Things to know as a new German Shepherd owner | Mistakes made by new owners

I grew up with GS. Awesome family dogs. Very loving and protective. I always remember when me and my brothers were small. We'd be playing and wrestling around with friends. The female GS we had at the time was always watching us. If she thought things were getting a bit too rowdy, she'd go over and gently pull our friends off of us by their clothes very gently, just to let them know "that's enough " 😅 She was awesome.

As a new German Shepherd owner, your channel has given me the most realistic expectations and set me up for the most success with my smart lil girl.

I rescued a German Shepard and she took to me very quickly. She was kind with everyone and the most gentle girl in the world! Fantastic with kids and playful and well trained. HOWEVER, she was very aggressive towards other dogs. Luckily she was only 8 months old (still big), but easier to train. The way I trained her to socialise nicely with other dogs at the parks was by putting a mussel on her and then letting her socialise. I had her on the lead at all times of course and would pull her back if the other dog went for her so she’d be fine, but it worked a trick! 6 weeks later and I’ve finally taken the mussel off and she is great with every dog! So playful and gentle with them! I was originally against mussels but after researching them and the best ones for the dog I found the perfect one that was comfortable for her and easy for me. Hopefully others can have other tips and tricks on how they’ve trained theirs to socialise when they are big?

I've had a German Shepherd for 7 years, and I really relate to this video. For mine, the best diet for good digestion has been giving both a bit of raw hamburger and salmon-based kibble. She also gets the last couple bites of everything I eat pretty much. I also feed her a lot of carrots so she can eat a lot more without getting fat. Also, one mistake I made is playing frisbee fetch. German Shepherd's, for both bad and good, are reckless when playing fetch. Mine did a crazy jump for a frisbee and fell wrong and broke her elbow. A big regrettable mistake on my part to turn her into a frisbee dog. Also, walking after freezing rain resulted in an ACL tear. She's had surgeries though and gets around pretty good. I made the mistake of trying to be too good of an owner by going out for exercise no matter what. In slippery conditions, stay indoors. While the weather is bad, much better to have a bored an unexercised dog, then one that gets a serious injury.

Many people who adopt do it fir the benefit of the dog. We have four adopted German Shepherd‘s. All discarded because they weren’t perfect. They have the joy of our lives and sometimes a pain in the rear. But we love them all the same!

Four months ago I adopted a gsd from a horrific hording situation. He was housed in the largest crate you can buy with 3 other gsds. When he came to our house, I was the first one he saw and immediately became a " Velcro dog". I have to have a talk with him and give him a job to do before I leave in the morning. It may be, " I have to go to work, so you have to take care of momma and guard the house. I'll be back soon." He takes those instructions very literally. The best dog ever!

House training my GS was one of the easiest things to do! We got a door bell and he rings it when he has to go outside. He was doing it already only a couple weeks in! They’re really such smart dogs if you put in a little time

She's so well behaved sitting next to you! what a gorgeous pup!

Some more things to consider when getting a GSD is do you want a working line or a show line? Working lines have higher drive (work and prey), higher energy, and need jobs much more than show lines. Show lines are typically more easy going, have moderate drive, and typically mellow out at a younger age than working lines. This obviously will vary based on breeding and temperaments, but this has been my experience over that last ten years of owning both lines of GSD’s.
Also if you are wanting to do you own grooming (brushing, bathing, nails, trimming hair when needed) it’s best to introduce and desensitize to it as early as possible. You can have a lot of fear/reactivity issues down the line if you don’t desensitize to it early and quickly

Lucy clearly has target lock on the ball the entire time. Another great GSD trait.

I'm so blessed I guess to have a GSD that makes zero noise, walks on lead so well, and is quite the couch potato.

My old man wanted a German shepherd for protection guard dog . I have never owned one. I own a beagle and I knew everything about her. So this new breed has brought on a lot of new education! But I love her so much and she’s highly intelligent. And can play for hours and hours. Lol. So to anyone thinking of getting one… I advise someone to be at home 90% of the time . Simply because they do need so much stimulation! She listens really well and I haven’t been able to pay for training but at this point I feel like a trainer myself 😂. I have bought an obstacle course and even battery operated dog toys to give my arm a rest . We are blessed to have some land. Which keeps her occupied. Get ready to groom! And please clean their ears. I’m obviously here to learn more and more. But I feel like I’m on the right path to success.

Me and my husband adopted a 4 week old German shepherd cross yesterday. Poor baby was left in a box in the middle of a field and we couldn’t leave him at the rescue. Had him less than 24 hours and we already love him!

Got my first GSD 3 years ago and now I’m here watching this again because I just got my second and making sure we have a successful training period 😁

This video was great. I've grown up with german shepherds my whole life and this guy hit the most important topics that a GSD owner should know. Great video for new owners.

I just got an AKC German Shepherd pup yesterday so I've been watching a lot of your videos and they've been very helpful. (: These dogs are incredibly smart. My girl is 9 weeks old. We've only had her for one day and she can already sit and lay down! She has been doing fantastic with my other dog as well as my friends pitbull that she met yesterday.

The second point is spot on! I have two black German shepherds (a boy and a girl) but we bought the second one only after a couple of years, to make sure they both get properly trained.

I do recommend getting two, though, because they can entertain one another, and it creates more of a 'pack' feeling/ environment.

Both my dogs are also absolutely beautiful creatures, and they make me very proud! :)

I'd always had dogs, but my GSD taught ME how to act with him! Best friend I EVER had.

Thanks to you my german Shepard has become the most friendliest and obedient dog.

She's such a good and patient girl. 💙