Black German Shepherd: description, feeding and care

The black shepherd dog, like the white variation, is sometimes perceived as a separate breed of German dog. Is this really so, and because of what the animal's hair has acquired a black color - we will consider in this material.

The article tells in detail about the characteristics of the breed, its origin, differences in caring for a pet kept on the street and in an apartment. The questions of the correct choice of a puppy and much more are considered.

Most people think that the Black German Shepherd is a separate breed. Not really. This is an ordinary shepherd dog of a zonar color, it is because of him that she got her name. In general, the zoner color is gray, however, completely black puppies can be born in a pair of zonar and tortoise colors. These babies are more expensive than their "standard" counterparts. Black German Shepherds differ in size, animals are not so large, but more active.

The history of the German breed began in the 19th century. Sheepdogs were bred as a labor force - dogs watched over herds of sheep, goats, guarded pastures from predators. Over time, the animals were hired by the security services. However, there was a period of time when the dogs were out of work, and the breed was close to oblivion.

In World War II, German Shepherds were used by German troops as military orderlies, and animals dragged communication cables. When the war ended, the German Shepherd breed began to spread outside Germany. The dogs were brought to the rest of Europe, the USSR.

However, the kennels were few in number to supply the desired number of pets, and the purchase of German dogs was expensive. It was decided to bring out its own analogue of the "Germans", which was named "East European Shepherd". Therefore, these two breeds should not be perceived as one.

Now the black German shepherd is a fairly common breed. The animal attracts with its qualities: intelligence, devotion, fearlessness, external beauty.

According to its characteristics, the Black German Shepherd Dog does not differ from the German breed. As mentioned above, the dog got its name from the zonal color, respectively, the color of the coat can only be black. Pets that have spots, reddishness or other shades on the coat are discarded.

• The head is medium in size. The muzzle is narrow and elongated. The ears are large, triangular in shape, set high. Scissor bite. The eyes are almond-shaped, the iris is dark brown and golden brown. The eyelids, nose, lips have dark pigmentation, close to black.

• The body is elongated, the back is straight, it slopes towards the rump... The pelvis in shepherd dogs is always below the shoulder line. The limbs are straight, set parallel. The neck is strong and short. The thoracic region is rounded, the abdomen is pulled in. The tail is saber-shaped, long, the tip reaches the floor. The musculature is clearly visible under the coat. The toes of the paws are collected in dense brushes.

The Black German Shepherd is a working breed of dog, so you should immediately prepare for the fact that you will have to spend a lot of time raising and training your pet. Dogs are very curious, active, energetic, playful. The puppy will constantly try things out. To prevent the kid from chewing on slippers, it is worth purchasing a lot of dog toys.

Black shepherd dogs behave friendly with other animals, get along quickly. Dogs don't attack cats. If a small kitten and a puppy are kept in the house, then the latter will in every possible way make contact, so that any conflicts between pets are excluded.

Sheepdog is able to show care, behaves carefully with children, no matter how old they are. It is recommended to purchase this type of dog for married couples. The shepherd dog grows up at about 3 years of age, so until that time it will behave like a puppy, even if it has reached 60 cm in height and weighs 50 kg.

The dog needs training, but it will be enough to learn simple commands... If you need a security guard or watchman, then you should use the help of the kennel club.

Getting a black German shepherd puppy is quite problematic. When choosing a pet, you cannot immediately tell with what type of coat you will get a dog. The standard breed traits will appear closer to the year of the pet's life.

It is undesirable to buy puppies from hands or from street markets. It is better to contact a nursery or a breeder, since there are enough of them on the territory of Russia, the CIS. It is worth asking about the pedigree, there should not be dashes in the “ancestors” column. The breeder must provide the puppy's metric, veterinary passport.

Before buying, you need to see the baby and his parents live. Spend at least an hour on this.... It is worth paying attention to how the baby behaves. Puppies should be active, curious, sociable. Ask the seller what kind of food he feeds the parents and puppies, ask about nutritional recommendations, or have a menu for you. The seller is obliged to tell about how to care for the animal, about its diseases.

If the breeder is trying to withhold information from you, or is reluctant to communicate, then you should find yourself a new seller.Before buying an animal, a purchase and sale agreement is drawn up without fail.

Another way to get yourself a pet is to take a puppy for undergrowth. This method is practiced in law enforcement nurseries. For example, you can come to the kennel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and ask for a puppy for undergrowth. You will be given two babies to look after at home until they are 6 months old. In such cooperation, the services of veterinary centers are paid in half. The attending physician is appointed from the kennel, and a dog handler may also come to you.

When the puppies reach six months of age, an exchange of pets takes place. One puppy is taken by the kennel (the dog is sent to the service), and the second baby remains with you. The issuance of documents for the dog is carried out.

As for the price of animals, then the black German shepherd is worth more than its German counterparts. On average, the price for one individual fluctuates around $ 400-800.

Let's take a closer look at the conditions for keeping shepherd dogs in the house and on the street. What is the difference in care.

If the pet will live in the open air, then it is necessary to create the proper conditions for its existence. The dog needs an aviary, a booth. The dog's house should be positioned so that one part of it is always in the shade, and the other is lit. The floor of the dwelling is covered with non-slip material; it is permissible to use sand, pebbles, gravel, having previously tamped the material.

A drain for water is required... The booth is made of wood, the bottom of the house is covered with straw or wood shavings. In cold, damp weather, the flooring is left clean, that is, the covering material is removed. In winter, the walls of the booth and the roof are insulated with straw and snow.

The size of the booth should exceed the size of the dog, so that the animal can easily move around it, stand, lie in a comfortable position. To preserve heat, the entrance to the dwelling is made of medium size. It is better to cover the roof of the booth with tiles, slate or any other waterproof material.

The entire territory of the dog needs cleaning and periodic disinfection. Small puppies don't have to be alone all the time. The dog should be walked on and off the property. The dog must receive sufficient physical activity, which cannot be provided by walking in the aviary.

Do not sprinkle salt on the area. Salt can irritate your dog's paw pads, causing bleeding wounds.

Caring for a pet in an apartment comes down to organizing a dog's sleeping place, a feeding zone. For the animal, it is worth buying a large bed, toys. It is best to place the food bowl on a pedestal or holder for the dog to eat comfortably. A container with clean water is located at a distance from the food area. The liquid in the bowl is always replaced with a new one, even if a piece of food gets into it.

A puppy is taught from an early age to a leash, a muzzle. It is recommended to walk the dog twice a day, walking with him for at least half an hour. The older the dog gets, the longer the walks last. It is desirable that the pet can run freely, carry objects, climb shells.

After the walk, they begin to care for the coat, the eyes of the dog. Next, let's take a closer look at the rules of care.

It is recommended to wash the shepherd dog no more than 2 times a year. The animal molts once every six months, in the spring and autumn seasons. During molting, the dog's hair is combed out by a furminator, while the animal is not bathed. Spray for forcing wool is allowed.

The washing of the dog itself is carried out before the performance in the competition or in the case of severe contamination of the coat. The dog is washed with special shepherd shampoos. Then the hair of the animal is dried with a hair dryer. After drying, the wool is combed with a comb or a comb-mitten.If the dog swam in a pond, then upon arrival home, the dog's fur is doused with warm running water.

• Ears. The most vulnerable area. Ear hair can grow deeper into the ear, resulting in impaired earwax production. In such a situation, it is necessary to regularly trim the problem area. The ears themselves are not cleared of wax.

• Eyes. After a walk, it is recommended to cleanse the eye area with a special lotion or warm water. The selected product is applied to a cotton pad, after which it is wrung out. With a damp material, using dabbing movements, the animal's eyes are cleaned from dust and dirt.

• Claws... With a sedentary lifestyle, the dog's claws do not have time to grind. To trim or remove excess length, use a guillotine claw. Particular attention should be paid to the fifth toe, which can grow into a muscle, causing pain in the dog.

Once a season or every six months, the animal must be taken to a veterinary clinic for examination. Also, the doctor performs a procedure for hygienic cleaning of the teeth. Tartar and caries are removed. The control of grinding of tooth enamel is carried out. The teeth of a dog at a young age are snow-white in color, with visible tubercles.

In old age, the dog may lose teeth, in which case open areas must be treated with wound-healing preparations. The ingress of food into the wounds can lead to inflammatory processes in the oral cavity.

Too hot and cold food can lead to diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, as well as death. Diseases of the digestive system develop over a long time and are asymptomatic. The same goes for bones in food. The dog should not be allowed to gnaw bones - their fragments injure the stomach, they can get stuck in the throat, gums.

Puppies 2 months old should receive small portions of veal cartilage, bone meal, boiled or raw vegetables. Some dogs are unable to digest raw potatoes. Before feeding, you should make sure that the pet is free of allergies and other reactions to the selected product.

For the first six months of life, the puppy needs high-calorie food. Upon reaching the age of one year, the amount of food consumed increases, but the frequency of food intake decreases.

• It is forbidden to feed the dog with only one meat.
• The balance of vitamins and microelements should be observed. Food should not be rich in vitamin D, A.
• The diet consists of 30% -70% protein foods.
• You can not overfeed your pet or give little food. The dog should not be obese, underweight.
• It is forbidden to give dogs sweets, flour products, pickled, smoked products, sausages, spicy food.
• The dog always feeds at the same time. Feeding the pet between meals is not allowed, free snacks.

Supply frequency:

• small individuals up to two months old eat 6 times a day;
• from 3 to 6 months - up to 4 times a day;
• from half a year of life - 2 or 3 times a day;
• after a year and before old age - 2 times a day.

When you brought the puppy home from the kennel, for the first 2 weeks of life in the apartment, the baby should eat food, compiled on the recommendation of the breeder. The change in diet is smooth, as abrupt changes lead to volvulus, regurgitation, or complete refusal to eat.

The pet is not fed at night. The first feeding begins in the early morning, when the owner gets up, and the last one falls in the evening, at about 22 o'clock. It is advisable to give the doggie meat products in the evening.

The basis of the diet should be protein foods. Lean pork, poultry, beef are suitable. The product is served raw or boiled, cut into medium pieces.It is advisable not to grind the meat into minced meat, since such a consistency of the product is not completely digested.

Boiled sea fish can be fed to puppies that have reached 4 months of age. Be sure to remove scales, bones from the product. The puppy eats fish once a week. An excess of fish products in the diet leads to stunted growth, indigestion and other ailments.

Chicken eggs are fed boiled. You can give your baby only the yolk. The diet also includes low-fat kefir, cottage cheese, cereal porridge with a small amount of salt, Adyghe cheese, soaked feta cheese, yogurt. As a food additive, you can use brewer's yeast, as well as a preparation for the normalization of intestinal microflora, which is called "Bifitrilak".

The puppy gets fats from sunflower and other vegetable oils. Carbohydrates - from cereals, rusks, bran, potatoes, black bread, vegetables and fruits. The puppy is allowed to feast on small portions of honey.

Legumes are practically not included in the dog's diet. These foods are difficult to digest, which means that nutrients are hardly absorbed. Before serving, fruits should be washed, pitted, cut into portions, and some fruits can also be grated into porridge.

The upbringing and training of the puppy begins when it reaches 3 months of age. The little pet remembers any commands and instructions quickly and easily. If the puppy does not understand what is required of him, you should not yell at the baby or apply physical punishment. It is necessary to clearly show how the command is being executed, or to push the puppy to fulfill it - to help him sit down or lie down, to give a voice.

Any action correctly performed must be supported by a treat so that the dog develops a reflex.

Little dogs love to jump on strangers or their family members. Sheepdogs must be weaned from this. The easiest way is to ignore the pet at the moment it jumped.

It is important to accustom the baby to the nickname, the dog should always respond to its name. If there is no time for training or you are not good at it, then together with the puppy it is worth visiting the dog handler school.

The Black German Shepherd is a versatile breed. Cheerfulness, kindness, devotion, curiosity, sharp mind and scent, quick learning - all these qualities make the animal indispensable in security services. It is the shepherd dogs that are chosen as partners by people working in the police, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and customs.

You should still get to know the Shepherd, even if you prefer other guard dogs. These sly eyes, pretty face, balanced disposition captivate the first time. There is no friend more loyal than the German Shepherd.

For information on how to feed a German shepherd puppy, see the next video.