as she has lived here all her life. Please don't be put off by a rescue because of worries they may not fit in, with the right introductions etc a rescue could fit beautifully into your home x

You obviously have great taste as you are considering a GSD I had one as my first dog and I have two longhairs now (as well as two border collies). I would never be without one

GSDs make wonderful companions, they are faithful, loyal, intelligent and highly trainable. They can also be nervous aggressive, protective and prone to being a bit noisy - so please make sure you go to a reputable breeder and also try to meet as many of their breeding as you can.

As you already have a small dog, I would be inclined to err on the side of caution and either get a pup who can grow up with your little one, or else speak to GSD breed specific rescue and ask whether they have any shepherds who have lived happily with small dogs.

As long as you are prepared to put in a lot of work and effort with your GSD (and, in my experience, you definitely need to be a firm leader, and have clear and concise boundaries) then you will be rewarded with the best friend you could ever have.

Regarding exercise, GSDs are a large and active breed, and therefore do require plenty of exercise - mental stimulation being as important as physical exercise with this breed.

Best of luck and I would love to know what you decide and how you get on.

Thank you so much for the information Moobli, I will be sure to keep you updated. I have actually just spoken to a man who's website I found where he actually fully trains the GSDs then sells them (he also trains them for police) he was very nice. I told him how I allowed Honey to sleep with me and sit in the settee which he was really against. If I did get a GSD I would have her and Honey sleep on the floor in my room, having said that though Kimba a GSD slept with my sister and had no problem... He's also put me off slightly as he told me that if I got one as a pup it would walk all over me as I am too soft. He said that i could go down there with Honey and for three days he would train me with the GSD. (btw these dogs are adults). He also said he would not allow me to have a bitch as he does not allow bitches with bitches etc. Which I found confusing as I know many people with same sex dogs. Apart from that it all sounded really good but the prices are very high the cheapest starting from £7500 up to £15000!

Very true.

Bruce Fogle, the author and Vet wrote, that a Long coat GSD is a good option. As they often have mellow personalities, whereas GSD's from show lines can be highly-strung. I mentioned this to my breeder and she disagreed. I guess it depends on the individual.

Obviously the choice is yours, but I personally would not want to buy a "trained" adult dog. If this guy trains dogs for the police then he is probably dealing with high drive, working line dogs which do not do well in the average (and inexperienced pet home). I also think paying £££thousands is crazy if you are only wanting a pet and companion. Personally I do agree with him about the dog sleeping on the bed or sofa, but again that is just my personal preference.

My youngest GSD came from Kazeti German Shepherds and is not only absolutely gorgeous but has a wonderful temperament to match. He is great around adults, children and other animals (we live on a farm) and will give a fantastically ferocious warning bark to strangers, but will befriend them when I say it is okay Obviously some of this will be down to the nuture, socialisation and training I gave him, but I also put a good deal down to the fact he is well bred. Googe Kazeti GSDs and have a look for yourself I certainly wouldn't hesitate to go back for another puppy.

Daisy`s a long coat. Mellow? Nah.

Bruce Fogle also supports breeding designer breeds as they are more healthy yer right-breed two different breeds of dogs with common genetic conditions(like labradors & Standard Poodles which are both high on the epilepsy affected breeds !!!) . long coated GSDs are all very well, but they must still come from healthy, fully health tested parents that have proven good characters & from healthy lines. he is also not from the UK(Canadian???)& TBH knows s*d all about owning/breeding a GSD

Does he really, that's very odd as few if any UK police forces buy UK bred & fully "trained"GSDs they import dogs from Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands & eastern Europe for a lot less than £7,500 & they come over as a fully licensed police dogs !

I would never buy a GSD trained for protection as a pet especially not here in the UK & I've had GSDs since 1958(& trained them for protection work myself)

One can claim anything on a website especially about training & selling dogs & I would strongly advise you not to go down this route. I would also advise you against buying a puppy from any breeder who specifically breeds for a non standard coat length or non standard colour-they breed from a very small gene pool & despite health tests they may do they are breeding for money pure & simple 7 not to improve the breed

Thank you everyone for really really helpful comments. It truly means a lot. I would like everyone to know that I am not getting a dog from him it costs way too much money and from what everyone has been saying getting a fully trained dog does not sound a good idea. So it would not be a problem to let a GSD sleep with on my bed? Jodeeuk some of his GSD was imported from Germany. How come they should only find a breeder whom breeds a certain length of coat and colour? Lastly please may someone tell me how much excersise a GSD should roughly have a day? Thank you everyone again.

Not a problem at all Both my big Akitas sleep on my bed - one is a dominant madam, the other the most laid back lad you will ever meet, it doesn't affect their behaviour, they only come up when invited, and get down when told.

Thank you akitagirl the man I spoke to said that when you let them on the settee and the bed you are letting them become higher in the pack. But your living proof that this is not correct and Honey is doing fine.

Many people breed GSDs just for their length of coat ie long coats & then charge silly money for them, the same goes for the non standard colours(white, blue etc etc)

Some people still think that"Alsatians"(the name given to GSDs after the WWI here in the UK)are the correct coats & the GSD has a long coat Total rubbish of course they are from the same dogs originally

GSDs like many pastoral breeds need their mind occupied far more than physical exercise & like any other puppies GSDs when young should have around 5 mins wlking on a lead per month of age as a max. over exercise when yound causes so many problems that are then blamed on the breeders/parents by the owners

As for GSDs & small dogs, lots of GSD people I know have smaller breeds that happily live alongside their dogs-lots of GSD & Cavalier owners Our last GSD bitch(a rescue)adored her"hareem"of Cavaliers!!

& finally yes all my GSDs used to sleep with me LOL had to have a King sized bed !!!!!

I think he would know a teeny-tiny bit more about dogs than you...
He lives/works in London, not that it makes any difference.

Did you read the book that I quoted from? 'New Dog - choosing wisely and ensuring a happily ever after'?

it's a good thing you are asking around about your next dog. I think word of mouth is better than searching the ads pages..
this Lady http://www.krisannrio.com/ is a friend of mine she Breeds beautiful long haired Gsd's they are all health tested and hip scored her web site shows all the pups and dogs she has . her prices are not that bad either.
she has a bitch "Laska" due in a weeks time.

Thank you for all the great infor Joedeeuk it's greatly appreciated. So do I need to find a breeder that does not do standard coat and colour? One that breeds any length and colour would be ok? I really like the White german shepherd another crazy thing I heard that White GSD are really hard work. How can a colour of a dog determine it's personality? Lastly with the walking issue do you mean that once you can take a GSD pup out for a walk for first time just for five mins? Then add up from that? Am glad that there is no reason to have them not sleeping with you so would it not matter if I did this when I first brought it home?

Actually - Bruce Fogle is not a GSD expert - and I wouldn`t buy a dog on his recommendation. His dad was good, but the apple seemed to have rolled a fair way from the tree. I`ve read one of his books and wasn`t impressed - huge generalisations based on suspect science.
Whereas (while I am firmly in a different GSD camp) I respect Joedeeuk`s expertise.

Does he really why then does he tout labradoodles as the way to go in dog owning ?? They have a very high incidence of epilepsy, HD & ED & you cannot guarantee that they are non shedding(which he claims they are)

He may be in London, but he is a retired vet whose breed books are all the same with the names changed !!

How does he know more about dogs than me ?? Has he spent the best part of 40 years + dealing with traumatised rescue dogs & helped turn them around without the use of drugs & "behaviourists".

I have brilliant vets who know about dog conditions & how to treat them, however they refer people to our dog training classes & do not run "in house"puppy socialisation as in their senior partner's words we know how to teach people to train their dogs into happy, well-behaved pets & vets don't ! They are not "new"age vets & have been vets in practice here in the UK far longer than Mr Fogle

I have already reviewed most of the books written by Mr Fogle & TBH most of them are a load of reiterrated recycled stuff gleaned from other authors & dog"behaviourists"

Why do so many people think that GP vets are the font of all knowledge in things zoological ?? Most have never seen a"normal"whelping, most have little knowledge about nutrition-they spend all of half a day during their training on nutrition, they spend little time on dog training & learning about normal dog behvaviour. They base their knowledge on the whole on the animals that they see in their surgeries. I know one very famous vet who couldn't tell an OES from a Bearded Collie(oops mustn't mention names but his initals are BF !!!), well before lay docking was banning here in the UK, told a Beardie breeder that he was pleased that she kept her OES undocked on camera !!!!

GSDs should be bred to improve the breed-anyone who wants only a certain colour GSD TBH & IMHO(no insult intended)doesn't want a typical correct GSD. On the whole "white"GSDs(which are rarely actually white BTW)are not bred to the breed standard & are atypical of the breed.

Colour has no actual effect on the character of any dog, except that when people deliberately breeding for a non standard colour/coat type then they reduce the gene pool-this then concentrates not only the colour & coat, but also the atypical aspects of the breed. Most "white"GSDs in the UK go back to one imported dog, sadly this dog is a known producer of epilepsy & poor temperament & construction, due to breeding for certain visual traits. These dogs are usually very inbred, but because the dogs that are known to carry these conditions are now off the 5 generation pedigrees most people supply the new owners(& also the people who subsequently breed from these dogs)know nothing about the "hidden"problems. one well known GSD data holder checked one dogs pedigree & found no less the 100 lines going back to this dog-the current day dog was severely epileptic from a very early age-yet the pedigree the owner held showed no inbreeding at all !!

If you truly want a GSD, the coat & colour should not be of any importance-it's the inner dog that is important & if you manage to find a puppy that comes from fully health tested pedigree, that just happens to be the non standard colour you like & that hasn't been bred just for the colour/coat & is from standard colour/coat parents from proven character & temperament lines then yes choose your"white"GSD, however the chance of that is very very unlikely sadly

My next GSD will be from Germany, bred from proven working lines, with a temperament/character/health that is predictable. colour ? well I would love a "Grey"dog(the germany for a very dark dog with the sable coat pattern)or an all Black dog, but should it be that the whole litter is Black & Gold then he will be black & Gold, he is very unlikely to be from a litter that has Long Coats in it & I would never own a Long Coated GSD. Why Germany because I already know the bitch lines & know where the breeder is going for the stud !

As for the exercise from the age of 3 months the regime should be a couple of 15 minutes walk a day(for socialization), gradually increasing by 5 minutes for each month of age. The mental exercise should start from day one, as should free exercise & "enforced"time out(ie sleep time TBH puppies tend to play & then fall asleep anyway)