Naturally, humans must fear wolf-like dogs. It is fear, not love that is programmed in our brains. For the same reason we are scared of bees, snakes and rats, not because our mothers told us they are dangerous, but our instinct of self-preservation. This prehistoric fear is a corner stone for our love to dogs which comes through the culture to love all living beings, and, being selective, we chose dogs. The majority of small children under 2 years are scared of dogs like GSD absolutely instinctively, not because they are big dogs, but because of their wolvish shape programmed in our brain. We grow older and overcome our fear supported by pleasant experience, this time we love ourselves in our bravado, I still watch it sometimes when scared children, who had never touched a dog in their life leave me and my dog with truly happy faces. When we understand, that the beast we feared is vulnerable- we start to admire him. People in general wouldn't like dogs if we consider humans lesser than dogs. People love that fact that they managed to overcome that ancient fear, they love dogs as our "younger brothers".
Conserning dog owners, the main instinct which is at work in us - that is parentual. We are foster parents, and our puppy is our foster child, not less, we exercise the same love to our puppy as we do to our own children.
Those, like me, who grew up with dogs, have a hodge-podge in our brain. From my birth I had dogs as my best companions, they were true members of the family, i was a memmber of their pack ( it would never happen in nature), thus comes an equation for human and dog creatures. So, I'm a pure pagan in this sense, beside many of you. But ... Many people told me, that they mourned the death of their mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters not so deeply, as the death of their dog.