Old German Sheepdog
| Size at withers | 50-60 cm |
|---|---|
| Weight range | 20-30 kg |
| Life expectancy | 12-14 years |
| Size class | Large (25–40 kg) |
| Normal resting vitals | Heart rate 60–110 bpm · Respiration 10–30/min · Temperature 38.3–39.2 °C |
| Temperament | Diligent, steady, biddable; strong flock instinct; tireless worker |
| Common health issues | Robust working landrace with few documented breed-specific disorders |
| Exercise needs | Very high - a genuine working dog needing sustained daily work |
| Climate & housing suitability | Poor to moderate - coated regional herders bred for a temperate climate; best in cooler areas with real work. |
| Owner notes | A family of working strains rather than one standardised breed; kept for herding, not show. |
Origin and purpose
Herding (landrace group; Altdeutsche Hutehunde). Origin: Germany; regional landrace herding dogs (Schafpudel, Tiger, etc.).
A family of working strains rather than one standardised breed; kept for herding, not show.
What a breed was built to do explains most of what it will do in your home. A dog selected for hundreds of years to run, guard, herd, or hunt does not stop wanting to because it now lives in an apartment — the drive is the breed, and the owner's job is to give it somewhere to go.
Temperament and training
Stated temperament: Diligent, steady, biddable; strong flock instinct; tireless worker
This is a biddable breed that wants to work with you, which makes it forgiving of a novice's mistakes — but biddability is not the same as needing no training. Reward-based training, started early and kept short and frequent, is what these dogs thrive on. Punishment-based methods damage exactly the willingness that makes the breed easy.
Feeding
Growth is the thing that matters. Large-breed puppies must be fed a diet formulated for large-breed growth and must NOT be overfed or supplemented with calcium — growing too fast is a direct route to the joint disease this size of dog is already prone to. A lean puppy is a healthy puppy. As an adult, two measured meals a day, and keep the dog lean for life: excess weight is the single biggest accelerator of hip and elbow disease and arthritis.
Exercise and enrichment
Stated requirement: Very high - a genuine working dog needing sustained daily work
This is a genuinely high-energy dog and the commonest reason such dogs are rehomed is that their owners underestimated this. It needs hard daily physical exercise AND a job to think about; a walk around the block is not exercise for this breed. An under-exercised dog of this type becomes destructive, noisy, and anxious — behaviour problems that are, correctly understood, an exercise deficit.
Climate and living conditions
Stated suitability: Poor to moderate - coated regional herders bred for a temperate climate; best in cooler areas with real work.
Ageing and senior care
Life expectancy: 12-14 years. This dog is a senior from around 7 years, at which point wellness examinations should move to twice a year and senior blood and urine screening begins. Large dogs age faster than small ones. Arthritis and cancer are the dominant concerns; do not dismiss a limp in an older large dog as 'just age' — bone cancer presents exactly that way. Senior care →
Before you take one home
- Consider adoption. Shelters and rescues have dogs of every kind, including purebreds, and the local native or landrace dog is often healthier, better adapted to its climate, and more in need of a home than almost anything you can buy. See Part XII.
