puppy all grown up!

[Syaoransbear]

I think the last time I posted pictures of Chrono was when I first got him. I went to check out the sister website of birdboard, dogboard, but it's a complete mess.

Anyways, here's pictures of Chrono my purebred german shepherd. He's 17 months old now, about 29" tall and just under 110 pounds. He's very over sized for his breed unfortunately, but he's not being bred or shown so it doesn't really matter.








placed sit and stay


a long-distance sit and stay in the water


swimming after a stick!


jumping on the trampoline


dog park 3 months ago (that's not me in the picture)

I would have loved to do schutzhund training with him but I think that's something I should have started him on when he was younger. He's got tonnes of drive for everything(prey, toy, ball and food). He's a really hard dog and is still rebellious. He settles nicely after just a short walk, but he never runs out of energy. He loves everything that moves and is the friendliest dog I've ever met, which isn't such a great thing because he's very large and easily excited. He wants to meet everyone, but there aren't that many people who want to meet a huge scary black german shepherd On the plus side no children EVER rush up to him to pet him so I don't have to worry about them getting knocked over by his kisses.

[WhiteRaven]

He is gorgeous! I love black German Shepherds, I think they are lovely. :) I like the first photo and the one of him jumping on the trampoline.

I have a black GSD cross. She is a fluffball.

[magdalena]

Start Schutzhund, 18 months is just when the real fun begins! He's a little large but he's got good conformation, straight back. I'd go for it if you can find a great club or trainer. Even if it goes nowhere the training is great fun for the dog, they love to work and if he has the drives you say he'll be a happy guy.

[Syaoransbear]

We have a club just outside the city, but I've never been there before and they don't have a website so it's hard to get information about it. I'd like to check it out, but I'm a small little lady and scared of getting laughed at by a bunch of tough guys heh. I'm not that interested in getting Chrono titled so I don't want them to feel like I'm wasting their time.

[cfulhage]

I'm confused- why is being large a problem?

He's gorgeous. My GSD passed away less than a year ago. Someday soon I'll have another one, they are incredible dogs. My Buddy was large as well, not sure about height, but 115 lb easily at a good weight.

[Syaoransbear]

It goes against the AKC and CKC standards for german shepherds, but more importantly for health reasons. German shepherd dogs are medium-large dogs, they aren't designed to be 'giant' dogs like Chrono is considered to be. Males should be 24-26 inches high and between 66 pounds and 88 pounds, and females 22-24 inches high and between 50 and 70 pounds. The reasons are that since it's a herding and working dog, a dog that is too large won't be able to run as fast or jump as high, and their stamina might be worse since they have to carry around all that extra weight and they will need more food. Another health reason is that since german shepherds are at such a high risk of hip and elbow dysplasia, any unnecessary weight will increase their chances of developing it.

In schutzhund there's something called the retrieve. A dog has to be able to clear a one meter high jump without its feet touching the jump. Since Chrono is so large, I'm not sure he'd be able to clear that, and I'm not sure if his joints would be able to handle the stress of his weight when he lands if he does it too much.

[cfulhage]

Thanks for the explanation!

[loyallyroyal]

schutzhund isnt the greatest sport for sheppies long term anyway. Tends to be really hard on their joints and hips.

[Monica]

I gotta say, he's gorgeous!!!! I'm not a particular fan of GSD's, but have found the black breeds and the white breeds to be outstandingly beautiful! I really didn't have too much interest in GSD's until I met one that was part wolf, as well as some other breeds besides GSD's, and couldn't believe just how gorgeous and sweet tempered this dog was! I know of one GSD (actually, he's 3/4 GSD and 1/4 newfy, but looks all GSD) who's extremely hyper and doesn't know the meaning of "calm."

I remember his puppy pictures, and recall how cute he was back then! Still a beaut!