German Shepherd - Loyal, Intelligent and Easy to Train.

Average size and life span: Medium Large, upto 10 years. Germans shepherds are sadly prone to many hereditary conditions, which often shortens their breeds average life span. But don't let this put you off getting a GSD, a well bred dog will be a happy healthy companion. Exercise levels: German Shepherds need a fair amount of exercise, they are intelligent dogs and quickly get bored if left for long periods in a confined space. This can lead to unwanted behaviour and the German Shepherd is particularly prone to problem barking. Your German shepherd will need to be walked at least twice a day, for a minimum of 1 hour, and allowed time to run around.

Grooming: Medium – brushing 2-3 times per week. German shephers will often 'blow' their coat - where they lose virtually all their dense under coat in one go, this can be a little disturbing but is totally normal. During these times they will need a lot of brushing.

Temperament: German shepherds are slightly aloof dogs towards strangers and but are fiercely loyal and eager to please their owners. They make great family guard dogs and are good with children. Though you should bare in mind their size of you have very small children.

Ease of training: On the dog intelligence scale German shepherds rank 3rd. Making them a very bright dog which is easy to train. German shepards will often display high levels of obedience even as puppies.

Special training: German shepherds are ideal dogs for obedience training and agility. They are very attentive to their owners and love the thrill of the obstacles.

German shepherds are the most commonly used dog by the military and rescue organisations.