German Shepherd Dog breed guide

Experts say the German Shepherd's defining attribute is character: loyalty, courage, confidence, the ability to learn commands for many tasks and the willingness to put its life on the line.

It is a highly intelligent companion and an extraordinary worker. AKC calls for consistency and positive, reward-based training with continued obedience work.

German Shepherds live 12 to 14 years. AKC says most are healthy dogs and a responsible breeder screens for degenerative myelopathy and elbow and hip dysplasia.

The breed may get bloat, a sudden life-threatening swelling of the abdomen, so owners should learn its symptoms and what to do.

The medium-length double coat has a dense, harsh, close-lying outer layer over a softer undercoat. A quick brushing every few days removes loose hair and the dog sheds much more heavily once or twice a year.

A very active, athletic breed, the German Shepherd needs lots of exercise for its physical and mental well-being and one that is not exercised enough becomes frustrated and likely to develop undesirable behaviors.

The German Shepherd descends from German herding dogs that varied from district to district until the late 19th century. In those waning years a German cavalry officer, Captain Max von Stephanitz, made it his mission to develop the ideal German herder.

Von Stephanitz and like-minded breeders crossed strains from the northern and central districts and he co-founded the world's first club devoted to the breed and spent 35 years promoting and refining it.