Portraits of popular breeds both at home and abroad: German Shepherd

It would probably entirely unnecessary to describe the appearance of the German Shepherd. Probably everyone, even non-dog-lovers, have seen the German series Inspector Rex. Apart from the most famous colouring with black or golden marks, it is bred also in a full-black or grey colour. Because of the trend of excessive angles of the hind legs and the related selection of breeding dogs, this breed today often suffers from hip dysplasia. Otherwise, however, it has a strong and solid skeleton with very well-developed muscles.

For a German Shepherd to be content, it’s necessary to provide enough activity for them. It doesn’t really do well in the role of a stay-at-home sofa-dog. On the contrary, if you’re looking for a dog with whom you’d like to attend obedience training, defence, tracking or agility training, you’ve come across the right partner. Although these dogs are relatively demanding when it comes to training, they usually come at good places in obedience competitions.

They are also great for any kind of work. German Shepherds are used in the world most often as guide, avalanche and tracking dogs. They are also very often used as police, military, guard or defence dogs.

German Shepherds love to learn and they learn fast. They adore their master and they need a lot of contact with him. While the males tend to be stronger, more agile and tougher, females are usually more hard-working. The dogs of this breed are energetic and active, they are marked by their endurance, high intelligence, braveness and faithfulness. Policemen and rescuers value their fearlessness, controllability, incorruptibility and strong nerves.

The interesting thing is that in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia, we breed the best German Shepherds for the whole world. They are in demand for security forces and private persons from the USA, Israel or Peru, for instance. This tradition of quality breeding extends to the time of socialism, when the border guards and the Public Security (the regular police force at that time) in the Czech Republic, needed a large quantity of quality dogs and dog handlers to guard the borders and maintain order. That’s why great attention was paid to the breeding and training of German Shepherds in particular.

As with all the larger dog breeds we have to provide them with the right care and quality food during their development and not overload them. Otherwise, this could cause poor development of bones and knuckles leading to long-term health problems.

Since the beginning at the turn of the 19th century and 20th century, when German Shepherds were used mainly as shepherd dogs, they've come a long way. Their obvious character strengths have not remained unnoticed for long, so they were already used in the First World War as guard dogs and rescue dogs. Today, they can be great work and social partners, but in return, they require enough exercise and attention in training.

Although they don’t appear as family dogs at first glance, if they are well-trained, they are very loyal to their master and his family, tolerant to children and domestic animals.

Do you belong among the lovers of this breed? What do you admire about it the most?

Související články

Zajímavá fakta o křečcích

Nesmíme zde opomínat malé a roztomilé hlodavce, kteří jsou jedním z nejmenších domácích mazlíčků. Křečci jsou oblíbení pro svůj hebký kožíšek, roztomilé pacičky a nenáročnost. Než se rozhodnete si pořídit křečka, přečtěte si tyto zajímavosti, které...

Jak to mají psi s plaváním?

Mezi lidmi panuje přesvědčení, že psi umí plavat a je pro ně tento pohyb přirozený. Psi jsou opravdu obvykle dobří plavci, ale existují i výjimky. Která plemena patří mezi neplavce a co byste o psím plavání měli vědět?

Kočičí fakta

Co kočkám umožňuje jejich flexibilitu? Kolik času tráví péčí o svou srst? Nebo k čemu slouží kočičí ocásek? Přinášíme 25 základních faktů o těchto záhadných, přesto úchvatných čtyřnohých stvořeních, která si tak rádi pořizujeme jako domácí mazlíčky....

Co jste možná nevěděli o vlčácích?

Německý ovčák je jedno z nepořizovanějších psích plemen vůbec. A je také nejčastějším služebním plemenem. Pokud máte v plánu pořídit si psího chlupáče této rasy, máme pro vás pár zajímavostí, které jste o vlčácích - jak se německému ovčákovi lidově...

Co pro vás mohou udělat kočky a vy pro ně

V dnešní turbulentní době je cokoli, co dokáže podpořit naši psychickou pohodu, vítáno. Felinoterapie neboli „léčba kočkou“ není v rámci zooterapie žádnou novinkou, ale často se na ní zapomíná. Jak a kde můžeme využít vrozeného daru empatie, intuice a...

Startupy pomáhají domácím mazlíčkům i jejich majitelům

Zvířecí mazlíčci jsou dnes v první řadě mazlíčci, až potom zvířátka. Do svého mazlíka investujeme často více než do sebe. Toho si všimli i inovátoři s obchodním duchem a vzniká mnoho startupů právě na poli chovatelství. Největším trendem je zajištění...