Adopting a German Shepherd

When you plan on adopting a rescued German Shepherd, consider going to your local shelter first.

We do have adoptable German Shepherds from shelters available at GSDfinder, but most of our GSDs are from German Shepherd Rescue Organizations.

They need your help as well, but the dogs at German Shepherd Rescues are safe. German Shepherds in shelters and pounds are in great risk of getting euthanize, if nobody adopts them and no GSD rescue can take them.

After you contacted your local shelter/ pound and if they do not have any GSD available and they do not expect to get any German Shepherds in the near future, you should look into getting a GSD from a rescue.

Some rescues only give their dogs to local or in-state adoptive parents, but some may let the German Shepherd travel. It mainly depends on their policies and your qualifications.

So don't be afraid if you click at GSDfinder on your home state and we have no German Shepherds listed! For example you live in North Dakota and no German Shepherd is available at a rescue in this particular state, just click on "Midwest" instead! Now, you will also see all adoptable German Shepherds in states close to you.

If you meet all the requirements of the German Shepherd Rescue Organization, you can then pick your dog up and maybe even get your new GSD flown in.

In case you are a very experienced German Shepherd owner, you can also think about getting a retired Military working dog (MWD). They are nearly always German Shepherds. We do not have MWD German Shepherds at GSDfinder.com available at the moment, but you can contact the military for more information. The entire adoption process will be handled by the military.

The is also the option to be a foster parent for a German Shepherd, if you are not quite sure yet if you are ready for long time commitment or if you just want to help rescues/ shelters and this dogs out. You can be a foster parent for as long as you want, unless the GSD gets adopted. If you fall in love with your foster German Shepherd, you can always still adopt the dog!