Mine were all a bit rough when they were young, but they all settle and act just fine in the house as they mature.
This is a more adequate description of the German Shepherd Dogs I am used to and prefer. I am honestly surprised that the common consensus is that GSDs are constantly physically pushy and unable to settle well, because that has not been my experience. Then again, my experience is not with the competition sport trained dogs, so perhaps that is why?
Quite frankly I did very minimal research when I purchased my first, only, and current German Shepherd (Trent) and I got a great dog out of it. Like Judge, he is primarily West German working lines with some Czech way back through his sire (dog in question is Cent An Sat, litter mate to Cordon). He does have DDR and the Karthago dogs through his dam, Crok vom Erlenbusch in the 4th generation through Yascha von Karthago (and I know many breeders would not touch Crok with a 10 generation pole LOL).
He is a very balanced dog. I had said the following about him a while back -
well built, athletic, healthy, intelligent... strong minded and able bodied with moderate drives, unflappable nerves, solid temperament, and an excellent off switch. Protective without an ounce of fear, alert without being on edge, owner oriented without being clingy, affectionate without being sycophantic, and hard tempered without lacking handler awareness. A dog truly balanced inside and out.
No, he's not the type of dog you could take to Nationals, but that does not mean he would fail as a working dog, either. I think if someone did not know dogs and hung around the house, they would describe my dog as "mellow" because he settles so well. But anyone with a bit more experience would be able to see that this dog has drive, he is just not high strung or overflowing in energy. I have used "subtle, but with power" to describe him before and I do not know if that makes sense, but it's the best I can say about what I see.
He is just such a damned good dog all around, there is not a day that goes by that I do not feel thankful for him.
Is he pushy? Yes, if you let him push you around. But in his maturity he has never pushed me and is ready to go when I am ready and willing. He rarely plays with toys if I am not interacting with him, and almost never touches anything in the house, including his own toys. He is content to sleep in the same spot for days on end, but if we are outside he will go, go, go.
I considered Trent a vocal dog, but from these descriptions I am reading, I am beginning to doubt it. His breeder describes him as vocal, and I agreed with that assessment, but truth be told I cannot stand a consistently loud dog. I like having conversations with my dog, in that he barks and grumbles and I grumble and mutter back at him, but a dog that does not quiet upon request, a dog that is always vocalizing, all the time, in any setting? No, I do not want that. That would drive me completely insane.
Trent has a full sister from one of several repeat breedings that could, without a doubt, be described as an excellent sport dog. Same dam and sire, many similar traits in temperament, drive, and personality, but also many differences. She is a high octane, high drive, high energy, hard, tough, feisty little bitch. Our dogs' breeder has been working, training, and breeding these German Shepherds for about 40 years now, and is a DVG judge (his daughter being the youngest certified in North America, I believe), and both he and his daughter have said that the sister is a real hard bitch. Completely capable of making Nationals with the proper handler.
Ironically, she was purchased to be primarily a pet companion and I think the breeder wants to buy her back, but luckily her owner does a great job with her regardless of how much dog she is, and completely adores her. From what I have heard (and we have exchanged e-mails regularly about our dogs from since before her girl was born), she is excellent in the house, on her best behavior and not at all difficult to live with. Great nerves.
Both Trent and his sister were completely awful puppies. It's no lie when I say that I thought about sending him back, more than once. First dog, first German Shepherd, first puppy... I was overwhelmed. I used the crate, and I used it often. He was still nipping and mouthing at 6 months of age, and I still can't recall when he completely stopped. For me, though, it was more letting him mature and less intensive training that made him become the fantastic dog he is. I sure wish I could take the credit for it, but I know I can't.
Trent is good at the boarding kennel and does just fine with strangers grooming him, if they know what they are doing. A vet I hated tried to force Trent over on his back and he leapt up and showed teeth, but the groomers working at his breeder's boarding kennel bathed and washed and handled him without the slightest problem. Every time I drop him off he doesn't even glance back at me - I love the staff there because they know how to handle a dog.
That being said, I would never, ever leave him at a daycare or a dog park and he is not by any means a dog park type of dog. He is only allowed to be around other dogs under supervision and is definitely same sex reactive, especially towards intact males his size or equally reactive dogs. He is an only dog so I admit that I have not worked on this nearly as much as I should (and even could). He does still play well with our neighbor's male German Shepherd (though each time it takes some firm handling on my part) but I would worry about bringing in a second large, male dog to our home. I would not think it altogether impossible, just most likely undesirable.
I'm not trying to deny that overall, the breed has issues, because it does. I just don't think that the good German Shepherd Dog is so completely
impossible to find.
Red Chrome, this is the thread Xandra is talking about
http://chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148888