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<blockquote data-quote="TheFinalEpic" data-source="post: 933407" data-attributes="member: 7073">+1 for the German Shepherd crowd, have had them since I was born.&nbsp; My dad used to put me on their backs and I'd ride around the house.&nbsp; Definitely only breed I'll ever own (or a cross with shep).&nbsp; I agree that the hips are a huge problem though, and I would look for the dogs that are bred to be police/search and rescue/working dogs, as their blood lines are generally less tainted with the bad hip issues.&nbsp; My current dog is almost 13, and was a show dog, Canadian champion and all that jazz, but in the end, she's suffering from degenerative myopathy; she's loosing her back end because of the spine and hip issues.&nbsp; It's sad to watch but she's not in pain.I love the breed for the loyalty, the ability to be integrated into a family, and the high energy.&nbsp; My girl could jump a 7 foot fence in her prime with no issue, and could run for hours.&nbsp; You need to be a stern trainer with them though and make sure they know you're the &quot;alpha&quot; of the pack.&nbsp; They have one of the strongest bites behind Rottweilers and Mastiffs, so that is also a major consideration in not getting them, but with proper training, I think any dog can be a great friend and loyal companion.I would consider getting one of the &quot;German Shepherd Derivatives&quot; as I call them: German shepherds that have been bred to not have hip issues or to slightly alter their looks.&nbsp; My favourites are the Shiloh Shepherd:<img src="http://www.imladrisshilohs.com/images/strider-2010-1.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /><img src="http://www.guardiankennels.ca/images/index/Shiloh_Shepherd_Pup2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />And American Alsatian:<img src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/ec/67/d0/ec67d0bc7e8dcbe4276a419e44482518.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /><img src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/a4/ca/b4/a4cab4b66b9a0712c9a3345ee129b359.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />I love the wolf heritage and the handsome face.&nbsp; Only dog for me.P.S. Spalex: Legend.&nbsp; You want the name to have generally 2 syllables as dogs respond better to that.&nbsp; I'm naming my next male dog Legend.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="TheFinalEpic, post: 933407, member: 7073"] +1 for the German Shepherd crowd, have had them since I was born. My dad used to put me on their backs and I'd ride around the house. Definitely only breed I'll ever own (or a cross with shep). I agree that the hips are a huge problem though, and I would look for the dogs that are bred to be police/search and rescue/working dogs, as their blood lines are generally less tainted with the bad hip issues. My current dog is almost 13, and was a show dog, Canadian champion and all that jazz, but in the end, she's suffering from degenerative myopathy; she's loosing her back end because of the spine and hip issues. It's sad to watch but she's not in pain. I love the breed for the loyalty, the ability to be integrated into a family, and the high energy. My girl could jump a 7 foot fence in her prime with no issue, and could run for hours. You need to be a stern trainer with them though and make sure they know you're the "alpha" of the pack. They have one of the strongest bites behind Rottweilers and Mastiffs, so that is also a major consideration in not getting them, but with proper training, I think any dog can be a great friend and loyal companion. I would consider getting one of the "German Shepherd Derivatives" as I call them: German shepherds that have been bred to not have hip issues or to slightly alter their looks. My favourites are the Shiloh Shepherd: [img]http://www.imladrisshilohs.com/images/strider-2010-1.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.guardiankennels.ca/images/index/Shiloh_Shepherd_Pup2.jpg[/img] And American Alsatian: [img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/ec/67/d0/ec67d0bc7e8dcbe4276a419e44482518.jpg[/img] [img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/a4/ca/b4/a4cab4b66b9a0712c9a3345ee129b359.jpg[/img] I love the wolf heritage and the handsome face. Only dog for me. P.S. Spalex: Legend. You want the name to have generally 2 syllables as dogs respond better to that. I'm naming my next male dog Legend. [/QUOTE]

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