Jill Meridian, Mississippi 1/13/2013 1:13:55 PM is german shepherds good for apartments long as you take them out on walks and exercise them and I was thinking about getting one and taking it to an obedience class training get involved with thngs to keep him or her busy besides walks ! I live alone I am a widow and their has been problems where I live heard a gunshot the other night sure would have loved to have a german shepherd by my side then ! and you get them from a puppy and train them yourself and get them involved with other activities they should not be agressive I think the only time a dog is agressive is when they have been mistreated and not getting the proper type of training and that is why I think obedience training and other classes for pets are great the owner gets the proper tools to train their pet ! where I live though will only agree to pets not over 40 lbs and they are not realizing a small dog can be just as agressive as a big dog so I do not understand the size limit with these apartment complexes !
Tom - 260529 8/27/2012 4:24:29 PM Sarah, sorry to hear about the attack on you and your dog. Any breed is capable of attacking someone. I have seen this among dogs of all sizes. I rescued 2 Rottweillers from the middle of a street and they were both very sweet.
Susan - 260188 8/23/2012 3:52:51 PM We adopted a dog from GSROC a few weeks ago. Kayla is a young Belgium shepherd that had been picked up as a stray by animal control. She ended up in the Devore shelter and was scheduled to be euthanized. It was such a pleasure working with the GSROC volunteers. They were very helpful to us in our search to find just the "right" dog for us - one that was the right fit and compatible with our other dogs. Kayla has fit into our family beautifully. GSROC is a wonderful organization. They are very dedicated to saving and finding good homes for as many dogs as possible.
Faith - 204868 Seattle, WA 8/23/2012 8:43:10 AM I don't understand people leaving comments based on one interaction with a dog of a particular breed (as scary as that might have been for the dog and owner). My pit bulls have been attacked by off-leash labs on numerous occasions. Does this make me distrust all labs? No, it makes me angry at those dog owners who cannot be responsible with their dogs and put a leash on them. As for small dogs, I constantly have them barking, growling and trying to pick fights with my dogs while we are on leashed walks. Again, do I dislike all small dogs - of course not. Again, often failure on the (small percentage of) owners behalf to properly socialize their dogs (unless they are rescues and came that way) are the root problem. Generalizations do not fly with dogs (nor with humans) since they should be treated as individuals and not judged as a breed.
Mary - 260129 8/23/2012 6:55:29 AM Sarah, that's awful about you and your dog. I hope you both are okay. Do remember, though, not all German Shepherds are like that. I had one, Lady, for about 9 years who was only aggressive because she had been mistreated in her youth. Fortunately, when she got older, she mellowed out, and was always loving and sweet and loyal with us. This shelter sounds awesome. I'm so glad there are compassionate people out there helping animals in need!