The Noble German Shepherd Dog

When Al Gore testified before Congress after his movie An Inconvenient Truth was released, the Congress jokingly accused him of being a movie star. "Rin Tin Tin was a movie star!" Al Gore retorted. "I just have a little slide show." Rin Tin Tin was a fictional German Shepherd dog that embodied all the best in a celebrity. Was Rin Tin Tin a myth, or based on the real personalities of German Shepherd dogs?

You need to do your part in this friendship, as well, in order for it to work out. You have to be patient, have a sense of humor and learn all you can about the German Shepherd breed. You have to be committed to exercising your German Shepherd dog every day, with a walk and play. They need to be active, or else they get a bit hyperactive. They also need regular trips to the vet for inoculations and check ups. Purebred German Shepherds are more inclined to have genetically caused problems than many other breeds of dog. You must be willing to pay any and all medical costs for your friend.

German Shepherd dogs are loyal, alert, emotional and probably more intelligent than most people. They are capable of learning very complex behaviors and can solve problems. German Shepherds are even capable of learning commands in two languages. Once they learn something, it sticks. They are known to be very easy to housebreak. Once they have gotten the idea, any accidents are usually due to illness and require a trip to the vet to be easily cured.

This incredible ability to learn and remember can get the German Shepherd in trouble. One director of an English German Shepherd rescue had a desperate phone call from a woman clearly at her wit's end. "My son taught the dog to turn in circles and he won't stop!"

When reminded that she shouldn't have let the son teach this trick to the dog, she wailed, "He's 37!" Patient and persistent retraining are the only ways to get a German Shepherd to give up a bad habit.

A German Shepherd dog looks to you as a worshipper looks to God. Don't abuse this trust and devotion. You don't like it when God rains bad situations down on you through no fault of your own. This sadly happens to many German Shepherds who are abandoned because their owners did not take the time to learn basic German Shepherd information about their care, needs and personalities.

German Shepherds are prone to some health problems, more so than some other breeds, most notably hip dysplasia. These can be costly to cure - but they can be cured. When you take on a German Shepherd, you must be willing to care for vet expenses.

This is not often talked about in German Shepherd information available from the AKC. The price of a German Shepherd's companionship should never be measured in terms of money. The German Shepherd dog, if the situation was reversed, would spend every last penny to make sure you were out of pain.