How do you properly raise a well-behaved german shepherd? They

I've got a GSD mix who is a total dumbass. He's still hard to train 'cause he's stubborn, but at least he's easier to trick than my smart dog.

I've heard of GSD's taking kids hostage and being territorial over infants.

All dogs need constant training

Find a good breeder who's lines have the temperament you're looking for. (i.e., don't buy a dog bred for guard work if you want a loving, docile pet) You won't find a healthy, well-bred and well-tempered GSD for cheap, either. Basically: Spend a shitload of money on it and actually learn how to train dogs or hire somebody who can.

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>>2288597
They need a ton of mental stimulation. Lots of walks, but lots of games. Getting them to think wears them out more than throwing a ball in a straight line for two hours.

>They are far too intelligent
I don't think there is a "too intelligent". It's all about temperament. My friends have huskies; smart dogs, but stubborn as fuck.

The biggest issue is his judgment of people. He is randomly selective about strangers he likes. At first I thought it was male/female, but it's really just random. Some get to pet him, others don't.

>and territorial.
Definitely territorial. He respects me, but if he is in his kennel and somebody walks by, he gets vocal. If he's in my car and someone reaches in to pet him (stupid people), he growls. When he's in the vet, he sits right in front of me and growls.

>>2288618
>I've heard of GSD's taking kids hostage and being territorial over infants.
I don't have kids, but my dog is kinda neurotic so it's probably in the same realm. Separation anxiety when I leave, usually some high-pitch barks, but then will lay by the door waiting for me even if I am gone for a few hours.

>>2288970
>Find a good breeder who's lines have the temperament you're looking for. (i.e., don't buy a dog bred for guard work if you want a loving, docile pet)
AKA, look for a Show Line instead of a Work Line if you just want a cool-looking house doggo.

> You won't find a healthy, well-bred and well-tempered GSD for cheap, either. Basically: Spend a shitload of money on it
This. Bought a Purebreed from a titled line for $1200. Worth every cent. Don't scrimp on some backyard breeder or something with mixed breeds. You could very well end up with the worst aspects of a GSD unbalanced with the lack of good aspects.

I love my GSD. I'd get another one, but I'm also considering a Border Collie (they're a bit smaller).

You know, it isn't that difficult.

The biggest issue is their territorial nature, but it isn't that difficult to manage. Anyone can pet my GSD. Total strangers, kids, elderly people can all roll up and give him a pet on the head.

He alert barks when someone arrives at our house, and is noisy if he's in his yard area and people are mucking around outside it.

My biggest issue with him has been leash reactivity to other dogs, but with training this has been lessened to quite a large extent and he only gets pushed over threshold when he's surprised, he's feeling really cramped, or hyperactive off-leash dogs come running up to him.

The first couple of years were the hardest, and then he mellowed out.

>>2288970
Basically.

I'll probably be getting another GSD after this one dies, though it will depend to a certain extent on my circumstances.

>>2289074
>>2288982
Appreciate the responses.

The biggest issue I would encounter would be walking him calmly and being able to let him go about the house and back yard while guests are over and not have to worry about him eating the food on table or growling at guests or making them feel uncomfortable.

>>2288947

/thread

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>>2288597

>tfw too intelligent to behave

>>2289122
>The biggest issue I would encounter would be walking him calmly
Leash training the moment you get him. Instill leash obedience as a puppy. (My dog lives on a farm and I never used a leash, likely a mistake as I can't walk him on a leash now.)

>being able to let him go about the house and back yard while guests are over
Socialize early and often. If you want him to be more friendly with people (instead of the typical GSD aloofness) get him meeting anybody and everybody as a puppy. Emphasize family members who will see him often.

>not have to worry about him eating the food on table or growling at guests or making them feel uncomfortable.
Training. I can't really say much about this. It only took two or three times for him to learn to not eat food unless it is explicitly offered. He usually settles when guests have been over for an hour or so.

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can my handsome shepherd mutt join this thread?

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>>2291336
he truly is a good boy

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>>2289122
I did some intense LLW training with mine when he was 4 or 5, and haven't had an issue since. Start early. Front clip harnesses, head halters, they're all just band-aids that aren't half as good as decent training.

Mine has eaten food off the table 1 time in nearly 9 years. Just set boundaries.

Do a lot of socialization with the people he will be seeing regularly. Like I said earlier, mine will do an initial alert bark at people arriving at our house, but once I show them in he's pretty chill about it and usually goes off to do his own thing.

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>>2291336
He is handsome.

Not sure what mix mine is. Only issue we are having is some odd aggression at the dog park now that he's nearing six months. He sometimes gets super aggressive with a certain dog out of nowhere. Thoughts on how to handle that?

honestly all these people recommending "pure" german shepherds are retards, there are dogs with greater "intelligence" that have next to none of the health problems that plague German shepherds not to mention cheaper too

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>>2291359
heheh, Edward makes the same stupid face

And we have the EXACT same aggression problem. The solution is that he doesn't get to be off his leash at the dog park if there are any dogs smaller than him. It sucks, but I'm not taking the risk of him hurting a small dog.

>>2291549
Who said I was recommending pure GSDs? All I did was answer questions about them, thruthfully.

OPs biggest issue isn't going to be temperamental at all. It's going to be the inherent health issues of the breed, and if they do go for a GSD, they're going to have to vet their breeder so hard about all sorts of different health testing (hips and elbow scoring in parents and grandparents and great grandparents, degenerative myelopathy in the lines, epilepsy in the lines, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, dilated cardiomyopathy, splenic tumours, blindness. A lot of these things won't have occurred when the dog is bred, but after, so you need to know how the grandparents and great grandparents aged.

If they happen to find a breeder whose only health issue in their lines is cryptorchidism then they need to jump on them and get that dog.

>>2292029
Why is this webm so cute?

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>>2292161
His eagerness and happy energy, with the laid-back ears showing he knows who his master is
The way he sits perfectly prim and proper and looks all expectant when told to sit
The maximum-alert ears when asked, "wanna go outside?"

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>>2292170
also this stupid face he makes when his lower canines catch his cheeks

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>>2292174
idiot

>>2292117
exactly what is wrong with gsd right now, they're still heaps of health issues in most lines and no one gives a shit because they sell too well for it to matter. they need to be allowed to do their own thing for a few gens and health issues will slowly dwindle.

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perfect dog never leaves my side obeys simple commands after 5 mins of training with treats house broke him within 3 weeks and can walk without leash only problem is he likes to soft bite alot.

>>2293677
Mine knew simple commands within 5 minutes, he was scary smart like that, took two years to house break, could only walk reliably off leash after age 6, and never bit soft. He bit very, very hard for the first three years of his life. Anyone who spent more than about two minutes in a room with him came out bruised. He was easily frustrated, and liked to come up the leash to attack whoever was handling him if he didn't get his own way.

Get the wrong dog from the wrong lines and you're in for a hell of a ride, unless you wimp out and give it to a shelter because you can't deal with the consequences of your choices.

These days, mine sleeps by the bed, hasn't had an accident inside in years except the time he had a UTI, and accepts guests with tail wags. He hasn't come up the leash in forever, and hasn't bitten anyone in just as long. But that was one rocky puppyhood and adolescence.

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>>2293677
handsome!
>>2293699
if you're wrasslin with him, or holding his paw in a way he doesn't like, he'll move as if to bite, but as soon as his mouth touches you he completely stops and just gives you a lick.

Housebreaking in our own home was never a problem, but if we visit someone else's house i have to constantly watch him. god help us if they have a potted plant, although that was just one time.

By paying money to because that's what you do when you get a dog. You support it financially, as you would a child. Shepards are nightmares to train on your own, so don't bother.

>this thread

Wtf I thought gsds were the most intelligent and obedient thus most easily trained breeds out there

>>2294462
he's a cutie. did you get him at a shelter or where exactly? how many lbs is he? I was considering getting a golden but I would really prefer a smaller dog just so that if it ever came to it I could restrain him. hows his shedding? do you know what he's a mix of? I want to say lab/gsd but he looks considerably smaller than that unless he's a mix?

>>2294592
They can be. You just have to know what you're doing or you'll fuck it up. GSDs are easy to fuck up.

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>>2294593
Humane Society, he was about 1.
This pic >>2291336 is on the day we met him; I actually posted it here (Nov 2013) asking if we should get him.

His muzzle makes me think Lab, but the rest of his body and his general attitude make me think Collie. Probably a whole lot of mutt. Weighed in at 67 lbs, but he's a little overweight. Probably pretty strong, but he never uses his strength with us. I'd characterize him as a happy doofus who yearns to be a proper guard dog.

His main issue turned out to be anxiety, which was caused by us giving him too much attention, letting him sleep on the bed, letting him follow us from room to room, and other rookie stuff. We got a trainer (company is BarkBusters) who came to our house at several stages and couched us on how we ought to be interacting with him, setting boundaries, proper leash technique, etc. and it completely fixed his behavior. Can't recommend them enough.

Sheds a lot.

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>>2294604
and by muzzle i meant his general snout

>>2294604
I remember that, actually. I think I was one of the people telling you to go for it. Glad to see you did.

>>2294604
he's a total cutie why would anyone ever give him up. when you met him were there any signs that he had problems, either physically or mentally? that's one of my worries when it comes to getting a shelter dog, that they all have something the matter with them in one form or another

I've got a two year old GSD/Rottweiler mix that likes to bark at people and not stop until they're out of her view. She's mean as hell, too. Can she be trained? I recently adopted her so I have very little of an idea what she's been through.

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>>2294651
zero, that's why why got him.
he was also completely silent, all the other dogs were going nuts barking and he was really chill and didn't make a peep. /an/ warned me that it might just have been the shock of coming to the humane society, but three years on and he still lets out a bark maybe once monthly, if there's a squirrel at his window. honestly amazing, i love it. he of course yawns and burps and farts, but no barks.

i should reiterate that all of his behavior problems were caused by the way we interacted with him; nothing by his nature.

>>2291336
why did you put you're sheppard in oven

>>2295571
Jewish Shepherd

>>2295571
dont they naturally come in black sometimes?

>>2296353
Yes.

My girlfriend has a GSD/Malamute cross (roughly 75% GSD, 25% Malamute) and he's not very territorial, but he is fucking loud and obnoxious and poorly trained. Can I do anything? He's about a year and a half old.