# When will "aloofness towards strangers" kicks in?



## JunYue97 (Aug 17, 2016)

Hello there,

So my puppy is 3 and half months old now at 20lb, but she still tries to greet everyone she meets and gets all over-excited about it. During puppy classes, she is a bit timid at first with other dogs (because of some prior issues with an aggressive dog) but she is the ONLY puppy in the entire class who tries to jump on and greet every single human in the class. 

When we take our walks, she tries to greet everyone as well. And because of her cute puppy face, 1/3 of the time people (from the opposite direction) lower their hand intentionally to pet/high-five her while they walk by us, 1/3 of the time she tries to jump at passengers while I try to pull her away but the person being jumped at would turn to her and give her lots of of attention and pets before I can do anything, 1/3 of the time I manage to pull her away before she gets close enough, but the fact that a cute puppy tries to approach them make people give out praises and squeals and my puppy clearly enjoys the attention. So unless I paint "IGNORE her when she jumps" on her furs, I don't think I can train her to ignore people as everyone who passes by encourage her enthusiasm furthermore. She is fine with me and the guests at home though because I gave her the training of never jumping to get my nor my friends' attention at home, however, this seems to make her want to jump at the friendly strangers on the streets even more!

So I am only hoping that the "aloofness towards strangers" in GSDs trait will come up soon before she gets too big. She has mastered a solid "sit" and recall if we are at least 50 meters away from single people and 200 meters away from any major party (she once runs to a bonfire where lots of people gather while we play fetch on the other side of the park), but if there is anything fun nearby she gets too excited and nothing works...Anyway I read online that socialization period ends at 16 weeks, so roughly only two more weeks to go before she calms down and start to ignore strangers on the streets?

Thanks for your feedback,
J

p.s. I have met both of her parents and her 1.5 yr brother, all of them pretty much ignore me while I go visit the pups. The mom was watching me intensely the whole time as I go through her pups, though none of them was ever aggressive with me except when they bark as I knock on the door.


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## JunYue97 (Aug 17, 2016)

BTW, when there is no one else around, she performs her commands perfectly and play with me as I have planned without any problems at all. Only when there is a party...


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

not until much older. For some, around a year old. For many others not until closer to 2 years old.
A 3 month old pup that wants to meet everyone is normal. At that age, you want the dog to think that the world is sunshine and roses.

You need to simply work on training. So far, she's learning that she gets to meet everyone. At a distance from people, work on keeping her focus on you. As they get closer, keep talking and redirecting her back onto you and what you are doing. What works for some people is to step to the side and have the dog perform some basic commands. 
Basically, don't give in and let her greet people. With happy voice and leash pops if necessary, keep on walking. Pick up the pace and walk briskly past them. Most of all, don't be afraid to say "Don't pet the dog." and be a jerk about it if necessary.

On occasions where you do let her greet people, have them help with training. No attention of any kind unless her butt is on the ground. Ask for their help before you approach them. "We're working on manners. Could you help us by saying hello to her? I'm going to have her sit while you greet her. If she starts to get up, could you just step back and ignore her until she is sitting again?" Most people are happy to help


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## Bramble (Oct 23, 2011)

A lot of her behavior will be determined by genetics. Fortunately even if she is social you can teach her to ignore her environment, with a bit of work and dedication. 

I would work on her engagement and focus on you and not let her interact with people during walks. Right now you are letting her environment be more rewarding than you are. The only times my dogs get to interact with people is in my home or during a class, if that is part of the class. During walks I want them focused on me and what we are doing, not if that person coming their way is going to pet them. Once you have got her engagement and she able to ignore people then you can put greeting people on cue if you like. Right now her trying to get to people looks cute, but once she gets bigger people won't be as receptive and she won't understand why, which can cause frustration and lead to undesirable behaviors like barking and lunging. Keep to less distracting environments, start at home, move out to the yard. If you have to take her out on walks try to pick less busy areas or times.

I build focus by simply rewarding it. When my puppy looks at me, I will mark and reward with a continuous stream of tasty treats for 15-20 seconds. Then I will look and move away from them, when they look back at me I will repeat. I keep sessions short, 1-3 minutes, and slowly build to more time in between treats. Once they are getting it in the house we move to the yard, then a low distraction environment way from home. You can put it on cue as well, Look, Watch, Focus, ect... Practice during your classes as well, get her focus the minute you get out of the car and try to maintain into the class. Try to keep her focused on you vs. greeting everyone unless you give her permission to. Make sure you are using rewards she finds super high value, working her hungry will also help. At home and in your yard you can use her meals to train, but for other environments bring out the high value stuff. 

She won't change overnight. Since she has a history of getting rewarded by her environment you will need to put some work in to teach her that you are more rewarding than her environment.


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

I want to say mine began to become markedly less social around 6 months. As a baby pup he was everybody's best friend.

Between 6 months to one year he become less and less impressed with people. Perfect example...he went to the dump with me the other day and he was in the cab of my truck with the windows down while I was taking stuff out of the back of my truck. The dump attendant guy was helping me. He stopped at the window and was like "hey, buddy!" To my dog. What he got was a deadpan stare and if there was a thought bubble on my dog I think it would have been "dude, I am not your buddy."

He just no longer cares to be social with random people, it doesn't really do anything for him. 

Now guests in our home do get friendlier treatment after an introduction...I don't know if he picks up on the different interaction between us and people we know well or if it is because he has time to get to know them or what.


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## -Cerberus- (Sep 22, 2016)

My boy is extremely friendly with people. He always has been, and at nearly two years old, he shows no signs of becoming aloof. He wags his tail and always wants me to let him go greet whomever we see on the street while on our walks. I don't always let him, and he knows to listen to me when I tell him to continue walking. He is more protective of our home and yard..but not while out and about. My trainer said his temperament and friendliness was so good that once he is older and calmer he would be a good candidate to be a therapy dog and visit people in hospitals and such. I guess it just depends on your dog's personal temperament as to whether or not it will ever become aloof..but at least you can always train your pup to keep walking and not drag you over to meet someone.


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## JunYue97 (Aug 17, 2016)

Thanks for all of your replies!



Dainerra said:


> not until much older. For some, around a year old. For many others not until closer to 2 years old.
> A 3 month old pup that wants to meet everyone is normal. At that age, you want the dog to think that the world is sunshine and roses.
> 
> You need to simply work on training. So far, she's learning that she gets to meet everyone. At a distance from people, work on keeping her focus on you. As they get closer, keep talking and redirecting her back onto you and what you are doing. What works for some people is to step to the side and have the dog perform some basic commands.
> ...


Wow...a year old or two...I suspect my dog will be strong enough to pull me around 3 months later! I have honestly tried what you described, however my dog just gets into a excited mode when she meets new people and no command works (especially children and elders, she loves (chasing) them), and as I have described the people she tries to meet instinctually reward her before allowing me the time to step in to do anything. I have asked friends to help me train her to sit while being petted outside...but it does not seem to work so far because she gets way too many attention from her action during walks. And I live near downtown financial district directly beside the lake, so there are numerous people anytime (trust me, I took her out 10:30pm for play time hoping it would be better, but then there are people camping and having bonfires/parties in the park near my place! And in the morning at 6am, there are countless joggers/dog-walkers passing by because of the location of my apartment.)



Bramble said:


> A lot of her behavior will be determined by genetics. Fortunately even if she is social you can teach her to ignore her environment, with a bit of work and dedication.
> 
> I would work on her engagement and focus on you and not let her interact with people during walks. Right now you are letting her environment be more rewarding than you are. The only times my dogs get to interact with people is in my home or during a class, if that is part of the class. During walks I want them focused on me and what we are doing, not if that person coming their way is going to pet them. Once you have got her engagement and she able to ignore people then you can put greeting people on cue if you like. Right now her trying to get to people looks cute, but once she gets bigger people won't be as receptive and she won't understand why, which can cause frustration and lead to undesirable behaviors like barking and lunging. Keep to less distracting environments, start at home, move out to the yard. If you have to take her out on walks try to pick less busy areas or times.
> 
> ...


I have read it somewhere online and tried feeding treats when she pays attention as well. It works perfectly when we are reasonably alone, however once someone approaches she gets too distracted and nothing works and she just tries her best to pull. I have tried lung treats, chicken, sausage...she is so excited she ignores food. This happened in puppy class as well, food does not seem to be that interesting to her compared to all the fun around. And I live in an apartment with LOADS of children near the lake and downtown financial district so there are always people and distractions even at night...honestly I am starting to feel hopeless unless she decides to change her personality herself. However makes her hungry before training her sounds like a good idea, I will try that!



Thecowboysgirl said:


> I want to say mine began to become markedly less social around 6 months. As a baby pup he was everybody's best friend.
> 
> Between 6 months to one year he become less and less impressed with people. Perfect example...he went to the dump with me the other day and he was in the cab of my truck with the windows down while I was taking stuff out of the back of my truck. The dump attendant guy was helping me. He stopped at the window and was like "hey, buddy!" To my dog. What he got was a deadpan stare and if there was a thought bubble on my dog I think it would have been "dude, I am not your buddy."
> 
> ...


OMG, I want my dog to be like that this second!!! Your dog sounds so cool btw



-Cerberus- said:


> My boy is extremely friendly with people. He always has been, and at nearly two years old, he shows no signs of becoming aloof. He wags his tail and always wants me to let him go greet whomever we see on the street while on our walks. I don't always let him, and he knows to listen to me when I tell him to continue walking. He is more protective of our home and yard..but not while out and about. My trainer said his temperament and friendliness was so good that once he is older and calmer he would be a good candidate to be a therapy dog and visit people in hospitals and such. I guess it just depends on your dog's personal temperament as to whether or not it will ever become aloof..but at least you can always train your pup to keep walking and not drag you over to meet someone.


Thanks for your input, I really do hope my dog becomes more aloof as that is one of the reasons I select a GSD breed. However if she decides to stay friendly, taking her to therapy dog training to keep things fun between us sounds like a good idea. Hopefully they have some methods to make overly friendly and excitable dogs to pay attention.


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## armbrusteri (Jul 16, 2016)

I feel your pain, raising a friendly puppy in an area of huge population density is incredibly annoying. I used to live in Toronto and yeah I know that "people reach down to touch your dog as they pass not realizing your dog is then going to want to interact with them longer and then the dog decides to go follow them and you get yanked over" routine all too well, it drove me nuts! Luckily, as your dog gets bigger, people will become more intimidated and leave you alone more. Also, there are way less people out in winter.

But you also need to learn to stand up for your dog and take control of the situation as best you can - walk her on the side opposite of people/oncoming traffic, move her onto a lawn or walkway to let people pass (and practice obedience/focus), use quieter side streets when available, act like you're in a hurry to get somewhere and just go right past people that want to interact, tell people "don't pet her, she's in training" even if they act like you're the rudest person ever, keep her on a short leash by your side and have her sit out of reach of people.

You can't rely on the dog to develop the behaviour you want. You have to teach the dog the behaviour you want and you have to make doing that behaviour the most best thing ever. If she does it in unstimulating environments, then what you need to do is proof it in progressively more interesting environments. That might mean going through the gauntlet of your super busy neighbourhood to get somewhere where there's less people so you can practice under threshold - inconvenient, but doable. Then work your way up gradually. Be consistent, be patient, and she'll figure it out.

I feel like your problem has less to do with food not working and more to do with needing to work under threshold and work your way up to more stimulating environments.

My GSD mix is now 20 months old and still not aloof. She thinks she's a therapy dog for every single person we see using a walker (our new neighbourhood has a large retiree population). But she's learned not to pull me to greet people and she knows her "leave it" command. She's far from perfect because I was very indulgent with her and I am having to make up for lost time but she's figuring it out. Just because your dog has a friendly disposition doesn't mean you can't have rules for how she behaves.


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

He is cool. Handsome too if I do say so myself. Lets hear it for the whites 

I did not have to work at decreasing interest in people with him, it just naturally happened. 

Not all dogs are the same. It could be useful to begin training the pup to control itself, pause before greeting and get a release from you, will serve you later in lots of ways.


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## Della Luna (Jul 14, 2015)

You're in it for the long haul. If you wanted a dog who could ignore strangers "this second," I would have suggested you get an older, mature dog that already exhibited this behavior. It is possible she will never grow to have that personality trait, but she may mature to be more aloof.

My girl is only just starting to show a slight drop-off in her desire to MEET EVERY PERSON. She is 15 months old.

It isn't imperative that you squash her desire to be stranger-friendly, but it is absolutely important that you manage her behavior around strangers. It's not a bad thing that she wants to be friendly. Certainly, it is better than being fearful or aggressive! But just because she WANTS to meet every person she comes across does not mean that she should be allowed to do so.

If strangers are touching your dog without permission, you are letting them get way too close. I don't know how heavy the foot traffic is in your neighborhood, but I would do my best to keep the dog farther away from fellow pedestrians. Body block if necessary. If you're going to be passing by another person, I would absolutely be asking the pup to perform obedience-type behaviors. Keep it simple, and only work on behaviors that the dog is already very good at. It is much harder for the dog to perform in this high-stress environment than it is at home. I would start with stationary behaviors, and slowly work up to asking for the dog to heel past people on the street. When you see a person coming, ask the dog to sit, down, look-at-me, high-five, whatever is easiest and most fun for your dog. Maybe this means stopping every twenty feet, but this isn't a bad thing! Just look at it as getting a lot of practice in. Most people will be respectful if they notice you are actively training your dog. Focus your attention on the dog and DO NOT look at the other person, and 95% of people will get the idea, especially if you are also giving a verbal command. Sometimes I like to repeat "leave it" when a person is walking by, more for the sake of the person than my dog! Only the absolute A-holes will try to interact with your dog in that situation.

One thing I would suggest is to begin teaching your dog to switch heeling positions from one side to the other (dog passes behind you). This will be too advanced of a move to use on the street at this stage in your training, but if you practice it in an easier environment, away from other people, it is a VERY handy trick to have up your sleeve when your dog is ready to start heeling past people. I always keep my body between my dog and other pedestrians, whenever possible.

One thing about your post that catches my eye is that you are pulling her away from other people. This is a situation that I think you should try to avoid. The key is to be proactive. You need to be extra-alert for all possible things that may set off your dog into a hyper-aroused state. In this case, be aware of when people are going to pass you. You want to start engaging the dog BEFORE she gets too excited to pay attention. Bring extra-yummy-omg-treats and get that dog's attention ASAP! The goal is to have the dog so excited about you and your treats that they don't even notice that person walking by. This might mean rapid-fire shoving those yummy treats into your pup's mouth so fast she doesn't have time to notice anything else. Then slowly reducing the rate of rewards as your training progresses. Don't be afraid to squat down with your puppy- you become much more interesting when you're at her level. Random, silly, high-pitch noises are another favorite of mine to keep puppies' attention.

Of course, sometimes catching the dog before the act is easier said than done! There are always going to be situations when you simply have to pull the dog away from someone. BUT I would be very careful about how you go about "pulling" the dog. Did you know that pulling back on a dog can create MORE desire for the dog to reach its target? Do some research into "opposition reflex" and you will find sources that can explain it much better than I can. In your situation, I would personally do my darnedest best to try to make it the pup's idea to "follow" me away from the other person rather than pulling them away. Yes, an element of pulling will be involved initially, but not only would I pull, I would also start jogging in the opposite direction, squeal in high-pitch, happy gibberish, possibly roll around on the ground, and basically make a fool of myself in an attempt to initiate a chase-behavior in my puppy. Please note that this goes so far against my own personality it is not even funny. I am a quiet, passive person. However, I have learned that the best way to keep a dog interested in you instead of its environment is to act CRAZY!!


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## cdwoodcox (Jul 4, 2015)

For my pups part of the problem was me. I thought as soon as they had their shots done that it was my job to introduce them to as many people as possible. That in turn got them thinking that everyone in the world was there to pine and love on them. Rosko is 16 months old and is finally to the point where if we're out walking he just watches people. Athena 5.5 months old and Apollo 4 months old still believe everyone is walking just to see them. Athena is very vocal she will vocalize while meeting people. Not a bark but more like a whine or cry but a happy sound. One day about a month ago me and Athena are in Big R. As we're walking I look down to see who's calling my phone . And feel the leash pull a little and hear her vocalize then hear this really loud crashing sound. All in about a, half a second. Evidently some store employee thought it was a good idea to take 15 or so big coolers and stack them in a nice pyramid style display and then stand a mannequin directly in front of the coolers. We'll Athena seen the mannequin jumped up for a pet and to say hi. Knocked the mannequin into the cooler display and toppled the whole thing. I was standing there looking at this while Athena just went back to my side and sat down like nothing happened. All I could do was laugh. But later I realized that jumping on a mannequin could just have easily been an elderly person and caused real harm so I have since worked really hard on sit before any attention.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

cdwoodcox said:


> For my pups part of the problem was me. I thought as soon as they had their shots done that it was my job to introduce them to as many people as possible. That in turn got them thinking that everyone in the world was there to pine and love on them. Rosko is 16 months old and is finally to the point where if we're out walking he just watches people. Athena 5.5 months old and Apollo 4 months old still believe everyone is walking just to see them. Athena is very vocal she will vocalize while meeting people. Not a bark but more like a whine or cry but a happy sound. One day about a month ago me and Athena are in Big R. As we're walking I look down to see who's calling my phone . And feel the leash pull a little and hear her vocalize then hear this really loud crashing sound. All in about a, half a second. Evidently some store employee thought it was a good idea to take 15 or so big coolers and stack them in a nice pyramid style display and then stand a mannequin directly in front of the coolers. We'll Athena seen the mannequin jumped up for a pet and to say hi. Knocked the mannequin into the cooler display and toppled the whole thing. I was standing there looking at this while Athena just went back to my side and sat down like nothing happened. All I could do was laugh. But later I realized that jumping on a mannequin could just have easily been an elderly person and caused real harm so I have since worked really hard on sit before any attention.


And you didn't take any pictures?


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## voodoolamb (Jun 21, 2015)

My guy started being aloof a lot younger then the other posters. He stopped wanting to meet new friends sometime before 6 months. I remember the vet tech at his 6 mos appointment trying to get some puppy loving and he just looked at me and she laughed saying he was "such a shepherd".

I don't know if it was just his nature or my training style. Probably a mix of both.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Robyn was about a year when she gave up on adults. When she was younger she wanted to meet people but they avoided her. She is 5 and still wants to meet kids, but doesn't bother with adults.

Midnite was about 2.5 when I noticed that he would just walk past people ignoring them. Like Robyn he still wants to meet kids when he sees them, he is now 4.

Apollo has always ignored people he doesn't know. He has never seeked out attention from a stranger. If he knows you he loves you and can be super affectionate and friendly, but he isn't going out of his way to get to this point. This is reserved for family and my neighbors, he loves the neighbors. He wants nothing to do with the vet or techs, but is ok with the girls up front--he can take them of leave them. He doesn't get excited with kids outside of the home, but he accepts them when they approach. He follows the kids in the family wherever they go. He just turned 2.


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## cdwoodcox (Jul 4, 2015)

MineAreWorkingline said:


> And you didn't take any pictures?


 Pictures never crossed my mind. Getting away from the mess was number 1 priority. Luckily one of my daughters friends works there. I told her what Athena done and she laughed and said no worries.


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## JunYue97 (Aug 17, 2016)

Thanks for all the replies, you guys rock!

Guess what, I took out my sunglasses and my headphone for our walk today. So for anyone who tried to approach us I gave the "I am too immersed in music and universe" look and just hurried away, so none of them even asked me if they can pet my dog. My puppy was not impressed at first, but I just kept walking fast so she had to run a bit to catch up with me, and then (I guess) her shepherd instinct kicked in and started following me perfectly on a loose leash for the straight 20min afterwards.



armbrusteri said:


> I feel your pain, raising a friendly puppy in an area of huge population density is incredibly annoying. I used to live in Toronto and yeah I know that "people reach down to touch your dog as they pass not realizing your dog is then going to want to interact with them longer and then the dog decides to go follow them and you get yanked over" routine all too well, it drove me nuts! Luckily, as your dog gets bigger, people will become more intimidated and leave you alone more. Also, there are way less people out in winter.
> 
> But you also need to learn to stand up for your dog and take control of the situation as best you can - walk her on the side opposite of people/oncoming traffic, move her onto a lawn or walkway to let people pass (and practice obedience/focus), use quieter side streets when available, act like you're in a hurry to get somewhere and just go right past people that want to interact, tell people "don't pet her, she's in training" even if they act like you're the rudest person ever, keep her on a short leash by your side and have her sit out of reach of people.
> 
> ...


I totally agree with you. I was very frustrated and defeated the day I posted this thread. Now that I calm down, I do realize there are definitely ways to get her used to listening to commands while there are distractions. Haha, from your description I am thinking of taking my dog to a little park where some couples hang out at night. I hope those couples would be too busy hugging and talking with each other to pay too much attention to my dog's training. She (in my point of view) is completely obedient at home, and hopefully this new threshold level won't be too much for her.



Thecowboysgirl said:


> He is cool. Handsome too if I do say so myself. Lets hear it for the whites
> 
> I did not have to work at decreasing interest in people with him, it just naturally happened.
> 
> Not all dogs are the same. It could be useful to begin training the pup to control itself, pause before greeting and get a release from you, will serve you later in lots of ways.


Your dog definitely looks handsome and cool. Have fun with him!



Della Luna said:


> You're in it for the long haul.  If you wanted a dog who could ignore strangers "this second," I would have suggested you get an older, mature dog that already exhibited this behavior. It is possible she will never grow to have that personality trait, but she may mature to be more aloof.
> 
> If strangers are touching your dog without permission, you are letting them get way too close. I don't know how heavy the foot traffic is in your neighborhood, but I would do my best to keep the dog farther away from fellow pedestrians. Body block if necessary. If you're going to be passing by another person, I would absolutely be asking the pup to perform obedience-type behaviors. Keep it simple, and only work on behaviors that the dog is already very good at. It is much harder for the dog to perform in this high-stress environment than it is at home. I would start with stationary behaviors, and slowly work up to asking for the dog to heel past people on the street. When you see a person coming, ask the dog to sit, down, look-at-me, high-five, whatever is easiest and most fun for your dog. Maybe this means stopping every twenty feet, but this isn't a bad thing! Just look at it as getting a lot of practice in. Most people will be respectful if they notice you are actively training your dog. Focus your attention on the dog and DO NOT look at the other person, and 95% of people will get the idea, especially if you are also giving a verbal command. Sometimes I like to repeat "leave it" when a person is walking by, more for the sake of the person than my dog! Only the absolute A-holes will try to interact with your dog in that situation.
> 
> ...


I have to agree with you! In fact, if I can go back in time, I would go for a rescued adult dog instead of a little puppy. Haha, too young too naive, we have worked through a lot of problems (mostly because of me) already but it won't be this unnecessarily stressful if only I am older, calmer, and with more training experiences. But anyway, I already bonded with this dog and I will try my best to follow through with her training calmly.

Regarding "don't let strangers get too close and engage her before someone approaches" is really hard in my area...because there are constantly people on the streets during majority of the good-weathered time. For now I will just walk really quick with headphones and pretend I can't understand english if I have to during our walks during high-traffic time. I will make sure to remember to save the majority of her training outside at night when things are less crazy though. Thanks for the tips 

I agree with you that pulling is not great. I knew that the whole time but it was very hard to be gentle when my dog was behaving crazy and I wanted to get home among a group of squealing people (lol I am fairly quiet and introverted myself). This is my fault and I am working on that as well! My goal now is to just stop moving when she pulls and start walking again when she stops pulling, I will try my best to stay with my plan instead of getting worked up and dragging the dog away. This is hard though! Last night I did that the whole time and our whole 30min walk was only a back a forth trip in 2 blocks.



cdwoodcox said:


> For my pups part of the problem was me. I thought as soon as they had their shots done that it was my job to introduce them to as many people as possible. That in turn got them thinking that everyone in the world was there to pine and love on them. Rosko is 16 months old and is finally to the point where if we're out walking he just watches people. Athena 5.5 months old and Apollo 4 months old still believe everyone is walking just to see them. Athena is very vocal she will vocalize while meeting people. Not a bark but more like a whine or cry but a happy sound. One day about a month ago me and Athena are in Big R. As we're walking I look down to see who's calling my phone . And feel the leash pull a little and hear her vocalize then hear this really loud crashing sound. All in about a, half a second. Evidently some store employee thought it was a good idea to take 15 or so big coolers and stack them in a nice pyramid style display and then stand a mannequin directly in front of the coolers. We'll Athena seen the mannequin jumped up for a pet and to say hi. Knocked the mannequin into the cooler display and toppled the whole thing. I was standing there looking at this while Athena just went back to my side and sat down like nothing happened. All I could do was laugh. But later I realized that jumping on a mannequin could just have easily been an elderly person and caused real harm so I have since worked really hard on sit before any attention.


I agree you. I think that most part of her overly-excited social problem is my fault, I read about the socialization period and was so anxious to get her to meet everyone when I first got her. The problem was much minor then (she only approached strangers and wagged her tail) and I did not take action until she started jumping and chasing kids. And I got frustrated, angry and embarrassed when she pretended to not hear my commands when there was a distraction, I guessed that made her not wanna listen to me more...haha I really did not know raising a dog all by myself is gonna be so much effort, I mean the training videos look so easy and I got to play with my childhood dog without the responsibility. However I am more prepared now, and hopefully with the help my the trainer school, I can work with my dog better!


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Hang in there!You're doing great!Count your blessings that your pup is overly friendly and not the opposite,growling and trying to frighten everyone away


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## cdwoodcox (Jul 4, 2015)

It is lot of work. But one day you'll have a dog who is pretty awesome. Then you get to enjoy all of the hard work you have put in. Stick with it it truly is a good thing.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

aloofness though is a genetic trait -- not a learned or conditioned response -- 

the learned part is trained good manners and that is very good --


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## TEZPUR1976 (Jun 29, 2014)

Hi,

Please do not pass a judgement on your pup until at least 18 months old. I will give 3 examples.

1. I had a long coat male (pet quality) gsd named Duke. Used to train with him intesely. Had posted several vids long time ago.
He started as a fierce land shark. Very good rag drive. But by 18months he turned out to be a gsd who loved everybody, and enjoyed being 
patted (a bit too much for my liking). I gave him away to a pet home, who had lost their dog in an accident.

2. My show line female (now nearly a year old) stated and remained a land shark with very high prey drive, disliked strangers. Her hackles were up every time there was something unusual. This was until nine months. Then came the 1st mens and after that she changed completely. Very understanding, keen watchful, but a matured person now (she is not even close to 18months).

3. My show line male pup (now nearly six months) . When I got him he was the sweetest gsd pup I have ever met. No nipping, very loving extrovert. Did not like to play rough. But now, he is the alpha. He has out grown the female and very dominant dog.

So really they change lot over time and environment also shapes them. After all they are thinking animals and will do almost anything to get your attention and love.


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## JunYue97 (Aug 17, 2016)

TEZPUR1976 said:


> Hi,
> 
> Please do not pass a judgement on your pup until at least 18 months old. I will give 3 examples.
> 
> ...


Interesting, just a question though? Do you think spaying my pup before she has her first heat will negatively change her "original" personality as the hormones do not get to kick in? I am debating whether or not to spay her early, as I want to avoid joint injury, but living in an apartment I would have to completely change my schedule those weeks she has heat.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

Tezpur none of these have anything to do with breed specific characteristic of aloofness, which is recognizable even in a pup .

that pup would be lovingly loyal to its family .

In public that pup would be confident and could plough through crowds without being distracted by ooey gooey attempts at friend-making -- stand for a pat without a care - being neurtal , neither seeking or avoiding attention. 

the dog is social .

it doesn't kick in . It IS .


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## TEZPUR1976 (Jun 29, 2014)

JunYue97 said:


> Interesting, just a question though? Do you think spaying my pup before she has her first heat will negatively change her "original" personality as the hormones do not get to kick in? I am debating whether or not to spay her early, as I want to avoid joint injury, but living in an apartment I would have to completely change my schedule those weeks she has heat.



Why would you want to spay before the 1st heat (unless there is some serious health issue)? Let the dog mature. Consult your vet. For two heats you will have to bear the pain of keeping her isolated during the mens. That's all. My point is that please let the dog mature, then you take an informed decision regarding her future.


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## TEZPUR1976 (Jun 29, 2014)

carmspack said:


> Tezpur none of these have anything to do with breed specific characteristic of aloofness, which is recognizable even in a pup .
> 
> that pup would be lovingly loyal to its family .
> 
> ...


Ok. But my point was that any assessment of the temperament of a pup should perhaps be done after attaining some maturity, say 18 to 24 months in case of gsds. During the the growth phase they seem to undergo lot of physical as well as behavioral changes


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## GreenCo (Sep 26, 2013)

I have a 3 year+ old female who still isn't and never likely will be aloof with strangers who show interest in her or wish to meet her. She gets overly excited about meeting new people and checking them out. My male is the complete opposite with the more expected or traditional GSD behavior. I didn't get either as a pup, both rescue/rehome so i do not know how they were raised but I don't think the female will ever tire of meeting new people. Yours might change with time or maybe she will be a little social butterfly her whole life!


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## WateryTart (Sep 25, 2013)

Mine was very outgoing with humans, especially kids, for quite a long time. And it faded so gradually that I couldn't quite tell you when that happened. I think I was starting to see subtle changes in her by the time she was a year old. By the time she was two, she was significantly more reserved with adults. Certainly I noticed a change in her by the time we did a "Meet the Breed" bench at the Minnesota State Fair this year; she tolerated the crowd, but she didn't enjoy the attention and she was very choosy about whom she was interested in meeting. She ended up blowing off most of her public and napping at my feet out of reach. I didn't force her to go greet anyone, and occasionally she would elect to get up and go say hello to someone before returning to her spot. Taking her out to relieve herself - yikes, forget about it. We couldn't get away from or back to the bench without people descending on her. Kind of a sad irony, really, that such an aloof, reserved breed is so very popular that the animal will be mobbed unless shielded by a deft handler.

Dogs, all bets are off. She's never met a canine stranger. She'll read the other dog's signals, but she will at least try to meet them (if allowed), and her default is to be friendly and social.

So all that to say, your dog is a baby and it's okay for him to be friendly and curious. I liked that my dog so confidently bounded out to meet the world when she was young. When he matures, he will probably grow into that reserve. It just might take a year or two.


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