What You Need To Know The Personality of German Shepherd Dog
The personality of the German Shepherd (or Alsatian) is one of the biggest reasons why they are so popular - for the right reasons and the wrong reasons. Since they make great police and military dogs, some people rush to get a German Shepherd thinking it will make a vicious guard dog. The German Shepherd is so eager to please, that it can be easily taught to attack. But the German Shepherd is not a vicious dog by nature - they are just doing what they’ve been taught to do.
German Shepherd dogs do, indeed, live up to the fictional resume of Rin Tin Tin. They are noble, loyal, brave, friendly and eager to please. Yes, you read that right — they are incredibly friendly. However, because they are so eager to please their people that they will quickly learn to attack if that is what their people want. At one point a few decades ago, German Shepherds were as feared as Pit Bulls are today.
German Shepherds are indeed powerful dogs that can take quite a large chunk out of you - when they are given the command to. They will also attack if they think anyone in their family is being threatened. There are some German Shepherds that, in the presence of an intruder, will run and hide rather than attack, but they don’t get much press. They have to be trained to attack before they would ever attack another human being.
German Shepherds excel when given specific jobs to do. This is why they are often one of the first breeds of choice for police dogs, search and rescue dogs, assistance dogs and for working in entertainment. Throughout the centuries, they have also played the roles of sheepherders and draft animals as well as their more familiar roles as guard dogs and military dogs.
When reminded that she shouldn’t have let the son teach this trick to the dog, she wailed, “He’s 37!” Patient and persistent retraining are the only ways to get a German Shepherd to give up a bad habit.
They learn to leash train very well (and can often be voice trained), whether their owners are walking, jogging, riding a bike or riding a horse.
German Shepherds are prone to some health problems, more so than some other breeds, most notably hip dysplasia. These can be costly to cure - but they can be cured. When you take on a German Shepherd, you must be willing to care for vet expenses.
This is not often talked about in German Shepherd information available from the AKC. The price of a German Shepherd’s companionship should never be measured in terms of money. The German Shepherd dog, if the situation was reversed, would spend every last penny to make sure you were out of pain.
