The German Shepherd is an extremely popular due to the fact that they are exceptionally loving, loyal, authoritative, intelligent, and protective. They have been used for the blind, by the military and police due to their exceptional sense of smell. They also have an ability to attack effectively when needed.
The German Shepherd is also known as the Alsatian, comes from a family of herding dogs from Germany, and was bred in the 1800s to become what it is known as today.
These dogs make excellent guard dogs, and are the perfect solution to keeping your family safe at night (although they are not to be kept outside all day as they do require a lot of human love and affection).
What makes them particularly special, is their courage and confidence. They even have a willingness to literally take a bullet for those they love. They will do anything, and everything to protect those they love and see as family (as they are pack dogs).
It is also exceptionally important to make sure they are trained when young. This allows them to learn to socialise with other humans and dogs immediately. They can be quite territorial and can, at times, be aggressive towards strangers and other unknown animals – especially other males.
At the end of the day, a German Shepherd will truly be your best friend till the end!