Owning German shepherds takes more than love
Owning German shepherds takes more than love
By T. Sima Gunawan
CIMACAN, West Java (JP): Giovanni von Lowenstein is only five months old, but he can certainly run.
Its in his German shepherd genes.
Giovanni, his brother Glicko von Lowenstein, and sister Gina von Lowenstein, were among the 104 participants at a German shepherd contest held last month by the Indonesian German Shepherd Club in Coolibah, Cimacan.
The club was established in 1978 for people who love Germany shepherds, club chairman Thee Ning Khong said. It began with 50 members, but now has 400. Most of the members live in Jakarta, Bandung or Surabaya.
"I have 30 German shepherds. Some are still puppies, the oldest one is nine years old," Ning Khong said.
He boards the dogs at a house in Coolibah and pays five men to take care of them. He visits them almost every weekend.
Ning Khong, a successful businessman, breeds the German shepherds and sells the pups. "It is just a hobby," he commented.
Yoko Yunandar, a young man who owns a auto shop, said that he breeds the dogs because he likes them.
Yunandar has one five-year-old female and one six-year-old female. They normally give birth twice a year. They can have between one and eleven puppies, but the average is five.
Yunandar remarked that it wasn't a good business because he must spend too much money taking care of the dogs.
"I don't make any profit," he claimed.
"You can have a puppy for Rp 1 million," he quickly added.
He wouldn't reveal how much he bought the two dogs for three years ago, but he said an adult female German shepherd dog goes for more than Rp 10 million.
"The male dogs are more expensive because they can mate the females at anytime, while the females can give birth only twice a year," he said.
Yunandar forks out Rp 1 million to get a male to mate with one of his dogs.
Every month he spends at least Rp 500,000 on keeping the dogs healthy. He also pays a man to take care of the dogs and another to walk them.
Good food alone is not enough to keep the dogs in excellent condition.
Giovanni is fed between nine and 12 tablets of Calcium and a vitamin tablet every day. He also gets an egg, 250 grams of meat, half-a-liter of milk and some dog food.
"You can't feed him rice. It will make him fat and his back bone will bow," his owner, Linda, explained.
Like all pets, German shepherds need to be immunized.
Donny, who has two young German shepherds, said that dogs must have two shots against diarrhea when they are three months old. Immunizations for rabies and hepatitis are also needed.
"If necessary, you can have your dog vaccinated against scabs," he added.
Donny used to own Dobermans and Boxers, but two years ago he turned to German shepherds.
"Keeping German shepherds is more difficult. It is more challenging," he said.
T. Nicky Hartawan, also used to be fascinated by Dobermans. He fell in love with German shepherds five years ago.
"German shepherds have better basic characteristics. They are more obedient," he said.
Hartawan has eight German shepherds, including one he bought in 1991 in England for about Rp 8 million.
He still keeps four Dobermans to guard his shrimp ponds in Tangerang, West Java.
"They are good guards. They are better than locals because they won't cooperate with thieves," he said.
Even though Hartawan loves his German shepherds very much, he does not keep all of them in his house due to limited space. He takes care of two dogs and entrusts his friends to look after the rest.
People love German shepherds because they are loyal to their owners. As a result, however, lack of attention or affection can make the dogs become frustrated and angry.
"If you really want to keep German shepherds, you have to treat them like your own children," dog trainer Ridwan Kuswara said.
Kuswara has trained dogs since 1966. He believes that dogs are basically smart. "We just have to teach them discipline with rewards and punishments," he said.
"Don't ever beat a dog. Snapping at them is enough. But don't snap too much, or they will get nervous," he said.
A nervous dog that has not been handled well can become either timid or violent.
Kuswara said that well proportioned dogs don't always behave well. The attitude of a dog partly depends on its genes, but environment is all important.
"There are dogs which are brave when they are small, but they can become timid as they grow up because they are frequently beaten by the owners," he said.
"Others become violent because they are often hurt. They become very aggressive and attack people because they don't want to be hurt," he added.
The best time to train a dog is after it is six months old. Basic training includes obedience, tracking, and defense and offense lessons, can last between six and seven months.
Kuswara used to have more than 40 students at his training school. Now, he has only several full-time students, which he handles himself. He charges Rp 750,000 a month.
Keeping German shepherds can be difficult and costly, especially if they demand Giovanni's diet. For German shepherd lovers, however, when it comes to their dogs money doesn't matter.