# How did you get into German Shepherds?



## OldGreg (May 18, 2020)

Would love to hear stories of how everyone found their love of Germans  

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J727A using Tapatalk


----------



## NadDog24 (May 14, 2020)

I was born and raised with working line GSDs. We've always had at least one.







This was the first shepherd I can remember. It was him that made me fall in love


----------



## OldGreg (May 18, 2020)

NadDog24 said:


> I was born and raised with working line GSDs. We've always had at least one.
> View attachment 561134
> This was the first shepherd I can remember. It was him that made me fall in love


What a handsome boy! 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J727A using Tapatalk


----------



## NadDog24 (May 14, 2020)

OldGreg said:


> What a handsome boy!
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J727A using Tapatalk


Yeah he was the best. His name was Zeager we were BFFs until the end


----------



## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

i grew up with dobies and mutts... there was a trainer in my neighborhood with an awesome doberman, so i hung out at his house often as a young teen. one day i witnessed one of his board and trains, a GSD, climb a tree. i thought it was pretty cool and asked if his dobie could do it.. he couldn’t. that day GSD became my favorite breed and i haven’t looked back.


----------



## Shadow Shep (Apr 16, 2020)

I have loved German Shepherds since I was a kid, and have always wanted one 😁. I won't be able to get one until I go to school and finish (probably 7 years before I can get one)


----------



## Jonh Mark (Jul 16, 2020)

I really like German Shepherds . Because of the lack of conditions, I was unable to raise. At some point I could raise some children


----------



## saintbob (Jul 14, 2018)

An Army buddy gave me his when he saw our place...as his was almost continually crated.

Yankee was a trained dog, gentle with children and smaller dogs, a wonderful companion out in the wood and had good judgement. For example if I was cutting a tree down he would position himself far enough away to avoid it.

One night he didn't act right so I took him outside ...he couldn't get comfortable. I was going to take to the vets in the morning. I laid down with him outside to comfort him when I woke up with my arm around him he was dead. I was in tears but after thinking things through I was there to comfort him.

So the vet responded to the note I left on his door and suggested Yankee died of the bloat. 

Before Yankee I really didn't care for GSD but I got enamored by how Yankee responded; turned his face, cocked his head worked his ears in response to me. Like I was really important to him.

Saint is our second GSD.


----------



## ChickiefromTN (Jun 16, 2020)

I was always a cat person. My husband wanted a GSD and we got Ghillie! I loved this boy like crazy and we lost him way too young. I have a 1 year old and 6 month old now. Thinking about adding a third one this winter.
















Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


----------



## OldGreg (May 18, 2020)

saintbob said:


> An Army buddy gave me his when he saw our place...as his was almost continually crated.
> 
> Yankee was a trained dog, gentle with children and smaller dogs, a wonderful companion out in the wood and had good judgement. For example if I was cutting a tree down he would position himself far enough away to avoid it.
> 
> ...


Yankee sounds like he was amazing. I am sorry you lost him like that. It sounds like he was very loved and it is wonderful he inspired you to love the Germans  

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J727A using Tapatalk


----------



## OldGreg (May 18, 2020)

ChickiefromTN said:


> I was always a cat person. My husband wanted a GSD and we got Ghillie! I loved this boy like crazy and we lost him way too young. I have a 1 year old and 6 month old now. Thinking about adding a third one this winter.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Does having two make it easier to tire them out? They look so happy! 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J727A using Tapatalk


----------



## Jorski (Jan 11, 2019)

My ex mother-in-law's cottage is a few cottages away from my breeder. For 30 years I always admired their dogs.
My ex , however didn't see the charm. She wanted a golden retriever. Over the years we had three of them, and they were fantastic family dogs.
When I started thinking about another dog, I started thinking about other breeds. My son, asked about German Shepherds. I thought about it and liked the idea.
I researched a bunch breeders and came back to the breeder I had known for all of those years. He had a litter coming up that I really liked.
I have always really enjoyed training dogs and the idea of a dog with some more drive than my retrievers appealed to me.
After a few email exchanges and a visit with the pups at 4 weeks, we were on our way.
We couldn't be happier with our decision. Max is fabulous in every way!
I will say that I am glad that I had a lot of training experience before getting WGWL Shepherd.


----------



## Squidwardp (Oct 15, 2019)

Two dogs had a lot to do with it, neither one was mine. My best friend in the neighborhood got a female saddle around Christmas back when he was 8, I was 7. We spent literally most of every summer for the next 5-6 years or more in the dog's yard, which was about half of his backyard. Ginger would bark fiercely at strangers, but would always wag her tail and greet me. Flash forward maybe seven years, and while her owner Brent and I were still friends, we had other interests, didn't hang out as much, and when we did it was not in Ginger's yard. But he asked if I could feed her while they were off on summer vacation. I walked up to her gate the first day they were gone, and she barked fiercely, this time at me. I probably looked different, and bigger than when she had seen me last. I spoke her name, and you could see the wheels turning. She remembered me, and got happy and a little apologetic looking. I actually went in her yard and played with her, like we used to do, every day that I went to feed and water her. I'll always remember her. Taught me that the notion dogs live only in the "now" is either outright wrong, or much overstated. 

When I was about 8, my grandparents took me to a lake resort. Some folks staying there had a white GSD, "Slim," first WGSD I'd ever seen. This was circa 1971-72, and mostly where I lived you saw saddlebacks. Having spent time around Ginger, I felt like I was checked out on GSDs, and as I've seen with many whites since, he was pretty mellow. A big male, he would lie down and wait on the porch of the restaurant on the premises, while his family ate their evening meal. I'd finish up my food, and my grandparents would let me go out on the porch and pet him, after his owners said he was OK with kids. The owners saw I was taken with him, and we actually went out one evening on their boat. They told my grandmother about their breeder, and usually that would have been all it took. My Dad, usually pretty accommodating of kids, within reason, nixed the deal. He was more of a hound dog guy, and really, more of a cat person when it came down to it. I wasn't privy to the discussion, but I expect it went something like, "too much dog, we'd have to get a bigger fence, he'll lose interest in it, etc." Whatever. So when I got old enough to earn my own money, I got the kinds of dogs I wanted. Probably make a better story if the first one I bought was a GSD, but it did not work out that way. A female Golden, granddaughter of Gold Rush Charlie, beautiful, biddable, certainly not a watchdog, but tough in her own way. 

Over the years, moving away from home, getting married, having kids, I've had other dogs. Two Goldens, at different times, two Newfoundlands. Loved them all, but the Queen was a rescued GSD, working line, longer coat. As long as I can remember anything, I'll remember her. 

Now we have two young dogs, black Czech line female, and a male pup, about 50 DDR lines, the rest West German working lines. I expect as long as I can physically keep up, I will have GSDs. Hoping I have these two for a long time.


----------



## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

I always loved animals, but due to my brother's allergies, we couldn't have cats or dogs or anything with fur on it. When I moved away from home, I was in an apartment, which is not the best place for a dog.

Then, one day, I was visiting my uncle's farm, and saw this poor, pathetic bag of bones lying underneath his kitchen table. He asked me if I wanted a dog, and I said I'd love to have one, but I couldn't because the apartment had rules against pets. The story was her owner had to go into a nursing home, and she got taken by another neighbour who already had 2 dogs. They hogged all the food, and wouldn't let her eat. Then, the neighbour gave her to my aunt and uncle, but by this point, she had just given up on life, and they had great difficulty getting her to eat, in spite of her severe emaciation. (When my aunt showed me the food they were giving her, it was crawling with insect larvae, which might explain why she didn't want to eat it!)

The dog, a female GSD, looked sooo pitiful I was afraid she was going to die. So I spoke to a friend who had a German shepherd, and lived in an apartment. He said, "They can't kick the dog out unless it's a problem. I'd give it a try if I were you."

That's how I got my first dog. She was 5 years old and weighed only 35 lbs. She also had pannus, and was partially blind from it. The vet didn't think she was going to live, but with lots of love, and TLC, she eventually got up to a normal weight, and a veterinary eye specialist fixed her eyes, though she had to be on drops for the rest of her life.

I know one thing for sure: I saved a dog's life the day I brought her home. Her original owner named her Lassie. I changed it to Lili Marlene, after the old WWII song. (Lili for short, of course!)

As time went on, Lili began to have trouble walking due to severe arthritis in her spine. It became obvious that eventually she would have to be put to sleep, as she was losing the ability to walk.

I came home from work one day to find an extra dog in the house. My room-mate, a real estate agent, explained she'd seen the dog running loose when she was showing a house. When she asked locals about it, they said the dog was obviously a stray, as it had been in the area for several days. She managed to coax it into her car with some food, and brought it home. Here excuse was that she knew Lili wasn't going to live much longer, and she thought it might make it easier to part with her if I had another dog to replace her.

I'd been in the house less than 10 minutes, when I made the fatal mistake: I named her. Game over...
Guess what breed she was...  Nine months old, very nice looking, very mischievous German shepherd female.
After that, I was very firmly hooked by the breed!

Lili, Brandy (my room-mate's dog) and a very young Tasha, who lived to be 14: You can tell from how Lili is sitting that her rear end is starting to go on her...


----------



## TxChris (Jul 13, 2020)

I've always loved dogs and I'd like to have a hiking/walking buddy. I researched dog breeds and GS's seem to have all of the qualities I want in a dog. I get my first GS tomorrow, I can't wait.


----------



## Gwyllgi (Aug 16, 2017)

As a young boy in the 1940's my father used to help out at the kennels of a top GSD breeder and judge in the UK.

The breeder had purchased a popular stud dog at the time but the breeder wasn't happy with the dog, so he gave him to my father but kept the pedigree papers to use on another dog (apparently it was quite common back then, unfortunately).

My father, continued to have GSD's and introduced them into the family when I was 7yrs old. I've had them now for over 35 yrs.

We started with dogs from shelters and eventually I bought my first show line and won many competitions with her. I had a couple of other show lines and took a break when I lived oversea but as soon as I returned, I purchased my first working line.

I can't imagine life without them. 

Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk


----------



## OldGreg (May 18, 2020)

TxChris said:


> I've always loved dogs and I'd like to have a hiking/walking buddy. I researched dog breeds and GS's seem to have all of the qualities I want in a dog. I get my first GS tomorrow, I can't wait.


Congrats! Don't forget to post pics!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J727A using Tapatalk


----------



## CactusWren (Nov 4, 2018)

My GSD journey started 17 months ago with Jupiter. Before that, I'd had goldens and a corgi. I wanted a bigger and scarier dog, and researching a dog that could both be protective and good with a family, I soon was pointed to GSDs. Oddly, I had never been attracted to the breed and had only met one or two in my life. I thought of them mostly as guard dogs and police dogs. 

Long story, Jupiter is awesome and my best buddy now! GSDs are super dogs!


----------



## Stuckey (Feb 1, 2020)

That’s what I grew up with, it’s my dad’s favorite breed and now my favorite!


----------



## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Ever since I was 8 (earliest memory) I wished for a GSD for birthdays, during falling stars etc. Never got or had one until I was in my 50s. Totally worth the wait but not having one is a void that can't be closed. I hope to have one until the day I die.


----------



## ChickiefromTN (Jun 16, 2020)

OldGreg said:


> Does having two make it easier to tire them out? They look so happy!
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J727A using Tapatalk


Yes it makes it a lot easier to tire them out! We live in a very secluded wooded area and are outside with the dogs most of the day every day. Even then, when it was just one dog we hardly ever tired him out. Now with two they do a lot of racing and chasing while we are working in the garden or cutting wood etc. 

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


----------



## Benjaminb (Aug 14, 2017)

I've wanted one for about 5 years. I started reading about different dog breeds, and soon became interested in German shepherds. I've wanted and read about them ever since. 
I am planning to get one when I get out of school.


----------



## Blu_and_Redd (Oct 7, 2019)

I've always admired GSD's and adopted my first one last year when she was 3 months old. We just got a GSD puppy and will never have another breed again. They are so smart and loyal to the core. Not to mention beautiful and very loving. I love my girls!


----------



## jarn (Jul 18, 2007)

I saw Luc online when I wanted to adopt a dog (he was my first) and just KNEW he was the one for me. How silly does that sound! But I fell in love with his face and the write up. Called that day and his foster home called me back - I went to meet him that night, his foster home knew that from cat rescue I knew the head of the rescue, and said I could take him home that night, without screening (hmm), I said, I'm not set up - picked him up the next week and fell head over heels with GSDs. Luc was the best dog I'll ever have. I loved him so much.


----------



## JunoVonNarnia (Apr 8, 2020)

My father had a GSD just before I was born. He was called Rex, and I continued the tradition of having Latin and Greek names for the dogs in the family (Rex, Spartacus, Zeus, Titus and Juno). I knew I wanted a GSD because whenever I completed an online quiz about which dog breed suits you, the answer was always GSD. I always remembered Rex, whom I had never met. When I wanted to add a second dog to my pack (me and a reactive hound), I decided on a GSD for their obedience and majesty. I do not regret that choice. 

Juno follows me around. She jumped into a lake for me (this is before either of us knew she could swim). I love and I think she loves me in her doggy way...


----------



## michaelr (Aug 5, 2010)

It was a fairly disjointed path for us to get our first GSD in 1980, but we've been with them ever since if you don't count a detour in the 1990's for a mastiff (it seemed like a good idea at the time - sweet dog but I missed the intelligence in the eyes).
I don't recall the first one we ever had since I was only 1 at the time and we didn't have her for long. My parents told me I used to curl up with her and they could leave me unattended with her for very short periods (Yeah, I know. But this was immediate post-war Germany, fresh out of a displaced persons camp, and the rules of the game were different then). Well, she eventually bit someone who came too close to me and they had to give her away. I'm convinced that's where my abiding ability to bond stronger with shepherds than other breeds stems from. Even seeing one being walked across the street by some stranger nowadays makes me smile. 
Once we finally got visas and moved to the US we lived in apartments and none allowed dogs, so the first thing I did when I got my own place at 22 (literally the day after I moved in) was get 2 dogs. They weren't shepherds because I didn't put a lot of thought into what kind I wanted (Hey, I was only 22), I just finally had dogs. I soon became friends with a guy who had a rescued male shepherd that was said to have survived distemper with a right foreleg that twitched to tap the floor. I'll never forget that dog. He was amazing; a real sweetheart and incredibly well trained. Another friend had a white male shepherd. Also a terrific dog.
Fast forward a few years, a marriage, a second kid on the way and now a house with a next door neigbor who had a female shepherd that was equally amazing. When the second of my first dogs eventually died, it was a no brainer to get a sheperd and the rest, as they say, is history.


----------



## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

I've always liked the breed. Trained and handled quite a few over the years but never owned one. Then I spent a year with Fama in Afghanistan. That's all she wrote.


----------



## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

My family had a GSD/Husky when I was very young, I was always a dog guy and walked that dog before school, after school and late night for its whole life. One of my best friends to this day had a yellow lab and we usually did this together for years. That dog was responsible for me being late to school hundreds of times lol. I alwasy loved the GSD traits and knew I would have one of my very own one day.

When I was 16, I bought my first without telling my parents before I brought her home and that dog was everything to me, took her everywhere camping, hiking, friends houses, absolutely everywhere.
Great balanced GSD and cemented what I believe will be a life long partnership with the best breed in existence.

I've had 5 since (currently a 6 year old and an 8 month old) and although I'm their biggest supporter, I also think they're not for everyone for a host of reasons and not really a good choice for many I see that own them already imo. I think many underestimate the great amount of time and energy that goes into developing the fantastic specimens that people see on TV or even in their neighborhoods that have had dedicated owners. Just the way it is .....

My plan was always to have 2 dogs in retirement that's still a ways off but opportunity and fate crossed paths and here we are. I hope to have at least one with me as long as I live. Without them, a home is just a house.....


----------



## Muskeg (Jun 15, 2012)

As a paper girl I was chased by a GSD often and it was scary, but it never made me dislike the breed.

I had wonderful mutts for my first 20 years, then found a stray GSD in the woods.

Her sweet temperament, willingness to please the handler, easy trainability,and good looks hooked me on the breed. BYB that she probably was, our pack still misses her. She was the only dog I've had that was more a "right-hand man" than "just" a dog. A true helper. 

Would take another like her, in a heartbeat.


----------



## Shefali (Aug 12, 2020)

saintbob said:


> An Army buddy gave me his when he saw our place...as his was almost continually crated.
> 
> Yankee was a trained dog, gentle with children and smaller dogs, a wonderful companion out in the wood and had good judgement. For example if I was cutting a tree down he would position himself far enough away to avoid it.
> 
> ...


 That brought a tear to my eye. What a special dog.


----------



## cmacc (Jul 13, 2020)

I got my first completely by accident, I was looking for a golden and a poorly bred nervy dog ended up following me to my car (the things I’ve learned since) I stumbled on IPO while looking for something to do with her, she wasn’t suitable but I fell in love with the sport so I went on the hunt for a dog that wanted to work and ended up with Cuervo, life happened and I had to rehome my female so became a single dog house for 5 years. Life has since settled down, bought a bigger house with more land so it was time to add another. Cuervo is still a handful but is starting to mellow and Olive is full of personality but I finally get to experience what people mean by an off switch. These dogs have been such a blessing to my mental and physical health.


----------



## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

Had a great GSD as a kid, but as an adult I didn’t want to deal with all that coat, so i resisted getting another. When my 14 year old Doberman died I was too sad to get another Dobe (I would literally get teary eyed if I saw one at a dog show). I really missed having a big dog though. 

I had a good friend that showed GSDs, and she said she had a litter (of 10!). I went out to see them. When she let the puppies into the yard, one stood out to me. I used to joke that it seemed like she was surrounded by neon light, lol. Of course she was the show pick puppy, and I knew they’d keep her, but they called me a week later and said we want you to show her! And that was Carly, who grew up to be a champion and the best dog ever. I just lost her in February. 











The ones to follow were Sage (lost her at age 5), Russell (lives with my son) and my current show beast, Scarlet.


----------



## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

I didn't. They baited me into a trap! 
There were always GSDs around somewhere. My uncle was K9, my stepdad had one. I kept stumbling into them. Someone in the family knew Chuck Eisenman, so I got to hang out with London and his sons a couple of times. I got handed Mia when I was 15 and managed to get her CD in between being a homeless teen 🤣Dog people are fun. 
King was with me for years, Pal showed up as a stray at a ranch I was employed as a foal handler at, I think Lucien got left behind by a roommate. 
When I was 19 I went to work for a security company owned by a man with endless patience who fed my love of dogs and was ever willing to allow me to roam. For about 6 years he trained me, put me to work when I needed and gave me an endless supply of GSDs to love when I was around. 
At 26 he gave me my first shot at patrol with Ace. Billy came next. Then I gave up for a bit and that was when Sabi found me. Game over.


----------



## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

Sabis mom said:


> I didn't. They baited me into a trap!
> There were always GSDs around somewhere. My uncle was K9, my stepdad had one. I kept stumbling into them. Someone in the family knew Chuck Eisenman, so I got to hang out with London and his sons a couple of times. I got handed Mia when I was 15 and managed to get her CD in between being a homeless teen


LOL! Kind of like my experience (except for the homeless bit!) They just sorta fell into my lap! My first 3 were all unwanted GSDs in desperate need of a good home! I've given the details for the first two on the previous page. My third dog came along as Tasha was on her last legs, and my mom asked me what I was going to do when 'the time' came. I told her I didn't know, but I couldn't get a pup, because now that my husband was gone, there would be no one home to housebreak it while I was working. She said, "Well, if you want the most beautiful 3 year old male GSD, you'd better speak quick, because the owner says he's going to shoot it if no one else wants it!"

And that's how Ranger came into my life...


Lucky you, with getting to meet London! Would love to hear more about that experience!


----------



## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

Sunsilver said:


> Lucky you, with getting to meet London! Would love to hear more about that experience!


Would love to tell you about it. All I really remember is the dogs and a station wagon. I have some sort of memory failure/block, so memories before I was about 18 or 20 are foggy and disjointed. Animals and shoes. Lol. And cars! That's all I got. Can tell you that London was polite and totally involved with his owner. One of his sons was very obsessed with me and followed me around.


----------



## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

I saw them perform in 1976. It was awesome! Just AMAZING! Carmspack says she and a friend figured out the 'tell' that Chuck was using to cue their behaviour.


----------



## Justjo303 (Aug 31, 2020)

For me it was this guy. We were browsing craigslist just to look at all the animals and ran into his post... They had him posted for free at the age of 3 (he is mixed with Border Collie) The husband and I talked it over and decided to contact the person rehoming him..... Wellllll we met him and he was so malnourished and underweight as well as terrified of the owner and had trust issues with us 😢 That is when i said we will take him w.o even thinking because i could not stand to see the way he looked. Here we are 9yrs later and him at the age of 11 happy, healthy and the biggest sweetest ball of love ever after months of nursing him back to health and all the training! He has got us stuck on the breed so now we have a puppy and starting from scratch. Would NEVER change my decision if i had the chance to.


----------



## Buckelke (Sep 4, 2019)

Dad thought I needed a brother.


----------

