9 German Shepherd Facts With Information For Dog Owners

German shepherds are among the most famous breeds in America. They may even compete with dogs around the world. This isn’t new, considering that this breed was the result of careful breeding. German shepherds were made as intelligent, loyal, and caring dogs, which is perhaps the reason why families want to adopt one so badly.

Additionally, a German shepherd’s characteristics are easy to understand. Their behavior is obvious. Their physical appearance is straightforward. These German shepherd information help us adjust how we take care of them.

Nonetheless, just as how some factors can easily be understood, there are those that aren’t. That’s why there are many questions that can pop up in people’s minds. How loyal are they? Are they as smart as humans? Can they be immune to health issues? Are German shepherds good guard dogs?

That’s why this blog post was made. Here we look at nine German shepherd fun facts that will provides valuable information to owners.

#1 – German Shepherds are the World’s 3^rd Smartest Dogs

German shepherds are good guard dogs, medical dogs, therapy dogs, and more. They are capable of many professions, but why?

According to studies, German shepherds are the 3^rd most intelligent dog in the world, along with the Poodle and Collie.

This specific German shepherd characteristics isn’t about brains, though. The smartness of dogs also has something to do with their instincts. A keen sense of smell can be linked to intelligence.

While instincts affects smartness greatly, their social capabilities also matters. That’s why German shepherds are the world’s 3^rd smartest dogs.

German shepherd characteristics consists of social adaptability great instincts, just like Poodles and Collies.

A breed can be the smartest dog in the world, but it’s all for naught if they don’t make use of their intelligence. Luckily, German shepherds aren’t like that. This is because the next German shepherd fun facts is about heroism.

#2 – Eight GSDs Performed Heroic Deeds in America Alone

As you already know, German shepherds have major contributions to the police force. This is especially true in America.

This might be one of the most suitable German shepherd facts for kids. After all, children tend to have high expectations of heroes.

Regardless, there have been lots of reports of heroic stunts by dogs in America. And as you might’ve already guessed, the majority of them were German shepherds.

Unfortunately, most of them were injured during the heroic deed. While the majority survived, others didn’t.

This German shepherd information shows just how courageous and fearless they can be.

They use their smarts to grasp the seriousness of a situation. Then, their extreme sense of urgency for saving lives makes it possible for them to sacrifice their own.

#3 – The German Shepherd is One of the Most Trainable Breeds

You might already know about this, but German shepherds are very easy to train. That’s why German shepherds are known to be highly capable of many professions.

But the reason behind this involves one of the most common German shepherd facts and myths.

German shepherds are able of learning a simple task after successfully repeating the said task five times. Additionally, they will follow your commands 95% of the time.

These two factors are often seen as a false German shepherd characteristics, but this was actually proven by several studies.

Now you know why German shepherds are capable of various professions. In fact, scientists found that they are at least as smart as 3-year olds, a German shepherd fact worth remembering.

#4 – German Shepherds are the 2^nd Most Popular Dogs

So up until this point, you learned some obscure German shepherd characteristics: they are trainable, heroic, and smart. This explains why they were able to achieve popularity that is greater than most breeds.

German shepherds are the 2^nd most popular dog in America, at least if we’re going to look at the American Kennel Club’s (AKC) rankings.

This German shepherd information might already be known to others.

Their popularity also has something to do with their high acceptance rate to professions, in addition to the breed’s intelligence and obedience.

They were also popular since the start of the breed, but that’s another one of our German shepherd facts and myths.

So before that, let’s tackle one of the German shepherd facts and also one of the reasons why German shepherds are very popular now.

#5 – Many German Shepherds are Stars in Hollywood

Since they are known as lovable creatures, they’ve been one of the best dogs for TV films. This is no surprise considering that one of the well-known German shepherd characteristics is their popularity.

But if you’re thinking that humans are the only ones that can have the profession of actors, you are mistaken.

There have been two German shepherds that was on the walk of fame. This includes Strongheart and Rin Tin Tin.

Strongheart is the older dog, while Rin Tin Tin is the most recent German shepherd. Regardless, both of them were able to provide outstanding contributions to many films.

So they didn’t achieve such feat due to their breed’s popularity. Hardwork is a part of it. You might want to tell this German shepherd fact to kids. In addition to heroism, they’ll see these dogs as great actors as well.

There are many other German shepherd actors since that event, but none of them made it to the walk of fame.

You’ve had your fun with the previous German shepherd facts. Now let’s take ourselves in a journey to the past.

#6 – Their History Dates Back in 1899

Normally, we talk about the origins of a breed in the beginning of the blog post, but this German shepherd information will be an exception.

We all know that the German shepherd breed came from Germany, for obvious reasons. However, a German shepherd fun fact that many don’t know is that the breed was started by Max von Stephanitz in 1899.

Stephanitz is someone with authority at that time. Due to the capabilities and appeal of the German shepherd dogs, he was captivated and longed for the prevalence of the breed.

He started populating the breed with a focus on the utility of the dog. He didn’t care much about good looks. After all, there weren’t any dog shows at that time. So of course, the only German shepherd information he’ll look at is their reliability to jobs.

Now, we can consider Max von Stephanitz as the root of the intelligent and loyal dogs we see and love now.

Speaking of history, let’s not forget about the German shepherd information that are often seen in books.

#7 – German Shepherds are the Most Famous Dog in World War I

We all know that German shepherds are loyal. After all, it’s one of the German shepherd puppy facts that will never be omitted. But we can never really see the extent of their loyalty.

However, the loyalty of German shepherds became more evident when the breed was assigned to a variety of tasks during World War I.

The soldiers found them to be excellent partners, capable of obeying every command.

Either way, we can say that this German shepherd information was one of the contributing factor to their popularity in America today.

But, if you’ve read a history book before, you should know that Germany was involved in that war.

So as an additional German shepherd fun fact, German shepherds were actually called Alsatian Wolf Hound before. This is because the “German” part of their name is often frowned upon.

However, as time passes by, the German became more and more accepted. Perhaps the result of the war faded slowly. Speaking of which, our next German shepherd fact involves the consequences of World War I.

#8 – The First Guide Dog was a German Shepherd

The aftereffects of World War I made it possible for German shepherd to be known by the military force. This led to training camps in Switzerland, focusing on honing the skills of Germans shepherds.

This German shepherd information is often unknown to many, but it actually contributes to why these dogs are very skilled in various roles.

Regardless, after some time, they produced the very first guide dog.

Guide dogs are dogs that escort blind people from place to place. The first guide dog, Buddy, is a female German shepherd.

That’s why we can consider German shepherds as the pioneer of service dogs. This also made it possible for other breeds to be guide dogs, including Labradors and Golden Retrievers.

#9 – German Shepherd Dogs are Prone to Hip and Elbow Dysplasia

Since the beginning of this blog post, we talked about the positive German shepherd puppy facts. However, as an owner, it’s important to be knowledgeable about the possible threats to your dog.

Sure, German shepherds are healthy dogs. We all know this. But there’s no denying that they aren’t flawless.

German shepherds are prone to certain health issues. And the two most common health problems to the German shepherd breed are hip and elbow dysplasia. Both of these conditions involves abnormality in the skeletal system.

It’s important to know about this so you can achieve a greater sense of urgency to help your dog overcome these challenges.

Conclusion

We’ve always viewed German shepherds in high regards. They are loving and gentle dogs. But we can’t always see their potential on the spot.

That’s why we read about them. So that things we can understand things that are hard to perceive. That’s what this article was all about. A list of German shepherd facts that many don’t know.

Their intelligence, heroism, and trainability. We even talked about their capabilities as soldier dogs, guide dogs, and Hollywood actors, which contributed to their popularity.

We also included their flaw in this list of German shepherd facts. After all, no breed is perfect.

At any rate, you can now see them as they really are. This will give you an edge in handling German shepherds in the future, or with your current dog if you already have one.