# Australian/German Shepherd lovers out there??



## cakemom (Jul 4, 2010)

I am a German shepherd girl. In fact we have a 10 month old shepherd. 
Aussies and Germans are nothing alike. I find a German more easily trained, and faster maturing. We have had 4 of them. I worked for 10 years as a vet tech and saw lots of Aussies, they are just too hyper for me. It's their herding instinct. As long as you can channel that you are fine, but they need hours and hours a day of exercise and training. 
My German is about 75 lbs, thin and tall like a yearling thoroughbred at this point....and we do have some panosteitis issues..but that happens. 
So....out of the two, I prefer the German for my family due to loyalty, trainability and personality. They make great agility dogs if you don't get a broad built one. 
Good luck!!
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## paintluver (Apr 5, 2007)

KK thank you! I have actually had 2 germans in my life, and I love them. I am just in love with both of the breeds and can't decide lol! I know that Germans do get hip problems if they aren't bred right, so I would need to watch out for that.


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## cakemom (Jul 4, 2010)

You need to make sure hips and elbows are OFA certified. I also like CERFed eyes and you need to make sure demodectic mange has not been an issue in their lines. A more square hip is less breed correct to some, but also less prone to weakness. I would not buy a puppy whose parents faired any less than a "good" on Ofa certificates. Excellant being the best, then good then fair then poor. 
And...unlike my oversite, check for both testicles if you get a male....I forgot to check that one thing now we have a cryptorchid dog to deal with.
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## mliponoga (Jul 24, 2010)

Actually even if both testicles are descended they can retract and cause the same problem as you ran into cakemom, just so you know. It happened with our Doberman! I absolutely love GSD's!! Definitely one of my top 3 favorite dogs. I've owned one in the past but sadly had to get rid of her because she thought she needed to herd horses :-( Well, now I have another one, but it's a cross. She's half GSD and half Husky. She's 14 months old right now and a complete sweetheart. Here are pictures of my two...

My white GSD:



















And my husky/GSD:


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## NicoleS11 (Nov 21, 2008)

I had a long haired GS growing up and she was amazing! We also had an Aussie that is still at home but just like the others have said, he needs a lot of daily activity to keep him manageable. He is going on 11 and still goes riding every day with my mom to keep him sane. 

We got a Shepard cross from the local SPCA this past March and she has turned out to be the PERFECT dog. She is very playful but so smart. She came from the streets and when we got her she didn’t know “sit” but now she knows all sorts of commands/tricks and I am no dog trainer…im considering doing agility because watching her play with the ball and how into it she gets, I just have a feeling she would love it and be really good at it! So that’s some thing I need to look into. She has dog aggression which we are working on but if I don’t watch her she wont think twice about going after another dog. Ill attach a pic, look at her face with all the scars from previous dog fights. The neighbor hood kids all love her, I actually caught a few of them in the back yard with her one day when I was in the house getting ready. We have a fenced yard, so they must have opened the gate and just invited themselves into our back yard…good thing she is good with kids. One night some one knocked on my door when it was just me home. My bf works out of down 24 days out of the month so its just me usually…well she snapped! Ive only ever heard her bark that one time when some one was on our property who shouldn’t have been there…ok im done! I just love her soooo much! Its amazing the love she has brought me!


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## NicoleS11 (Nov 21, 2008)

wow...sorry the pics are sooo big.


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## TKButtermilk (May 20, 2010)

Aussie girl for life! My aussie is the best thing that ever happened to me. he's amazing and learns everything so quickly. I have never met a dog like him, all my friends love him and want their own. You just have to make sure you train them well when they're young.
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## IrishHeart (Aug 27, 2010)

hi, i personaly thing german shepards are the best breed going there smart, easy trained, great home protectors, calm and gentle natured, loyal and trustworthy dogs they become great friends with u so i would say german shepard only falt i would say in the breed would be there hind legs go bad when they reach about 8-10 years old esspecly if there going to be outside dogs but a good thing to do iis mabe get a german shepard cross so u have a better chance of getting good legs. they do need traing when there young by there master once they pick u as there master its very hard for them to be rehomed as they pick the one person lol hope i helped


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## Zeke (Jun 27, 2010)

I have to agree with the GSD people! I've had one for the last few years and she's absolutely amazing. She's mixed with lab and is the ultimate athletic/playing machine with the best happy go lucky attitude I've seen in a dog. She would go run with me if I liked to run haha but instead we spend about an hour day letting her run through the hose and play long games of fetch. I also totally take advantage of her scary dog bark when home alone or anytime we're out. Many people get the wrong impression these dogs are vicious but most are sweethearts, especially towards their owners and friends. Mine barks mostly out of fear when someone comes to the door, but they don't know that! She's even amazing around small kids.
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## stacieandtheboys (Jan 6, 2009)

I love German Shepherds. We had to have our girl pts last spring. I miss her so much but I don't miss the hair that came with her. She was so smart and a wonderful protector. She was ok with someone who was welcomed into the house or yard but if someone came to the fence or in the yard watch out.


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## coffeeaddict (Jun 18, 2010)

I'm going to be the odd one out and say stay away from the GSDs. I'm a dog trainer, I've payed my rent of GSDs more times than I can count. It is VERY hard to find one with a good, stable temperament, good health, good joints, etc. etc. They are so over bred it's insane. Not to mention that the German lines have roached backs and the American show lines have hips that drag the ground. There is nothing about the conformation of a GSD that appeals to me. 

Of course I say all this as someone who has two Aussies. So obviously I'm an Aussie person. I can however say that out of the dozens of GSDs and Aussies I've trained the Aussies win hands down when it comes to trainability and the ability to think for themselves. They are high energy, but if you train from puppyhood and give them a good run everyday it's nothing that cannot be channeled.

If you're wanting to do agility the Aussie is also your best bet because they're smaller and more agile that most GSDs.

Are there nice GSDs out there? Of course. There are nice, well behaved, healthy dogs of every breed. Personally I would never own one. The odds are against you when it comes to getting a good one even if you do your research.


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## cakemom (Jul 4, 2010)

Odd, I've had four and bred several litters, never EVER had an issue or a puppy that had an issue. Our last boy lived to 14, puppy of our first boy. We have monitored the four litters he sired with no agression, no hip dysplasia or anything. 
As with all things, everyone has different opinions. 
Again, both great breeds, just bred for different things.
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## coffeeaddict (Jun 18, 2010)

I'm glad you've had good luck with them. Like I said, there are nice dogs in every breed, I've just found it to be far less common in GSDs compared to Aussies.


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## kmacdougall (Feb 12, 2010)

We've had GSDs for 30 years (long before I was born into this family)! My family swears by them. 

I would DEFINITELY watch the hips though because if you don't get a GS with good hips, be prepared for heartbreak in about 8 years because thats when they'll start going. We've also encountered dementia with my Shep, where he gets lost in our house. The end is near for him  

I'll attach a picture.


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## SerendipitySails (Sep 1, 2010)

I've personally done a lot of research on both breeds because I am a dog enthusiast. These just happen to be two of my very favorite breeds. In my opinion with your needs I would definitely go with the Australian Shepherd. They are not a huge dog but still large enough and strongly built. Some of the dogs can be intimidated but most of the breed will be an excellent guard dog. They are also good herders, disc catchers, and especially good performers at agility. Plus they are beautiful and have lots of fluffy hair 

Plus, if you get a GS you may have to register it with your city and pay a monthly fee for owning a "dangerous" dog. Good luck!


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## BarrelRacer86 (Jul 6, 2010)

Aussie's are very hyper, if you have a large yard for it to run on their perfectly fine. Beautiful smart dogs, but they need to be doing something almost constantly. And their pretty healthy dogs, plus the breed comes in 3 sizes anymore. Full, mini, and a toy. But I don't recomend them if you don't have alot of time to spend with them. I've had a mini before and now we have a toy. I've always wanted a GSD but the hip problems made me opt out of that one. I've only had GSD crosses. I think you just need to decide more of what you want or perfer. My dog is a husky because I liked the qualities of his breed.
and here's a photo of my mom's toy aussie, he's 12 inches tall. adorable little dog.


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## paintluver (Apr 5, 2007)

SerendipitySails said:


> I've personally done a lot of research on both breeds because I am a dog enthusiast. These just happen to be two of my very favorite breeds. In my opinion with your needs I would definitely go with the Australian Shepherd. They are not a huge dog but still large enough and strongly built. Some of the dogs can be intimidated but most of the breed will be an excellent guard dog. They are also good herders, disc catchers, and especially good performers at agility. Plus they are beautiful and have lots of fluffy hair
> 
> *Plus, if you get a GS you may have to register it with your city and pay a monthly fee for owning a "dangerous" dog*. Good luck!


I have actually checked that, both places that I have chosen to live don't count GS as dangerous!
I think I am leaning more towards GS again. I love them, but they do seem to have some problems.:?


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## Zeke (Jun 27, 2010)

All dogs have problems, same as horses. I think it should come down to a dog you click with, reguardless of breed.
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## bensmomma (Aug 18, 2010)

My mom has been breeding GSD's for over 30 years and is still doing so, and to this date so far we have had not a single problem with our pups. They have been very smart and easy going, with very high drives. Like another said about the hearding, shepherds have that as well but if you can channel it, it will be ok. our oldest female has a very high drive and she would heard our horses till we found out if we give her a basketball she would play withthat instead of the horses. Any of the larger breeds are at risk for bad hips and such but with good care they can still have a long and happy life. Here are some of ours we have now.


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## paintluver (Apr 5, 2007)

^Those are beautiful dogs =]


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## coffeeaddict (Jun 18, 2010)

> And their pretty healthy dogs, plus the breed comes in 3 sizes anymore. Full, mini, and a toy.
> http://www.horseforum.com/#post736091#ixzz0yLgMxbCA​


Mini and toy are not recognized sizes for the Aussie. The AKC standard is 20-23 inches for males and 18-21 inches for females.

Toys and minis are basically mix breed dogs bred to look like an aussie, or the product of a breeder that is purposely breeding Aussies for sizes outside the standard....

I'm not saying your dog isn't cute, she is adorable and I bet she's a great pet, but I don't want anyone reading this to get the idea that toy and mini aussies are acceptable sizes.


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