How Did You Get Involved With GSDs?

[khurley]

How did you get involved in GSDs?

When and why did you get your first GSD?

What about the breed attracted you?

[jarn]

well, i just got luc (GSD X, i'll say X for now though he looks very GSDish).

i wanted a dog that i could hike, backpack and run with. and i wanted a dog that would be able to come into my household (4 cats, 2 rabbits (free-range in the rabbit 'room') and 3 guinea pigs) without too much of a learning curve about respecting them. luc fit all of those things.

my favourite thing about him - well, he's a sweetheart, but i actually like how smart he is. i have lots of friends with dogs - some well-mannered, some frightening - and none of them even begin to approach him in intelligence (not that i'd be at all biased though of course!). and i personally think he's that smart b/c he's a GSD.

as a breed, though i wasn't specifically looking for a GSD (though even after only 3 weeks, if i get another dog one day, i keep thinking 'it's going to be a GSD'), i think it's the physical capabilities with the intelligence that makes the breed so attractive.

[angelaw]

I've been around them for most of my life.

My stepmother had a german shepherd female (black and tan) named Holly. I was 5 yrs old. She was my best friend for a long time. She protected me and didn't allow anyone to bug me. She used to come down the stairs on her elbows so you couldn't hear her nails hit the wood if she was checking out a sound downstairs. She was awesome.

I will be naming one in my H litter after her.

[Donna Boothby]

My parents always had them and although we have had other breeds we always have to have a GSD!

[CodiPup]

I've been around GSD's all my life. My parents had one when I was three that I vaguely remember, saved him from a backyard breeder. He was somewhat aggressive to other dogs but doted on me and I used to sit on his back, stick my hands in his mouth and go to sleep with him in his kennel (as I suppose alot of young kids do lol).
He had to be put down and it broke all of our hearts but not long after, we had two more, one involved in showing and it just carried on from there.
I have always wanted one of my own but never had the chance to afford one, but finally came the day when I could and my little man Codi is 13 weeks and I love him to pieces!!

[Skittles42]

When I was a little kid I had a cousin who had one. I was the youngest cousin so I always got picked on. So one day my cousin pushed me on the floor and got on top of me trying to sufficate me (i know really nice huh!) well his dog started to attact him trying to protect me. Ever since then I loved GSD's. 15 years later I got one for myself! They're super smart and very beautiful.

[Pedders]

I stumbled blindly into GSDs when my partner and I decided to get a dog for our new house. I just wanted a dog than was above ankle hight but she wanted a GSD.

Her best friend as a child had GSD that was a UK police dog reject (he was too friendly and playful). Brutus was his name and he played nursemaid to the kids, did his tricks for them, licked their cuts when they fell and was just one of the gang, albeit the mature one (he wouldn't let them go out to play in the road or let anyone he didn't know near them).

So we were having a GSD no matter what! And boy did we luck out. Although it took some time to get to grips with having the breed I don't think either of us would have anything else (certainly after having seen all the other breeds at the Dog Park).

[Vinnie]

I grew up with GSDs. My father was introduced to the breed over in Germany when he served in WWII. After my mother and him had us kids, he introduced our family to GSDs when I was very young. He brought our first over from Germany and got into breeding back then. Each one of us kids had a GSD from different litters. I named mine Alex and he would have been my first GSD. Satin (my father’s dog) lived to be 16 years old and Alex lived to be 14.

What attracted me when I was a kid? Soft, fuzzy, playfulness. I guess. All kids like puppies don’t they? Being older now, some of the things that keep me interested in the breed is their loyalty, intelligence and that almost human-like ability they have.

[onyx'girl]

my step-dad had a service station/towing business. He had two GSD's White "Misty" and Black & Tan "Stomper". They were very intimidating and loyal to Stan as he was very good to them. One time a guy(drunk) was using the pay phone after closing outside the station and started harassing the dogs inside. Stomper crashed thru the glass window and chased him. My first dog when I moved on my own was a black GSD/x we named him Stomper in honor of Stan's. RIP Stomper, Stomper & Misty

[shelleybeanz]

I actually never thought I would own a GSD. My mother bought her first one when I was 12 and he absolutely HATED me for the first two or three years that we owned him (we later noticed that he had the same reaction to both of my siblings when they hit that pre-teen age - not sure why). Anyway, he was the most loyal and loving dog to her and turned out to be a very wonderful pet to have (though we had many at the time). My father also got a Shepherd x who was a beloved member of the family for many years (we lost her this Spring).

When I moved out, I moved in with my now fiance, who had never lived with dogs in the house. We were living in apartments, so I adopted two cats. Over time, I found myself walking a lot in the evenings, and we live in the city, so I started to wish I had a dog to keep me company on my evening strolls, and even just to have as a form of reassurance at night when I was home alone. This led to me exploring different breeds of dogs, one of which was the doberman pinscher (beautiful breed) and the other, at the total opposite end of the scale, was the French Bulldog. Well, I was down visiting my parents one weekend (who now breed and show GSDs) and went to visit a friend of theirs who also breeds GSDs. I had been toying a bit with the idea of perhaps getting one of my own, as the breed DID match well with what I was looking for in a dog. The breeder showed me one 11 month old dog, Tigger, who came trotting up to me, let me pet him, showed NO fear at greeting me (with a smile) and who let me walk him around the yard on his leash with no problem. There was something about him that kind of 'hooked me' and I went home thinking about how great it would be to own this beautiful dog. One week later, he was mine.

So far he has been fantastic with all the people he's met, he gets a bit excited around other dogs, but he loves to play with my sister's female GSD on the weekends and is a wonderful companion on my walks - I can finally go for a 'romp' in the park and leave myself (and the daily 'grind') behind.

I'm glad I gave this breed a chance, they're an awesome dog!