The Complete Idiot's Guide(R) to Owning a German Shepherd

This is the best dog book I have ever read, and I've read plenty.

I don't mind considering myself an idiot.


Solid Book; lacking health informaiton though   October 1, 2000
 10 out of 10 found this review helpful

I dunno what the other guy is talking about; 'not breed specific'. This book explains why to get a dog of European bloodlines vs American and how to read the mysterious SV papers from the USA (United Schutzhund Assoc). The section on picking a pup is helpful though again not very indepth but better than nothing; there should have been more about the differences of puppies anod how your puppy greets you initially and how to interpret the puppy appitude test. Also I think a breakdown of the colour in GSDs would be helpful.

The health section was actually what I thought was the weakest part of the book: no mention of the dreaded epilepsy, other than in the first aid section, and having lost a GSD to idiopathic epilepsy I am sensitive to that issue (she does give a one liner to it showing up in certain lines). Also did not really mention the diet to CHD relationship either, putting ALOT of weight on genetics and that is a polygenetic disease where overfeeding and type of food matters.

A great history of von Stephanitz and his goals of the breed in an easy freindly style. This is helpful to see why the Europeans breed one way and the Americans another.

Overall a good intro but don't let this be your only puppy book even if it's your own GSD book. I'd recommend The Perfect Puppy by Gwen Bailey for overall puppy training as a supplement.


Good general dog information, not breed specific.   August 14, 1999
 10 out of 14 found this review helpful

This book provides good, general information about selecting and caring for any dog. The problem is, the information, while helpful, does not give any real insight about the specific breed. The only breed specific information (and in my opinion, the saving grace of this book) is found in the Chapter dealing with health problems commonly found in GSDs. With the exception of that Chapter, this book could easily be retitled "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Dogs".


A Great Book!   May 23, 1999
 4 out of 8 found this review helpful

I just read it and its just what the GSD owner is looking for