German Shepherd Mixes
German Shepherd, as the name implies, originates from Germany. It can be called Alsatian Wolf dog, Deutscher Schaferhund, Berger Allemand. Its lifespan is 9-13 years. They are one of the most popular dog breeds in America due to many reasons, which are it’s intelligence, courage, multifunction such as military dog, guide dog for the blind, guard dog, police dog, rescue dog, etc.
It earned its Alsatian wolf name because of its wolflike appearance. It is typically 60-65cm tall and weighs 30-40kg for males. 55-60cm tall and weighs 22-32 kg for females. There are different cross breeds of German Shepherd, which are as good as the parent breeds. Crossbreeds can also be called mutts. Let’s find out the combinations and a few of their features.
Golden Shepherd
Golden Shepherd is a mix of German Shepherd and Golden Retriever. Adopting this dog is a good choice for families with kids. It is 20-26inches tall and weighs 55-85 pounds. Its lifespan is 10-14 years. The mix started when breeders noticed the health problems of pure breeds and wanted to decrease it by mixing the two pure species.
Golden Shepherd is a large dog due to its parent breeds. The pure species that developed Golden Retriever are workaholics. Therefore, the mutt works a lot and enjoys exercises. It lives to be busy with things, whether big or small; keep it alive. They are intelligent, yielding, energetic, especially when appropriately trained.
Grooming is easy; brushing its teeth, trimming the hairs and toenails isn’t hard at all, provided you are its owner. Their diet changes as they grow, they gain weight quickly, so regular exercise is advised. It has health challenges which are likely to be hip and elbow dysplasia common with dogs of large breeds.
Shollie
It’s a combination of German Shepherd and Collie. Shollie weighs 70-80 pounds, 21-29inches tall, and its lifespan is 13-15 years. It does not have an accurate history because it is a newer dog breed, but it embodies the features of its parent breeds. Mental exercises for the dog are essential because of their alertness and smartness.
It goes along with kids and is relatively barren with strangers. It copes well with solitude and has a high tolerance for calmness. It is agile, loves working and exercises. An hour or more of good practice is sufficient. Dog grooming may require a lot because it sheds. It is a companion, which makes it go along with other pets and little kids.
Its diet should be made explicitly for dogs of large breeds for good health and agility. It’s likely going to gain weight, but exercise helps keep this in check. Their diet changes as they grow. Shollie is likely to suffer bloating, elbow and hip dysplasia. Regular checkup is essential.
Rottweiler Shepherd
The mutt is a mixture of Rottweiler and German Shepherd. This mutt weighs 75-115 pounds and is a large breed. Its lifespan is 9-13 years, 22-28 inches tall. The mixing of the Rottweiler and German Shepherd started in the 1900s in North America. The mix was made to promote its intelligence, humility, agileness because it’s a common feature of dogs of German descent.
The creation of the crossbreeds increased as a result of an increase in demand for its pup. They are hunting/working dogs which is typical of the mutt. Rottweiler Shepherd can also be called Shepweiler. It’s energetic, friendly, and gets protective around its owner over strangers. It’s a good companion for kids and adults.
It has chances of gaining weight fast, adequate diet and exercise would help. They shed heavily and, as such, require brushing at least once in two days. Their common health issues are eyelid issues, Aortic stenosis, hip dysplasia, a congenital heart defect. These regular demand checkups.
Shepadoodle
The Poodle and German Shepherd were mixed to create the mutt. It can also be called Shepherdoodle, a German doodle, and the pure breeds originated from Germany. It is 18-24 inches tall. It weighs 50-80 pounds and has a lifespan of 10-15 years. It is primarily brown, black, tri-colored. This breed is energetic and needs up to one hour to exercise each day, thanks to the German Shepherd.
It’s an excellent watchdog that gets protective and barks at the sight of strange faces. It’s a good companion and playful with kids. Training would help limit misbehavior; from a young age, especially to get familiar with faces, environment, habits. It’s well known for its loyalty and obedience.
It gains weight quickly, especially without exercise. Its common health problems are eye condition, hip, and elbow dysplasia, Addison disease prominent in poodle; formulated foods good for German Shepherd would be good on shepadoodles too.
Wolf Shepherd
It is a crossbreed of German Shepherd and pure wolf. This dog looks like a wolf and may not be allowed in certain places; having a good knowledge of one’s place of residence would help in decision-making. It usually has a dense coat and weighs 60-120 pounds, but this is dependant on age, weight, health, genetics.
Its breeding started in 1899 through Captain Max von Stephanitz. He wanted to create an agile herding dog and began making crossbreeds. Leaving the dog alone is not so good as it requires company; it misbehaves when alone for a while because it has wolf mannerisms. As it grows, it adopts the wolf characteristics. It is fierce, energetic, requires lots of exercises, and should on no occasion be left alone with kids because this mutt has recorded several kids and adult death.
It’s omnivorous and requires adequate green vegetables, grasses, which help it digest food. At least two hours of exercise is advised for this breed. Training takes patience, consistency because this breed is for the average pet keepers and not advisable for novice pet keepers. It has genetic heart disease, which includes rabies, heartworms, parvovirus, etc. A regular visit to the clinic is advised.
German Sheppit
It’s a mixture of German Shepherd and Pitbull. It weighs 30-90 pounds, is 17-26 inches tall, and has a lifespan of 10-12 years. It’s likely to be black, brown, grey, tawn, fawn colors. Its mix was started in the 1990s by designer breeders in North America.
This breed is not rampant because Pitbull is banned in some countries, challenging cross breeders. It requires lots of exercises; socialization at a young age would curtail its aggression. They cannot cope with being alone for an extended period; it may cause howling, barking, and aggressive behavior.
Weight gain can lead to joint problems, the reason adequate diet and exercise are advised. Its common health problems include skin irritation, allergies, bloating, heart disease, etc. Regular checkups, caution, and grooming would promote healthiness.
Saint Shepherd
It’s a mixture of German Shepherd and Saint Bernard. These pure breeds are large dogs; that characteristic is in their mutt. It is usually large, if not giant. It is 28 inches tall and weighs 120 pounds on average. The mixture started in the 2000s. It is 28-31 inches tall in males and 25-28 inches tall in females. Saint Bernard is originally from Switzerland, used as a guard because of its sensitive nose; it can smell corpses, especially ones buried in snow.
It devours a lot and gains weight, which is why regular exercise is essential. Solitude, lack of exercise can lead to destructive behavior and aggressiveness. Activities may include running, hiking, swimming, etc. This dog is good with kids. Significant health challenges are hip and elbow dysplasia, dermatofibromas, bloating, etc.
German Australian Shepherd
A crossbreed of German Shepherd and Australian Shepherd made way for this mutt. It is one of the costliest crossbreeds. It weighs 60-80lbs and is 22-25 inches tall in males and 20-23 inches and 46-65 lbs in females. It requires exercise to keep it in shape and prevent aggressive behavior. It thrives better in a large environment where running for a long time would be possible.
It can break any bone on the human body and should not be left with kids unsupervised. It sheds heavily and requires regular brushing. The development of this mutt started in Germany in the 1880s to help return lost to their flock. Its guidance, security, and companionship made it a guard dog.
It’s sensitive and has a high smelling capacity. The common health concerns of this dog are hip and elbow dysplasia, hemophilia, deafness, etc. It requires exercise, diet regulation, and regular checkups.
German Ridgeback
It is a crops breed of German Shepherd and Rhodesian Ridgebacks. It weighs 70 inches and 24-26 inches tall in females and 25-27 inches tall, 85lbs weigh in males. It has a powerful bite which is a characteristic of both parent breeds. It is energetic and can reach 30 miles per hour. They need plenty of exercises, running, hiking, walking, and playing with humans.
It’s among one of the world’s most intelligent dog breeds, eager to learn new things and trainable. Vigilant and protective, it’s wary of unfamiliar faces but affectionate, a good pet for kids and adults. It lives beyond ten years with regular exercise and an adequate diet. Common health challenges are hip/elbow dysplasia, inferior thyroid, inherited, bloating, and significant vision issues.
Shepkita
It is a crossbreed of German Shepherd and Akita. The mutt weighs 75-120 pounds and is 24-28 inches tall. Its lifespan is 10-13 years. Their primary colors are brown, grey, red, sable, silver, white, black. Breeders started creating this mix in the 1950s after the Akita dog was first introduced in the United States by the Japanese.
They combined both personalities to create a stoic, protective, loyal breed since Akita is known for its protective, stubborn nature while German Shepherd is faithful. They do not demand attention; they are fun, energetic, and silly. Training at young ages is essential to curb dominating behavior, get familiar, instill loyalty and help its health.
Its diet should be for large breeds. Their dense coat helps them adapt well to cold weather. They are prone to few health issues, which are bloating, allergies, dry eye, elbow, and hip dysplasia; these challenges require constant clinic visitation, proper care, and diet.
Chow Shepherd
German Shepherd and Chow Chow produced the Chow Shepherd. It has the facial features of a German Shepherd. It can also be called a Sheprachow. It is a watchdog and not suitable for novice dog owners; it needs average hands and training. It weighs 45-90 pounds. It is 22-26 inches tall. It has a lifespan of 12-15 years. It has a dense coat.
It requires the exercise of at least one hour. Kids should not be left alone with the mutt as it does not tolerate kids’ rough play. Learning the features of each of the pure breeds will help in handling the mutt. Chow chow is one of the oldest dogs of China origin, Mongolia precisely. Guidance and companion chewing and aggressive behavior. Its common health challenges are Entropy affecting eyelids, elbow dysplasia, gastric dilation, etc. Regular checkups would be one of the remedies.
Beagle Shepherd
It is a combination of German Shepherd and Beagle. It is 16-24 inches tall and weighs 22-26lbs in males and 15-22 inches tall and 22-49lbs in females. It requires attention, training, and consistency. The breed is loyal and intelligent. The temperament of the crossbreed is the same as its parent breed.
They are stubborn but loyal, confident, obedient, and need early socialization. It has separation anxiety and hates calmness. It is a therapy dog and can be agile both in the field and farm. Association with kids, adults, and other pets is healthy.
A healthy and adequate meal is advised because it suffers from diabetes, heart murmur, hip dysplasia, cataracts, glaucoma. Checkups would be a leap over some of these conditions.
Final thoughts
Some of these dogs are wilder and need average hands, while some are prone to illness which is one of the reasons some mutts like Wolf Shepherd are not allowed in certain areas or countries. Before adopting a mutt, the proper study of the parent breed should be done because they contribute to the mutt’s mannerisms. Adopting one of the mutts would be a great addition to the family and would be better, especially when taken care of the right way. The purpose of adoption is an essential factor because it will help in knowing which to go for.