Prairie Shepherds™

Why would you want a German Shepherd Dog???

The German Shepherd Dog (GSD) is considered one of the most beautiful and versatile dogs in the world. Not only is the GSD intelligent, loyal, courageous, and trustworthy he excells in the disciplines of obedience, agility, tracking, protection work, and herding. With these capabilities the GSD has become adaptive enough to be employed in Herding (the original job of the GSD), Seeing Eye dog, Military dog, Law Enforcement dog, Search and Rescue dog, and most importantly Family protector and companion. The GSD has stood by man as a protector and companion becoming involved with saving thousands of soldiers and policemens lives. He has been used to search for lost and frightened people in wilderness and disaster areas. He has guided the blind faithfully for over a century. The GSD excels in companionship and protector to children. With crime in todays society would you not rather trust your children's safety to a dog who can protect them as well as play with them. A companion who knows and understands the difference between a threat and an innocent non threatening delivery man is the kind of animal I would want around my children.

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While the GSD is a very popular dog that often has hurt the breed. As so often is the case when greed is involved , many unscrupulous people have jumped on the "breeding" band wagon and have gone so far as to whelp litters out of their garage in an effort to "profit" from this wonderful dog. This improper breeding by people who do not understand genetics, temperment, health, nutrition, socialization has created dogs with unstable temperments, weak nerves, and unsound skeletal structure. All because of greed.

When looking to find a quality GSD you need to look beyond the Sire and Dam involved and look closely at the breeder who actually can make your purchase worthwhile or an exercise in extreme dissappointment and heartache. A quality breeder is one who understands the GSD in all his attributes. The breeder should be involved with the dogs each and every day and not only just feeding but playing, socializing and incorporating the dogs into their lives. An ideal breeder will offer a warranty on each and every puppy or dog sold and be able to conduct accurate placement tests to place the puppies with owners which match up best with each puppy. A breeder who does this will provide puppies to new homes that will easily merge into the families lifestyle. The ideal breeder will also be available after the sale to help in answering any questions the new owner may have in regards to the puppy and his upbringing, whether it be nutrition, training, socialization or behavior. The ideal breeder also makes sure the environment the puppy begins life in is free of pesticites, disease and feces. A dog is naturally a clean animal and it is foreign to their nature to live in a filthy environment. This last item is very crucial to the new puppy being housebroken easily or not.

If you have now decided to purchase a dog, I think it is only fair to remind you that a dog depends on it's owner for everything.

Water, food, shelter, companionship,exercise, training, and medical care. So often the new puppy is purchased, brought home and everything is fine for the first few weeks or even a few months. Then as the newness wears off, the puppy becomes less cute as it grows up, the owner feels less thrilled about their pet and the pet is left alone way too much in the backyard, kennel or run. Or as is some cases, the new owners feel overburdened with the responsibility. The water is less often changed, the food is delayed in being given, or even worse forgotten and a meal is missed. While missing one meal is not unforgiveable, as fasting of short duration can actually help the dog's digestive tract, the responsible owner should make an extreme effort to feed his dog on a definite schedule so the dog becomes accostomed to his/her routine. I just cringe when I hear someone say "he is just a dog it doesn't matter".

Since dogs are pack animals, they do thrive when they have human companionship and this can only enhance their enjoyment of being with their owners. A dog who is left out on a chain, in a kennel run, in the backyard and his only interaction with humans is when he is fed will always be a lonely unhappy dog with behavorial problems. Owners who make a concerted effort to be with their dogs, in play, in training, in exercise will reap huge rewards from this interaction.

Parents who decide to purchase a new puppy should also remember that the children and family members are all a part of the equation to a successful adoption. Children must be educated in the needs of the puppy and as you give your children limits and boundaries in their television viewing habits or even play in the yard, children need to understand that a puppy can be injured or even traumatized by a child if mistreated. Dogs and puppies are play things for children but not punching bags or kick toys. Children (when properly educated) can have a life time love of dogs and learn alot about responsibilities from this interaction.

With this all said, I hope you have decided that a German Shepherd Dog is right for you and your family. For the joy that a dog brings into ones life is with out boundaries.