One of the most popular dog breeds in the United States is the German Shepherd. There is a good reason for this. These dogs are intelligent and very hard working. The courage and devotion of a German Shepherd are simply unmatched. In addition, the German Shepherd is very versatile as they excel in almost anything that they are trained to do.
They make excellent assistant and guide dogs, work with police and military services, can be used for herding, are great on search and rescue teams, can be used for drug detection, and most importantly are faithful companions to their owners. Easily trained and quite smart, these dogs are very active and require something to do at all times. This means that you need to be able to exercise them regularly if you decide to own on. Read on to learn more about some of the main characteristics that define the German Shepherd.
1. Size
The German Shepherd is not a small dog. It is important to make sure that you know this when purchasing one. The average weight for a male German Shepherd is between 75 to 95 pounds. The average weight is the same for female German Shepherds. Males are a bit taller than females with the average height at their withers coming in at 25 inches for males and 23 inches for females.
The ears of the German Shepherd are naturally upright as these dogs are always on alert. There are many breeds of dogs that are larger than the German Shepherd and of course many that are smaller. While these are not the largest of dogs, they do require an ample amount of space as they need to get plenty of exercise each day. This is a good medium sized breed that is large enough to make an impact, but not too large to fit into the average household.