Man's Best Friend- My Best Friend- My American Bred German Shepherd

Known forever as "Man's best friend", dogs have been a mainstay of households all over the world since being domesticated centuries ago. The greatest gift to me and my daughter this year has been our rescue dog, Cooper, an American bred German Shepherd!

Unlike the European bred shepherd, which has shorter legs, broader shoulders and a more aggressive demeanor, the American bred German Shepherd has longer legs, longer snout and a more pleasant, family-oriented demeaner, while still having a "protect the pack" mentality when it comes to intruders.

For Cooper, it was a nice change of scenery. When we got Cooper, or "Coop", he was previously rescued by a family who owned a farm, coming to them missing hair, undernourished and dying for a new home. He was already quasi-housebroken, knowing basic commands such as "sit" and "give paw", he has learned proper walking on leash and even "stay" and "leave it" commands. It is important when raising a shepherd, as any other dog to be consistent with what words you use for commands to keep them from being confused.

When walking your dog, it is important to have their head and shoulders even with your knee, as when they walk out ahead of you, they develop a "leader of the pack" mentality, which causes them to be less obedient. I use the command "back" along with the use of a Martingale collar, which is approved by the Humane Society as the best training collar to use when walk-training your dog.

Leaving Cooper alone in the house, I don't crate him, as I have a nice large rec room with couch for him to wander around in. He listens when before I leave I say, "time out" and put up the gate. He could easily knock over the gate, but has learned the command "time out" to not test the gate and to know his allowed space.

When I'm working from home, he is always by my side and is permitted on the couch in the carpeted areas of the house.

Cooper sleeps at the foot of my bed, and much like me, prefers to sleep in on the weekends.