Pet First Aid Awareness Month on April, 2024: What Should I Look For In A German Shepherd Puppy?

April, 2024 is Pet First Aid Awareness Month 2024.

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[Kimberley]: The tail should NOT touch the ground. It should reach to the heel or SLIGHTLY further, when the dog is standing naturally.

[Kirbee]: I cannot approve of your "shepard" invention. Nor of your failure to accept that we NEED the useful breeds (of which the GSD is THE most versatile, when bred to the International Standard of the GSD) to be produced in order to aid paraplegics, guard military bases, guide the blind, help police & customs agents find contraband & hold felons, herd livestock, search for & rescue avalanche victims & lost folk, etc etc.

My country's police kennel accepts donated dogs (which are usually equivalent to what's in rescue), but almost none graduate - VERY few dogs not carefully bred FOR a task are actually capable of performing that task.

What my friend in the Catskills uses to patrol & guard her sheep LOOK and BEHAVE very differently to what's seen winning at Westminster or as Can&Am.Grand Victors - HERS are genuine GSDs, the others exaggerated NAmerican Ski-Slope Dogs.

Yes, SOME rescued dogs are GREAT - after being supplied 4 unsatisfactory "guide dogs" in a row (unhealthy, or under-trained & temperamentally unsuitable as guides) my blind pen-friend in Texas gave up on professionals, rescued a young GSD then trained it herself (with assistance from a sighted friend for the traffic awareness aspects). But that pair are rarities.

[bowhunter]:

You don't yet even know which field of endeavour you wish to aim your future puppies at, so can't possibly know which kind of breeder to aproach.

Puppies are NOT xrayed - but need their parents & grandparents to be. A pooch's OWN xrays have little relevance (except to guide surgeons attempting to correct afflicted joints) - what counts is the WORST score detected in the CHILDREN of each one.

The world's good schemes refuse to read plates taken at under 1 year, but all Certificate at 1 onwards - no "prelims". Dr Willis collected data on the age at which HD was first detected. Plates taken at 6 months detected only 16% of GSDs that developed HD. At 12 months it rose to 69%, at 18 months to 83%. OFA won't certify until 95% of eventual HD is detectable. Which might seem great to a newbie, but newbies don't understand the 2 functions of xrays.

• To guide the surgeon - I HOPE that such dogs aren't used for breeding!

• To inform breeders as to how risky the PARENTS are. To understand how BIF-scoring does that, you need only know that it uses a 0="perfect" to 106="oh my gawd!" scale and that the GSD average in Australia is 13-to-14, then click scroll to "GSDCA Hip Dysplasia (HD) and Elbow Dysplasia (ED) Control Schemes", click the most recent "Report" link in each section.

If you can't understand the significance of those figures - especially the "worst" score per sire and the percentage of his pups with high scores, you are not yet mentally equipped to be a breeder - you would be yet another ignorant BYBer damaging my breed's hard-earned reputation.

Do you even recognise a genuine GSD, as opposed to what we sneeringly term AlsatiOns, German Crouchers, NAmerican Ski-Slope Dogs, Prick-Eared Bassets, Titanic Tail-Tuckers? See

• Decide WHAT field you want to aim your pups at.

• Add to your browser's Bookmarks or Favorites so that you can easily look up such as feeding, vaccinations, clubs, weights, teething, neutering, disorders, genetics.

Click its Links => Defining_a_GSD & start studying to see what genuine breeders do to prove their GSDs breed-worthy.

• If it IS actual GSDs that you want, learn FCI#166 off by heart, and start attending events run by organisations catering for genuine GSDs. In Britain you need clubs that belong to its Breed Council, in Canada the GSSCC, in the USofA either the USCA or the WDA - all have head office contacts in the Links => GSD_Clubs section of the group above.

It's partly to develop your "eye" for the qualities of genuine GSDs, partly to start learning which kennels consistently produce bitches WITH those qualities.

• If it's a deviation that you want, attend events conducted by ITs organisation, for the same reasons.

• Join some of the 400+ YahooGroups dedicated to various aspects of living with GSDs. Each group's Home page tells you which aspects & use they like to discuss, and how active they are. Unlike YA, they are set up so that you can have an ongoing discussion with follow-up questions for clarification. Most allow you to include photos.

• Once you identify some suitable-seeming breeders, contact them (maybe through their web-sites) then compare them using Choosing_a_GSD.doc downloaded from the above group's Files (you have to join to access Files, but acceptance is instant), then discuss your top candidates with experienced members of your groups.

YOU don't choose the pup, unless the breeder thinks that there are 2 equally suitable for your stated needs. A breeder good enough to pass everything I've listed above KNOWS how his/her pups will develop, so won't let you choose an unsuitable one - he doesn't want YOU ruining his kennel's reputation by showing an ugly mutt or failing in SchutzHund with a timid mutt, he doesn't want YOU producing such with HIS kennel as the bit.ch-line!

I hope that, if your wish isn't just a childish whim, you choose TRUE GSD type - the world NEEDS typical GSDs, GSDs with the right agility & attitude & behaviour & biddability & courage & determination & endurance, but it DOESN'T need more crap that ends up in rescue groups because of poor attitude or health or untrainability or outright cowardice, or gets shot for biting.

Les P, owner of GSD_Friendly:

"In GSDs" as of 1967

Am I missing out on sex?

Your just like many others who want to "DO IT" and "GET IT OVER WITH!!".......but let me tell you a small story of a person (Which really happened.....).........and whom I know personally.....

Lets call him "bob" (Just for privacy sake..)........Well, bob was nearing 20 years (when i was around 15)......still a virgin.....never had a gf.....no kiss...no sh*t...

He grew desperate to get a gf and get laid.......so here is what bob did.....he searched for some local slut.....met her at a hotel...........first base, second base, third base.....and hit a home run........after a year or so....for some reason he got tested....and he was HIV+.........He ruined his life,....now no girl will be with him....or marry him because of his condition (except maybe other affected people...), he has to be on anti-retro viral drugs for life and he isn't getting it at subsidized rates like people in some parts of the world....he spends a significant amount of income on them.......he used to be a muscular dude.....now, he has significantly wasted away.....he is on a mild dosage of steroids just to make sure that he retains his existing physique...

I met bob in tutions five years ago...he is now 27 years....he fights hard maintaining his health....he was an ambitious person who wanted to see the planet....now he spends money only for frequent visits to the hospital and the drugs(not to mention that he has no money whatsoever as savings to spend on anything else....)... suffers to keep a job......(has been turned down by many companies on various pretexts......).....

He met a sweet and caring girl just a month after his HIV test (which was 1.5 years after he slept with the other woman...)....she fell in love with him,....but due to his condition.,......she abandoned him.....

He is now living in a small apartment in a locality that is near a slum-like block which is rife with crime.......he lives with his pet cat.......working for a company where he stays low and doesn't mention about his disease......his parents (and younger sister) abandoned him (Cruel, yes,....but they had warned him not to go with the other person.....)......he ruined life just to stick his "thingy" in another type of "thingy" and get a orgasm worth five or six seconds....and ended up with a deadly disease that has left him without a proper job, family, love life or a long life....

He tries to make the best of how much time he has and works part-time for an NGO to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS.....

So, I guess If you are mature enough to have sex, then you are mature enough to understand the lesson from bob's story....

And don't worry...you'll find your woman soon....a sweet, caring and affectionate woman with whom you'll really cherish the memory of losing your virginity to.........there is one special person for everyone on this planet......don't fall for today's idiotic "GET HIGH, GET LAID, GET AIDS!!" culture....its all a big lie...none of it is true or worth it.....it's a fake world that we all live in....one that doesn't do what is right or healthy......don't follow the trend or you'll end up like the people who do follow it....regret of losing it to a nobody, disease, huge bills, unemployment....shortened life-span....

tc, and don't do anything stupid...

-S@M