German Shepherds- curious

[Red Chrome]

I think everyone has summed it up fairly well. I am really surprised that so many go to daycare, my boy would walk in a daycare and turn it upside down. Depending on the lines they are not typically good dog park/daycare dogs. Too much freedom for things to go wrong. I do playdates with a small group of friends for my boy.

The biggest issues that I have seen people have with GSDs are not appreciating just how guardy they can be and not training/managing them appropriately. And the dog aggression/reactivity/intolerance issues. Many can also be very bad about handling, especially from strangers (such as vets or groomers), so they need to be socialized and trained to accept such things at a young age. They can also be pretty high energy and some can be a bit destructive as youngsters. Some GSD people also refer to GSD babies as "landsharks" because they are so mouthy, grabby and bitey

This is SO SO SO SO SO true. My boy is VERY different in the fact that he is EXTREMELY social and friendly. That said, he does not allow other people to manipulate him/his body in ways that he is not ok with. He is at 4 years old and still can be destructive. The mouthy stage is a hard stage and too many people don't realize that is the BREED!

Overall, Judge is the most social friendly GSD that many people have ever seen. He LOVES everyone, unless they give him a reason not too. I will say that I hands down trust his judgement, if he doesn't like someone then that person is never around again period. I trust him so much because he is SO friendly.

To be completely honest, Judge is the hardest dog I have ever trained/lived with or owned. He is extremely pushy and can be needy. He is so in tune to me and my feelings that if I am just a smidge off in my head, he picks up on it and turns himself inside out trying to "fix" it. I HATE that about him. It makes it near impossible to trial him because of MY nerves.

I love GSDs but I more than likely will not have another. Judge has very extreme drive and that has turned me off of them a little bit. I love my boy and he is fantastic but Geez, he is a tough dog to live with. For those curious he is West German Working lines with a bit of Czech thrown in WAY back.

[Xandra]

What specifically do people mean by "pushy" or "needy" or "wanting to BE you"?

Maybe Roman's a weirdo or maybe it's the way I raised him but Roman was never destructive, he's driven and I guess that manifests as "pushy" but honestly when I think "pushy" I think of a dog that drops its toy at your feet and barks until you play with it. Roman has never done and that and I flat out would not tolerate it. Likewise, if I lock him outside or in a room, I do not hear a peep from him, even if I leave him for hours.

As for needy, I dunno. It isn't like he follows me to every room or he can't entertain himself (he does regularly). I don't think there'd be a problem if I dropped him off at daycare and he was separated from the dog he lives with. But I doubt he'd be stoked about being "abandoned" by me and don't for a second expect that he'd retain any of the "manners" I've taught him when I'm gone lol He'll play fetch with a stranger and he'll even half-ass some tricks for them but he isn't going to refrain from pulling on the leash or "hold back" in any way.

[Red Chrome]

For me when I call Judge "pushy", it means that he "pushes" things at me incesstantly to play with him. Also that he "pushes" me in training. He wants things his way all the time. I do not tolerate pushy behavior but that is in him and he does behave that way. I describe him as needy because he ALWAYS wants to be with me, ALWAYS. it gets irritating.

GSDs as a breed are vocal. I have never met one that wasn't in some form or another. As far as destruction goes, Judge is an extrmemly driven dog and if you leave an exptremely driven dog alone with nothing to do, they will find something!! Usually that something is not a good something.

Judge wouldn't care about being dropped off without his housemates, they tolerate each other because I am there and that is it. I wouldn't go as far as to say that they are friends. He would however, not like me leaving him, he would be ok with it, but still wouldn't like it.

[release the hounds]

I don't know, I think my dogs are as driven as any i've seen out there and I do get to work with a lot. They all have their quirks, but nothing has ever been close to a deal breaker. I can't explain it. Is it because I don't mind as much as other people do? Do I know how to manage it better? Do I just get lucky with my dogs?

I don't know. I have never taken them to doggy daycare, but I doubt it would be an issue. They've been everywhere else under the sun. They play nicely with other dogs, just not each other

They'd play till I, or they dropped dead if I let them, but If they drop a ball in my lap I can tell them it's not going to happen now and they just go law down and wait for me to be ready

but yes they are very in tune, they do watch you, they are thinking always and they can be vocal, but they can also be quiet. They don't freak out or even really acknowledge when we leave, though they do get excited when we come back, what dog doesn't?

I'm sure I don't have the same definitions others do when describing dogs, but I can say, as long as GSD's keep coming like the dogs I've always gotten, I won't be switching breeds anytime soon. They're perfect for me.

[AdrianneIsabel]

I know a couple lazy malinois when the breed is well known for their energy, fluke happen in every breed, the GSD is not exempt.

Personally I don't know if I will ever have one but I like the GSD for all those "annoying" traits but at the same time I completely understand how hard they can be to live with. The only real difference that I don't know that I could handle between my malinois and the GSDs I know is the constantly noise. I don't mind it except I don't know that I could live with it day in and day out, for example while trying to watch tv and they think I'm lame. LOL

[AdrianneIsabel]

Originally Posted by release the hounds

I don't know, I think my dogs are as driven as any i've seen out there and I do get to work with a lot. They all have their quirks, but nothing has ever been close to a deal breaker.

I can say genuinely the ownership of my malinois gets easier by the year and in turn they seem like easier dogs. I do however find myself reminded of their difficulty every time I need to leave town without them and I have to find someone I trust with their care.

A lot of their quirks don't bother me in the least, many if them are just plain entertaining to me really, and fun!


Ahhh... being able to say no it isn't going to happen is a dream. LOL Sloan is currently putting a ball in Denis' lap while we watch tv, stepping back, watching, and waiting. When he ignores her she returns picks it up, chomps a couple times and replaces it and starts over. She'll do this for hours on end, we've tested the theory. She's a very patient and persistent dog. No barking, no whining, just repeat and try again.

[NicoleLJ]

For me those traits that some find annoying is exactly what I wanted in a dog and a Service Dog. The clingy behaviour is focus on me when working. I NEED that in her. THe pushy behaviour I need for when she is alerting and I am not paying attention for some reason. The vocal Sheena is not as much as others seem to state. She will groan, grunt, and we think swear at times, and she loves to sing(howl) and such. But she also knows when to be quiet. No noise in restraunts or movie theaters and so on and a simple command of Enough will get her to stop being pushy or noisy as well. Sheena is also very people friendly when she is not working. She loves attention.

I guess that is why there are so many breeds out there. What someone might find bothersome in one breed might be very important to another person.

[Xandra]

Originally Posted by release the hounds

They'd play till I, or they dropped dead if I let them, but If they drop a ball in my lap I can tell them it's not going to happen now and they just go law down and wait for me to be ready

Yeah, that's my experience too. I think he would go till he literally dropped dead lol. But if I don't want a ball projectile-spat into my lap or my face while I sleep I send him away and he goes and lays down and chews it or he throws and pounces on it or spits it under furniture and generally entertains himself.

[ravennr]

Nothing much else to add, except a little anecdotal stuff.

Working at the boarding kennel, we had two GSD's, from Germany (their owners had recently moved to the US) and they only responded to German commands. For whatever reason, my first day there, they had me take both of them (they were ENORMOUS) on their hikes. Because of some incidents in the past, we doubled the leashes and used harnesses, and held one leash while the other was tied around our waist. I had no issues until I had to take these guys. I don't speak German and they only gave me the general NEIN to say to them, and they went ahead and told me "they're both quite pushy, especially the female (Dia, or Diamond) so just be firm and careful". I thought that sounded easy enough until a snake crossed over the trail and Dia went flipping nuts. She lunged and the leash tightened around my waist so bad I got rope burn through my shirt. She was very DR as well. The male was so much more easy going, but he was still quite the handful, and I only handled him after seeing how Dia reacted towards small animals, and other dogs.

Alone though, these two were awesome. If someone would have at least prepared me then I wouldn't have had such trouble, but nobody had given me an inkling of a head's-up to Dia. That being said, I left that place because the people were absolutely terrible at training their staff to their rules, but that's another story.

That's the first time I had ever really seen, in action, the differences between the sexes in GSDs. I'd heard that females are very different from males but it was truly night and day between the two.

This doesn't add much of anything but my experience with those two taught me a bit.

[Red Chrome]

I guess I got a fluke and the GSDs in my club and others I know are flukes. The only ones that I know that will settle in the house without being made too are the pets ones that have a lot less drive than our working dogs.

My own will NOT settle in the house without being made too. After I make him settle, he will, but if left to his own, he will pace and pace and pace.

He doesn't freak out when I leave, he looks for me but thats it. It isn't incesstant looking or anything like that.

Judge goes everywhere with me, and I mean everywhere. He is well behaved because he is MADE to be! He is dog reactive, can play with any other dog is introduced PROPERLY but still very leash reactive. I frankly don't care as it doesn't bother me. I gave up on the barking and whining and we use an E-collar for it. So it isn't a problem.

The problem with Judge is that he is not balanced, he is very high drive with no middle ground of any sort. It's all or nothing with him. GREAT for what he was bred for, shitty for a house dog or even a club level competition dog. He has so much more potential than I will ever use from him. Me owning this dog was truly a waste. He needed a better more knowedgable handler that could have taken him to the level he deserves to be at. But if nothing else, he has taught me so much about training that I will never be able to repay him. He very well may be a fluke but I see it a lot in the GSDs that I know. My co-owned bitch is the same way as Judge. Horrible house dog, GREAT competition dog.