Are all German shepherds anxious reactive nutcases now?

[EarFluff]

I grew up with GSDs … would love another but every one I see these days is a reactive anxious mess. Has the breed been totally ruined?

No but the lovely, stable ones I know are working line from superb breeders in very experienced hands. Both ‘work’; one agility and one search and rescue.

Mostly yes.

Unfortunately good breeders are very few and far between and the dogs they produce aren't likely to end up in pet only homes.

I have wondered why of all the breeds I come across, the GSDs seem to be on short leads, owners avoiding passing us, or holding them back. My pup is scared of them despite being part GSD. Are there negative traits I should be looking out for that she might have inherited?

Ours is calm and laid back and a fabulous dog. As far as I can see it is all in the breeding.

I'm sure there are some good ones out there, but for the most part the show lines are neither physically nor mentally sound anymore.

The working lines are better. The working lines of all breeds are better.

Poor breeding + crap, unsuitable owners who have no idea how to train the breed. It isn't just shepherds, it is every working dog breed! The well bred ones cost more money than the average pet owner is willing to pay so they go for the cheaper, less well bred ones.

Nope, not all There is a fabulous one near us. I don't like dogs, but this one is so well trained, and responds instantly to any command from its owner.

They're not all nut cases, but my experience is that many of them end up in the wrong hands - they need experienced owners who can commit to plenty of training, exercise and mental stimulation

They're working dogs who were originally bred to herd - like collies, they're not the kind of dog to do well on two short lead walks a day.

They need time to run, to sniff, to work their brains and to channel their instincts - a bored GS is going to be reactive, destructive and frustrated.

I don't know the breed and whether it is breeding or training or both but agree most of the ones I see look very stressed. I wnder if another factor is the simple volume of dogs around. Many are loners. Dog reactivity isn't an issue in a low dog environment but a huge issue when dogs are everywhere. In cities and suburbs finding low dog environments to run off lead in must be v hard.

They have very specific breed traits that require experienced owners. My parents have had two from puppies, and 3 from breed rescue. The rescues were all problematic and while they made some progress with 2 of them, one could never be let off lead with other dogs around and reacted badly on lead to people outside of family. Without proper handling and training from a puppy they can be difficult.

Same can be said for many dog breeds though, particularly working dogs. They need training and a job to do.

We’ve commented on how different it is with the pup compared to our last dog we lost just before Covid. We’re semi rural so can access lots of low dog density places but when we stay with my in-laws in the city the walking areas are heaving and it’s very overwhelming . As you said the vast majority of dogs tolerate strange ones. That’s a lot of tolerating in a short space of time!

I have fostered, rescued and owned GSD for many many years and to be honest yes the vast majority are a nightmare. It seems the breed has been ruined by people breeding from unstable and unsuitable animals. Health wise they are also pretty much a disaster, itchy with sensitive stomachs and horrible joint problems. I’ve also noticed a dramatic increase in strange colours- blue and panda being the latest 🙄

I also think people have unrealistic expectations. They are loyal and loving to family but naturally aloof. They aren’t designed to be running up to strangers saying hello, I sometimes people expect to be able to override breed traits and then give them up when they aren’t a more intimidating looking golden retriever. They also need so much training, stimulation, socialisation and exercise and lots of them just aren’t getting what they need.

I absolutely adore a well bred stable GSD, I have one last one who is an absolute dream dog to own in her own GSD way but I’ll not have any more once she’s gone, sadly.

No. But people need to realise they are buying a working breed and they have to. train and exercise appropriately.

Yes and no. The bitch I have now is very well bred. But she's like an elephant who doesn't forget, so any "incident" is remembered, and she's now reactive/dog aggressive/whatever you want to call it. Luckily she's very easy to train so can focus on me most of the time. However, she's hard work in a world where every Tom, Dick and Harry has a fat Labrador or Cockerpoo that wants to "say hello" or "play". If everyone had control over their dogs it would not be an issue.

I think modern day breeding for dog sports doesn't really help. The dogs are super high in prey drive and can lack impulse control. A lot of the top sports dogs are trained using e-collars and other harsh methods to control them.

Re the person above who said about GSD owners holding their dogs back. Well the reality is if anything happens then it will always be the GSD owners fault, so it's easier to avoid things.

GSDs are also one person dogs. Its normal for the breed not to be interested in or want to interact with other people or dogs. In a world where dogs are child substitutes, a lot of people who have only owned socially gregarious breeds don't get this. They assume it's because the dog is badly trained, or you are a shit dog owner, when in reality they are complex beings with their own personalities and some dogs are just NOT social outside of their own circle.

@Supernova23 in UK we tend not to use ecollars and they are in the process of being banned anyway.

Seem to be. A friend did her research, after having had a couple of rescue GSDs, found a breeder, waiting list for puppy. She and her family have always had GSDs and father was a police/prisons dog trainer that retrained for let dog training. Three years on and this wanted, trained young dog is an aggressive mess. I was brought up with police dogs and I won't go near it. Something has gone wrong with the vast majority.

Definitely used regularly in the sport dog world even in this country. For the GSD type protection sports I mean.

My GSD is a total nut case but like someone pointed out already, they are intelligent working dogs. My girl gets bored and makes mischief but that is not her fault. Would I adopt another... no... lol.

I have gsd who can be reactive. We've had many dogs before and socialised from the word go and started training at 16 weeks. Unfortunately she had a few not so nice experiences with off lead dogs (mine was on lead) and this made her anxious. I've worked really hard with her and training. We are now with a more experienced 1-1 trainer and started this as soon as we saw a problem. We are slowly getting there with her but it has taken a lot of time and effort. Apart from reactivity she's absolutly brilliant in the house, fab recall, amazing off lead she just hates being on the lead when she sees people or dogs but if she's off lead she's happy to greet. I wouldn't be put off by what you see. If you start training from day 1 you should be fine. I was so upset when my lovely friendly pooch turned into this reactive terror but as soon as I started training with someone who deals with gsd I could see a difference and knew she was capable of pushing past her fears with better leadership. I've never had a reactive dog before so my way of handling it was to tell her it was ok etc and infact this made it worse because I needed to show her she was ok and she didn't need to be afraid (or protect me if she sees a suspicious man). I know a friend who had one from a shelter who was severely abused by the owners and was covered in scars. My friend took her home and was bitten numerous times but continued to train himself and she became such an amazing dog. She started to trust people again. I wouldn't change my girl for world (just her gobbiness and manners)

Completely agree with this

I've just had my heart broken giving back my foster GSD. She was the second one I've had that was an absolute dream dog. The good ones are out there but definitely few and far between. The last one I had just before her wanted to bark at absolutely everything Dogs, cars, cats, people, trees, bikes, post boxes...

I think the main issue is they are bred to be solitary working dogs, attached to one person. They are not family pets. They are neurotic by nature and I’ve noticed it’s usually neurotic people that buy them, so the anxiety just goes through the roof as the dog and owner feed off each other.

Try looking at White Swiss Shepherds. They are basically old fashioned white German shepherds.

we’ve had a massive rise in German shepherds round here, the people always look like they’ve never had a dog / slightly uncomfortable walking them. I think they are probably “security” dogs. They seem to have had a resurgence, which I don’t think does the breed any good.

is this why police are crossing more with malinois?

completely anecdotally I’ve heard two different people having issue with working line retrievers in both health and reactivity.

Yes. A GS viciously attacked our dog in the park a few years ago. Required a vet stay.