German

Shepherd

German Shepherd

German Shepherds are famous for their intelligence, obedience and protective behaviour toward their owners. Their liking for water depend on individual ones, but on average german shepherd has normal affinity for water. They sometime become overprotective for their family and territory if not socialised correctly at an early age.

General Stats

STATS

Height 

Weight

Life span

MALE

60 – 65 cm

30-40 kg

9-13 yr

FEMALE

55 – 60 cm

22 – 32 kg

9-13 yr

Health Issues

Overall it is a healthy breed. Veterinarian visits could be anywhere between frequent to normal depending on the care and environment of house. One common ailment is hip and elbow dysplasia which may cause the dog to experience pain later-on in life and may cause arthritis.

Diet

German Shepherds are Omnivorous. They need high quality dog food perfect according to their age, left-over food should be avoided as much as possible, avoid food with high fat content. Adding yogurt, cooked veggies or eggs occasionally is beneficial.

  • Baby dog (0-2 months): Ultra-Digestible Protein, Omega Fatty Acid, Essential Vitamins, Antioxidants.
  • Puppy (2-15 months): At least 22% Protein Content, 5–8% Fat Content, Calcium and Phosphorus.
  • Adult (above 15 months): 18% Protein Content, 5% Fat Content, High in Fiber, Vitamin C.
  • Senior (above 8 years): Omega Fatty Acid, Fish Oil (Omega 3), Additional Vitamins and Minerals.

Grooming and shedding

Requires just brushing once or twice a week to remove loose hairs. Shedding of hairs is quite regular. Overall, it is an easy to maintain breed.

Fur type

Double coat (close and dense with thick undercoat). The coat is mainly found in two variants: long and medium. Long hair gene is recessive as compared to medium, thereby making long haired variety rarer.

 

History

In late 19th century, breeding of dogs was practiced within local communities in Germany, where Shepherds selected and bred dogs. It was recognised that the breed had the necessary skills for herding sheep, such as intelligence, speed, strength and keen senses of smell. Along with time, predator population begin to decline, rendering sheepdogs unnecessary. But at same time, herding dogs began to be seen as versatile and intelligent class of canine.

Interesting facts about German Shepherds

  1. World’s first skydiving anti-poaching dog: Arrow, German Shepherd.
  2. A German Shepherd almost won the first-ever Oscar Best Actor award.
  3. White German Shepherds are quite rare. Tom Hanks, Bruce Springsteen, Miley Cyrus, and Jennifer Aniston are some famous owners of white German Shepherd Dogs.
  4. Some amazing German Shepherds have very unusual colouring. They are known as “Panda Shepherds”!
  5. ‘Strong-heart’ is one of only two German Shepherd dogs to grace the Hollywood walk of fame with a star. Strong-heart was something of a celebrity, appearing in a variety of black-and-white films in the 1920s.