Adult German Shepherds

The AKC Standard says the German Shepherd "has a distinct personality marked by direct and fearless, but not hostile, expression, self-confidence, and a certain aloofness that does not lend itself to immediate and indiscriminate friendships. The dog must be approachable, quietly standing its ground and showing confidence and willingness to meet overtures without itself making them”.

That's a great description of an ideal German Shepherd.

When you're talking German Shepherd Dog maturity there are many factors involved.� Bone freeze occurs around 11 months.� There will be no more "growth" after that, but they will "fill out" until the age of 2 and some, beyond that.� In our experience, when they are 3, German Shepherd Dogs are� mature mentally and should be considered an Adult.

Deutscher Schäferhunde

Many people say at 2 years is considered to be Adult GSD and fully mature at 3+ years old. Some people say the fear period as puppy GSD ends at 18 Months of age, meaning he is qualify to be as self-confident GSD like an adult dog.

When you're talking maturity there are many factors involved. Bone freeze occurs around 11 months. There will be no more "growth" after that, but they will "fill out" until the age of 2 and some, beyond that. It has been my experience, when they are 3, they are mature mentally.

Dogs will consider puppies as just that until about the age of 6 months, then all bets are off. This is when you may start to see aggression from an older dog toward the youngster. Sometimes, it will be just to put them in their place, but it can lead to injury and even death.

Physically, 2...mentally 3...to another dog, 6 months

Alsation/German Shepherd Puppies

At birth, a German Shepherd puppy of a standard litter of six to eight pups would be expected to weigh approximately 1% of the dam's pre-pregnancy weight. This varies depending on a number of factors, including but not limited to genetics, size of litter, gender, and environmental conditions for the dam and pups during pregnancy and whelp.

The German Shepherd is currently listed as the third most popular dog breed registered with the AKC. This dog resembles that of its ancestor, the Wolf, and was originally bred to be the ideal herding Shepherd and guard dog.