German Shepherd first Dog

Please start with a smaller, easier breed and preferably by adopting an adult in the 2-4 year old range. That will get you used to the needs and routine of having a dog. Or maybe adopt a retired greyhound.

You propose to be first time dog owners who live in what to a large active breed is a very cramped space, you plan to leave the dog alone while you work and won't be interacting with the dog for most of every 24 hours, you've never dealt with training or housebreaking a pup, don't know how to handle a teething pup chewing on your possessions, don't know about the feeding and exercise requirements and restrictions that help make joint problems less likely. (You can't go running with a dog for any distance till it's full grown!)

I hate most dogs in movies and on TV. I have a saying for them: I call them "drugged dogs." On Enterprise, the captain had a beagle who never barked or bayed, didn't run, could apparently stay alone in bare quarters without attention or exercise, and never pooped or peed. Drugged. Or those Tom Sellack movies about Jesse the detective, he had a young, perfectly groomed golden retriever, alone 16+ hours a day but not destructive, who never got off the couch except to sleep next to Jesse's chair by the lake. Clearly drugged.

This will not be any dog owned by a real person, with the possible exception of a retired racing greyhound. They are large dogs but very laid back, tho from what I read you'd better never leave them off-leash. Then, they run.

Know why there are so many adolescent dogs in shelters and rescues? Because when the dogs start getting near their full size at 8-10 months, it's harder to physically control them and it's not cute anymore when they're destructive from boredom and lack of training and exercise. Plus, like human teenagers they get an attitude going on: I don' wanna, you can't catch me. So people dump them. People don't start out intending to do that but they can't, or won't, deal with such a big demand on their energy and time.

This is true of any breed or mix but with a smart dog like a GSD, they can think of even more ways to get in trouble, if not kept physically and mentally happy. And even when they are — well, my shepherd taught herself to open the sliding screen and heavy glass door — this is not a trick I'd've taught my dog!