Looking at buying my first GSD pup

by Miyuru

Hi, I'm a regular reader of your site and am looking for buying my first GSD pup. I've learnt many things about GSDs from your site for which I'm very thankful.

I today went to see some puppies and tried to check them for the qualities your site has stated. The puppies were barely five weeks old ( here in Sri Lanka, most breeders sell pups by six weeks ). There were only two left from the litter ( there has been a lack of GSD pups in recent weeks and hence many had opted to take their puppy to home early).

I wanted a male puppy and the two left were one male and one female. I haven't purchased any yet but asked him to keep the male one for me. The puppies and parents were good overall. The puppies were playful and had no defects to be seen. The male one was a bit smaller than the female one and appeared to be not as fast as the female when walking, however I prefered having the male. The breeder is reputed.

However, now I have a question about the color of the dog. The mother ( 8yrs, but only fifth litter as the breeder does not do this as a business ) is black and golden but the father ( 2.5yrs, first or second litter ) appeared to be solid black. Both puppies had a good solid color coat and did not have any irregularities or pale colours. However the female puppy had a nice brown color in her neck and legs although the male one only had a tan color around his legs.

Does this mean that the male one will be a solid black when he's an adult ? I know that a good dog's color doesn't matter but I'd prefer to have a black and brown adult dog. Also, is the falling down when walking abnormal ? They do walk fine but sometimes to be falling. Is that because they're still too small ? Will he be large enough when grown up?


The breeder stated that he was probably smaller than the female one because he was born on the following day. His dad appeared a bit rude, probably because he was caged. Will the male puppy be alright with people if he's properly socialized ? I'm sorry if that is too much questions. But I'd be very happy if you could please provide me with the answers. Keep up the good work with Total GSD!


Total German Shepherd:

Hi Miyuru, In answer to your questions, I'll try and list them below for you:

• "Does this mean that the male one will be a solid black when he's an adult" - you stated that "the male one only had a tan color around his legs" - so I would assume that he'll lighten up as he ages (and no be solid black) but it may be that he'll be much darker overall than the female who is already showing a more traditional GSD saddleback pattern

• "is the falling down when walking abnormal" - for GSD puppies that are less than 5 weeks old this is very normal - remember, they are still learning to walk and it will take them some time before they perfect their gait and coordination

• "Will the male puppy be alright with people if he's properly socialized" - yes, he should do well if you socialize him really well and provide him with adequate training

Good luck with your new German Shepherd puppy!