Do German Shepherds make good family pets?

[Sillyspuddy]

Thinking of getting a German Shepherd puppy. We have 4 cats and a Cavapoo aged 10. My 16 year old daughter would look after it most days. Is this safe? Do they get along well with other animals? If anyone has experience with this breed, would they make a good family pet?

Thanks in advance

They are amazing dogs but take a lot of dedicated training and they need a "job" to do as they are very intelligent (guarding house obviously but fetching balls is a favourite). Being big dogs they need to be even better trained as you won't be able to restrain them otherwise.

Collies aren't bonkers but they are pretty unique in personality - mine is currently asleep half on my lap (he's convinced he's a lap dog but doesn't fit!) They do share a lot of the issues gsd's have being a pastoral breed.

With a cross, you have no guarantee of what the puppy will inherit.
So I would say no.

Also, most dogs are ‘loyal’ and about being a good guard dog, what are you defining as a guard dog exactly?

Because virtually all dogs will bark at an intruder.

When it comes to actual defence, as in protecting you from an attacker or taking on a burglar, you are highly unlikely to find that trait in a pet bred GSD, they don’t have the right mix of drives.

Even if you get a working bred one, that in theory should have the correct temperament for genuine protection, without specialist training they most likely, will not defend you.

To the poster that has always had shepherds and thinks it’s unfair to state their temperament is a mess.

I stand by that comment 100%.

Yes they are handler sensitive, all shepherds and collies tend to be.
But the proper GSD temperament has good solid nerves.
This has been largely lost in pet/show bred shepherds who are now largely either neurotic and hyper and fearful or super duper soft and friendly.

Sillyspuddy A cross will be much less predictable. You don't know what you'll get in terms of size and other physical characteristics, let alone temperament.

I can see why you're attracted to the loyalty GSDs show but that needs to be managed extremely carefully and I don't think any 16-year-old could do that. Guarding behaviour can easily get out of control if a dog isn't properly socialised and trained, and is a huge issue in a large breed.

So are you looking for a guard dog (and so not a pet) or a loyal dog? There are lots of dogs that will be loyal. Especially if you spend time training and entertaining them.
This is really not a breed for most owners n

Have you thought of a breed specific rescue, there is one called German Shepherd rescue Elite, at least the dog would be throughly tested and I am sure there are many young dogs available. They are quite active on Twitter, if you wanted to do some research on them.

And yes, I agree with annie, I have a collie, raised properly they are not bonkers at all.

Mine is calm in the house, extremely obedient, good with children, if it wasn’t for her dog reactivity issues (which are nothing to do with being a collie, it’s due to bad experiences) she would be a truly ‘perfect’ pet.

And they do indeed share many of the problems of the GSD.

@anniehm - sorry - I live in the city and collies here tend to be underworked ‘pets’ and bound around trying to herd tourists (and other dogs) in the park. They are great in the country where they have the space to exercise properly!

@Wolfiefan I'm looking for both (loyal and a guard dog). However, not a guard dog that attacks everyone who comes to my house, but one that can sense a burglary is there.

@Cherrypies No we have not thought about a breed specific rescue. We are looking for around an 8 week old puppy instead of a young dog, as we'd like to train it around our cats and dog.

Collies are not bonkers and do not need masses of exercise - they do need a lot of brain work though - Looks at the 6 collies snoring on the floor after a scent work session.

GSD are intelligent sensitive dogs they will need to be mentally stimulated and will require a lot of daily attention to be happy dogs but if you are willing to do that they will be happy dogs

lord maybe they are just badly trained and/or overstimulated..?

My collie is a working bred one.
I live in a small terrace, my dog is never really allowed in the garden except to toilet.

She is definately all collie!
We used to have chickens and she would spend hours happily grouping them all together and if asked would put them all the windowsill for me so I could pick them up.
Never trained to do this, pure instinct.

As a puppy, she tried to herd other dogs, people, cars etc.
Emphasis on ‘tried’.

The only things I have ever allowed her to herd were my chickens and to a certain extent I let her herd my cat.
She likes to shepherd her into the kitchen at dinner time..

@Cherrypies any rescue with any sense would never rehome a rescue GSD to a someone who has never had a shepherd before. Almost all in rescue have some form of behavioural issue, and yes I do work with rescue GSDs. Even puppies need very careful handling to make sure they turn into socially acceptable dogs. They are so much easier to mess up than a Labrador or other simpler breed

They are a fantastic but extremely sensitive sort of dog, not for the faint hearted.
They have been overbred into slightly neurotic and weak nerved dogs and finding a good one is like finding hens teeth.
I have the perfect GSD at the moment however I travelled the country to find her and she cost £££. She also couldn’t guard her way out of a paper bag but I was happy to compromise this for a dog without stranger or dog aggression issues.
I currently own 3 and the two rescue ones have pretty major issues.

Not a dog I would reccomend for someone without extensive dog experience.

did I mention happy - sorry

‘However, not a guard dog that attacks everyone who comes to my house, but one that can sense a burglary is there’

Pretty much any dog then OP!

@OverFedStanley Me and my daughter are both committed to waking it multiple times a day. As well as this, my daughter would like to do agility on the weekend, for mental stimulation.

So a dog then.
And they wouldn’t be the best bet for agility. And by the time a pup is old enough to do agility she will have likely left home.

@Doggydoggydoggy My current dog hardly senses a thing.

@Wolfiefan 'On weekends' if my daughter did attend uni, she would be home every weekend for work.

If you are going to do agility with a GSD do be very careful with the dogs breeding. As you know many gsd have sloped backs which cause major health problems.

Make sure you get a straight backed GSD.

You will also have to spend hours on training as unfortunately there is a lot of prejudice against them. A cocker poo can run up and bark at people and they think it is sweet if a GSD does it you will have the dog warden at your door.

Then your dog is in the minority.

Most dogs WILL notice an intruder.
Most will not act aggressively but they are highly likely to bark and make noise and make you aware of their presence.

With the exception of dogs who are severely fear aggressive, most dogs are highly unlikely to take on an intruder unless they 1) have the correct temperament and 2) have received specialist training

If she is at uni all week and working at the weekend then she will really have no time to contribute to this sensitive breed of dog. That isn’t best suited to agility anyway.
Not a great idea OP.

So your daughter will be at uni all week, at work all weekend and you think she's going to commit to 2+ hours of walking everyday on top of that, rather than going out with her friends, studying and having fun?

I really don't think so!

@adaline Most of my animals will have unfortunately passed by that time, meaning I will have more time during the week to walk it.

Hang on a minute. You’re the poster with the abusive older child? ODFG do NOT get a GSD.