I am inquiring as a potential family for a German Shepherd dog. I have been doing a lot of research on dogs and breeds to determine the best fit for my family. I want to discuss a few things with German Shepherd owners and see what they think.
I am seriously interested in the German Shepherd because in objective evaluations of breed types, it meets many of our criteria but I didn't start my search with a German Shepherd in mind. I never really imagined myself as a German Shepherd owner before.
When I was a single person, I rather fancied myself as more the sporting dog type. I thought it would be cool to live in a mountain cabin with a gentleman's gun dog like the German Shorthaired Pointer. It seems foolish now but who can say they've never been swayed by the images of Grey's Sporting Journal? The reality is when I did hunt birds I never used a dog but if I had I would have hated how far those pointers work from their handler. A brittany or one of the spaniels would be far more satisfying to me but their image is more of a much less rugged gentleman. Nevermind though because I don't hunt anymore.
The reality is I have a typical suburban lifestyle. I have a wife and two children (2 and 3) and I go to work 8 hours a day. Fortunately I live in a rural area and I commute a mile down a country road so I can come home for lunch every day. Despite all that I've still got a four bedroom house on 0.2 acres. I live in a tract house with masonite siding and all my neighbors houses are jammed up together like barracks. Nevertheless, we've got plenty of parks and open space just down the road.
Before I got in this situation, I've had some experience with dogs in the past. I grew up with a dalmatian and a border collie. Yeah I know they're said to be two of the worst dogs for kids but I didn't know better and it was in the 70's long before 101 Dalmatians and Babe. I've also lived with two great pyrenes, and I've cared for a rottweiler, an OES, and a few mutts. Besides that I've had lifelong experience with just about every animal on old macdonald's farm. The rest of my family has never had a dog before.
We've determined that we know we don't want a lap dog or a toy dog. My wife wonders what a dog is good for if he can't protect you -- she wants a protection dog, but I haven't limited our search on that criteria alone. She also wants minimal shedding. So do I but we would be willing to accept some shedding as long as we didn't have to change our entire wardrobe into nylon suits only.
I seriously considered some low-shedding shaggy dogs like the Bouvier, the Giant Schnauzer and the Black Russian Terrier or even the Briard. The Bouvier's indoor activity level and excercise requirements matched us best but we decided that the long shaggy fur of any of these dogs wouldn't work for us. If the dog ever got outside the house, he'd probably be permanantly banned by my wife from ever coming in again. Frankly, the Doberman was the stand out in this respect.
Excercising the dog with a jog or a bike ride to the park and a runaround the park everyday is not a problem for us, but if the dog absolutely needed 2 hours or more a day of excercise away from the house, we probably couldn't offer that. We can do a lot more on weekends but the reality during the week is I go to work, and my wife and kids have a lot of other things to do -- mostly at home. Our backyard is based on a 0.2 acre lot so the dog can play but not really excercise out there.
I know some dogs are the other half of their owner's life but we can't offer that. The dog has to fit into the whole family and while he'll probably never be left at home alone, he won't be the center of attention. He will be in the house with us though.
We're not just looking for a companion or family dog. We want a working dog and we have a job for him to do. His job is to protect the family and our property, and to help us raise our boys (2 and 3 years old now) by demanding strong leadership, command and control from all his human masters. Personally, I'm not the defensive type or seeking a defensive weapon but I can appreciate a dog that has the desire and capability to protect. For me, I see the greatest value in a dog that demands authority and responds to it magnificently.
Everyone in my family is very gentle and we would not naturally be assertive or dominate -- we would have trouble with a willful dog if we did not conscientously rise to meet the need. This is something I want. I want a dog that will challenge us if we fail to maintain command, control and leadership. I do not want a dog that will just acquiesce in submissiveness. To me, it is a postive quality when the dog works to ensure there is a strong leader in the family even if it means he makes some trouble for the weak-willed. I appreciate what I understand about the German Shepherd's sensitivity and responsiveness because even though I'm looking for a dog that needs consistent leadership, there is nothing we would enjoy about a continual on-going power struggle. Provided we demonstrate leadership, we need the dog to submit and obey.
We want to train the dog to an advanced level of obedience so we want a dog that is intelligent enough that training can be an ongoing thing that continually makes progress because we are able to advance further and further without coming to the dog's limits. We would enjoy a dog capable of advanced obedience, commands in multiple languages, reading hand and body signals, and performing well off-leash. Training for these purposes would be one of the ongoing activities we do with our dog whom we expect to need mental stimulus.
I actually thought the Doberman matched many of the things we are looking for best but I have a serious concern about how he might connect with my 2 year old son. Both my boys are very gentle, peaceful and sensitive. A lot of breed profiles rank compatibility with children based on boisterous, rowdy and abusive kids but mine are far from that. I am more concerned about how well a Doberman or any dog would really connect with my gentlest and affectionate son. My 2 year old will especially enjoy a dog. I am sure that he would ultimately prefer to have a great friend and not just a servant or even an opponent in a competition of wills. I would give up a lot of what we hope for from a dog to make sure my little boy gets a friend.
I've heard some people describe the Doberman as a "one man dog." I can definitely see the Doberman considering himself to be "my dog." No one else in my family has more confidence to deal with the dog with total authority -- they have no experience. While I would like the dog to challenge my sons to do just that, the fact is the Doberman would definitely recognize that I am the one in charge. I would be doing almost everything to care for the dog and to train him and in his mind he would be my dog and whenever I left the house he would probably consider himself to be on assignment from me to guard the house and family until I return. Since I come home for lunch, I'm never gone more than a few hours. While I am gone I am sure he would be friendly and affectionate toward my wife and sons but he wouldn't feel satisfied and fulfilled until I came home. I get the sense that the Doberman would bond tightly to me and while he wouldn't mistreat my family I doubt such a tight bond would be formed with them. I can see how it would be counterintuitive for the Doberman to form a strong bond with anyone besides the one it has learned to trust for the things it depends on. Because of this, I've started to think I need to try to understand how a herding dog like the German Shepherd might relate to my family differently and whether that wouldn't work better for us or not. I realize the German Shepherd is going to shed a lot more and he may be less extremely attached to me but I am considering whether or not he won't make a better friend for my son. As an experienced German Shepherd owner, what do you think?
I am seriously interested in the German Shepherd because in objective evaluations of breed types, it meets many of our criteria but I didn't start my search with a German Shepherd in mind. I never really imagined myself as a German Shepherd owner before.
When I was a single person, I rather fancied myself as more the sporting dog type. I thought it would be cool to live in a mountain cabin with a gentleman's gun dog like the German Shorthaired Pointer. It seems foolish now but who can say they've never been swayed by the images of Grey's Sporting Journal? The reality is when I did hunt birds I never used a dog but if I had I would have hated how far those pointers work from their handler. A brittany or one of the spaniels would be far more satisfying to me but their image is more of a much less rugged gentleman. Nevermind though because I don't hunt anymore.
The reality is I have a typical suburban lifestyle. I have a wife and two children (2 and 3) and I go to work 8 hours a day. Fortunately I live in a rural area and I commute a mile down a country road so I can come home for lunch every day. Despite all that I've still got a four bedroom house on 0.2 acres. I live in a tract house with masonite siding and all my neighbors houses are jammed up together like barracks. Nevertheless, we've got plenty of parks and open space just down the road.
Before I got in this situation, I've had some experience with dogs in the past. I grew up with a dalmatian and a border collie. Yeah I know they're said to be two of the worst dogs for kids but I didn't know better and it was in the 70's long before 101 Dalmatians and Babe. I've also lived with two great pyrenes, and I've cared for a rottweiler, an OES, and a few mutts. Besides that I've had lifelong experience with just about every animal on old macdonald's farm. The rest of my family has never had a dog before.
We've determined that we know we don't want a lap dog or a toy dog. My wife wonders what a dog is good for if he can't protect you -- she wants a protection dog, but I haven't limited our search on that criteria alone. She also wants minimal shedding. So do I but we would be willing to accept some shedding as long as we didn't have to change our entire wardrobe into nylon suits only.
I seriously considered some low-shedding shaggy dogs like the Bouvier, the Giant Schnauzer and the Black Russian Terrier or even the Briard. The Bouvier's indoor activity level and excercise requirements matched us best but we decided that the long shaggy fur of any of these dogs wouldn't work for us. If the dog ever got outside the house, he'd probably be permanantly banned by my wife from ever coming in again. Frankly, the Doberman was the stand out in this respect.
Excercising the dog with a jog or a bike ride to the park and a runaround the park everyday is not a problem for us, but if the dog absolutely needed 2 hours or more a day of excercise away from the house, we probably couldn't offer that. We can do a lot more on weekends but the reality during the week is I go to work, and my wife and kids have a lot of other things to do -- mostly at home. Our backyard is based on a 0.2 acre lot so the dog can play but not really excercise out there.
I know some dogs are the other half of their owner's life but we can't offer that. The dog has to fit into the whole family and while he'll probably never be left at home alone, he won't be the center of attention. He will be in the house with us though.
We're not just looking for a companion or family dog. We want a working dog and we have a job for him to do. His job is to protect the family and our property, and to help us raise our boys (2 and 3 years old now) by demanding strong leadership, command and control from all his human masters. Personally, I'm not the defensive type or seeking a defensive weapon but I can appreciate a dog that has the desire and capability to protect. For me, I see the greatest value in a dog that demands authority and responds to it magnificently.
Everyone in my family is very gentle and we would not naturally be assertive or dominate -- we would have trouble with a willful dog if we did not conscientously rise to meet the need. This is something I want. I want a dog that will challenge us if we fail to maintain command, control and leadership. I do not want a dog that will just acquiesce in submissiveness. To me, it is a postive quality when the dog works to ensure there is a strong leader in the family even if it means he makes some trouble for the weak-willed. I appreciate what I understand about the German Shepherd's sensitivity and responsiveness because even though I'm looking for a dog that needs consistent leadership, there is nothing we would enjoy about a continual on-going power struggle. Provided we demonstrate leadership, we need the dog to submit and obey.
We want to train the dog to an advanced level of obedience so we want a dog that is intelligent enough that training can be an ongoing thing that continually makes progress because we are able to advance further and further without coming to the dog's limits. We would enjoy a dog capable of advanced obedience, commands in multiple languages, reading hand and body signals, and performing well off-leash. Training for these purposes would be one of the ongoing activities we do with our dog whom we expect to need mental stimulus.
I actually thought the Doberman matched many of the things we are looking for best but I have a serious concern about how he might connect with my 2 year old son. Both my boys are very gentle, peaceful and sensitive. A lot of breed profiles rank compatibility with children based on boisterous, rowdy and abusive kids but mine are far from that. I am more concerned about how well a Doberman or any dog would really connect with my gentlest and affectionate son. My 2 year old will especially enjoy a dog. I am sure that he would ultimately prefer to have a great friend and not just a servant or even an opponent in a competition of wills. I would give up a lot of what we hope for from a dog to make sure my little boy gets a friend.
I've heard some people describe the Doberman as a "one man dog." I can definitely see the Doberman considering himself to be "my dog." No one else in my family has more confidence to deal with the dog with total authority -- they have no experience. While I would like the dog to challenge my sons to do just that, the fact is the Doberman would definitely recognize that I am the one in charge. I would be doing almost everything to care for the dog and to train him and in his mind he would be my dog and whenever I left the house he would probably consider himself to be on assignment from me to guard the house and family until I return. Since I come home for lunch, I'm never gone more than a few hours. While I am gone I am sure he would be friendly and affectionate toward my wife and sons but he wouldn't feel satisfied and fulfilled until I came home. I get the sense that the Doberman would bond tightly to me and while he wouldn't mistreat my family I doubt such a tight bond would be formed with them. I can see how it would be counterintuitive for the Doberman to form a strong bond with anyone besides the one it has learned to trust for the things it depends on. Because of this, I've started to think I need to try to understand how a herding dog like the German Shepherd might relate to my family differently and whether that wouldn't work better for us or not. I realize the German Shepherd is going to shed a lot more and he may be less extremely attached to me but I am considering whether or not he won't make a better friend for my son. As an experienced German Shepherd owner, what do you think?