In certain parts of the world, Black German Shepherds are considered as some of the most popular and luxurious dogs a dog owner could ever have at home, such as Australia for example.
But, what exactly is a Black German Shepherd? Is this dog a different breed than the usual German Shepherd we all know about?
Or is the Black German Shepherd exactly the same dog that just has a different coat color?
We’re all most familiar with German Shepherds having a coat color that’s special because of a black saddle on its back, so what’s the deal here? Are people getting scammed or is a Black German Shepherd really a “thing” nowadays?
German Shepherd VS Black German Shepherd – Same Or Different Breeds?
Despite some of the wrong information that you may come across on the internet or if you were to ask some people about this, the Black German Shepherd is not a different dog breed from the German Shepherd dog breed, both are from the same breed.
Many people often get it mixed up and think that the Black German Shepherd is a mixed breed/cross breed (such as is the case with the Miniature German Shepherd), but this isn’t true.
A Black German Shepherd is just like a normal German Shepherd, but with a few differences here and there because of certain genetics.
The black color that dominates this German Shepherd’s coat is due to specific genetics that these dogs get from their parents, something which we will be clearing up in this article.
So no, you’re not necessarily getting scammed by a breeder if they offer to sell you a Black German Shepherd, these dogs do really exist.
How Do I Know If My German Shepherd Will Get Black German Shepherd Puppies?
So, for all you know, you have a normal German Shepherd at home and you’re thinking about having it produce puppies for whatever reason that may be.
How can you know that your German Shepherd won’t give birth to any Black German Shepherd puppies among the litter?
To get the most accurate answer to this question, you should talk with the breeder you bought your German Shepherd from in order to ask them a few questions that they should be able to answer if they’re professional enough and take their work seriously.
Certain German Shepherds come from blood lines where Black German Shepherds are common, which increases the chances that they could have this specific gene in a recessive form and pass it on to an offspring where it will be apparent in the form of a completely black colored coat.
Either way, when a German Shepherd is born, you can’t really tell the coat of their color right away.
You have to wait until at least 6-8 weeks until their coat forms and you’re able to determine what coat color they have.
Many people make a very common mistake where they choose a German Shepherd puppy that’s under 6 weeks of age based on their color, where they choose a black one thinking that they’re getting a Black German Shepherd, whereas what happens later is that this puppy grows to develop a coat color completely different from what color they used to be in when they still hadn’t developed.
So, the lesson here is, you can’t tell what coat color a German Shepherd puppy will have before they are at least 6-8 weeks of age.
Black German Shepherd Appearance
When it comes to how the Black German Shepherd looks like, you won’t find that much difference between it and the normal German Shepherd besides coat color, mainly because both are the same dog breed.
As we already covered above, the Black German Shepherd isn’t a cross breed/mixed breed. If the Black German Shepherd was a cross breed, you could expect to see some noticeable differences in appearance.
So, if you were to compare the face of a Black German Shepherd to that of a usual tan-black German Shepherd dog, you’ll find that the two are very similar to one another, if not exactly the same (besides the difference in color, of course).
However, some differences in appearance do in fact exist, however minor they may be.
What are these differences in appearance exactly? Let’s have a look.
Size
Generally speaking, Black German Shepherds will almost always be a little bit larger in size when compared to usual German Shepherds.
Exceptions do exist, of course, but this is the general norm when comparing the two.
Back
If you were to closely compare a regular German Shepherd dog with a Black German Shepherd, you’ll almost always notice that the Black German Shepherd has a somewhat straighter back than the regular German Shepherd.
Black German Shepherd Temperament
Affection & Friendliness
When it comes to the Black German Shepherd being affectionate, friendly and outgoing, you’re going to have to give it a little time before it can warm up to new faces and get used to being its comfortable self around them.
This doesn’t at all mean that Black German Shepherds aren’t friendly or outgoing, it just means that they require a little bit more time than other dogs that show this side of them fairly quicker.
Just give your Black German Shepherd the time it needs to come out of its shell, and it will.
When it does, you’ll see how this dog is so full of love and affection that it has been hiding for so long.
If you want to ensure that your Black German Shepherd needs as little time as possible in order to “break out of its shell” and be playful with your family members or any other household pets you may have at home (other dogs, cats, etc ..), then you should definitely have them socialized from as young an age as possible.
Black German Shepherds that are socialized from a young age are much more likely to “fit in” the group than Black German Shepherds that aren’t properly socialized from a young age.
However, if you were to try to socialize your Black German Shepherd when they’re at an elderly age, they’ve already seen a whole lot from life and have formed their personalities that are now quite hard to change.
Think about it this way: Which of these two cases do you think is easier for you to achieve, you trying to get your baby to like being around in and celebrating birthdays by taking them to many of these celebrations starting at the age of 2 years, or you trying to get your 16 year old kid to like going to birthdays, knowing the fact that they’ve never been to one their entire life?
Obviously, #1 is way easier than #2, and the same holds true for our dogs. Dogs are just like us humans!
Many people immediately assume by the Black German Shepherd’s look that it’s a very aggressive dog they should stay away from for their safety, but this isn’t the case at all.
Yes, the Black German Shepherd is a very physically strong dog, but this doesn’t mean that it’s an aggressive dog that’s looking to harm anyone that crosses its path just because.
Exercise & Physical Activity
Black German Shepherds love to go out frequently, as just being out in the open gives them a huge fresh of breath air that they appreciate much more than being indoors.
For this reason (and many more, obviously), you’ll be doing real good if you take your Black German Shepherd out to the dog park regularly where they can exercise, enjoy the green scenery and interact with any other dogs they find there.
Speaking numbers, a minimum of two walks a day is required to keep your Black German Shepherd content.
Tying hand in hand with what we talked about above concerning the need to properly socialize your Black German Shepherd from a young age, consider taking your Black German Shepherd puppy to the park on a frequent basis and have them interact and play with any dogs that are there (under your supervision, of course).
This will go a long way in developing your Black German Shepherd’s personality way quicker, allow them to discover their surroundings and will help them break out of their shell and become outgoing dogs that can make new friends in no time.
Guard Dogs
As far as being a good guard dog is concerned, Black German Shepherds are just as excellent guard dogs as usual German Shepherds are.
The Black German Shepherd loves to show just how strong of a character they have and how brave they are, and one of the best ways you can let them “have their kick” at showing you this is by allowing them to be your home’s watchdog.
And, just like a usual German Shepherd, a Black German Shepherd is just as fierce and just as fearless when it comes to protecting the ones it loves, and will back down at nothing when it comes to ensuring your safety and that of your family members.
Black German Shepherd Living Conditions
Family Dog?
For many of you reading this article, the decision of whether or not to add a Black German Shepherd to your household is dependent on whether or not these dogs can get along and play safely with young children.
Many of you simply don’t have the time, energy or physical capabilities to keep up with your children’s play-time demands, so having a dog at home that could be your kid’s play-time companion is a perfect solution.
The good news is that Black German Shepherds are known to get along very well with young children and love to play around and have fun just as your little ones do, so they’ll make great playmates.
Just be sure to keep an eye on the interaction between your Black German Shepherd and your kids, because this is a large sized dog we’re talking about here with sheer power, so we don’t want any mistakes happening.
At least keep an eye on their interaction the first few times until you know for a fact that both know their limits and the risk of something bad happening is mitigated, especially when it comes to your child not intimidating this dog and this dog not using excess physical power with your child.
Again, this is one of those areas where socialization with children early on in the life of your Black German Shepherd will tremendously help with ensuring these interactions go in a very safe way.
Apartment Dog?
Unfortunately, this is not the dog for you if you’re planning on getting a Black German Shepherd and have them live in an indoors apartment all day long.
A dog as large in size as this will need adequate space outside the house, a territory they could call their own and one where they could spend large portions of their day in.
Being indoors all day long will make this dog very miserable and agitated, which is not something you want happening with a German Shepherd.
Black German Shepherds are happiest when they have a large dog house built for them on a backyard, where they can go back and forth whenever they feel like resting and running around.
However, you have to ensure that the yard area your Black German Shepherd will be staying in is properly fenced, or else they can easily wander off if they wanted to.
Black German Shepherd Health
As far as the health of a Black German Shepherd is concerned, you shouldn’t be too worried about the possibility of this dog going through special health problems that only they face.
Possibly the biggest worry you’ll have to face with your Black German Shepherd is a physical problem that always comes up whenever any German Shepherd is talked about, which is hip and elbow dysplasia.
However, even then, this shouldn’t be a cause of too much worry for you because you can give your dog all the nutrients they need to help ease this situation with a proper dog formula that has been specifically formulated for large breed dogs like this one.
A proper dog food formula produced for large breed dogs that has anti inflammatory properties coupled with joint-health supplements should do the trick most of the times, unless your dog’s case is a severe one of-course.
Other possible health/physical problems that your Black German Shepherd may experience in their lifetime are arthritis, chronic degenerative radiculomyelopathy and some digestive problems.
If you’re making sure to take your Black German Shepherd to regular and frequent visits to the veterinarian so they can get checked up on they way they should be, then your veterinarian will be able to determine when your dog is starting to develop hip and elbow dysplasia and what should be done to keep this condition at bay.
The majority of Black German Shepherds go on to live normal lives with very few health problems, and the chances of them facing something very severe in their lifetimes are actually small.
Of course, you have to always make sure that your Black German Shepherd is up to date when it comes to their veterinary check ups, as this way your veterinarian will be able to determine any specific health problems right on the spot before they have any chance of developing and becoming much more difficult to treat.
On average, you can expect your Black German Shepherd to live for around 11 to 14 years.
Black German Shepherd Care
Grooming
The coat length of Black German Shepherds can vary quite a bit when comparing one of these dogs to another, which means that shedding levels can also vary quite a bit.
If your Black German Shepherd has a relatively short coat, then you’re lucky because you won’t have to worry about them shedding excessively the same way a Black German Shepherd owner has to worry about excessive shedding if their Black GSD dog has a long coat.
Besides a frequent brushing schedule you should give your Black German Shepherd dog, you should also keep them well groomed when it comes to the other grooming practices, especially bathing.
Black German Shepherds are just like normal German Shepherds in the sense that they tend to get their coats dirty a lot more frequently than other dog breeds, which means they need more bathing time more frequently to keep them fresh.
Black German Shepherd Cost
Generally, you’ll be able to find Black German Shepherds sold by reputable dog breeders for around 800 to 1000 dollars, more or less.
Black German Shepherds with a coat color that’s a bit lighter in black tend to cost a bit less than Black German Shepherds with a coat color that’s much darker in black, so keep that in mind.
