The German Shepherd Dog is an intelligent, quick-witted dog, but also requires a strong hand of a wise guardian. If run well, he will be a faithful friend, an exemplary guardian, and an excellent defender. How to feed a German Shepherd, how to care for it, what is the most common disease for the German Shepherd?

German Shepherdsare relatively young advice, because the first puppies were bred a little over a hundred years ago. The creator of the breed is considered to be Captain Max von Stephanitz, an officer of the German cavalry, who served, inter alia, at the Veterinary College in Berlin, where he gained knowledge of the biology and anatomy of animals. In 1890 he began to experiment with dog breeding, trying to "improve" German shepherd dogs and create their successors, which would not only be suitable for grazing sheep, but also, thanks to their intelligence, endurance, and ease of training, would become excellent guard dogs. Crossing his dog with other breeds, he bred the shepherd dogs as we know them today.

German Shepherd - appearance

The German Shepherd is a large breed - dogs reach up to 65 cm in height at the withers, female dogs are a few centimeters shorter. They have two types of coat: short-haired (then the hair is thick and hard) and long-haired - the hair is soft and does not stick to the body. Their color is black with yellow, reddish or fawn tan.

German Shepherd - nutrition

An adult dog's diet must also be balanced and cover the need for vitamins and minerals. If you want to feed your dog with commercial dry food, you should use food intended for large breed dogs. The dog can also prepare its own meals, using groats, pasta, vegetables, meat, fish, bones and eggs, but then they must be supplemented with calcium and vitamin preparations that protect the joints. The daily portion should be divided into two or three meals. It is important that the dog can rest after eating.

The food requirements of German Shepherds vary depending on their age, season, condition, and the tasks they are given. Puppies require a food rich in calcium, phosphorus and vitamins. A well-balanced commercial diet does not require additional calcium and phosphorus supplementation. Excessive supply of these elements can lead to defects inthe formation of the skeleton. The addition of these ingredients is essential when cooking your dog's meals on your own. During the growth period, dogs should be given glucosamine and chondroitin preparations to support the proper development of their joints.

According to an expertdr inż. Jacek Wilczak, nutrition expert in the Noteć Valley, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences

Adult dog nutrition rules are limited to the following:

  1. Always adjust the amount of food to the current body weight, physical activity, physiological state, temperature.
  2. When using commercial feed, strictly adhere to the recommended amounts of feed. If such food is additionally dedicated to a specific type of dog's build, it should be followed. For German Shepherds, this will be food for large dogs.
  3. Dog food must be safe, it must not contain ingredients that are not allowed for consumption by dogs and meet all hygiene and quality requirements.
  4. It is best to give food at fixed times, in the case of he althy adult dogs it is recommended to feed twice a day. More frequent feeding can be used in sick dogs, dogs in convalescence or obese dogs - then the daily dose of food can be divided into more than two portions.

German Shepherd disposition

Dogs of this breed are not suitable for everyone - due to strength, intelligence and training requirements, the owner must not only have basic knowledge about dogs of this breed, but also be consistent and balanced. German Shepherds need a "strong hand" - they are brave, vigilant and self-confident, but at the same time obedient and submissive to the owner who can deal with them, and the females are more submissive. They are also exceptionally faithful dogs and devoted to both their master and his family. They get along well with children, they know how to play and want to play, but due to their size and strength, they may accidentally hurt a toddler. However, they are sometimes distrustful of strangers, including children, and may treat them as intruders, especially if such a toddler reaches for things belonging to someone from their family.

Shepherd dog feels good in the company of other pets. He does not like being left alone for longer and does not tolerate loneliness. He should spend as much time as possible with his family.

Dogs of this breed are distinguished by outstanding intelligence, many of them also need new challenges, which is why they prove themselves as police and military dogs, in detecting drugs, flammable and explosive substances, looking for missing people, and as guidesdisabled and blind. They are active, have a lot of energy, so it's not easy to keep up with them during walks.

This breed has gained popularity not only among people looking for a faithful canine companion, but also rescue services and the police, which have been using German Shepherds in their daily work for years.

German Shepherd Dog - the reproductive cycle

A sign that a German Shepherd female dog is sexually mature is the first heat, which appears at 8-10 months of age, and from then on it occurs regularly, twice a year. Already during the first heat, a female dog can become pregnant, which - depending on the mating date - lasts from 54 to 72 days. The heat itself lasts about 21 days, but the female dog is ready for mating between her 9th and 13th day. You can check if the time is right by running your hand over its back - if it arches the back, spreads its hind legs and folds back its tail, it is ready to receive the male. If we want to increase the probability of fertilization, we can accurately determine the mating date by marking the progesterone level in the bitch's blood during heat.

Dogs this time usually achieve reproductive capacity at the age of 7-12 months.

German Shepherd Dog - grooming

A properly fed German Shepherd Dog has a he althy coat, skin and teeth, and does not require much care from the owner. These dogs do not need to be bathed often - we do it as needed, in a shampoo suited to the type of hair. After washing, the hair should dry on its own, it does not need to be dried with a dryer.

It is enough to brush the short-haired sheepdog once in a while - only during the molting period you have to do it every day, preferably with a comb and long metal teeth. Longhair Sheepdog should be brushed twice a week, first with a metal comb with widely spaced teeth, and then with a "poodle" brush. Systematically, the dog's claws should be shortened (if they do not shorten themselves during play and walks), remove tartar and check the ears, if necessary removing excess wax and hair from them.

According to an expertEwa Korycka-Grzegorczyk, a veterinarian

German Shepherds are predisposed to a number of diseases. Due to the fact that it is a large breed dog, quickly growing, it is especially burdened with the occurrence of diseases related to the locomotor system:

  • Hip dysplasia - is a poligenetic predisposition associated with defective shape of the hip joints, in particular shallow seating of the femoral head in the hip socket. The inaccurate fit of the femoral head weakens the joint stabilization mechanism, which leads tosubluxations and inflammations, and later to the development of degenerative changes. During the period of growth, the first symptoms are reluctance to move, the so-called "Rabbit jumps" when moving faster and lying down on a walk. The first symptoms may appear in dogs 6-12 months old.
  • Juvenile osteitis - is a disease that occurs during the period of intensive growth. It is manifested by lameness and soreness in the long bones of the limbs (mainly the humerus and femurs). It may affect many limbs at the same time or the pain may be "spread" from one leg to the other. Hence the disease is also called "wandering lameness". It usually clears up after a period of growth and treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs.
  • "Horse tail syndrome" - associated with the narrowing of the spinal canal at the border of the lumbar and sacral spine. In this section, the spinal canal is flattened. Pressure on the spinal cord causes: neurological symptoms, including difficulty standing up, problems urinating, faecal incontinence, and pelvic paresis.
  • Spondylosis - degenerative disease of the connections of the vertebral bodies. Bone spurs that develop on the surfaces of the vertebral bodies merge with each other over time and lead to stiffening of a given section of the spine. Changes in the spine can range from soreness of the spine to paresis and paralysis of the hind limbs.
  • Discopondylitis - inflammation of the vertebrae and intervertebral disc - This inflammatory process of the vertebrae is caused by other infections in the body that spread to the bones through the blood. Symptoms include back pain and cumulative neurological symptoms.

In addition to diseases of the locomotor system, German Shepherds are predisposed to:

  • Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency - as a result of this disease, the body struggles with a deficiency or lack of pancreatic enzymes. This results in insufficient digestion of food and absorption of nutrients. The animal has a great appetite, despite which it loses weight, develops less well, and gives loose, shiny stools. Treatment is based on the supplementation of the missing enzymes and a low-fat diet.
  • Acute gastric distension and / or twisting - a state of sudden stomach distension, possibly twisting around its axis, affects more often older dogs fed on a swollen and fermenting diet, practicing activity immediately after eating. The occurrence of gastric dilation is a direct threat to life and requires prompt medical intervention. To reduce the risk of occurrence, follow dietary recommendations and prevent your dog from being active shortly after eating.

Outsidethe above-mentioned most common diseases in German Shepherds are also: muscle fatigue, atopy, perianal furunculosis, lymphocytic-plasmocytic enteritis, eosinophilic enteritis, intestinal bacterial overgrowth, vitamin malabsorption disorders. B12.

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