German Shepherd Dog Training

german shepherd pannus
Does anyone have a german shepherd with pannus??? I am trying to find out more about it.?

She is almost blind and I wondered if anyone has any ideas on how to care for her as far as making things easier for her.
I was wondering if anyone has any ideas as what to do as far as keeping her from hurting herself, she is always running into everything. Also how to tell if she has any pain?

Chronic Superficial Keratitis (Pannus) is a disease seen most commonly in the German Shepherd, but does occur in other breeds. A progressive change occurs where blood vessels and scar tissue invade the cornea and severe cases can involve most or all of the corneal surface area resulting in blindness. With chronicity the affected areas become black with pigmentation.

It is believed that Pannus is an immune mediated disease. That is, some subcellular change has occurred in the cornea which the immune system then recognizes as abnormal resulting in an immune mediated attack in the cornea almost as if the cornea was foreign or transplanted tissue. It is suspected that the German Shepherd has a genetic predisposition to this disease, but the damage to the cornea which starts everything is thought to be associated with ultraviolet radiation.
Pannus is diagnosed world wide, however it is well recognized that cases of pannus are more severe and harder to treat in areas of higher elevation, supporting the UV radiation theory. It is hypothesized that dissipation of the ozone layer has resulted in greater exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

It makes sense then to treat Pannus with medications that locally suppress the immune reaction. Steroids (such as dexamethasone and prednisolone) are anti-inflammatory medications which provide some immunosupression as a side effect. Cyclosporine, is a drug which has immunosupression as it’s primary mode of action, and applied topically alone or in combination with steroids often results in better control of Pannus than the use of steroid alone.

With treatment, the active vascularization and granulation tissue often resolves, but the scarring and pigmentation may improve somewhat slowly or not at all.

Reduction of exposure to ultraviolet radiation is also helpful in the longterm control of Pannus. Keeping the dog indoor during the sunniest part of the day; providing a doghouse shelter; or trying a specialty pair of canine sunglass goggles called Doggles may prove very helpful.

Since Pannus is an immune mediated disease, it is managed by treatment but not cured. Ongoing treatment for life is needed to maintain vision.

German Shepherd Dog Keratitis?

Unfortunately, my dog has just been diagnosed with pannus (German Shepherd Dog Keratitis). I’ve caught it early enough that she still maintains a good amount of vision – it’s like she’s seeing over a ledge. However, I’m still a little curious about the disease.

Unfortunately, Pannus is one of the most popular diseases of GSD’s. She will be on eye meds for the rest of her life. I’ve never heard of it shortening their lives. You really need to try to keep her out of direct sunlight. So, if she’s an outdoor dog (which I hope not) you will need to build her a shelter to stay under. As the disease progresses, they do lose vision. Is it in both eyes?
Here’s a link http://www.workingdogs.com/doc0087.htm
Good luck!

german shepherd racist
Can German Shepherds be racist?

I want to know because my German Shepherd tries to attack my black friend.( and on some occasions she barks at my mexican friend )
Also I got her from another family

It’s sad that, as usual in YA, many people answer despite having totally inadequate experience of reality. Even sadder is that, for your question, those people ThumbsUp for wrong answers and ThumbsDown for correct answers.
Worst if all was the person who accused the Asker of having “done something” to this dog – the Asker pointed out (“I got her from another family”) that they were NOT the original owners.

The first reality is that genuine GSDs are VERY racist, in that they consider that white dogs should behave like sheep! (True racism is directed towards one’s own species.)
The second reality is that, although they are not racist towards humans, they sure can SEEM that way.
For those who want examples:
• Every serviceman who’s been in a racially-segregated regiment with guard dogs knows that when a N*gro enters a Pakeha (my country’s term for a pale-faced stranger) regiment’s camp the dogs get aggressive; ditto when a Pakeha enters a N*gro regiment’s camp.
• Many years ago the Indian shopkeeper near from me bought a GSD pup from my Pakeha mentor. The dog grew up happy with Indians, but disliked Pakeha & Maori & Pacific Islanders. (The owner wanted to show, and the judges are Pakeha, so he went to the trouble of visiting me & other Pakeha to gradually get the dog to accept Pakeha.)

My theory is based on the canine species’ strongest sensory ability, plus that “We are what we eat”.

Some humans claim to be able to identify some races by their smell. Imagine how much easier it is for a canine to identify each human’s smell!
Why should Negroes smell different to Hawaiians, who smell different to Germans, who smell different to Japanese, etc?
• It may be partly genetic – scent emerges from skin, and most people will admit that there ARE racial differences in skin pigmentation and the pigmentation & texture of hairs that emerge from the skin. However, I don’t think genetics is enough explanation – I’m aware that dogs that react to MOST people of a “different” race accept SOME people of that race. (I live in a VERY multi-racial city. The residents of my 10-house street have at least 5 ethnic origins.)
• I consider that it is very much dietary. People who eat a Pakeha-type diet are likely to smell like Pakeha, regardless of their skin pigmentation. People who eat an Asian-type diet are likely to smell like Asians, people who eat a Mexican-type diet are likely to smell like Mexicans. I don’t mean that “eating Thai” once a week is going to significantly change a person’s body scent to smell like a Thai, but “eating Thai” every day of the week is sure to. If you can tell from the kitchen aromas wafting from a house what the occupant’s background is (in the ’80s I used to do door-to-door work) then it stands to reason that the causes of those aromas will leave traces in the sweat glands of the inhabitants.
One of my groups discussed this question several years ago, and no-one could come up with a better explanation for the way dogs SEEM to be racist toward ethnicities they have had little contact with, but accept the same ethnicities after prolonged non-scary contact.

[mineardt]:
Your first task is to gain your pet’s confidence. So avoid negative actions towards it at present.
Once it likes you and accepts you as “the pack leader and great hunter” (which should be between 2 weeks and 3 months, depending on your pet’s age), get into a training club class (not a pet-shop play group!) where you will be coached to become an effective trainer, and at the same time your pet learns to pay attention regardless of what other dogs & people are doing. Once the pair of you are at that stage, your dog will accept anyone and anything that you accept. I’ve had a GSD leap off an 8ft high terrace and make the house shake as he threw himself at the gate to get at a visitor who had foolishly opened the gate and only-just closed it again before being bitten – but as soon as I let that chap in, “Otto” accepted his right to be there.

However – a caution. Most dogs can mysteriously (actually, it is again probably scent-based) identify people who have cruelty inside them. So unless you are SURE that your dog’s reaction is purely due to the “racism” of a dietary difference, you should quietly do some checking up on the reputations of those two friends: whether they pulled wings off flies, strangled cats, threw stones at horses, bullied little children, whatever.

To ask questions about GSDs, join some of the YahooGroups dedicated to various aspects of living with GSDs. Each group’s Home page tells you which aspects they like to discuss, and how active they are. Unlike YA, they are set up so that you can have an ongoing discussion with follow-up questions for clarification. Most allow you to include photos.
Les P, owner of GSD_Friendly: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GSD_Friendly
“In GSDs” as of 1967

Do you think some people are “dog racist”?

People always interpret that ALL black dogs are “mean and scary” which is clearly NOT TRUE. I was walking Sam, my docile German Shepherd the other day and a few people were scared of him because my dog is mostly black. I felt so offended because my dog did not even bark or lunge at them andyet they were scared to walk past me. Like cmon really? When I see other dog owners who walk their Labs, or Golden Retrievers people don`t have a problem. I do not understand. So what is your opinion on this?
it’s sad what the world has come to. Not all GSD’s are mean. They should have more credit.

some people just don’t like dogs period … or have formed opinions on certain breeds due to their experience with them … black dogs do look scarier than some others but other people’s reactions to your dog should not upset you … if you know you have a good dog why would you bother acknowledging or worrying about other people’s ignorance … i have a jack russell terrier and i can not tell you how many times people have been wary of my dog (and she is 14 pounds and totally non-aggressive) and make comments like watch out those dogs are aggressive … some people like big dogs, some people like little dogs, and there are people who will say negative things about either regardless of the colour of your dog or the breed … well except for pit bulls, no one wants to walk by one of those … i personally have not met a mean german shepherd in my lifetime …

Rush Limbaugh: Racist German Shepherd