Going further, GSD

I have only had one here for a little over a week (foster) and i have to tell you it has been a learning experience!! We have 10 other dogs here,all different breeds and this guy is sooo different from the others! The shedding thing,not and exaggeration!!!I am going to start making pillows and stuffing them with it.
Velcro,if he closer to me i would be wearing him as a coat,as i type this he is curled around the bottom of my chair!
Mine isnt vocal,yet! He is stll new here so maybe he just isnt comfortable enough yet??
So far he seems to think his job it to guard the giant orange squeeky octupus.If the octopus appears to be in danger it is quickly moved to a safe location and guarded with a large paw.All other stuffies are quickly be-headed and unstuffed.
I cant say i was ever a GSD fan before but now that i have had personal experience i can see why people love them so much.You can see the intelligence and eagerness to please and learn in their eyes.He shows me fierce devotion and love and we have only just met!I still have lots to learn but we hadnt planned on our new addition and have to learn as much as we can quickly.The people on this board have been very helpful and had a big hand in helping Zeke get settled in to a less than ideal situation under less than ideal circumstances.
I commend you on doing your research ahead of time.That reminds me a have a few hundred dog breeds to research before someone drops one of them off too.

I like Zoom Grooms...great tools. Great with foster cats too - haven't had one yet who didn't respond favorably.
Molly isn't much of a talker. She is quite vocal when it's time for her Beau walk (I've had to refrain from saying "let's go see Beau" cause it sets off some major yodeling - Glenda would be proud LOL)
Devotion, loyalty, intelligence (sometimes more than their people) is a GSD. Being constantly on one's toes trying to outsmart their GSD is key. DH had to toss Molly's alligator the other day (her newest fav toy) cause she was "killing" it. Molly waited a few minutes and simply walked over to the trash and saved her alligator. It's those kind of things that keep us on our toes. And she even had the nerve to get alligator out of the trash and drop it on her daddy's lap!

I have a question too - the GSD is my BF's dream dog and though it's probably still years off this is really good info... do they tend to bond to just one person or the whole family? Since we have Russell I plan to get a female when we do add a second dog - would she be more likely to "velcro" to my boyfriend? (I would probably do most of the training but we share all other dog care.)

The zoom groom is absolutely wonderful!  And for anyone who has yet to experience the gsd coat blowing, suddenly, one day you will look at your beautiful dog and go "OMG!!!  He's got MANGE"  or some other horrible disease because the coats look soooooo awful with huge funky chunks sticking out.  Mind you, the coat will look absolutely fine one day and then the next.....like you've got some wild creature in your home who has never seen a brush.  And you really want to brush OUTside, not in the house!  Mine always get brushed every day or at the worst every other day so to suddenly see this horrible looking coat is quite the shock.  I worked on coats Sunday morning since we've had cooler weather and the blowing was triggered a bit early this year.....by the time we were ready to go into town for walks, two of the boys, who are blowing the worst needed to be brushed AGAIN.  And the fur that comes out of those dogs, you've gotta wonder if they'll have any LEFT.
 
Erin, I find with the shepherds that while they absolutely love everyone in the family, I'm still the momma.  All three of us can be sitting in the livingroom in the evening and they go to everyone, but when it's time to settle and lay down, its ME who is surrounded by furry friends.  So while they are a family dog, absolutely, they WILL pick that one person who is THEIRS.  And velcro doesn't even begin to describe them.  Mine HAVE to be outside when I'm actually trying to accomplish something or I can't move.
 
But yes, they absolutely do need a job to do.  Otherwise, as has been said, they will find their own, and it might be something like eating the sofa, or the new recliner, and I don't trust even my four year old shepherd to be free in the house when I'm gone....crates are wonderful creations and they are all happy in them.  And I don't come home to someone having committed stufficide on my sofa.

I'm going to mirror what Glenda said.

The German Shepherd Dog is a family dog, but they pick their people!  Something that many are not prepared for when they get a GSD....is that the GSD may not bond to THEM, and it really can be heartbreaking!

It's happened on more than one occassion where (for example) a husband bought his wife the Shepherd she always dreamed of.  It was supposed to be "her dog".....the Shepherd bonded more to the husband than the wife, and it's a crushing blow.

Shepherds bond most closely to the person they feel "needs" them the most.  You may not think that you need the Shepherd, but they know better.  Sometimes they become this HUGE support system that another family member of friend just can't offer, and they knew that you needed them.  Sometimes they just feel that other members of the family are strong enough on their own.

You could do all the training, socializing, etc....the dog may still very well choose to be the boyfriend's dog.

This doesn't mean they don't love the rest of the family.  Strauss adores his family, especially my little brother.  But he makes it clear that he is MY dog.  He's always by my side, he follows me everywhere, he lays as close to me as he can.

When somebody else tells Strauss to sitz, platz, or what have you, he does it....but he's slow about it.  And he gives people this look of "I'll do it, but I'm taking my sweet darned time, cause you're not mom!"  The same goes for Ranger.  Ranger does not live with me, he lives with a man just 1/2 a mile away. 

Ranger loves me, I have no qualms about that, but he makes it clear to me that he is Brian's dog!  I can deal with that!  NO problem with it at all!  BUT, if you cannot deal with the dog being velcro to ONE person, and showing this undying love for this ONE person, and sometimes giving YOU this look of "Yeah, whatever" a GSD isn't for you, because they aren't shy about showing who their "favorite" is

That's what I thought. It's true I might get a little jealous, but on the other hand that might work out for us. My boyfriend is about to start a career as a long-distance truck driver... I wonder if a GSD (being "his" dog) would be a good companion to keep him company on the road. It's all just daydreaming at this point....

GSDs are GREAT riding companions!  However, it is absolutely imperative that if you want to approach the truck at any time that BOTH of you do it from day one.
 
I've been working with Ranger for 5 years, on an almost daily basis......I can't get that dog out of the back of Brian's truck without Brian.  I'm not afraid, but I'm not stupid either!  That truck is HIS truck until Brian says otherwise, and he guards it like a devil dog.  I can accept that, and I really don't view it as bad behavior.
 
GSDs (with the exception of a few like Strauss) can become very territorial over property and people.  Strauss is very protective over PEOPLE, but he does not share the same trait for things like the car.  He now alert barks to the door, but he didn't do that until almost 2.  He'll likely never be that way over the car....no big deal.

Edit to say: Good luck with whatever you decide.

I would just make VERY sure that you research the breeder you choose VERY well.  In our area, we seem to have an overpopulation of GSDs--there are always some purebreds in our shelter, and tons of mixes, and a disturbing number of them do not seem to have the best temperment, at least in this area.  I'm not saying anything negative against the breed at ALL, please don't take it that way, it's just something I've noticed in this area, and I don't know if this is something consistant all over the Midwest or not.
 
That having been said, some of the most pleasent dogs I've met were schzhund working line GSDs I came across at a dog show.  I even got some kisses from a GSD at the show for obedience......

The German Shepherd Dog is a family dog, but they pick their people!

I completly agree!  Madi is my velcro kid, she would follow me in the shower if I left the shower door open.  I feel however, I am her play buddy and Dad is the protector. Funny part that the cat loves Dad more then me.  She looks at him with such love, me well I get the calls to feed her.  Madi will not move until I get home.  If hubby walks in the house without me she lifts her head from the couch and just looks at him.  With me she does the happy dance.  My madi loves me more!!!!

Okay I paid more attention last night to see if Madi really is vocal like everyone elses dog.  I realized she is not a barker, she whines!!!!
 
 
I normally have to ask her to speak.  But boy she makes sounds under her breath when no one is paying attention and if you still ignore her she moves closer and starts whining even louder!!!  So no barks when people knock, the occasional GRGRGRGRG when running after an animal in the back yard.  99% of the time will say please when asked, but her hidden language well that is constant. Ironiclly Madi is whining as I type this.  Grumble.Grumble... why are you ignoring me? 

Strauss Yodels, and Ranger goes "Woo woo woo!" On rare occassions.

Uhhhh, should I feel offended that my gsd's find me needy or weak? [] I honestly don't think it's that, but I am simply the one who is almost always HERE with them.  And, I'm the momma.

No, Glenda, I'm not saying you're needy or weak.  What I was trying to get across is that GSDs just seem to sense a certain something within the people they pick, whether it is the need for a dear friend, a support system (physically speaking), or perhaps because a person is too "hard" (think military hard) and perhaps needs to "soften" a bit.
 
Even if it is not visible to others, the dogs can sense a change in their person, and they stick with them.  Something pulls a Shepherd towards a certain person in the family.  The one that is chosen doesn't always know why (I've seen more than one occassion where the dog attaches to a person in the family that didn't even WANT them) but the dog does, and that's all that matters to the dog.

Gosh, I wasn't taking it as a personal attack!   [&:]