Choosing a German Shepherd Puppy

Debbie Ray, owner of www.pedigreedpups.com and www.total-german-shepherd.com, is a lifelong animal lover and dog enthusiast and has been a German Shepherd breeder for over 15 years. Interested in more dog information? Training and health tips? Thinking about getting a purebred dog? Check out www.pedigreedpups.com or www.total-german-shepherd.com for more information.

Deal only with breeders who routinely screen their own dogs for diseases and various conditions that affect the GSD. While this is no health guarantee in any way, it does prove that the german shepherd breeder is doing his best to help you take home the best and healthiest puppy that you can.

The German Shepherd, like many other breeds, suffers from a variety of inheritable diseases that cannot be determined by a simply looking at the dog. A few common afflictions that plague the german shepherd dog breed are degenerative myelopathy, bloat and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.

Research the history of incidence of all diseases in the puppy's parents and further down in its lineage. Your breeder should be able to discuss any likelihood of these diseases developing in your German Shepherd puppy.

Other things to worry about are the potential threat of hip and elbow dysplasia which are very common in many large breeds, the German Shepherd included. There are many tests available for your GSD puppy that help screen your dog for these conditions. Disorders of this type are screened by evaluating x-rays of a dog's joints, hip or elbow. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA), a nonprofit foundation evaluates and registers X-rays, is the most common certification.

Choosing your perfect German Shepherd puppy and companion does require a great deal of time, effort and energy, but when done properly will be something you won't regret at all in the future.