German Shepherds- curious

[AdrianneIsabel]

Oh yes, mine do. Backup can be left in an xpen all day alone and not leave. Sloan will challenge it and escape when left too long. Sloan jumped it 3 times when we first introduced it, she also received 3 harsh corrections and decided to only leave if I wasn't around for a while. She's no dummy. lol

[NicoleLJ]

My experience has not been with a pacing, whining, destructive or overly hyper dog. I love this breed because my experience has been a breed that is very intune to its handler, extremely intelligent and loves to learn and please, active but has a great off switch, is ready for an adveture at a moments notice, able to handle and be stable through stressful situations. What is being mostly described here is not my experience with this wonderful breed.

[Aleron]

Originally Posted by NicoleLJ

My experience has not been with a pacing, whining, destructive or overly hyper dog. I love this breed because my experience has been a breed that is very intune to its handler, extremely intelligent and loves to learn and please, active but has a great off switch, is ready for an adveture at a moments notice, able to handle and be stable through stressful situations. What is being mostly described here is not my experience with this wonderful breed.

IME white GSDs have more been more selectively bred as smart, trainable companions over the years as opposed to having the working GSD temperament. That's not right or wrong, it's just how it is. You see extremely few wGSDs doing protection sports/work or even performance and most breeders of them are breeding for show dogs or active companions. Of course, the same can be said for many American show line GSDs too. There really seems to be type of GSD to suit anyone who is interested in the breed.

My GSDs all were fine house dogs, although Jora had a hard time settling down as a youngster and Lexi was prone to pacing around, whining, talking and knocking things down for fun. I guess it depends on your expectations for the dog's in home behavior.

For teaching smart dogs to stay in ex-pens, I have found that a "time out" in a crate just big enough for the dog works wonders. That's how I trained Savvy to stay in an expen. He figured out pretty quickly that he either got to stay in the ex-pen with a nice blanket, toys, thing to chew on and attention every time we walked by...or he got to sit in a boring, empty crate.

[AdrianneIsabel]

I totally agree its about perception. I know mal owners who'd never keep one in the house. I have 2 and I love it. However my friends and family are horrified by them, basically what makes a good dog for my house could be a diablo in another. The only difference is I recognize they're not good house dogs, but they're good in my house.

[monkeys23]

I think it also depends on the owner... a lot of pet owners aren't good at providing the kind of structure that dogs with go, go, go really need to thrive and know whats expected of them. As well as having realistic expectations of whatever breed it is. I mean, you wouldn't expect a Sibe to be an angel loose in the house all day, so why would a high drive thinking dog be okay with no mental stimulation and minimal exercise. I dunno, I guess thats kind of redundant with whats already been said.

That pic of the "doggie jail" cracked me up! :lol:

[Romy]

Originally Posted by NicoleLJ

My experience has not been with a pacing, whining, destructive or overly hyper dog. I love this breed because my experience has been a breed that is very intune to its handler, extremely intelligent and loves to learn and please, active but has a great off switch, is ready for an adveture at a moments notice, able to handle and be stable through stressful situations. What is being mostly described here is not my experience with this wonderful breed.

Keep in mind too Nicole, that being a working SD Sheena likely gets more daily stimulation and exercise than most companion or sport shepherds. I'm sure that she gets more than the SAR shepherd I lived with. Willow had a high level of fun activities, but they were concentrated around the weekend. The rest of the week she needed to be able to settle and she was just a mooing moaning pain in the butt, lol. Now consider a sport shepherd bred for PP or schutzhund, and you have a high drive dog that likely hangs out at home most of the day while its owner works, gets an hour or two of training and play time when they come home, with maybe the weekend plus an evening or two mid week when they go out to play and really engage the dog in its "job".

[NicoleLJ]

Originally Posted by Romy

Keep in mind too Nicole, that being a working SD Sheena likely gets more daily stimulation and exercise than most companion or sport shepherds. I'm sure that she gets more than the SAR shepherd I lived with. Willow had a high level of fun activities, but they were concentrated around the weekend. The rest of the week she needed to be able to settle and she was just a mooing moaning pain in the butt, lol. Now consider a sport shepherd bred for PP or schutzhund, and you have a high drive dog that likely hangs out at home most of the day while its owner works, gets an hour or two of training and play time when they come home, with maybe the weekend plus an evening or two mid week when they go out to play and really engage the dog in its "job".

Very good points but Sheena is not the only GSD I have owned. Luca my black GSD I rescued was not any of the things described and neither was Ajax, Sheena's pup that I raised till almost 2yrs of age. I guess it really does come down to lines. I can honestly admit that I don't think I could handle the high drive sch bred dogs that have to go go go all day long. I prefer a GSD that has Sheena's, and my others, temperment, medium drive, and so on. To me she is exactly what I want in a GSD. She doesn't get out working everyday. Currently it is maybe once or twice a week. But she has many jobs in the house she does too.

I think it is a little bit of everything. Someone wanting a GSD needs to really look hard into why they want one. They really need to research the characteristics of the breed and make sure they can handle that. For me this breed is perfect for my needs and wants in a dog. But on that note I don't think I would ever go to a breeder that has lines focused on the high drive go go go personality. Which is why I am glad there is such diversity in the breed.

[Red Chrome]

My dog as I have atated is a high drive working line dog with no off switch. I can not compare him to something different because that isnt fair. People may not like my description but it is accurate for the GSDs I deal with!

[CharlieDog]

Figured I'd post this here to. The blanket back on the right is a normal sized GSD. Knox is on the left.

Also, Knox is not a genetic dwarf, he's just undersized.

[Aleron]

How tall is Knox?