German Shepherds- curious

[Romy]

Originally Posted by Xandra

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

As far as wanting to "be" you, one thing I've noticed about GSDs I've had and worked around is they are soooo into you, their emotions are literally tied to your emotional state. They don't seem to have emotions independent of yours. And they work really hard to keep it that way. That's why trying to have one be my PTSD service dog was a complete fail.

Both Tengu (amline/west german blend) and Anko (DDR) were like that. They'd staaaaarre, and stare some more. And then some more. If I got anxious, they'd instantly leap to their feet making anxious wookie noises and begin hunting for the source of my anxiety. Anko was a lot more balanced and had a more solid head on her shoulders (she was also a mature female), Tengu became extremely reactive to various random things that she decided were making me anxious, and therefore were Teh Debil and needed to be driven away. If I was happy, they were ecstatic. It's not like with my hounds where Strider will be sad, because he's sad and it has nothing to do with me. Or Kaia leaping into the air with joy even if I'm a bit down. There's nothing wrong with shepherds being that way, I just prefer my dogs to be more independent and not constantly study me so that the know how they should feel at any given moment.

Maybe it's a bitch thing? Come to think of it, all of the GSDs I've lived/worked with were female and they all did it.

They honestly seem to settle all right in the house. The physical activity didn't bother me as much as the sighing, mooing, moaning, wookie grunts, staring, more moaning... lol. Tengu settled a lot better than Anko even though she was younger. Anko had a tense settle. She'd lay down in a sphinx position, ready to spring to her feet the instant you commanded because she lived for long strings of tedious commands. All four that I've worked around sort of writhe around mooing pitifully when made to settle for long periods if they haven't had their daily quota of work.