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Description
Just something for a day when we celebrate and show our total appreciation for a breed known to be a symbol of justice (or at least associated with such). Today, German Shepherds everywhere get their day of recognition. So, any of you have German Shepherds or would want a German Shepherd of your own? Well if so, sounds great, but here are some very important facts (and tips) about German Shepherds that you should know about:

1. German Shepherds originated from Germany, where it was originally bred for herding sheep (hence the breed's name), with the help of a man named Max von Stephanitz.
2. German Shepherds are equipped for herding sheep with their intelligence, speed, strength and keen senses of smell.
3. German Shepherds are also called German Shepherd dogs, Alsatians, Alsatian wolf dogs, Deutscher Schäferhund, and Altdeutsche Schäferhunde.
4. German Shepherds have been and still are used in many other types of work, which includes disability assistance, search-and-rescue, police work, and even warfare, as they are one of the desirable breeds for such work.
5. German Shepherds have been ranked second in a list of dog breeds that are most likely to bark as watchdogs by Stanley Coren.
6. German Shepherds are moderately described as active and self-assured and generally have a willingness to learn and an eagerness to have a purpose.
7. German Shepherds are deemed to be excellent guard dogs and suitable for search missions, due to their curiosity.
8. Although they are highly intelligent and obedient, as well as protective of their owners, German Shepherds can be overprotective of their family and territory if not socialized correctly and are not inclined to become immediate friends with strangers.
9. German Shepherds, out of all pure breeds in the U.S., have been responsible for the most bites that were severe enough to require hospital treatment, according to a review in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery found that from 1971 to 2018.
10. A German Shepherd's bite has a force of over 1,060 newtons (238 lbf).
11. German Shepherds face many common ailments (including hip and elbow dysplasia, degenerative spinal stenosis, Degenerative myelopathy, Von Willebrand disease, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI)), as a result of the inbreeding practiced early in the breed's life.
12. The lifespan of German Shepherds is usually between 9 and 13 years.

If you're considering getting a German Shepherd (or any dog for that matter), make sure you do your research so you'll know what to expect and deal with and to look for one in a shelter, where there's a lot of dogs in need of a good home (not in a pet store, where puppies there would mostly have had come from puppy mills). With all that said Happy German Shepherd Day (from this fierce-looking, but beautiful German Shepherd family here).

Description
Just something for a day when we celebrate and show our total appreciation for a breed known to be a symbol of justice (or at least associated with such). Today, German Shepherds everywhere get their day of recognition. So, any of you have German Shepherds or would want a German Shepherd of your own? Well if so, sounds great, but here are some very important facts (and tips) about German Shepherds that you should know about:

1. German Shepherds originated from Germany, where it was originally bred for herding sheep (hence the breed's name), with the help of a man named Max von Stephanitz.
2. German Shepherds are equipped for herding sheep with their intelligence, speed, strength and keen senses of smell.
3. German Shepherds are also called German Shepherd dogs, Alsatians, Alsatian wolf dogs, Deutscher Schäferhund, and Altdeutsche Schäferhunde.
4. German Shepherds have been and still are used in many other types of work, which includes disability assistance, search-and-rescue, police work, and even warfare, as they are one of the desirable breeds for such work.
5. German Shepherds have been ranked second in a list of dog breeds that are most likely to bark as watchdogs by Stanley Coren.
6. German Shepherds are moderately described as active and self-assured and generally have a willingness to learn and an eagerness to have a purpose.
7. German Shepherds are deemed to be excellent guard dogs and suitable for search missions, due to their curiosity.
8. Although they are highly intelligent and obedient, as well as protective of their owners, German Shepherds can be overprotective of their family and territory if not socialized correctly and are not inclined to become immediate friends with strangers.
9. German Shepherds, out of all pure breeds in the U.S., have been responsible for the most bites that were severe enough to require hospital treatment, according to a review in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery found that from 1971 to 2018.
10. A German Shepherd's bite has a force of over 1,060 newtons (238 lbf).
11. German Shepherds face many common ailments (including hip and elbow dysplasia, degenerative spinal stenosis, Degenerative myelopathy, Von Willebrand disease, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI)), as a result of the inbreeding practiced early in the breed's life.
12. The lifespan of German Shepherds is usually between 9 and 13 years.

If you're considering getting a German Shepherd (or any dog for that matter), make sure you do your research so you'll know what to expect and deal with and to look for one in a shelter, where there's a lot of dogs in need of a good home (not in a pet store, where puppies there would mostly have had come from puppy mills). With all that said Happy German Shepherd Day (from this fierce-looking, but beautiful German Shepherd family here).