German Shepherds!

Breed specific discussion of your favorite breed.

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neil62
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 4:52 pm

Re: German Shepherds!

Post by neil62 »

Salomé wrote:
neil62 wrote:What i hate is all the pics of dog attacking or bad dogs in the adds or news is always shown with a pic of a gsd

Image

my Saphie

Your Saphie is gorgeous! Such a lovely face! How old is she?

As for stories or pictures of bad dogs always being GSDs, I guess I'm lucky in not seeing that because it would definitely make me mad. I only see stories like that about pitbulls/APBTs. The poor breed has such an unfair reputation because of stupid owners who think it makes them all GaNgSTa to turn their pitbulls into vicious dogs. I saw an example of this at the dog park Sunday in fact with a poor puppy who was dressed up in enough hardware to weight him down and the (white) teen owners were strolling around like something out of a movie.

With GSDs though, what I encounter and what drives me bonkers is people reacting badly to my dog simply because it's a GSDs. My boy is trained and relatively calm for his teenage years (minus when he sees squirrels or birds), yet people often cross the street when I walk him. I've had neighbors who constantly say, "Wow, he looks so mean!" Er, why does he look so mean as he calmly ignores you and sniffs some grass?? Just because he's a German Shepherd? Both me and/or my GSDs have been attacked by neighbors' dogs and in *all* the cases, it was a small dog. One was a Yorkie, one a Doxie, and one was a toy poodle. Which brings me to my sore point: just because you have a tiny dog does NOT mean you should not train it. And just because you have a small dog does not mean it won't become a vicious nightmare through lack of training or exercise. So stop labelling my German Shepherd just because of his size and focus on your own damn dog! :evil:

Er.. sorry for that small vent there. As I said, sore subject.
Saphie is 18 months old now that pic was taken in august last year
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Nettle
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Re: German Shepherds!

Post by Nettle »

Today in a second-hand book shop I came across a very very old and tatty book on the "Alsatian". The photos were superb: healthy dogs with straight backs and correctly articulated legs.

It was way overpriced but I wanted it. She wouldn't budge on the price so I left it. Pity.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
josie1918
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Location: nebraska, United States
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Re: German Shepherds!

Post by josie1918 »

Unfortunately the poor German Shepherd is NOT the only breed Mankind in his infinate wisdom has "messed up" For you folks in the UK, give your Dr. Mark Evans with the RSPCA a HUGE hug from me if you see him. What a jewel, told your parliment EXACTLY how it is and is asking for laws to stop breeders from breeding for ANYTHING but health, and wants them back to the original breed. Look up pictures of the original basset hound, German Shepherd and English bulldogs :shock:
Cara GSD
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 2:46 pm
Location: Radstock, UK

Re: German Shepherds!

Post by Cara GSD »

I couldn't resist putting up a few of our gorgeous girlie! She's currently 14 weeks and just so wonderful, she's a handful and a half but we wouldn't be without her for anything now! I hope these pics all come up ok xx
Image
Day One
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A Few Weeks In
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14 Weeks and Beautiful
Cara GSD
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 2:46 pm
Location: Radstock, UK

Re: German Shepherds!

Post by Cara GSD »

I'll try again!! lol
Image
Day 1
Image
A Few Weeks In
Image
14 Weeks and Beautiful

Fingers crossed xx
Cara GSD
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 2:46 pm
Location: Radstock, UK

Re: German Shepherds!

Post by Cara GSD »

I'll try again!! lol
Image
Day 1
Image
A Few Weeks In
Image
14 Weeks and Beautiful

Fingers crossed xx
josie1918
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Location: nebraska, United States
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Re: German Shepherds!

Post by josie1918 »

Oh my goodness that is a darling!!! Makes you just want to grab her up and kiss her doesn't it?
Salomé
Posts: 56
Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2010 6:52 pm

Re: German Shepherds!

Post by Salomé »

Oh My Gosh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

<swoons from the cuteness overload>

OH MY GOSH, I want to squeeze her and hug her to death!

I love that first photo in particular, because she looks not only so adorably cudly but the other colours really contrast with her coat and face. Adorable. I'm also a sucker for the GSD "bat ears" at that age. Or, as my father likes to call it, "donkey ears." :lol:

She looks a lot like my Zola did when he was that age. Same colouring too. She looks like she will be a Red and Black. You know what's fun to see? How that almost solidly black coat around the chest starts to slowly develop a saddle. It's almost imperceptible at first; a few white/blondish hairs here or there. But if you take weekly photos, you'll be able to see the transition quite well. Zola started out SO black on his body and by 20 weeks, he had the definite outline of a saddle.

More photos please. From everyone!!! I love GSD photos, esp. puppy ones.

BTW, Josie, I'm *still* waiting to see Sam..... (hint, hint) :wink: :D
Liz & Koa
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Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2008 2:05 pm
Location: MA, USA

Re: German Shepherds!

Post by Liz & Koa »

I think we all have one that we feel particularly close to, but they all bring us joy. I know when my first GSD, Bruin died of bloat at eleven years old in 2007, we were devistated. I was convinced I would wait a year, yeah, one month later I was looking at rescues. My our house was so empty, all I did was cry. Well, we got Koa and he had been rescuded from a puppy mill at eight months of age. I am sure I don''t have to tell you the lack of socialization with him. He had a ton of issues. We are still working on them, but he is a lot better. I feel my poor Bruin went for a reason, and that was to SAVE Koa. If we didn't take him, I don't know what would have happened to him. We have no children, so we were much better equiped to deal with the fear aggression issues he has. I am not saying that no one else would have done the same things, but I feel we were the best and kindest for him. I have been using the frozen babyfood trick to desesatize him. It works GREAT.

I like all breeds, but this one is very special. They are so smart and loving,[album][/album] given the right begining in life.

All the pictures are great. It's proof they are one of the best looking dogs out there.

Liz & Koa
:D
france89
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Jun 09, 2010 6:47 am

Re: German Shepherds!

Post by france89 »

Hello everyone 8) ,

I love this thread, and I love reading about other's experiences with this beautiful breed. The pictures are beautiful!!Did anyone experience any serious health problems with an GSD?

Francesca
thepennywhistle
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Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2010 4:20 pm

Re: German Shepherds!

Post by thepennywhistle »

I have had 2 GSDs and adored them both. My first was my first 'very own' dog at the
age of 13. The dog once mature outweighed me, out-thought me and was so very
strong willed I had to learn to train or come to grief rather quickly. She was the
daughter of a German import and so very much of that conformation and strength.
She was bold, brave, and loved her family dearly. She rescued me from a door-to-door
salesman when she was only 7 months old, and I was 13 and home alone. (Let me in,
honey. You're going to looove what I've got. Hehe). She planted her puppy self
in between us, growled that 'you're going to die' growl and lunged for him. He fell
down the steps, and ran away. She was fiercely protective of our home and of me
for the rest of her life. Sadly, Gretchen developed hip displasia at 8 months. She
had surgery, that removal of the femoral head procedure, and limped along
sometimes sound, sometimes not, for 11 years until the disability made The Decision
for us.

When I lost her, I swore I would never have another GSD until i could buy one that was
99% guaranteed to be dysplasia free. And for 5 months I held to that. Then a coworker
of a friend decided to breed GSDs from some sort of not really spectacular stock. Once
the first litter was on the ground they were overwhelmed by the responsibility of finding
good homes for the lot, and panicked. They would give me this puppy, they said, if I
would promise to take care of her. I didn't want a puppy then, but out of courtesy (and
because my friend was twisting my arm) I went to at least meet them and see the dog.
It was in a parking lot. They handed me this sweet puppy, all huge paws and ears, and
while I was talking to the puppy they threw her registration papers on the seat of my car,
then jumped in their truck to drive away very fast. And so I took home one of the best
dogs of my life.

Kate was a star. She terrified one vet, who swore she had wolf in her (she didn't), but
was gentle, brilliant, and the best working dog I've ever had, and we had many adventures
together. Sadly, later in life she also developed hip displasia as well as congestive heart
failure, which ended our time together.

I have collies now, but my heart still wants another German Shepherd in my life. I am
enjoying all of the beautiful photos posted here, and at the same time ready to cry
because I miss mine so badly. Thank you for sharing them :)
Salomé
Posts: 56
Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2010 6:52 pm

Re: German Shepherds!

Post by Salomé »

france89 wrote:Hello everyone 8) ,

I love this thread, and I love reading about other's experiences with this beautiful breed. The pictures are beautiful!!Did anyone experience any serious health problems with an GSD?

Francesca
I did, with my late soul dog, Kafka, whom I had to put to sleep last year after he got a really aggressive and sudden form of cancer. It seemed to have hit him out of the blue, because one day he was listless and lethargic, and 36 hrs later, I had to make that awful decision. They think it took about 6 months for it to develop. Anyway, even before that, he had a lot of health problems. When he was 5, he was diagnosed with Lupus. To this day, I've never known of any other dog (from my friends, family, breeders I know, etc.) getting Lupus but sadly enough, auto-immune problems are on the rise among dogs of all breeds today.

It's too painful to go into all the health issues triggered by his auto-immune problems (or by the medications given for it), but suffice it to say that I was sometimes at the vet every 2 weeks for long stretches of time and I still can't bear to think of it all. Despite that, Kafka was my heart, my joy, my love and the best thing that ever happened to me. (And I'm typing this as I sit in a room with about 20 huge photos and 2 big paintings of my stunning, beautiful boy, trying to control myself from writing a gazillion pages about just how special he was, how mindbogglingly brilliant and smart he was, how huge his heart was, how friends of mine still talk about him with awe and amazement, and..... dammit, I'm about to cry.)

Anyway, <deeep sigh and gulp> before Kafka, I loved a lot of different breeds and, in addition to my GSDs, had owned just about everything from Dobies to Chows to Shitzhus and Yorkies. After him, I will never be able to own anything but a GSD. To me (and this is solely my subjective, biased opinion), there is just something utterly and overwhelmingly magical about them. It's funny, I'm not someone particularly religious but, from the bottom of my heart, I truly think that there is a touch of the divine and godly in the bond, in the love, and in the way that *they* feel on their end, or in the way that *they* connect with their owners and family. I know I sound utterly crazy, and I know other owners feel that all the time about their own breeds. I'm not trying to put down other breeds at all; I'm talking solely about me and my personal, subjective feeling. And to me, there is just something different about how a GSD loves you and bonds with you.

It's odd, I never thought I would be able to love another dog -- even another GSD -- as much as I did Kafka, but yet, Zola has managed to do it in the short time that I've had him. I almost feel guilty at times but Zola snuck his way into my heart and completely taken over. Same with my elderly parents who once said they could never care for another dog as much as Kafka. But yet.... I think it's that crazy, magical GSD power. :lol: So, if you're thinking of getting one, do it! You'll never regret it. :)
Salomé
Posts: 56
Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2010 6:52 pm

Re: German Shepherds!

Post by Salomé »

thepennywhistle wrote:I have collies now, but my heart still wants another German Shepherd in my life. I am
enjoying all of the beautiful photos posted here, and at the same time ready to cry
because I miss mine so badly. Thank you for sharing them :)
Pennywhistle, this last part to your post made me sniffle a little. {{{hugs}}} I know what that longing and sadness feel like. Kate & Gretchen sound wonderful and very special indeed. So, thank *you* for sharing them with us.

To try to cheer everyone up, I thought I'd share this old-ish story from a year or so ago about a GSD who dialed 911 (!!!) and saved his owner's life, yet again. Yes, I said DIALED 911!!! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26706278 There is a very sweet video of the GSD and his grateful owner in the article as well.
Salomé
Posts: 56
Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2010 6:52 pm

Re: German Shepherds!

Post by Salomé »

france89 wrote:I love this thread, and I love reading about other's experiences with this beautiful breed. The pictures are beautiful!!Did anyone experience any serious health problems with an GSD?

Francesca
Francesca, first, come stai? E, a proposito, benvenuto al gruppo. :) I was thinking about your question, esp. after reading afterwards on another thread that you were going to get a GSD puppy, and I didn't want you to think that all GSDs come with a host of terrible medical problems. So I hope you'll forgive an additional post, because I wanted to tell you that GSDs aren't more susceptible to serious health issues than other breeds out there. (In fact, my first two, Rex and Wotan, died of natural causes).

The problem, however, is that GSDs -- like a LOT of breeds out there (in fact, I would say *most* popular or common breeds) have seen a huge spike in health problems. Cancer is actually the one of the biggest killer of dogs and the rise of it over the years has been absolutely frightening. In all breeds. I can't recall the exact statistics that I once read but it was something like there is a 57% greater increase in cancer in dogs than there is in humans, and the rate in humans isn't minimal. In my utterly non-health-professional opinion, there are a variety of causes for the increase in serious health problems in dogs, whether GSDs or a Yorkie. But for GSDS, one of the biggest issues is bad breeding, over-breeding, improper line breeding... you get the picture.

The unfortunate bottom line is that, no matter what the breed, if it's popular, it's going to be screwed with by someone looking to make a quick buck. GSDs are popular, and BYB (backyard breeders) are going to cause as many problems as puppy mills when it comes to carelessly breeding without regard to health, genetics or other concerns. I recently read one woman's email post on the NY Times about the cost of her breeding programs; from genetic, hip, thyroid, elbow, and various other tests she does on each of her dogs, to the money she spends on getting them titles, DNA tests, and more, she spends tens of thousands on each dog. Obviously, the cost translates to the price of the puppy, but my point is this: be careful in choosing your breeder. Research, research, RESEARCH! Meet the Dam and Sire. See the conditions of the place. See what guarantees they come with. Does the breeder put you through a rigorous, almost insulting grilling and/or questionaire about your life, habits, home, household structure, job and time demands, prior experience, etc.? Does the breeder demand back the puppy (or even, adult dog) if anything should happen in your life that would make you need to give the dog away? If so, then that's a good breeder. I'm not saying that breeders who *don't* do that are bad breeders, but you should check them out thoroughly and see how involved they are in the future of your puppy.

I would highly recommend checking out this site: http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/forum.html. I'm not sure but I believe that there are diff. sections for diff. countries. Check them out and, if there is a section just for Italy and GSDs, then ask about any potential breeders that you may be interested in there. The site is a great resource, esp. for GSD people. They have a whole massive sub-section devoted to GSDs, which few other breeds get. People post there about GSD news, breeders or competitions from places as far as Pakistan to Japan. It may be in diff. subsections though since I think I looked solely at the US subsection whenever I was on. Anyway, I used that site after Kafka died and when I was looking for a good breeder relatively closeby. See if that helps you. But I BEG of you.... research your potential breeder in detail before you get the puppy. You can never totally reduce the risks of a serious health issue -- not today, and not with dogs of any breed -- but getting a really conscientious, serious, reputable breeder will protect you as much as is humanely possible.
rennogsd1996
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Jun 30, 2010 9:15 pm

Re: German Shepherds!

Post by rennogsd1996 »

Salomé wrote:
josie1918 wrote:I want to post pictures of Sam and my 4 dachshunds, but it is definately going to take a brighter mind than mine to do it.
I don't know what the problem is (idiot behind the wheel is my suspicion :lol: ) but yeah, I need help :lol: My Sam is the old fashioned Rin Tin Tin shepherd, not the sleek looker they have now with the 23 degree slope from the withers to the hip, he is like the first one I ever had when I was 5 (that would be in 1850 :lol: ) anyway I, like you do not know what I would do without my gang, they are the reason I get out of bed (literally :lol: )
1850... Ha! :lol:

Rin Tin Tin was an American-lined GSD, if I recall correctly. I don't know if you know but the look for GSDs from German, American, even Dutch or Czech lines is very, very different. Plus, there is the issue of working versus show lines, even between each one of these.

The sloping look (or what they call "extreme rear angulation") is really only for show lines. Working lines don't have it. My prior GSD was DDR and Czech working lines, but Zola is German show lines and the build is totally different. Massively different in every regard from chest to back, the length of legs (in the back in particular), fur and more. To be honest, I'm not a fan of the extreme rear angulation and when Zola was a tiny puppy, everyone thought he had HD because of it. But his breeder is supposed (according to the German SV judges) to be the best in N. America for GSDs and there is no HD in his dogs. (Or in Zola.) I don't like that the standard has become that extreme for elite dogs but one breeder told me that it helps them run faster. I don't have the expertise to know but, to my eyes, I prefer the body build of the working lines.

What ultimately drove my decision though was getting a dog from the best breeder I could (relatively near me) to ensure that the dog would have the least amount of health problems possible. Obviously, there is no guarantee. Ever. But if one finds a serious, conscientious, responsible breeder who doesn't breed health or genetic problems from line to line, then you have some minimal assurance. My Kafka got Lupus at the age of 5, and what I went through with him (at one point being at the vet every week to 10 days for a 6 month stretch), was just too painful.

Josie, do you have a Photobucket account? If not, go to http://www.Photobucket.com and open a (free) account there. Once you've done that, you can upload all your photos from your computer to it. Once they're there, it will give you the automatic links to post your photos anywhere. You just copy the IMG link from each photo and then paste it into your post. Voila! Easy peasy. :)


Actually the first Rin Tin Tin was found by an american serviceman in Germany with his mother and sister when he was a pup. He was then brought to the United States by this man, Lee Duncan. The woman in Texas who owns his offspring etc runs http://www.rintintin.com. you can get a line pup from her but they are very expensive and she does extensive background checks on potential GSD parents. I had at one time though of buying one but this was before I spent 10 years fostering GSD's for the Mid Atlantic German Shepherd Rescue. I'll get from a rescue with my next GSD. You can read the story of Rin Tin Tin here. http://www.rintintin.com/story.htm
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