GERMAN SHEPHERDS are my favorite peaceful dogs!

As a long time owner of the breed I'd say it really depends on what you mean by peaceful! Shepherds even when brought up well are not the quietest dog. The guarding instinct is strong and warning of intruders from them consists of a very loud bark! It's almost impossible to stop them from barking, so it takes firm and careful training to teach them to bark only when it is appropriate. Not really what I'd call peaceful. As much as I love the breed, and I was brought up with them and with proffessional GSD Handlers: I would say that unless you can give one company most of the time, are prepared to train and keep up that training for it's lifetime, and have time to give the dog lots of early 'positive' socialisation with other animals and people, don't get one as a first dog. They need experienced handling, they need 'mental' stimulation and they need company far more than some other breeds. They also need 'understanding', they are usually 'aloof' with strangers and very often a 'one man' dog. The traits that make the breed an excellent working dog are often sadly neglected by 'pet' owners and the Shepherd is quick to take over the leadership role if he sees a weakness. However overly aggressive handling can cause problems too and lead to aggressive behaviour. A 70-80lb strong adult that sheds hair all year round and copious amounts in Spring and Autumn isn't the easiest dog to look after either. Nothing peaceful about vacuuming the carpet! If you want a peaceful breed go for something like a grey-hound. They are real couch potatoes and love nothing more than lying at or on your feet! They don't need as much exercise as a Shepherd and what they need can be given in several short sessions rather than the endurance type exercise the Shepherd should have. Sorry to seem negative but I see far too many 'bad' examples of the breed and far too many given up to shelters because owners didn't know what they were doing.

Oh, I agree with you about German Shepherds being excellent dogs. Our last one just passed away about a year ago and he's still very much missed. They are fairly time intensive. Our last German Shepherd, Storm was addicted to ball. I spent about forty minutes every night tossing the ball for him and even that wasn't enough. They are high energy creatures. :-)

I like shepherds but I prefer my border collies all the best urban

Hi from one Jake to another! As you can see from my pic I also love German Shepherds, in fact I get my Mylot name from my dog Jake whose picture it is. We also have a GSD cross labrador cross something else we got from a rescue center, they are both so lovable and great fun to have around. I hope you manage to get yourself another dog soon, and welcome to Mylot, I am sure you will get on great here. All the best, J.

Hi Jake, welcome to mylot! just respoonded to Oreocookie's topic about welcoming you.. Anyway, I agree with you, German Sheperds, are sweet dogs. I happened to meet one female, her name is Tasha, it's my husband's friend's dog. They stayed here for 2 nights. I am scared of big dogs, and she is one huge dog. In two days she was here, I felt close to her, she would go around wherever I go, and she asks for some love everytime I'd sit on the couch. They're harmless and sweet, and best of all, well-trained. It's up to you though, they're smart dogs. I wanted to get someone like her too in the future. Go get yourself one! Let us know :-)

I am sorry to hear about your baby (dog. My dog is a pitbull and he is peaceful and quiet. I had a german sheppard and they are nice but there very mean to people they dont know (some of them not ALL of them) but I miss my german sheppard her name was Gretchen and I think from what I was told some one in my family who took her from us to help ended up chugging her on the interstate :( I was so sad to find that out (it was when I was young like barely a teen) I still think of her though and wish she had a better life than she did. I love animals and can't stand to see them not taken care of. I think you should definitely get another dog from the spca or somewhere like that to save them from those small cages they have to live in!

As a child I was attacked by a german shepherd and he chewed my leg and my knee really bad. It wasn't the dogs fault it was the owners fault, they knew the dog was sick and he'd attacked a few kids and finally the police went to the home, the dog was taken to the vet tests were done and it was then decided the best thing for the dog was to put it to sleep. So as you can understand I got to be very frightened of German shepherds and I still am. We had different breeds of dogs growing up and I think the black lab was the most affectionate one we had, although they were all very smart. Now I just have my little Maltese and to me this is the best dog in the world. I bet you do really miss your dog, they become part of your family that's for sure. I hope you can get another one soon. Goodluck.

We used to have a german shepard and he barked all the time he never quit barking he ran away and we never found him. I think german shepards are beautiful dogs though.

i agree, german shepards are my favorite dogs too.