Whats your veiw on German Shepherd dogs?

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Earth Hour at the 3 Finger Club LOHHAS Lifestyle Lounge

Lights were out between 8:30 and 9:30 while we told stories and discussed our Lifestyle Of Health, Happiness And Sustainability (LOHHAS) using the 3 Finger "Peace Plus One" Sustainability Salute to remind us about Peace, Harmony and Balance between Society, Environment and Economy

People were the best jugglers of "Society, Environment, Economy" balls won "EARTH HOUR 60" T-Shirts WOW \!/O\!/

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all participants in the Earth Hour Discussion got a copy of "Letter to Maddie" featured below:

We Screwed Up
A Letter of Apology to My Granddaughter
By Chip Ward

[Note: I became politically active and committed on the day 20 years ago when I realized I could stand on the front porch of my house and point to three homes where children were in wheelchairs, to a home where a child had just died of leukemia, to another where a child was born missing a kidney, and yet another where a child suffered from spina bifida. All my parental alarms went off at once and I asked the obvious question: What’s going on here? Did I inadvertently move my three children into harm’s way when we settled in this high desert valley in Utah? A quest to find answers in Utah’s nuclear history and then seek solutions followed. Politics for me was never motivated by ideology. It was always about parenting.

Today my three kids are, thankfully, healthy adults. But now that grandchildren are being added to our family, my blood runs cold whenever I project out 50 years and imagine what their world will be like at middle age — assuming they get that far and that there is still a recognizable “world” to be part of. I wrote the following letter to my granddaughter, Madeline, who is almost four years old. Although she cannot read it today, I hope she will read it in a future that proves so much better than the one that is probable, and so terribly unfair. I’m sharing this letter with other parents and grandparents in the hope that it may move them to embrace their roles as citizens and commit to the hard work of making the planet viable, the economy equitable, and our culture democratic for the many Madelines to come.]

March 20, 2012

Dear Maddie,

I address this letter to you, but please share it with Jack, Tasiah, and other grandchildren who are yet unborn. Also, with your children and theirs. My unconditional love for my children and grandchildren convinces me that, if I could live long enough to embrace my great-grandchildren, I would love them as deeply as I love you.

On behalf of my generation of grandparents to all of you, I want to apologize.

I am sorry we used up all the oil. It took a million years for those layers of carbon goo to form under the Earth’s crust and we used up most of it in a geological instant. No doubt there will be some left and perhaps you can get around the fact that what remains is already distant, dirty, and dangerous, but the low-hanging fruit will be long-gone by the time you are my age. We took it all.

There’s no excuse, really. We are gas-hogs, plain and simple. We got hooked on faster-bigger-more and charged right over the carrying capacity of the planet. Oil made it possible.

Machines are our slaves and coal, oil, and gas are their food. They helped us grow so much of our own food that we could overpopulate the Earth. We could ship stuff and travel all over the globe, and still have enough fuel left to drive home alone in trucks in time to watch Monday Night Football.

Rocket fuel, fertilizer, baby bottles, lawn chairs: we made everything and anything out of oil and could never get enough of it. We could have conserved more for you to use in your lifetime. Instead, we demonstrated the self-restraint of crack addicts. It’s been great having all that oil to play with and we built our entire world around that. Living without it will be tough. Sorry.

I hope we develop clean, renewable energy sources soon, or that you and your generation figure out how to do that quickly. In the meantime, sorry about the climate. We just didn’t realize our addiction to carbon would come with monster storms, epic droughts, Biblical floods, wildfire infernos, rising seas, migration, starvation, pestilence, civil war, failed states, police states, and resource wars.

I’m sure Henry Ford didn’t see that coming when he figured out how to mass-produce automobiles and sell them to Everyman. I know my parents didn’t see the downside of using so much gas and coal. The all-electric house and a car in the driveway was their American Dream. For my generation, owning a car became a birthright. Today, it would be hard for most of us to live without a car. I have no idea what you’ll do to get around or how you will heat your home. Oops!

We also pigged out on most of the fertile soil, the forests and their timber, and the oceans that teemed with fish before we scraped the seabed raw, dumped our poisonous wastes in the water, and turned it acid and barren. Hey, that ocean was an awesome place and it’s too bad you can’t know it like we did. There were bright coral reefs, vibrant runs of red salmon, ribbons of birds embroidering the shores, graceful shells, the solace and majesty of the wild sea…

…But then I never saw the vast herds of bison that roamed the American heartland, so I know it is hard to miss something you only saw in pictures. We took lots of photos.

We thought we were pretty smart because we walked a man on the moon. Our technology is indeed amazing. I was raised without computers, smart phones, and the World Wide Web, so I appreciate how our engineering prowess has enhanced our lives, but I also know it has a downside.

When I was a kid we worried that the Cold War would go nuclear. And it wasn’t until a river caught fire near Cleveland that we realized fouling your own nest isn’t so smart after all. Well, you know about the rest — the coal-fired power plants, acid rain, the hole in the ozone…

www.tomdispatch.com/images/managed/fear2.gifThere were plenty of signs we took a wrong turn but we kept on going. Dumb, stubborn, blind: Who knows why we couldn’t stop? Greed maybe — powerful corporations we couldn’t overcome. It won’t matter much to you who is to blame. You’ll be too busy coping in the diminished world we bequeath you.

One set of problems we pass on to you is not altogether our fault. It was handed down to us by our parents’ generation so hammered by cataclysmic world wars and economic hardship that they armed themselves to the teeth and saw enemies everywhere. Their paranoia was understandable, but they passed their fears on to us and we should have seen through them. I have lived through four major American wars in my 62 years, and by now defense and homeland security are powerful industries with a stranglehold on Congress and the economy. We knew that was a lousy deal, but trauma and terror darkened our imaginations and distorted our priorities. And, like you, we needed jobs.

Sorry we spent your inheritance on all that cheap bling and, especially, all those weapons of mass destruction. That was crazy and wasteful. I can’t explain it. I guess we’ve been confused for a long time now.

Oh, and sorry about the confusion. We called it advertising and it seemed like it would be easy enough to control. When I was a kid, commercials merely interrupted entertainment. Don’t know when the lines all blurred and the buy, buy, buy message became so ubiquitous and all-consuming. It just got outta hand and we couldn’t stop it, even when we realized we hated it and that it was taking us over. We turned away from one another, tuned in, and got lost.

I’m betting you can still download this note, copy it, share it, bust it up and remake it, and that you do so while plugged into some sort of electrical device you can’t live without — so maybe you don’t think that an apology for technology is needed and, if that’s the case, an apology is especially relevant. The tools we gave you are fine, but the apps are mostly bogus. We made an industry of silly distraction. When our spirits hungered, we fed them clay that filled but did not nourish them. If you still don’t know the difference, blame us because we started it.

And sorry about the chemicals. I mean the ones you were born with in your blood and bones that stay there — even though we don’t know what they’ll do to you). Who thought that the fire retardant that kept smokers from igniting their pillows and children’s clothes from bursting into flames would end up in umbilical cords and infants?

It just seemed like better living through chemistry at the time. Same with all the other chemicals you carry. We learned to accept cancer and I guess you will, too. I’m sure there will be better treatments for that in your lifetime than we have today. If you can afford them, that is. Turning healthcare over to predatory corporations was another bad move.

All in all, our chemical obsession was pretty reckless and we got into that same old pattern: just couldn’t give up all the neat stuff. Oh, we tried. We took the lead out of gasoline and banned DDT, but mostly we did too little, too late. I hope you’ve done better. Maybe it will help your generation to run out of oil, since so many of the toxic chemicals came from that. Anyway, we didn’t see it coming and we could have, should have. Our bad.

There are so many other things I wish I could change for you. We leave behind a noisy world. Silence is rare today, and unless some future catastrophe has left your numbers greatly diminished, your machines stilled, and your streets ghostly empty, it is likely that the last remnants of tranquility will be gone by the time you are my age.

And how about all those species, the abundant and wondrous creatures that are fading away forever as I write these words? I never saw a polar bear and I guess you can live without that, too, but when I think of the peep and chirp of frogs at night, the hum of bees busy on a flower bed, the trill of birds at dawn, and so many other splendorous pleasures that you may no longer have, I ache with regret. We should have done more to keep the planet whole and well, but we couldn’t get clear of the old ways of seeing, the ingrained habits, the way we hobble one another’s choices so that the best intentions never get realized.

Mostly I’m sorry about taking all the good water. When I was a child I could kneel down and drink from a brook or spring wherever we camped and played. We could still hike up to glaciers and ski down snow-capped mountains.

Clean, crisp, cold, fresh water is life’s most precious taste. A life-giving gift, all water is holy. I repeat: holy. We treated it, instead, as if it were merely useful. We wasted and tainted it and, again in a geological moment, sucked up aquifers that had taken 10,000 years to gather below ground. In my lifetime, glaciers are melting away, wells are running dry, dust storms are blowing, and rivers like the mighty Colorado are running dry before they reach the sea. I hate to think of what will be left for you. Sorry. So very, very sorry.

I’m sure there’s a boatload of other trouble we’re leaving you that I haven’t covered here. My purpose is not to offer a complete catalog of our follies and atrocities, but to do what we taught your parents to do when they were as little as you are today.

When you make a mistake, we told them, admit it, and then do better. If you do something wrong, own up and say you are sorry. After that, you can work on making amends.

I am trying to see a way out of the hardship and turmoil we are making for you. As I work to stop the madness, I will be mindful of how much harder your struggles will be as you deal with the challenges we leave you to face.

The best I can do to help you through the overheated future we are making is to love you now. I cannot change the past and my struggle to make a healthier future for you is uncertain, but today I can teach you, encourage you, and help you be as strong and smart and confident as you can be, so that whatever the future holds, whatever crises you face, you are as ready as possible. We will learn to laugh together, too, because love and laughter can pull you through the toughest times.

I know a better world is possible. We create that better world by reaching out to one another, listening, learning, and speaking from our hearts, face to face, neighbor to neighbor, one community after another, openly, inclusively, bravely. Democracy is not a gift to be practiced only when permitted. We empower ourselves. Our salvation is found in each other, together.

Across America this morning and all around the world, our better angels call to us, imploring us to rise up and be as resilient as our beloved, beautiful children and grandchildren, whose future we make today. We can do better. I promise.

Your grandfather,

Chip Ward

Question by ollie-pig & little miss sky: Whats your veiw on German Shepherd dogs?
A german Shephard dog,anyone have one?
What are they like as family pets?
Who believes in having a dog if you have children?
How many German Shepards do you have?
Is it a cross or full KC Pedigree?
Whats best a cross german shepherd or a pedigree german shepherd?
How much would you pay for one?

What do you think? Answer below!

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22 Responses to Whats your veiw on German Shepherd dogs?

  1. german Shepherds are great dogs if you have lots and lots of time and energy. They are so clever and need to be trained properly to be the wonderful dogs they can be. I personally wouldnt have a dog because I have a child, and I would never trust an animal 100%, when I leave the room I know that my cat isnt gonna savage my child.

    Natasha
    February 11, 2013 at 2:42 pm
    Reply

  2. German shephards are good, but I prefer mix breeds because they seem to be healthier. Shepards are known to be loyal, good protectors and family dogs. I had one as a kid and he was really smart. I think he was mixed with husky though. And as far as being around children, most dogs are okay around children with appropriate supervision. I would let a shepard around my children, which are 12, 7, and 3. Right now we have a husky/border collie cross puppy and my 12 yr old is training him. All dogs need to be tought manners and who is in charge. And young children should never be left alone with any animal, dog cat or other.

    simplyfabulous
    February 11, 2013 at 3:19 pm
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  3. I love German Shepards.
    I had one since I was a baby, but we had to put him down when I was 15 or 16. He was old (like as old as I was), and had hip dysplasia, caterax, could barely see/walk, and old age was getting to him. Was really sad 🙁

    The dog we have now is a German Shepard/Collie mix, and she is a good dog.

    They both are/were very protective. Tyrone (the older one that got put down) did not like men, but he loved children.

    I don’t see a problem with having a dog if you have children, I grew up with one.

    I don’t remember how much we payed for Tyrone, but we got Rasta (the shepard/collie mix) for free because a friend of my sister was giving them away.

    Trish
    February 11, 2013 at 4:18 pm
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  4. Hello,
    Wow 8 questions.
    Used to have a Berlin shepherd, basically a German shepherd with long hair.
    Great dogs!
    There were two German Shepherds where I boarded one of my horses once. The male becoming great friends with my gelding!!
    Smart, quick learners. Not the biggest dogs. Depending on the dog as if I would trust around the kids. If we got one as a puppy I would trust around the kids.

    I do not know what a good bred German Shepherd goes for. But we have paid over $ 1000 before for a good pup of another breed.

    Ok well that is all I can answer…..

    mcdannells
    February 11, 2013 at 4:40 pm
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  5. Older children over 8 are better with any sort of dog
    PUPPIES ARE NOT FREE-
    http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?…

    Animals Shelters are the BEST PLACE
    Make sure you choose a breed suited to your lifestyle, don’t make your choose on the cute factor, fluffy factor, breed alone or colour.don’t buy from a petstore.

    NEVER BUY FROM A PETSTORE-these apply to cats too
    http://www.psychopup.com/tb/dontbuy.html

    PUPPY INSIDE PETSTORE ARE FROM PUPPY MILLS
    http://stoppuppymills.org/inside_a_puppy

    A reliable breeder would never sell to a petstore, where as a backyard breeder would

    http://germanshepherdcentral.net/2007/09

    http://www.samsmiles.org/petstore.html

    Reason Pets are Surrended
    http://www.petrescue.com/library/relinqu

    http://www.saynotoanimalsinpetshops.com/

    Don ‘t knock the adults.There not someone elses problem
    http://www.chathamanimalrescue.org/adopt
    http://www.petorphans.com/used.html

    http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/purebred.htm
    http://www.srdogs.com/Pages/adopt.html

    http://www.purina.co.uk/Home/All+About+C

    encouraging_angels
    February 11, 2013 at 4:42 pm
    Reply

  6. Love them. They are my favourite breed of dog. I had a german shepherd x timber wolf. He had a lovely nature. Only thing that could be a problem, is that they can be prone to back problems later on in life.

    耶和华见证人
    February 11, 2013 at 5:05 pm
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  7. I had a german shepherd not so long ago and he never got sick and unfortunately the one time he got ill we found out it was cancer and there was nothing we could do.

    This dog was so loyal thet when we took the kids to the park he would sit at the apparatus they where playing on and when they moved he followed and no-one was allowed to get near them.

    Our dog protected our house and us so well that he is dearly missed.

    My son grew up with him from the begining and my daughter knew him for a few years and he was just fabulous with both. He also used to sleep with both our cats as if he was their mother.

    One of the most loyal and easy to train breeds.

    PA for Pets
    February 11, 2013 at 5:25 pm
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  8. Wonderful pet, good breed, train them well, very affectionate,you must be the TOP DOG (in their eyes )Price? well £200 for quality.?

    DENNIS P
    February 11, 2013 at 6:15 pm
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  9. They are the most versatile breed of dog in the dog world and also one of the smartest. Correctly socialized and trained , they make excellent pets, devoted to their “family”. I have had all of my GSD’s (papered and unpapered) since they were pups and would trust them around MY child, but would always supervise them, especially if my kid had friends over as they can get a bit protective at times if the kids start roughhousing.

    Be aware, they NEED mental stimulation and physical activity otherwise they can become destructive. They love to be included in family activities and outings. After a hard days play, they are content to just crash out next to you.

    If you do decide to get one from a shelter, well and good, you have saved a dogs life. However, if you decide to buy a puppy, then please buy from a reputable breeder that has details of the parents hips and elbows x ray “scores”. Whilst this does NOT 100% guarantee sound hips and elbows for your puppy, it does tend to give you a good indication if your puppy is going to have problems with hips and elbows as it gets older.

    Average papered price – $ 700AUD to $ 1,000AUD

    And butterflyspy, you say you HATE GSD’s because you saw a GSD “slaughter” a cat and that “I really hate them because they really can be mean”. PEOPLE can also be “mean”, so by your logic, you would hate EVERYONE based on the actions of ONE PERSON. Go figure……
    If only your brother had bothered to train the dog.

    Alex N
    February 11, 2013 at 6:22 pm
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  10. I have grown up with german shepherds. My mum has a big beauty called Brian at the moment and he is a bit like a brother to me! I personally own a German Shepherd x Dalmation and shes adorable.

    They are amazing dogs. Very intelligent and love to learn new things. Therefore they do need alot of mental stimulation and toys or they will go find their own (which can sometimes involve re decorating your furniture). They are pretty easy to train and thrive on complex training routines and scent retrieval. Always take a puppy to puppy classes and get it socialised!!!

    German Shepherds are very Loyal dogs which is why they are often seen as great guard dogs. They will often patrol the house at night. We once had a shepherd called Henry who could never sleep at night because he would patrol from room to room to make sure we were all tucked up in our beds and safe.

    I think that if you get the dog from a puppy there is no reason why it should not be in a house with children. I think all children should be brought up amongst animals – it teaches them responsibility and is proven to reduce allergies. German Shepherds are fantastic with children but, if you all go on a family walk they will try to round everyone up – its easier to protect you!lol!

    Ok – Full German shepherds have a real problem with Hip Displacia. I have lost two dogs to this. The KC standards only promote this problem – slender build with sloping back. Our Brian is bred to traditional Shepherd standards and has a very straight back and big bum! It is personal preference but I would recommend this type of breed… you wont be able to show it at cruffs, but you will have fewer hip problems in the future.

    Pedigree shepherds range in price from abou £200 – £600 depending on the breeder. Our boy cost us £500 but the breeder only bred once a year and her dogs were renown for their temprement and health. I would buy from her again but she and her dogs have retired.

    In short – I cannot reccommend this breed of dog enough. they are amazing animals and beautiful to boot. With the right training you will have a fantastic addition to your family.

    Ria H
    February 11, 2013 at 7:12 pm
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  11. I payed £275 for my GSD and I would have payed more if needed she is so easy to train (8 months old (unlike my Red Setter also 8 Months old)) she is loyal clam and well manared.

    I would never leave her with small kids but she great with my kids (17 2@15 and 12) and i can leave with out worring about anything.

    All my kids r higher in the pack then she is so this helps a lot and we all take her out as well and feed her she has no aggression.

    I would not be with out a GSD or Red Setter again my life is now full of joy and love

    denzil
    February 11, 2013 at 8:06 pm
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  12. i grew up with them, and only money is keeping me from having one at this point in time (next year when study is over… i will get another one).

    As family pets they are one of the best dogs period.

    let me get something out of the way, and qualify that statement with “as long as it is trained properly, socialised properly, and comes from a lineage with good temprament”. ANY dog is a predator, with teeth, mouths, and instincts to bring down animals, generally bigger than themselves. without training and assessment of their temprement, it’s like handing a gun to a complete stranger and trusting them.

    So back to your questions. If you want a cuddly lap dog, they probably aren’t the right dog for you. a labradore fits the bill. if you want a dog that will have your unwavering attention and play for hours at a time with the same stick… probably better getting a collie/kelpie type dog.

    if you want a dog that will protect you and your family with it’s life. a dog that will greet you at the door, and happily be at your side anytime day or night, that puts your family above it’s own life, and a loving, LOYAL intellegent companion, you cannot go past them. yes they will play, and they will cuddle… but they are happiest at your side (the pack leader) scanning the horizon for dangers to your pack (family), and relish the praise and satisfaction of completing the tasks you give it (which is why they are used by most police forces throughout the world. they simply have a biological drive to please the pack leader by doing meaningful tasks).

    i don’t believe having a dog with children is the issue… i believe that children growing up without a dog is a form of child abuse. keep sensible about it, and train both, and you’ll never have a problem (i’m pretty sure dogs kill less people than bees). if you’ve got a toddler, then control the interaction with the dog. make it lie down, and then get the kid to pat it etc. once they get a bit older, then supervise the interaction, but let them play. once the kid gets old enough to not be bowled over by an enthusiastic dog, then if you’ve raised them right, and trained the dog right, i’d trust a dog with kids more than i’d trust a police officer, teacher, or priest.

    on the subject of crosses. while some crosses are brilliant (i.e. my bro’s husky/ labradore cross), in this instance i would get a pedegree dog. because the lineage is relatively young (bred first in 1890’s) the gene pool is pretty shallow, so they have their fair share of issues. things like hip and elbow displacia. a pedigree will establish that the line has a lower than average chance of these faults. a cross breed could be fine, or it could be from bad stock. plus i think this is one breed that you don’t want to dilute their “character”.

    There are generally two directions the lines have taken. the “traditional” line, with the sloped back, and the “working” line, which generally don’t have the sloped back, and have more “well rounded” hips (think malamute shape).

    Unless your planning on showing it, i’d go towards the working line (the same line that police and search and rescue dogs are taken from). they have less hip problems (the sloping back aggrivates the hips), and are bred for intelegence. show dogs are bred for form before intelegence not that show dogs will be dumb, just that the less intelegent ones are allowed to slip between the cracks, whereas only the most intelegent of the working line are bred from.

    happiEphoeniX
    February 11, 2013 at 8:19 pm
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  13. I really hate them because they really can be mean.We had one here that was my brothers and a neighbour cat was passing by and well The german shepard just slaughtered it and my Mother was screaming and begging it to stop and it wouldnt so if you love other animals you might think twice.

    butterflyspy
    February 11, 2013 at 9:05 pm
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  14. I have had 3 German Shepherd cross dogs. You never know what you’re going to get with a mutt, but these three dogs were superb. One was a german shep x lab that they were trial breeding to use as a guide dog but he was too big to suit the job. He was as smart as a young child. I could talk to him and he’d understand things. Like “I can’t find my keys” and he’d run off and get them!! All three were super smart, loyal and fun. But all three needed a lot of stimulation and training and were a bit overprotective. So great around your own kids, but just be a little careful around other kids. With a pedigree you know a bit more about what you’re getting, especially with a reputable breeder.

    Anyway, if you are prepared to put the work in – and they are a lot of work – you’ll be rewarded 100 fold.

    Janey
    February 11, 2013 at 9:15 pm
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  15. a properly bred GSD from a REPUTABLE breeder is a MOST WONDERFUL dog.. expect to pay upwards of 1500.

    money well spent for a healthy dog from good lines..

    sophylakes
    February 11, 2013 at 9:45 pm
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  16. German shepherd dogs are lovely,

    but as with all dogs if you are thing of getting one as a family pet you must first do the research on where you are thinking of getting one. check the parents and make sure you can see the puppy’s with the mother.

    as with all pets they are great for children, but you have to remember that it is the adults responsibility to look after them make sure that they have all the proper heath care and excersise.

    German Shepherd dogs are very inelegant and need to be exercised well, good runs and even agility classes and i would defiantly advise puppy training so start as you mean to go on.

    if you are having a dog with children make sure that the dog knows its pecking order and that the kids are in line before them…NEVER trust ANY dog 100% with any child

    emylou2
    February 11, 2013 at 9:50 pm
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  17. Have 2.
    They’re great.Easily trained,loyal,protective,have lots of energy so need loads of exercise and mental stimulation.
    Dogs and kids go together but the kids need to be taught how to treat a dog so no harm comes to it.
    Mine are not crosses.They came with papers but they will not ever be bred so there was no reason to send them in.
    Either a cross or purebred does not matter which is best it’s all in what you’re willing to pay for.
    A good quality dog I’d pay anywhere from 700.00- 1000.00 but alot of people will go much higher.

    ozzy59
    February 11, 2013 at 10:40 pm
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  18. GSD is the best among dogs. Its an all rounder & the most intelegent. It is like a family member in the house. Its a very good watch dog & very friendly with kids. It knows when to be agressive & friendly. The best so far. I have bread most of the dogs, this breed is the best. At present I am having rottwellers, they are very agressive & not the friendly kind. I had bull terriers, another non freindly dog, Doberaman is ok but more on the agressive side. labrador is too friendly ,not a good watch dog. Dalmation too the same, just for show.
    A GSD can vary from few hundred to thousands depending on the certificates the parents have won.

    Sheeeeee
    February 11, 2013 at 10:58 pm
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  19. I recently had to re-home my GSD X Husky (nothing to do with his temperament) he really was the most wonderful dog i have ever owned, he looked like a GSD but instead of tan markings his were cream and white from the husky in him, people did seem to be wary of him because he was so big and powerful looking but he really was great with his even temperament, although i would NEVER trust any dog 100% around children, he came pretty close to 100% with my 2 year old daughter.
    Having owned him i would definatly have a German Shepherd in the future.

    hollie2000_1999
    February 11, 2013 at 11:26 pm
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  20. Best breed in the world!
    If you have the time, a dog is excellent to have with children, as long as it is realised that puppies are VERY time-consuming for the 1st 6 months, they need constant attention and training if they are going to turn into well adjusted adults. Don’t be fooled into thinking that a GSD will be easy to train because it is so intelligent – they can also be very strong willed and very, very naughty! They also need to be intensely socialised from a very young age if they are not to be nervous.
    I would always go for a well bred pedigree dog because then you have more chance of knowing what to expect – a cross could turn out many different ways, depending on what it is crossed with. GSDxLab is usually a good mix. GSDxCollie can be very good but can also be a nightmare! Chances are, xbreeds will not have had HD tested parents and many of these mixes suffer from HD. Make sure you only buy from a reputable breeder who does ALL the necessary health checks before breeding – Hip & elbow score & Haemophilia. Expect to pay £500+ for a top quality pup from an experienced breeder & do plenty of research before you buy. For that price you should get a pup of good temperament and plenty of help and guidance from the breeder. There are many people out there breeding GSDs who know nothing about the breed producing puppies from stock that should never be bred from.

    anwen55
    February 11, 2013 at 11:52 pm
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  21. police men and military dogs

    .
    February 12, 2013 at 12:43 am
    Reply

  22. We have always had dogs growing up, my mum has had the lastest (german shepherd) for about 13 years and has never had any problems with her (apart from age related and when she knocked my stepdad over by accident and he broke his ankle) she has been brilliant with all the grand kids as well, very patient with them even when they have done nothing but torment her, she is a wonderful dog, i wish all dogs could be like her.

    leambi
    February 12, 2013 at 12:46 am
    Reply

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