[brandonb]

My girl Misia is very, very well behaved. She has been through formal "puppy training" . I work with her almost every night, sometimes my work schedule will interfere but my point is, is that she has been socialized tremendously.

I like to take her different places other than the RMGSD club. They are obvious all friendly to GSD's or pet stores which like the club, is very friendly.

I will walk her into any store that will allows leashed dogs. Tonight I was in Best Buy...I saw a man pick his girl up off the floor and she was probably 3/4 of the store away from me. The clerk was clearly nervous and we started talking and he asked me if she was a "police dog"...I am not a Officer so I told him no but she does scent work and herding ( not officially yet ). He was clearly reluctant but he did ask me if he could pet her and I told him that she is a sweet heart and go for it. Of course she was nothing but that.

Score one for my girl, while we where waiting in line she was laying on the floor by my feet. A couple asked me why I felt it was OK to bring a "Guard Dog" in Best Buy and, it makes people uncomfortable. I dismissed there comments and left. It is not just tonight but this is a huge trend that I have noticed.

What my point is, is that it is so frustrating the perception these absolute morons have. Granted they may look intimidating, maybe its because they are used for K9, protection work but, they are also companions dogs, SAR, Agility, and of course herding / ranch work, etc. I know all of you know this but what do you do ? I honestly feel bad for my girl because of the preconceptions that people have about the breed.

Granted, if was going to guess 60% of people if not more do not train there dogs. However there is a huge difference from a dog yanking its owner through a store and a dog walking on a short, loose leash.

 

[sagelfn]

I am going to have to check if my local best buy lets dogs inside. I'm guessing no though.

When I first got Sage, the comments like that irritated me. Usually I ignored them and if it was a bad day they got a remark to make them feel like an idiot.

Now I try to educate. I would apologize for my dog's presence making them feel uncomfortable but inform them that animals were allowed to be there and my dog was being perfectly behaved. Then if they were still listening I would let them know that not all GSDs are police dogs. Many are family pets. They are not an agressive breed but there are a lot of irresposible owners and breeders out there just like any other breed etc..

 

[adamdude04]

best buy..pet friendly?? Wish mine was!!

Some people just have fears. and mis-informed. They watch COPS on tv, see a GSD going nuts, and instantly assume your dog is going to rip their arm off

 

[KZoppa]

yeah i'm from Colorado and the only places i know of that allow leashed dogs in who arent police dogs or service dogs are the pet stores. Chains like Best Buy has a service dog on policy as do most other places.

As far as the responses from other people, its all ignorance. Try to educate. If your dog is friendly and well behaved, it wouldnt hurt to ask them if they'd like to meet your dog. The worst they'll say is no. I know people are usually backing away wide-eyed from my dogs until i ask if they'd like to say hi.

 

[emsoskar]

Its because of all the irresponsible "owners" out there that get dogs from crappy breeders, keep them tied to a tree for the first 2 years where they have no socialization and become aggressive....then brag and show everyone their "super protective guard dog." Hooray for all those that make people think all gds are bad and scary dogs.

 

[adamdude04]

Its because of all the irresponsible "owners" out there that get dogs from crappy breeders, keep them tied to a tree for the first 2 years where they have no socialization and become aggressive....then brag and show everyone their "super protective guard dog." Hooray for all those that make people think all gds are bad and scary dogs.

I thought they did that to pitbulls :crazy:

 

[SchDDR]

I try not to let it bother me when people assume my dog is dangerous by virtue of her breed. It does bother me when people insist that she's part wolf.

Does this tiny 55lb dog really look like a wolf to you? [That's an average size ewe there.]

I can't blame other pet owners for taking precautions to protect their dog from *any* dog, regardless of breed. People probably think I'm terrified of Chihuahuas based on my reaction. In reality, it's the owner's stupidity I'm concerned about.

You could try reframing it as "they think my dog is a PSD or PPD because of how well trained and behaved it is", but at the end of the day... GSD owners spend a lot of time biting their tongue in response to the lack of public familiarity with our breed, or dogs in general.

 

[brandonb]

yeah i'm from Colorado and the only places i know of that allow leashed dogs in who arent police dogs or service dogs are the pet stores. Chains like Best Buy has a service dog on policy as do most other places.

As far as the responses from other people, its all ignorance. Try to educate. If your dog is friendly and well behaved, it wouldnt hurt to ask them if they'd like to meet your dog. The worst they'll say is no. I know people are usually backing away wide-eyed from my dogs until i ask if they'd like to say hi.

I was surprised as well, I saw a golden retriever in Best Buy with a lady and I asked a clerk if they allow any dog or only service/companion dogs. He said they where dog friendly. I thought that seemed odd but, he told me only the Best Buys in Boulder County allow dogs.

 

[sagelfn]

:headbang: Oh the wolf thing...it never ends.

 

[Larien]

SchDDR, wow that sheep is huge! What an awesome picture, cool dog!

So far no one has said anything negative and no one has voiced anxiety over Remi. Mostly people just tell me he's pretty or cute, but it may change when he's full grown, since he's so dark, people will probably fear him. I'm not too concerned about that, though, because I'm a young woman in a dangerous world. My neighbors all love him, but they're used to GSDs since my neighbor across the street had one for so many years a while back.

I don't think I'd ever take my dog in a Best Buy, if heaven forbid something startled him, or heck even if he just wagged his tail greeting someone, he'd be likely to knock over an LCD TV or something!

 

[KZoppa]

I was surprised as well, I saw a golden retriever in Best Buy with a lady and I asked a clerk if they allow any dog or only service/companion dogs. He said they where dog friendly. I thought that seemed odd but, he told me only the Best Buys in Boulder County allow dogs.

interesting. wonder why that is.

 

[KZoppa]

:headbang: Oh the wolf thing...it never ends.

got the "part wolf" comment at petsmart tonight. Someone decided arguing with me was the best way to go when i said Nope, purbred german shepherd. Wish i could smack people and it not be assault sometimes. Lord knows there are a bunch of people who deserve a good smack upside their fool heads.

 

[SchDDR]

SchDDR, wow that sheep is huge! What an awesome picture, cool dog!

Nope. Normal sheep, tiny dog, lol.

 

[adamdude04]

got the "part wolf" comment at petsmart tonight. Someone decided arguing with me was the best way to go when i said Nope, purbred german shepherd. Wish i could smack people and it not be assault sometimes. Lord knows there are a bunch of people who deserve a good smack upside their fool heads.

You know.. I don't recall ever being asked if he had wolf in him or not. Or mixed breed. I do all the time get asked "Is he a Police dog??"

I won't even be in a store, or anything. Just walking down the street, one time I had the back window open on my SUV at the gas station and someone asked same question. Even at the dog park

 

[SchDDR]

got the "part wolf" comment at petsmart tonight. Someone decided arguing with me was the best way to go when i said Nope, purbred german shepherd. Wish i could smack people and it not be assault sometimes. Lord knows there are a bunch of people who deserve a good smack upside their fool heads.

I used to find it mildly amusing until I was working on public access skills with Danke in Home Depot, and encountered someone who knew the ADA rather well. Too well, in fact.

Not a store employee, but a customer, he approached me to ask if Danke was a Service Dog. Given that we were training, talking to the guy as exposure seemed like a good choice. So, I explained that while Danke and I meet the ADA's requirements for a Service Dog Team, I was not employing her such, and was merely taking advantage of Home Depot's pet-friendly policy to work on my dog's skills.

He then proceeded to tell me that Danke could never legally be a Service Dog [despite legally being one now], because she was "clearly" part wolf, and only dogs can be Service Animals [which, for the purposes of his argument at the time was somewhat true, since Danke clearly is not a mini-horse.]

Confusing GSDs with wolf-hybrids or wolves stopped being so amusing right that instant.

 

[brandonb]

I think it is ironic, I am probably more "human" aggressive and protective of my girl than she is of me.

I have also heard the statement before ( a few times ) that people are a bit more suspicious of dark GSD than their lighter counterpart. I never put any weight in that but, maybe its true ? Since she is from Czech line she is very dark, her mother was pure black.

However the reason I bring her around Best Buy or walking along the road with high traffic ( sidewalk of course ) or in a pitch black field is because I want her to be exposed to as many different areas as possible. She is very confident and I have not yet seen any sign of a potential fear bite.
Part of the problem is , she is a puppy but at 52 lbs she doesn't look like one. 52 lbs or 16 lbs she still wants to play the same.

Another thing I noticed and I cant blame people for taking alarm, her puppy bark is now almost a big girl bark...even though she really wants to play its hard to stop the people and tell them GSD's are very vocal and she is just excited to play. Maybe its just I but she is like a big Golden but with a weapon of a tail. And you know, it wouldn't be to bad if she scratched up a new 52" inch 3D LCD TV and I had to buy one...am sure that would get past my wife

 

[Larien]

Wow, that's aggravating. "Clearly" part wolf is so insulting, like he knows better than you what kind of dog you have, how frustrating!

I know what you mean, brandonb, Rem is 52 lbs. too but only 5 months old, he's a baby but he looks like a shrunken adult. And his bark is very adult, very deep and booming and quite intimidating.

 

[brandonb]

Well the only person that gets away with the wolf comment is my 3 year old daughter...she thinks she is the daughter of one of the wolves from Chronicles of Narnia

 

[SchDDR]

People are familiar with the B&T GSDs. Most assume that B&T is the only color a GSD comes in.

I've even known some B&T GSD owners who didn't know what a sable GSD was.

Because sables are more common in working lines, many people have only seen them as PSDs, because all their friend's showline and BYB dogs are B&Ts. That leads them to believe that either sable GSDs are a totally different breed of "police dog", or that something about sables makes them different from other GSDs and only suited for work.

 

[brandonb]

She clearly is toy vacuum cleaner and Shepard hook aggressive...

@10 weeks or so.

Herding fun.. not so much for the handler I think but, I think she will do just fine in her instinct test in a few months.

@6 months