Kazkiri

before you buy a puppy

Photo: Laura & Kazkiri Tigresse - "Ally"

Before you decide to buy a German Shepherd puppy, you should be aware of the commitment you will be making. There are a lot of things that can (and do) go wrong. This is about some of them, and what you can do to prevent them happening ...

is a German Shepherd the right dog for you?
Have you thought about why you want a dog, and why a German Shepherd in particular?

A German Shepherd is not a dog to be bought and left in the backyard to protect your home. It is not a wind-up toy. It is not a burglar alarm to be left in the “on” position. It is a highly intelligent, sensitive animal with social needs - the need to belong to a family or “pack”,and to know who the pack leader is (namely you) and have confidence in you.

The German Shepherd is also a dog with a complex temperament. While it has a fierce “guard dog” image, it can also be very sensitive, emotional and affectionate. Temperament can vary a lot from dog to dog. For example: how confident and outgoing the dog is, or how sensitive and timid, how human-oriented or how independent, how dominant or accepting of human authority, how aggressive or how friendly, how excitable or how calm. These characteristics can also vary a lot within the individual dog as it matures and develops. But equally importantly, they are affected by how you bring up your puppy, and what kind of environment you provide.

Think about your type of family or household - anyone can have a dog, but there are particular problems that can crop up with single people, young adults, families with kids, older people and so on.

A German Shepherd is a wonderful dog to train, but it is not the easiest dog to handle, especially if you are lacking in confidence. Consider the dog’s size and temperament, and think honestly about your physical capabilities and your strength of character.

making a commitment
Before making a commitment to a puppy, ask yourself the following questions.
TIME - will you make time to socialise, train, play with, exercise, groom, shop for, feed, read about and clean up after your dog?

MONEY - can you afford to carry out your responsibilities to feed, train, house and care for the dog, give it veterinary attention, put it in boarding kennels, pay for registration, buy necessary equipment etc.?

PERSONALITY - think honestly about your personality - are you fearful and nervous; do you tend to be a show-off; are you a bully; are you patient; are you prepared to tolerate a certain amount of destructiveness, and put up with the frustrating and irritating behaviour of a normal puppy?

Dogs have a large number of revolting personal habits. For example, they :
• throw up on the carpet
• jump up on your elderly aunt
• grab your children’s ankles
• vomit in the car precisely one minute before you get home
• mount inappropriately (if you are religious, it will be the vicar’s leg)
• sniff other dogs’ rear ends
• sniff and sometimes eat droppings of other animals
• roll in foul-smelling, rotten things
• roll in the dirt just after being bathed
• shed hair in the house
• explore with its mouth, biting your hands and destroying your children’s soft toys
• steal food
• raid the garbage
• have toilet accidents inside the house

This behaviour should be properly managed, so that the dog is not ruined by inappropriate punishment, nor, at the other extreme, allowed to develop bad habits as it grows up.

© Kaye Hargreaves 2008, may be reproduced with acknowledgement; www.kayehargeaves.com

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