[ZeDocsAssistant]

I've grown up with the dogs! My mom and entire family has always loved dogs and we....well we have a housefull! My shepherd is our youngest and biggest yet. She's also my second dog, my first previously being a poodle but he took a liking to my great uncle so I decided to give him my 10year old baby.

Riley!

One of five schnauzers, Duchess
Riley °ω°

 

[vicky2200]

I would guess I love dogs because my parents do and I have always had a minimum of one (rarely one, usually 2+). The first dog we had (as a family) was a GSD. I really only remember the day he died but he was supposedly a great dog. After that we had a shepherd mix, a miniature poodle, another german shepherd, and the dogs we currently have. So aside from the two poodles, all of our dogs have been either pure bred GSD or part GSD. (The alaskan husky is part GSD.)

Really, I love all dogs. I haven't heard of a breed that I wouldn't have. However, I really like the way the GSD looks and they are very easy to train. I do plan on having a variety of breeds in the future, but I will likely always have a GSD or GSD mix in the house.

 

[tottie86]

I actually only fell in love with german shepherds last year when my boyfriends brother came to live with us! His german shepherd was the most loyal dog and a sweet dog!! I fell in love, and had to have 1


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[Castlemaid]

When I was growing up, I didn't even like dogs. I have Asperger's - undiagnosed at the time. I didn't understand what I saw as the dogs' constant neediness, and their desperate attempt to elicit affection and attention from people. I found it intrusive, and even pathetic. My mental/emotional/social development was lagging behind, and I did not learn to open up my feelings and form attachments until I was in my mid twenties - after owning a dog for a few years. But that came about through horses.

In my mid twenties, I took up horse-back riding. I was fascinated by the psychology of the horse, and trying to understand the mysterious reasons as to why an animal 10 times stronger than us so willingly allows us to sit on their back, and tries so hard to please. The more I read about horses, the herd instinct, the social bonds and dynamics that allows a herd to function, survive, and which allows us to form relationships with them, then the more I understood dogs and their pack instinct. Plus, I enjoyed the company of my friends' dogs when we went on trail rides.

So my first dog, William, a Spaniel/Retriever/Afghan happy-go-lucky mix, came on trail rides with us, and in his spare time unlocked my emotions and taught me about love and bonding and set the stage for what I knew to be a new love of dogs. Keeta, my second dog, was a very different challenge, and my on-going efforts for appropriate training venues for her led me to Schutzhund. What Elisabeth said above about seeing an escape bite - the very first time I saw a hold and bark - chills!

GSDs weren't even on my Radar at the time - after all, they were just dogs, right? But I was dumbfounded by these dogs at the Schutzhund club, their connection with the handlers, their biddability, their drive, their joy of life, their quasi-human intelligence, their core mental strength, their courage when faced with a treat, their calm and social manner when at home - what else can I say? It wasn't long before I knew beyond a doubt that my next dog was going to be a working line GSD.

 

[Kahrg4]

For as long as I can remember I always liked and wanted to be around dogs. I used to get in trouble as kid when I would go to a friend's house for a sleep-over/slumber party and spent more time interacting with their pets then with the other children. :blush:

I begged for a dog for years and years. Spent many birthday candles wishing for a dog. When my mother finally wore down we got an American Eskimo Dog. I can remember memorizing the poster of all the dog breeds in the vet's office. There was just something about the GSD and all its familial branches that really captured my interested. Later my family got involved with other northern breeds and worked with their respective rescues, but it wasn't until college that I got the chance to really live and work with GSDs.

After I moved outta the dorms I finally had the opportunity to foster GSDs. It was a game changer. My first foster was 30min away from being a foster fail when I got the call that he'd been adopted by a lovely family. It was sad to see him go, but I knew then that I would have a GSD of my own to keep someday.

Fast forward many fosters and 4 years later and Cafall came home with me. We've kinda been inseparable ever since. :wub:

 

[shilorio]

I loved cats first, when I was five. But as I grew older I realized how dogs were so mucho te loving and what they give to you.
So I wanted to adopt a pitty from the pound and the pound said I wasn't qualified. Heart broken, my mom decided to then surprise me with a tiny female german shepherd, and the rest was history.

 

[brembo]

It's a weird story, but here goes.....

I used to be a surveyor. Ya know the guys that run around with lasers and measure things. Well I was doing a loan survey in a fairly nice neighborhood and saw a man tossing a frisbee for his German. I always was drawn towards agile and smart dogs(had Border Collies prior) so I wandered over and said hello. The dog, named King, brought the disc over, laid down and put his paw on the frisbee while I spoke to the owner. It was such a meaningful gesture on the dog's part, sorta like "well, I'll wait here and hold onto my disc while these two schmutzes yammer". I asked if I could toss the disc and with a simple word the owner ASKED King to give me the frisbee. I saw the dog size me up, I was surveyed, assessed and accepted as an appropriate frisbee tosser. I liked the thinking, I liked the fact the dog made decisions. I threw it a few times, got a few good ear rubs in and cemented in my head that GSDs would likely be a good foil for me.

What I didn't know was that with their humans GSDs are goofy wads of cuddle-ness that strive to make you laugh and quit being such serious beings. Win-win in my book.My dogs are dorks with me, dorks around my friends and suits with dark glasses with strangers, What's not love about that?

 

[Daisy&Lucky's Mom]

My love for GSDs came from family dogs.Taffy(Black/Tan GSD) and Prince(silver and black) Jumper(light sable GSD) and Heinrick(light sable GSD . Taffy was a large female GSD who was beautiful but was at my families dairy farm as a deterrent to thiefs. She seemed beautiful and big.She was very mean . I used to sit across from her dog box and watch her and try to get her to like me. She would do the GSD head tilt and I would be like" see she likes me" and then she would snap at me when I tried to get closer. I really wanted Taffy to be my friend so when she had puppies we gvot Jumper. He was colored like Daisy and jumped alot hence at I named him. My family kept dogs on a chain. Prince was a black and silver GSD who was a cuddle bug extrordinaire even on the chain. He was hit when he got loose. Heinrick was a stray puppy my adoptive parents found along a railroad track. He too was light sable. When I think dog I see a GSD.I wanted a GSD and I wanted them to be true family memeber so hence the lives of our Daisy,Lucky ,Chevy and Thunder.
Did my family have beloved family pets ? Yes and no my mom's side yes ,my dad's side they always had farm dogs who slept in the barn and played w/ kids ,ran off vermin and rabbbits they had jobs of a sort or they were on chains. My Mom's side had lots of spaniels ,beagles and doxies.Most dogs lived in the house and looking at old pictures the dogs were in every shot. Adoptive family the dogs including Rex ,sable GSD lived on a chain but came in sometimes and Heinrich was not only an inside dog but he was prince.He accepted everybody ,believed that the couch was his and in general was so smart it often got him in trouble.
Thats how I came to love the GSD and the reason my dogs live the way they do..

 

[HarleyTheGSD]

I've loved animals since I was a toddler. I used to catch snakes, lizards, frogs, toads, and turtles all the time and keep them as pets. We got our first dog when I was seven years old, Cookie(free walmart puppy, we still have her). I became very involved in her training. I taught her how to roll over, jump through hoola hoops, jump on command, and shake hands all before I turned eight years old.
I've had many favorite dog breeds, but the German Shepherd was always on the list (because I've always loved their looks). When I started to do research on the breed and know more about temperaments, I knew that this was the breed for me. I own two German Shepherds, and I love each of them to death. I will always have a German Shepherd by my side.

 

[elisabeth_00117]

My grandfather had GSD's on his farm growing up who helped with the stock and acted as companions for the family (he was a foster kid) he lived with all through his young adult life. He passed that down to my father and all of us kids... I however, got the "obsessive gene" when it came to the breed. My grandfather was a big time supporter of the breed.



We always had 1 or 2 GSD's growing up and we did foster whenever it was needed in our little town.



Our GSD's were mostly companion dogs however, my Dad did train in obedience and agility with our last family GSD; Beau (RIP). He never competed, probably due to the time needed to do it as he worked full time, had his own business and was raising 3 very active girls.



I love this breed for what they are suppose to be. A truly versatile breed who is capable of pretty much anything and everything that is asked of them.



Schutzhund - My GSD's growing up trained with a very well known importer/trainer of police K9's and after the obedience classes were completed there was always (every Sunday) a group of people (looking back now, probably a club or local K9 officers) who went onto the field to work on obedience (jumps, climbs, retrieves, etc.) and bite work. My Dad always let us watch (with permission from our trainer) if we behaved while he attended class with my dog prior. This stuck with me and still does... that first escape bite I saw... chills.... I knew I wanted to be more involved when I could.

Herding - My Gramps always talked about how the dogs would help with the stock when he was a kid. I sorta found the sport boring but that was because I never really gave it a chance or got more involved. Now I am working my youngest in the venue (with hopes of having my own livestock this summer!) and am loving it!!! Helps that she is a total natural and so talented.. lol.



Having a well trained animal is something my family values, no matter what you do with it, so I guess in that regard yes.



*See above.

This is a bad photo (it's a picture of a picture) but this was the training facility we went too every week for many years. My mother is front centre with our second GSD (a American/German cross). You can see the stadium lighting and wall in the background through the pathway in the trees... this place was paradise...

 

[dogfaeries]

My mother loved animals. We always had dogs (among other things). When I was 12 years old, she bought a GSD puppy. The two of us took her to obedience classes, joined a kennel club, and then showed her in conformation.

I've never been without a dog. I can't even fathom it.

 

[arycrest]

My love for dogs came from my parents, especially my father. We always had a dog or two when I was growing up. I won my first dog, a Cocker Spaniel, in a contest on my 12th birthday and have had a dog of my own ever since.

My love for the German Shepherd came from watching the old Rin Tin Tin TV series plus watching a few movies when I was in grade school that featured GSDs. I got my first GSD, Tasha, in 1974 and have never wanted another breed since then.

 

[Sri]

I've always been drawn to GSDs, wolves, horses, etc. GSDs especially just went straight to my heart. Maybe I owned some in a past life or was one(and one of you might have owned me ).

Never wanted to keep any though. It's the kids who forced my hand. I tried to convince them to go for a smaller, cute, fluffy breed and kept tempting them with these puppies. We even took them to a breeder who had several huge GSDs and though the kids were intimidiated by the sheer size and the jaws, they would not budge from their desire for a GSD.

My husband in the meanwhile who didnt care for dogs or animals happened to come across a full page of GSD puppy images and he was so immensely drawn to them(highly unusual for him) that we ended up getting one. Strangely though, I saw our puppy in a dream much before we ever even thought of getting one. And when I saw him among the litter, something clicked and I said this is it. We had no second thoughts about which puppy to pick out of the six.

By the way, nice question! I enjoyed reading some of the responses

 

[PhoenixGuardian]

I've always been drawn to GSDs, wolves, horses, etc. GSDs especially just went straight to my heart.

Ha! Me too! I have always been an animal fanatic. I was the kid who was out finding ridiculous ways to get up on the horse's back, because I wanted up there, but was so short I had to get get creative (found out very quickly which ways worked and which ways didn't!)
My Grandpa was a dog handler for the police and, though he was retired, he had a GSD by the name of Reba, who I adored. My Grandma was always nervous that she would scare us, so she wasn't let out of her kennel often when we were there, but I begged my Grandpa to take her out.
To my four or five year old brain, she was the most magnificent animal that had ever walked the earth. Ever since her, I had wanted a GSD. We have always had dogs, my Dad used to have English Setters, but now we have Alaskan huskies. I used to skip out on schoolwork a lot so that I could research dog training, checking out every dog book at our local library, memorizing them, and checking them out again (before I discovered the internet). My life always has, and always will revolve around animals and animal training. Its my "thing."

 

[LARHAGE]

My mother was the German Shepherd lover, when she was 11 her parents were tragically killed and she was shipped to live with an Uncle she didn't even know, he had a broom factory on the property and they had a big white GSD chained up to the building and he would be set free at night, he was so mean he had to be hazed into a pen to catch and chain him, even her uncle couldn't touch him. My Mom was warned to never go near him but everyday she would sit near him and just daydream as she had no friends as she had not spoken since her parents death, one day her Uncle found her sitting with the big dog laying on her lap as she stroked his head, he ran to her and the dog threatened to attack him, that dog became my Moms best friend, he brought her out of her grief and accompanied her on daily jaunts in the hills, he cemented her love for the breed and we always had German Shepherds because of that dog.

The day before my Mother passed away from cancer she was in and out of consciousness , me and my sisters were sitting bedside when she reached her hand out and said "Baron" in a very happy tone, we all looked at each other and smiled, Baron was her favorite German Shepherd who had died at 15 years of age 23 years prior.

 

[marbury]

I have always loved dogs since I knew what they were. Most of my childhood toys were dogs. It's definitely one of those "pre-programmed" feelings... I kept trying to convince my parents how to take care of them because I was devouring every dog book I could find.

Ditto. Born this way! Neither of my parents had or even liked pets. I had no friends with dogs. I was innate and I loved dogs before I ever even met one in person.

 

[onyx'girl]

My mother was the German Shepherd lover, when she was 11 her parents were tragically killed and she was shipped to live with an Uncle she didn't even know, he had a broom factory on the property and they had a big white GSD chained up to the building and he would be set free at night, he was so mean he had to be hazed into a pen to catch and chain him, even her uncle couldn't touch him. My Mom was warned to never go near him but everyday she would sit near him and just daydream as she had no friends as she had not spoken since her parents death, one day her Uncle found her sitting with the big dog laying on her lap as she stroked his head, he ran to her and the dog threatened to attack him, that dog became my Moms best friend, he brought her out of her grief and accompanied her on daily jaunts in the hills, he cemented her love for the breed and we always had German Shepherds because of that dog.

The day before my Mother passed away from cancer she was in and out of consciousness , me and my sisters were sitting bedside when she reached her hand out and said "Baron" in a very happy tone, we all looked at each other and smiled, Baron was her favorite German Shepherd who had died at 15 years of age 23 years prior.

:wub: That proves the Rainbow Bridge is for real!

 

[Cassidy's Mom]

I think loving animals in general was pre-programmed into me and my sister, mostly through my mom's side of the family. She got it from her dad, my grandmother always just tolerated all his animals, but Papa was a true animal lover. He had several outdoor aviaries of birds, mostly finches and parakeets, but also a couple of cockatiels, and maybe some other kinds. He also had an outdoor pond with fish. Those I remember, but when my mom was growing up they had a lot more animals, even goats and chickens I think.

I grew up with cats, so they were my first love. We had a couple of badly behaved dogs that nobody bothered to train, but it wasn't until my met my husband that I really became a dog person too. He had two German shepherds, Heidi and Nero. We were together for years before finally moving in together and then deciding to get married. He brought me home a kitten as an engagement present, and I got him a GSD as a wedding gift. Sneaker lived to 14-1/2 years old, and she was such a great dog. She totally sold me on the breed, and we've had one or two ever since.

My sister has 7 rescued cats, many with special needs. Mom has several parrots, they just lost their 15 year old Westie and got a cute little dog from the shelter when they went to donate Molly's things. Tinker is possibly a terrier/chihuahua mix of some sort, and is fitting into their home well.

I had two Maine **** kitties, but lost my boy Elvis two weeks ago at age 12-1/2. His half sister Emmy was diagnosed with renal failure a month prior, so I've been doing everything I can to keep her as happy and healthy as I can, as long as possible. She'll be 12 on Saturday.

 

[Merciel]

I was a latecomer to dogs. I used to have (and train) rats, but when I was working in trials, I didn't have the time to devote to a bigger pet.

Then I moved to appellate work (more flexible schedule, fewer hours) and we bought a condo so I wasn't renting anymore, and a "real" pet became possible. I actually only got Pongu because originally I wanted a cat, but my husband is allergic to cats so I figured "well, I'll get a dog instead."

Nobody really expected the "dog thing" to turn into the craziness that it did... but in retrospect I guess it shouldn't have been that surprising. I am constitutionally incapable of stopping halfway on any of my hobbies.

 

[Cassidy's Mom]

Oh, forgot our sports! Tom jumps Halo in dock diving, but he doesn't train her he just takes her out there and does it when there's an event not too far away on a free weekend, so it's more of a dabbling situation rather than being seriously competitive about it. We first decided to try it because she loves to swim and would jump off the rocks into the water at the park, so we thought she might actually jump off the dock, even though she'd never seen a swimming pool or a dock before. And she did! We'd tried it a few years before with Dena & Keefer, and Dena would go into the pool off the exit ramp and swim around, but would not jump off the dock. Keefer slid off the dock head first a couple of times before deciding he wasn't interested in doing that anymore. He went completely submerged and then popped to the surface like a cork, lol. :wild:

I've been racing Halo in flyball since April 2012, so a little less than 2 years. Again, it was something I'd heard of before and thought she'd enjoy it. She's agile, athletic, and fearless, and loves to run and jump and chase balls, so it seemed perfect for her. I found a "for fun" class at a shelter the Summer of 2011, and she did so well and enjoyed it so much, I searched online and found the North American Flyball Association website, that had a list of clubs in our area. I saw that one was about an hour away and was starting up classes in a few weeks, so I signed us up. We took the next class after that, which ended right before Thanksgiving 2012, and then we were invited to come to club practices since there would not be any more classes until Spring.

The official invitation to join the club was at the end of March 2012, about a week and a half before the club was going to sponsor a tournament. I remember the email well - it said "Halo will be racing at our tournament, so get ready!". We've been having fun practicing most weekends, and doing 6-8 tournaments a year ever since.