People who have German Shepherds?

Question

l love GSD's and want to know everything about them! Here are the 10 questions! Thanx!

Does anyone here have a rescued German Shepherd?

How well do German Shepherds get along with cats?

What is your GSD's favorite game?

How long does it usually take to train your GSD to learn a new trick?

What kind of tricks can your GSD do?

Do you think a GSD would be happy in the Subarbs?

Can your GSD walk off-leash?

We have a lot of dogs on our street, so if l let my GSD off-leash, would she bite them?

Does your GSD greet visiters, or bark/bite them?

Is your GSD good with children?

Thank you! l know there are a lot of questions!!!
=]

Wait! Before people answer the 2nd question, l already know for a fact that GSD's get along better with cats than other breeds of dogs! So don't say no, unless it is about your doggie! Thank you!

Wait! Before people answer the 2nd question, l already know for a fact that GSD's get along better with cats than other breeds of dogs! So don't say no, unless it is about your doggie! Thank you!

Answer 1

I own a rescued German Shepherd.

My German Shepherd gets along very nicely with my cat. At first he wanted to play with my cat and because of his size, we taught him to be very gentle around the cat and he learned that quickly.

My dog's favorite game is playing ball with me.

As far as learning tricks, it depends on on the trick as for how quickly he will learn. It takes him less than an hour for the basics of some tricks.
For example, he knows how to fetch and it took him only minutes to learn to wait untill I told him to go get it.
I make him sit and tell him to stay. Then I throw the ball, when I say "go get it" he runs and gets the ball instead of darting out imediately after I throw it. He picked this up extremely fast.

He knows how to "stay", "come", "fetch", "heel", "shake or paw", "sit", "lay down", "go to crate" or "go to bed"
He understand a great deal many more things. He knows when It's time to go for a walk, or to go potty. He knows how to ask for playtime. (he does this little prancing walk when he wants to go out and play).

A german shepherd will like the suburbs or where ever you happen to live as long as she's getting enough exercise and activity.

I always keep my dog on the leash unless we are on our own property. He is learning to walk by my side when we are in our yard without the leash.

I don't suggest you let your dog off the leash unless she's very well trained. Especially if there are alot of dogs around. She could end up chasing one of them and getting into trouble, or hurt. She may even bite another dog or get into a fight. You never know how she will react to another dog. All dogs are different. She may run into an aggressive or territorial dog. Better safe than sorry.

My dog initially barks at anyone venturing onto our property. That's his job. But he calms down when he knows when the visitor is okay'd by us. He has never bitten anyone, but I'm pretty sure he would protect his family if we were ever threatened. He hasn't been placed in that position yet, and I hope he never is.

He is extremely good with children and babies and he's very loving and affectionate. But he's still a large animal and small children should always be supervised and never left alone with such a big dog. Accidents happen and just a happy swish from his big tail could knock a toddler flat on his face.

I hope I covered all of your questions. German Shepherds are to me the best dog to have. I've had many years experience with them and have never found a more intelligent and loyal dog.

Answer 2

I own a 10 month old German shepherd puppy and he is my first gsd. He is extremely Intelligent I could teach him a new trick within 2 minutes. Yes I can walk him off leash and he obeys my commands very well. He is great with children they are very smart and know how to play with them. My German shepherd is still a pup and he will greet friends/family very well but can get very protective if strangers come at the wrong hours meaning at night. If you want your dog to be less aggressive with dogs the key is socializing everyday from puppy. German shepherds are great with cats also. I don't have any cats but my brother has a gsd and has 4 cats and he is great with them. These are one of the greatest dogs in the world.

Answer 3

Well here goes nothing.
I have never rescued a German Shepherd.

My dogs thought that cats were "fast food" if you know what I mean. BUT I cured that be kneeing thm in the rib cage hard enough to get their attention and saying the command LEAVE IT!!!! This is like when you spur a horse- it just gets their attention!!!!

My male is 103 lbs and my female is aroun 85 or 90 lbs. They are not fat at all.
My dogs know sit , stay, lay down, out ( get out of the house, load up, come and wait (when I walk them, and I have to tie my shoe - then they stop and wait for me).

Mine don't really have a favorite game. My female loves to chase the ball - but she has a very strong ball drive ( she will catch it 100 times if you throw it 100 times).

My dogs don't really do any tricks. The only trick my male does is to shake and roll on his back. These he just kind of did on his own with a bit of encouragement from me.

I think a German Shepherd can be happy in the suburbs, providing they have some sort of exercise or a big yard to run in.

I don't walk my dogs off leash in town, but out in the country they are really good about staying really close to me or my husband.

My dogs ( both registered German Shepherds) have a tendency to bark alot when people come to the house. They are socialized, but they guard their territory. I can have people in the yard with me and they are fine with that.

The two dogs I have now were not raised with children. My female loves kids of all ages, my male doesn't like small children. Their great- grandparents though were raised with our children and they did fine. I made sure that the kids respected the dog and that the dog respected the kids and never once had any sort of problems.

There are several great books that are all about German Sherperds. The names of these books are; The Art of Raising a Puppy by the Monks of New Skete; How to be Your Dog's Best Friend (1978) by the Monks of New Skete. How to be Your Dog's Best Friend (2002) by the Monks of New Skete; and an older book that is really great called Expert Obedience Training for Dogs by Winifred G. Strickland.

Good luck getting a puppy. Be sure that youur puppy has all of the shots and the paper work to prove they have had the necessary shots. Also go to a breeder and get a dog from them. They temperment test their puppies and can tell you which one will work best for you and your situation. Make sure that the parent have been OFA'd ( this is for hip displasyia) as well as other diseases that German Shepherds are known for.

Answer 4

You might when you began instructing her younger ample. (I'm sorry in case your puppy is a male named Gretchen or intersexed and I'm mislabeling it as a lady). Just due to the fact that she's German doesn't suggest that she'll decide on up German swiftly; language is not genetic, nonetheless, genetics DOES support. For instance, I am an entire breed Filipino Human, however due to the fact that my mother and father did not coach me in Tagalog (probably the most natural Filipino dialect) whilst I was once more youthful, I nonetheless had a difficult time in my Tagalog magnificence in top institution and nonetheless have no idea the language! This is due to the fact that I was once raised in America. However, due to the fact that I am complete breed Filipino Human, I nonetheless did bigger than a few of the combined-bred men and women in my magnificence. But why coach her in German simply due to the fact that she's a German shepherd? That's a few sort of racial-profiling there; might be you must ask her what she needs. Plus, if she weren't a minimum of bilingual, it could make it tougher for her to speak together with her English-educated friends. Good good fortune in something you decide upon, regardless that.

Answer 5

1) I rescued a GSD/lab that was wandering the street
2) My dog does, she was a puppy (5 months) when we got her and my cat was about 1 year*see picture below*
3)going for a walk and being chased
4) about 1-3 ten minute sessions
5)sit, stay, easy-walk (relaxed heel), spin round & round, lay down, go & lay down, get the ball,
6) yes, if properly exercised & mentally stimulated everyday
7) not really (shes only 8 months old now)
8) maybe, thats up to how well you dog socialize it, not really a good idea though b/c she could get hit by a car, etc..
9) she barks, we think she came from an abused home so she's really weary of strangers
10) Yes, I have a five year old son, but again, you have to socialize your dog to be this way and teach the child to treat the animal with respect
GOOD LUCk

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc227/devony30/August2007012-1.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc227/devony30/August2007039.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc227/devony30/August2007003.jpg

Answer 6

I bought mine from a breeder. I wanted a puppy so that she could grow up around my cats. I foster baby kittens and she licks them like their her babies. She also is fine with my 6 own adult cats. She is a very dominant over my male dog and gets jealous if we show more attention to him than her She loves to play catch with a ball. My GSD went to obedience class and did very badly. She is not your typical GSD. She likes smaller dogs but not big dogs. She walks with leash only because if she sees a squirrel birds she will chase it. She is fine with with visitors as long as we are around. GSD usually bond with one family member. You have to show the dog who is dominant or they will take advantage of you. I bought a book on German Shepard's in order to better understand that breed. My GSD is of German decent and weighs a bout 94 lbs. She AKC registered , I paid $350 for her here in Texas. She is a family dog not used for breeding so she is spayed. She loves babies and toddlers. I have teenagers and they love her. Hope this helped.

Answer 7

1) no i dont have a rescue, but 2 shepards

2) we have a cat, kilroy and tiva both pretty much ignore her.. sometimes they like to make her run, but they have no problems with her

3) my favorite game is playing fetch in the water, they love it and its a great workout for them.

4) they are fast learners.. but it all depends on your training methods

5) as for tricks.. what do you mean? they sit, roll over all the normal stuff, but i dont try and make them circus animals

6) would be very happy in the suburbs.. i live in the suburbs

7) you shouldnt take any dog off leash. you never know what they may do. if not for other dogs protection, for your dogs protection

8) my GSDs can walk very well off leash, but i trained them to do so and i do not take them in public off leash

9) any dog can bite another one

10) they bark. they are guardians. thats is the nature. as soon as they pick up on the fact that we are ok with them in the house, they accept and slobber all over our guests.

11) they are good, but i dont like leaving them unattended with unfamiliar kids. you never know, just to be safe. as for kids that are here often, im not worried. kilroy was very upset when a friend disaplined his kid(whom kilroy really liked).

that was 11 questions.. :)

Answer 8

i dont have a german shepherd but i know about the breed.
+ german shepherds dont get along with other pets unless they grow up with them.
+ they dont like to be teased.
+ they are bold, cheerful and obedient and renowned for their tremendous loyalty and courage so i dont think it will be too hard to train them.
+ i think it should be alright in the suburbs but they are a demanding breed and they dont like to be teased.
+ because they are so large its best if you kept it ON the leash and a muzzle if it has a tendancy to snap/bite.
+ if they grow up around children then they will be good around them.
xxx