re: German Shepherd questions

They can run as far as you can. Never too much. With GS give more mental exercise. Teach him how to fetch. I used to throw the ball as far as I could in the pasture and she would have to hunt for 10 minutes to find it. Keeps them from getting bored. And when bored they will tear crap up.

I'm sure that would be plenty.

any ideas on where to take training classes geared towards being a guard dog?

Looking to get my hubby one as well. google search will bring them up?

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training it for being a guard dog?

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The simplicity of that question tells me you need to do a hell of a lot more research.

Look into any local Schutzhund clubs for starters. Also stick with German or Eastern European lines, preferably working lines, as most American GSDs have been bred for show and have more issues with their hips. A lot of people will argue that even their temperament and drive have taken a hit due to being bred for the show instead of as a working dog. And if you don't buy into that just compare the bodies of a typical American GSD with a German or Czech GSD. The European GSDs' bodies will be much more boxy and lack the slope in the lower back to hindquarters that's so prevalent in American lines...solely because that pose looks good in show rings.

Socialization is key with a GSD as well as dedicated physical and mental exercise daily. If you want a true GSD then you're going to get a high-drive working dog that needs a job, a purpose to be happy. They're not a breed that will be content just chilling on the couch all day as you watch TV.

The best advice is really simple, do your research...as much as possible. You can't afford not to with this breed. Another good tip is to look at the titles and hip rankings of the parents, grandparents, as far back as you can go. Good breeders almost without fail will have their dogs titled in Schutzhund and the higher the better (Title 3 being the highest). You also don't want to overwork them when they're young, like letting a young pup go up and down stairs for example. That can really impact their hip development and cause problems later on.

There's a ton of stuff that I haven't even mentioned that you need to know so, again, do your research.

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Look for one whose parents are hip "certified". That way you get genetics that aren't likely to produce displaysia.

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And be aware that there are not only different scores, but different ranking systems for the hips. So you need to know what system they're using as well as the score.

As for being a "guard dog" look into Schutzhund, that encompasses protection work, bitework, tracking, everything. Having a good tug toy especially one attached to a pole or long stick that you can flick around is a simple way to work on their drive and bite-work when they're just pups.

Yea just testing the waters to see if its something I want to seriously look at. Need to purchase a house before I move forward with it

Seriously?

My GSDs are on Science Diet Active (I think). Neither have had any health issues that haven't been work related. Both are great dogs and very protective, but at the same time, incredibly sociable.

I would want a puppy and do the training myself. .. I think I overstated the guard dog aspect.

I have heard good things about rockymountaingsd

I need to find out if they are german and eastern european bloodlines

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Purebred GSDs have hip and leg problems. The most high dollar German bloodlines seem to be the most problematic from what I've seen. They're bred to be low rided in the back (you'll know what I'm talking about when you see one) and it causes problems.

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That's an issue with American lines like I talked about above. They're bred that way for aesthetics because it looks better in shows. If you look at good German or Czech working lines you'll notice that the dogs are much more solidly built, they're squarish almost like a box with no slope in the rear. They're also a bit more compact than the elongated bodies of American show lines. Here's an example:

American Show Line


European Working Line

Where in the states do you know of breeds the european blood lines?