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With a guard dog this powerful, they always need to be supervised in the wake of children. These are hyper-sensitive natural-born protectors. What you need to know about the German Shepherd is they have a predisposition to guard those they love.
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Inversely, if they’re paired late and socialized poorly, every dog could be a threat to children. If they’re paired early enough with children and socialized properly, then, in theory, every dog could be a great fit for the youngsters. Socializing Your German Shepherdĭogs, as species, are flock animals. When dog and children compatibility is in question, it’s often easy to forget that outside of behavioral issues, what sort of experience is this canine going to allow the youngsters? A purebred German Shepherd offers a wider range of activities than typical breeds. As they age, they have the size and stamina to join the family on adventures, remain active with the children, and learn all sorts of skills if you so please. More so, their competence and energy level are a fantastic pairing when raised alongside children. They’re known to treat the kids of the home as their own.
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If raised alongside together German Shepherds protect them like an older sibling, provides unconditional love, and becomes their lifetime companion. The reality, however, is that while a German Shepherd should be supervised when in the presence of children outside the family, within the family there is truly no better friend to your kids. There are entire canine training programs created specifically to help German Shepherds interact appropriately with children. This means that they also respond well when being trained for child-friendly behavior. Is there anything they can’t do? From service dogs, police dogs, drug dogs, show dogs, and many more, they serve too many utilities to list. With that being said, the hallmark of the German Shepherd is the breed’s trainability. This ‘don’t know my own strength’ phenomenon is an issue for all big dog breeds, and it needs to be addressed if young children are in the household. There is always the risk that when a puppy German Shepherd–large and powerful–plays with a youngster, they can accidentally hurt them from being too physical. In this time, they’re still adjusting to their size and coming to grasp spatial-awareness.
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German Shepherd Temperament & PersonalityĪnother slight drawback is that German Shepherds have a longer-than-normal puppyhood. No matter what predisposition any breed has towards children, if a dog is not properly socialized they’re going to misbehave in their presence. The sad reality is that puppy mills often tarnish the purity of the breed and irresponsible owners don’t socialize their dogs properly. In general, a purebred and properly socialized German Shepherd should be fantastic with children within the home, and behaved around those they’re unfamiliar with. The answer to this question isn’t white and black. But what about your child’s friends? How about youngsters the German Shepherd has never been introduced to before? Yet the question still surfaces: for a canine as superior, capable, and tactical as the German Shepherd, how well do they behave around children? Despite their prized loyalty, can they always be trusted? Most families with this dog breed would say they love the children and cherish them as their own. Known for their wit, courage, and devotion to those they love, they’re the #2 most popular dog breed in America because they make fantastic additions to the family across the board. Many would say there is no better protector in the world (when it comes to canines) than the German Shepherd. German Shepherds are a dog that will sit beside their family and watch you carefully from across the street, measuring your intent.
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