<p>I did some cross posting with others, so it sounds a bit redundant, sorry.</p>
<p>I agree with others - your father should not get a dog if he doesn’t know how to work with them. ESPECIALLY if he wants it to protect him. </p>
<p>The last thing in the world you would ever want is a dog bought to protect you, but which is not trained properly. To me, that’s like saying you want a son because you want to have a kid around to run errands, instead of wanting a son to love and have a relationship with. And the results would be pretty much the same !</p>
<p>Yup, and many of those BRED dogs are rejected because they don’t have the necessary traits. Dogs are individuals. While some breeds have “tendencies” they are by no means any kind of guarantee.</p>
<p>Yes many purebreds ate rejected from the Seeing Eye. A friend of mine adopted a reject. The undesirable trait was the dog had a thing for squirrels and would lose focus when a squirrel crossed his path. Not much proof of some inbred defect, is it? RomanGE, I hope you recognize there are committed and loving animal people who love all animals but who have a preference for the specific type of pets in their own home for many years. We’re talking personal preferences here, not whether I support eating puppies or something.</p>
<p>I also disagree with the theory that mixed breeds are healthier. Conscientious breeders try very hard to have healthy dogs. They get their breeding pairs tested for hip dysplasia, elbow and knee problems, blood diseases. Mixed breeds also get these problems but no one is testing for them. Every dog I have gotten from a breeder has been screened for temperament and health issues. Mixed breeds are wonderful but so are purebreds. I wouldn’t get one from a backyard breeder unless they have tested the parents ( and grandparents) for hip dysplasia- especially German Shepards. Have you thought about contacting the national breed club. I am sure they have a web site. They would also know about rescue dogs.</p>
<p>^^ I didn’t deny that. I’ve just worked in shelters long enough to not support breeders. My preference.</p>
<p>I prefer APBT over any other breed. I don’t need to go to a breeder to get one though. Most dog breeds have rescues and I encourage people to go to them. I’m sure there’s a lovely male purebred German Shepherd at a rescue waiting for their forever home.</p>
<p>Please try to convince your parents to adopt. Tell them about all the benefits (lower costs, healthier). If they are first time dog owners a German Shepherd would not be ideal. </p>
<p>If you adopt a dog from a kill shelter, you set off a chain of life-saving. You save that dog AND the one that takes its spot (shelters are often terribly overcrowded). I’m sure that you can find some sort of lab or shepherd at a kill shelter. </p>
“Conscientious breeders” is the key phrase here but unfortunately there are many people breeding dogs who aren’t conscientious and don’t have a clue as to what they’re doing other than mating dogs to create puppies to sell and make money. Seriously. Go check out a shelter and you’ll see them filled with pit bulls mostly from people breeding them to try to make money who have no idea what ‘genetics’ even means. People will do this with other breeds as well. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t be surprised if there are far more breeders who are not conscientious and are motivated mostly by money than breeders who are conscientious. </p>
<p>The problem will be finding the right breeder and that may involve not looking for the cheapest dog of a particular breed that’s listed for sale in Craigslist.</p>
<p>On the health - it’s the inbreeding of like genetic traits and worse, closely related animals (brother/sister, etc.) that can cause some of the health issues and defects. I think this one is inarguable since it’s a matter of genetics. You’re right that a ‘conscientious’ breeder will go to lengths to minimize the issue but again, I think those breeders are outnumbered by the ones who either don’t care or are ignorant of proper breeding and the whole is exacerbated by people looking to spend as little money as possible when buying the dog.</p>
<p>hayden, probably for more “protection” as that’s why they want a German Shepherd. </p>
<p>Honestly, I don’t even think a reputable breeder would sell a dog to this family on the basis of how little they know and their lack of experience.</p>
<p>Both of the dogs we have had over the past 26 years were purchased through newspaper ads. We wanted a pet, not a show dog. I think the whole idea of where you purchase them may be regional. When you go to look at the puppies, you can get an idea what kind of environment your puppy is in. Sometimes, both parents are on site as well. Good luck with the search.</p>
<p>From your description I think your parents would be much better off with a dog that’s already past the puppy stage. They’re much easier to deal with and you can ‘see what you have’ regarding the personality and even the health to some extent. Getting a grown dog from a shelter or rescue can save a lot of aggravation of the behavior of puppies. They just need to make sure to check the dog out very well as far as its behavior goes.</p>
<p>Dogs end up in shelters and rescues for all kinds of reasons - they’re not all ‘problem dogs’ and in many/most cases it was really a ‘problem owner’ where the owner no longer wants to deal with the responsibility, is in over their head in having a dog, ends up with a work schedule incompatible with caring for a dog, gets sick and can’t take care of it, etc. The dogs in these locations aren’t all ‘mutts’ either - there are all kinds of purebred dogs in shelters and there are usually ‘rescues’ around that deal in specific breeds so that makes it even easier to find. You could try searching for a ‘German Shepard Rescue’ (or some other breed).</p>
<p>Romani, that’s exactly what I was thinking and why I asked the question. </p>
<p>Here’s a way to tell if you’re dealing with a good breeder or one out for the money: 1) they’ll ask you more questions than you ask them (for my current sheltie I had to fill out a 3 page questionnaire) and 2) they won’t give you the documents you need to register your dog without proof of spay/neuter. </p>
<p>But let’s not lose sight of the issue. The poster wants a puppy. We’re focusing on the dad but there appear to me a mom and 2 siblings. How are they with animals? The key is the person who will be the primary caregiver. If he/she is prepared to train and treat the puppy properly, that’s the key.</p>
<p>GGdad. that is why I suggested the national breed club. They usually have a list of the more reputable breeders. Most national clubs have requirements regarding health testing of dogs. And as romanigypsyeyes said, those breeders may not want to sell to the op. My dog’s breeder wouldn’t.<br>
OP- if you look at a dog advertised in a newspaper be sure to ask some hard questions about the health of the parents and grandparents. Ask to see the parents. Make sure they have a nice temperament. Don’t fall in love just because they are cute. This dog will be around (hopefully) for a long time. Read up on the breed. German shepards are huge shedders. Make sure this is the right breed for you and your family.</p>
<p>^^ I agree about finding a reputable breeder but unfortunately there are a lot of puppy buyers motivated by the cost of the puppy and others who don’t know there’s a difference between breeders. Ironically, what many of the buyers don’t know about or consider is the additional cost they may end up having as a result of buying from the unreputable breeders if they end up with additional vet costs as a result. I’d rather pay more money for a puppy bred by someone who follows good breeding practice and understands some of the genetics than pay less money for a puppy bred by someone who has no clue as to what they’re doing and may be breeding brother/sister and other close relations or other genetically incompatible dogs.</p>
<p>^ Even more tragically ironic, many of those dogs end up at shelters because the buyers didn’t realize how much their “cheap” bred dog was going to cost. Or what kind of health issues many backyard/puppy mill dogs have.</p>
<p>This question really jumped out at me. If you have to worry about the cost of one veterinary check, you probably aren’t ready to own a dog. Keep doing research, and be sure that your family is able to take on the expense as well as the care.
Will this dog live indoors? I hope your parents realize that dogs need to be around people, and should not spend their days outside, alone. They need to sleep near and be with their “pack.” which will be your family.<br>
Also, it’s best if there is a “main care giver” that will be the stability in the dogs life. It sounds like your mom might be this person, so she should probably be involved in choosing the dog. It should be a dog that she can handle and not be afraid of.
I agree with those that feel adoption from a shelter or a rescue group seems like it might be the best for your family, and I don’t think a puppy is the right choice. Purebred dogs can be very wonderful dogs, but they are more expensive from the get-go, and they are usually puppies. Any dog can be wonderful, but you need the right fit for your family.
Look for a dog that is two or three years old, has a temperament that you can trust, and has been housebroken. Petfinders is a great website. Sometimes places like Petco have special days where shelters bring in their adoptable dogs, hoping to get some exposure. These dogs can be a good bet, as the shelter operators know a lot about the dogs and what kind of environment they need to thrive.
Good luck! Keep doing your research, and get your mom involved. The dog will need someone while you’re in college that really loves him.</p>
<p>You and your parents might want to consider fostering a dog. Some rescue organizations and no-kill shelters have more dogs than they have room for in their kennels, and will pair dogs in need with temporary foster homes while they wait to be adopted. </p>
<p>Of course, the foster family might decide to adopt the first dog they get – and that’s great – but fostering is an excellent way to see if dog ownership is right for them, without the commitment of buying right away. And if they foster a number of dogs (different breeds, different temperaments) that might give them a better sense of what kind of dog would be the best match for their lifestyle long-term. </p>
<p>I have friends who do this because they love dogs but, as young twenty-somethings, are not settled enough in their lives to make a 10-15 year commitment. </p>
<p>But if it’s really all about better home security…I think there are quality home security systems available for much less than the cost of owning a dog.</p>
<p>Original poster- you/your parents are NOT ready for any dog yet. You and they need to do a lot more research about different breeds (purebred dogs have known traits, most often good, but you also must know about both parents). You need to understand what is involved in raising a puppy to be a good adult dog. Compare it to raising a human child but on a much simpler and faster track. You can ruin any dog with improper rearing the first few months. A German Shepard has certain traits but how it is trianed and cared for as a puppy will either bring out the best or worst of those traits. You don’t just get a dog, feed it and otherwise take care of its physical needs. Dogs respond to the emotional environment as well. You want the dog to feel loved and valued, not just trained to be unfriendly to strangers. </p>
<p>Get yourself to your local library and read a dozen or more books.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>on heath: mixed breed dogs are generally healthier that purebreds, but that’s a generalization. You can’t know what is going to happen with the individual dog. But it’s easy to prove that the mixed breeds are generally healthier – just look at the rates charged for vet insurance by breed. The insurers base their premiums based on underwriting standards and categories of dogs. So they are seeing overall it is less expensive for them to insure mixed breeds than purebreds. (Though of course some other factors come into play – “mixed breed” is a larger, more heterogeneous group, so statistically even with sick dogs, they are less likely to narrow things down to common problems). Also, the risks of particular inherited diseases are more of a known quantity with a purebred.</p></li>
<li><p>on a male german shepherd: I agree that it is not a good choice for a beginner. Male dogs in general tend to be more dominant & aggressive, females more submissive, and for a guard/protection breed this can mean that training will be a battle with an inexperienced dog owner. You could end up with a dog that pretty much dominates the household. </p></li>
<li><p>same story with a puppy: its kind of hard to housebreak & train a dog for someone with no prior dog owning experience. IF going for a puppy, I’d opt for a breed or a cross of breeds known to be more tractable, people-pleasers. I had a great experience with an Austrlian Shepherd mix – the herding breeds tend to be very smart & easy to train, but do need a lot of exercise and stimulation. On the other hand, even that dog wasn’t a puppy when I got her. I gave up on puppies long ago, figuring that I had spoiled a lot of perfectly good dogs by my inadequate early training. Much easier to check them out at the shelter after they were older and were either already trained or not. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>*dogs require a lot of work and attention! I agree with the foster suggestion – let the family get a sense of what is involved without a dog they are bound to keep first. Also, if you form a relationship with people associated with a dog rescue group, you’ll have a ready source of advice from people who have a lot of dog experience. </p>
<ul>
<li><p>you don’t need a large dog for “protection”. If the goal is simply a dog who will sound the alarm when a prow1er gets near, a small or medium dog with a loud bark is as much a deterrent as a large dog. If the dog is expected to do any protecting beyond (a) barking vigorously at prow1ers (b) shutting up on the owner’s command – then you would be looking at very specialized training. The last thing you would want would be a german shepherd with a strong instinct to to protect his household, that is not well trained and controlled by the owners. I mean, you don’t want a dog who chases children and bites the mailman. </p></li>
<li><p>Finally, the dog definitely should not be chosen by the kid who is about to move away for college. How old are the 2 younger siblings? The kids at home are the ones most likely to engage with the dog, so it should really be a family decision. One advantage of adopting a somewhat older shelter or rescue dog is that you can really tell a lot more about the dog’s temperament before bringing it home. You don’t want a situation where a young sibling is terrified of a large and exuberant dog, when a calmer dog of the same or similar breed would have been a much better fit.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>One thing I’ve noticed in using newspaper ads is to check carefully to see if the person selling has multiple ads for different breeds of dogs. We bought our pure bred golden retriever through a newspaper ad, but I watched the ads for several weeks, noticed the repetition of some phone #s (which I avoided). I had seen this number before for goldens and watched for an ad to come around again. They had only goldens, both parents were on premises and we got the papers although we never registered her. </p>
<p>You can usually tell a lot also by visiting and seeing how they interact with the puppies. </p>
<p>Of course, this is much easier to do in a small town.</p>