Walking Your German Shepherd

The German Shepherd is a very strong dog breed so you need to train him or her to walk beside you first off. This will keep them from taking you on a walk! For more control of your dog, using a choke chain or a harness is recommended. Treats always work wonders with German Shepherds when it comes to training them and rewarding them for good behavior.

This breed needs a lot of exercise so that is something you need to take into account before bringing one home. If you already have one then you know they need a good lengthy walk everyday. It will keep them happy, healthy and sane. Socializing them on walks beginning at a young age is extremely important so they learn how to interact with humans and other dogs without being aggressive. This way you will see how they react in these situations and you can correct them right away if needed.

I suggest you working with your German Shepherd amongst family pets and friends before taking him/her out into the public. You must make sure they are prepared and will listen to every command you give them when around others so you don't have any problems. German Shepherds are great dogs and deserve all the love and attention you can give, they will do the same for you :)

Dog Depression

Just like with any dog, they like and need companionship. If they are left home all day long alone, they can become depressed just like humans. They are a very people oriented breed and need to be socialized and they need human interaction.

In many cases, German Shepherds that are taken from their environment and put into a shelter or if you adopt a German Shepherd and bring it home you may notice some signs of depression such as whining, pacing, loss of interest in toys or exercise, barking and a lot of nervous energy. A few other signs of depression in your German Shepherd are loss of appetite, weight loss, aggressive behavior and restlessness. These are all signs to look out for.

You may be wondering what it is that a dog has to be depressed about... here are a few things that can cause it: some kind of medical condition, drastic weather changes and environmental changes. All of these things can cause depression in humans as well. If you see any signs that I have listed ( which there are quite a bit more ) it's very important that you take your German Shepherd to the vet to nip it in the bud right away before anything worsens. We are responsible for their health and their happiness.

How Often Should I Brush My German Shepherds Hair?

When you brush your German Shepherds hair you need to start at the head and go all the way down to the tail. You can use a wide tooth brush or you could use a Furminator to remove all of the loose hair underneath the top coat. This way you don't have to do any back combing. If you do use a wide tooth comb then you do have to back comb to remove all of the dead hair stuck underneath. You will want to get under his or her chin as well as around the top of the head. Be gentle when doing this, you don't want to hurt your dog.

This should be done about once a week, you don't want to do it every single day as that can cause them to get bald patches. All German Shepherd puppies should get used to this right away and it should be made a pleasurable experience for them since it will happen so often through their life. When brushing your German Shepherd you should always check for fleas and anything else that shouldn't be in the fur. Your dogs fur will go through changes twice a year, we all know it as shedding but it's actually called moulting. This is when your dog sheds all of the inner coat which is under the outer coat. It needs to be brushed out so the new fur can come in.

So basically brushing your German Shepherd once a week is in order. If you let him go too long with out brushing then the hair will begin to mat and it will be painful for them to be brushed. We don't want that and neither do they.

Breaking Up A Dog Fight

The first and most important thing to remember is when your dog is in the middle of a fight, they are not in their normal state of mind. They will not look at you as their master during this time but as another threat. The dog is in fight mode and that is all that is on their mind. The last thing you want to do is get in between them, that is a sure way to get bitten.

You can forget about yelling at them because that isn't going to break up a vicious fight between your German Shepherd and another dog. Don't hit them either, this may worsen things for the dogs as it will make them more angry and aggressive. You should never hit your dogs in any kind of situation whatsoever. Some people say throwing water on them helps but I haven't found this to work yet. Maybe it depends on the dog or the breed but I wouldn't recommend it.

I have two big dogs and they have been in a few fights. It's pretty scary when you have two large dog breeds against each other, it's very intimidating. I have found from my own research and personal experience that each dog needs to be picked up by their hind legs like a wheelbarrow and pulled away from each other. That is if you have two people there when the fight takes place. When using this technique, it causes the dog to concentrate on balancing on their two front legs so that they don't fall. If you pull back and direct them to the side like doing a circle in place this should seperate them and keep you out of harms way as well. This has worked every time for my dogs and hopefully it will work for you if you are ever in this unfortunate situation.

Dog Health

German Shepherd's, just like any other dog breed are prone to a few health problems that you need to keep you eyes open for. Hip dysplasia is the most common and it's important to consult your vet or read up on how to keep them in their best shape possible as well as preventing anything else that may come their way.

A few other common health problems in German Shepherds include: Elbow Dysplasia, Panosteitis ,Progressive Posterior Paresis, Von Willebrand's Disease and more. If you're in the process of looking for a German Shepherd do your best to find a reputable breeder. It's very important that they took the extra step to test the dogs before breeding them so they don't end up passing on numerous genetic problems.

Your puppy can be more prone to hip dysplasia if they have a very fast growth spurt. If this is the case, you should switch your puppy over to an adult food formula.

German Shepherd Breeders

If you are looking for a local German Shepherd breeder near you, try these resources:

Gillsgermanshepherds.com

Jagermeistershepherds.com

German Shepherd Breeders at DogChannel.com

Omegashepherds.com


Don't forget, there are thousands of FREE German Shepherds that need homes at PetFinder.com - Click here to see some German Shepherds who need some love.

German Shephard Dogs

The German Shephard is a very intelligent breed and are easy to train.

They are often used for police dogs, search and rescue, seeing eye dogs and helpers for the handicapped. German Shepard's make wonderful companions and are very loyal and devoted. German Shephards for the most part are friendly and approachable. The German Shepherd is very alert and graceful.