Do You Really Want a German Shepherd?

It's sad! The dog pounds and animal shelters are full of perfectly beautiful and intelligent dogs that are simply no longer wanted. Far too often people adopt a German Shepherd for all of the wrong reasons and without carefully considering the obligation that they are assuming. The dogs are the ones that pay the price. They're the ones that end up in shelters and many of them are "put to sleep" (killed).

So before you adopt a German Shepherd, be sure that you really want a German Shepherd and that you are willing and able to make the commitment to take the responsibility for his health and welfare for as long as he lives. And with care, he'll live a long time. German Shepherds live 10 or 12 years on average.

Adopting a German Shepherd is a lot like getting married, except when you divorce the dog, he's more likely to die than to find someone else to love him.


All German Shepherd puppies are cute They're sweet and they're funny, and that wonderful "puppy smell" is as intoxicating as the "new car smell." But, that adorable little puppy will grow up to be a dog -- maybe a really BIG dog.

And German Shepherds aren't people. Those of us who love animals think of our dogs as our "fur kids," and we treat them at least as well as we treat our "skin kids" -- but they aren't kids. German Shepherds are animals, and they will act and react just like animals. They'll bark when you don't want them to. They might even bite.

German Shepherds must be fed every single day. Fresh, clean water must always be available. Dogs "pee" and "poo" -- sometimes on your carpet if you fail to take them outdoors.

In short, adopting a German Shepherd means that you are assuming a great deal of responsibility for another living creature. Be sure that you're willing to make that commitment and stick to it for the next 10 or 20 years.


This article was written by Debra Garrison DVM

Deblyns German Shepherds