how do you properly care for a GERMAN SHEPARD?

First you learn to spell ShepHerd.

Since you're asking you should know this isn't a breed for a novice owner.

Basic care* is the same for any dog whether it's a breed and/or lack of breed.

*http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e224/GLLNTKNIGHT/dogcare_zpse256a844.jpg

You start by learning how to spell SHEPHERD

● "How do you properly care for a GERMAN SHEPARD?"

It can't be done - there is no "ARDing" task, so no word "SHEPARD" and no dog labelled as "GERMAN SHEPARD".
But there is definitely a HERDing task. And many countries have shepherd dogs to control & protect the sheep. The one you need to learn about has a German breed-name that translates as German Shepherd Dog.

In case you are just a dreamer:
▫ What age and gender are you thinking of getting?
▫ What do you want it to be able to do when it is an adult?
▫ Will those functions be met by a pooch from a rescue group, or do you need to find a breeder who aims his/her stock at exactly those tasks?
▫ Have you attended any training classes that had GSDs in them?
▫ How many adult GSDs have you been allowed to touch?
▫ How many GSD pups have you been allowed to touch?
▫ How many GSD books have you read?
▫ Have you studied http://www.fci.be/Nomenclature/Standards/166g01-en.pdf ?
▫ At what ages should a pup be injected with the core vaccines?

If you didn't come through THAT quiz well, 2016 is NOT the year in which you should look for a GSD.
But if you did well, continue:

FIRST requirement is you & your property.
· The property must have fences & gates to keep your dog from escaping, and to stop stray dogs and stray brats from entering.
· The members of the household must be calm and sensible, and the dog's owner MUST be able to take the dog to the vet, to training classes, and to interesting-to-a-dog places. The owner must ALSO be able to stay home 24/7 for at least the first week - longer if necessary - and must know how to go about toilet-training the GSD.
· There must be an escape-proof pen for when the GSD cannot go with you but there is no-one home to care for it.

SECOND requirements are:
▪ Find someone experienced at what you want your pet to do. That person will mentor you as to where (and where NOT!) to get your pet from, and will preferably go with you to help select the "right" pup or youngster.
▪ Provide a draft-proof sleeping area that the dog can get in & out of as it wants. "Experience" must include knowing the significance of the data - especially the missing data - in pedigrees such as
http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/dog.html?id=2341555
▪ For at least a week, feed the new dog EXACTLY as the vendor was doing. After that I hope you will switch to the sort of diet my buyers are encouraged to use. See https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/GSD_Friendly/conversations/messages/16078
▪ Arrange for your vet to THOROUGHLY check your pet for problems before 4 days have passed, in case you need to return the pooch for a refund. At the same time, organise appointments for the vaccinations that need to be given at specific ages, depending on the pooch's age. With a young pup you will need to know how often to dose against roundworms and have plenty of the right vermicide. Depending on where you live, for an older pooch there could be other medication you will need to have & administer as appropriate.
▪ As soon as you are definitely KEEPING the pooch, book yourself into a training group so that you get COACHED on how to train, and so your pet learns to pay attention regardless of what other dogs & people are doing. If you get a very young pup, you should aim to be IN the class for about a year, starting when Pup is 18-to-22 weeks old. For a youngster or oldie you should be there as soon as the pooch TRUSTS you.
I recommend joining a couple of e-groups that are dedicated to GSDs - especially GSDs that perform the tasks you want your oet to learn. Y!A is NOT a group, and almost all the people in it are over-opinionated and under-informed..

Add
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/The_GSD_Source/info
to your browser, so that you can easily look up all sorts of information about dogs, especially GSDs. "Thanks to" Yahoo's /neo/-nut programmer, the settings have been changed from "Open" to "Restricted", so you'll need to apply to Join by sending an e-mail to
the_gsd_source-subscribe @yahoogroups.com
(WITHOUT the gap before the @ ) then following through.

To discuss GSDs, join some groups such as
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/GSD_Friendly/info
The people in them KNOW about GSDs. Plus you can include actual photos in your posts.
To find other groups or breeds, type the breed-name into the top field of
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/dir
then choose a couple of groups to Join.

Les the aged Kiwi - first pup in 1950; GSD breeder & trainer as of 1968

Don't get one, that would be proper in this situation.

read up on it on the breeds website .