# People you meet on walks



## CactusWren (Nov 4, 2018)

Jupiter is a well-behaved, 19-month old black GSD and we go for walks most days. Generally he gets one of two reactions: people either cross the street or coo and say how beautiful he is. I can't complain too much, because he gets a compliment literally almost every time we go out. 

This morning was typical. Our score was: 3 people crossed the street to avoid us (this despite that I will move about 8 feet into the street to let people stay on the sidewalk), 3 people ignore or greet civilly, 2 people pet, and 1 person saying he looks young because he has a pretty puppy face. 

Guess that's not too bad. Still getting used to so many people avoiding us, though.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

I always seem to locate the weirdos. I told an old lady that Shadow was 9.5 and she laughed at me and told me someone had lied to me because she knew dogs and Shadow was 4 or 5 at best. 
The bad dogs owner likes to tell people that her dog is prettier then a stupid German Shepherd. 
People move away from Shadow all the time and it hurts her feelings, because now that she has learned to say hello she wants to meet everyone!
Someone asked the other day why I cropped her ears. I told him it was tissue damage from something before I found her. He insisted they had been cropped.


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## KarmaPuppy (Nov 22, 2019)

he's a handsome fella! I'd pet him and let him touch noses with our Karma! 

I've seen the same reactions on walks as well. I chalk it up as people who aren't dog people (freaking weirdos!) or people who are just overly paranoid about 'aggressive breeds'


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## JunoVonNarnia (Apr 8, 2020)

Almost everybody crosses the street to avoid Juno (and she's not fully grown!). Except one lady who had a German shepherd when she was younger.

I am ok with that. My neighbourhood is not particularly dog-friendly and I have the reactive hound. Everyone knows about him and how he bit another dog last year; I don't know how word got around so fast LOL. He gets way more attention than Juno does. He's a bit unusual for my area; the only dogs I've seen that look like him are on social media. Children love him.

That being said most people who have experience with GSDs will comment on how beautiful Juno is. But that's usually at obedience school.

Since getting my own dogs, I have stopped petting other people's dogs unless they are friends. I would cross the street if I saw Jupiter (because of my hound) or I would ask if we could walk in parallel for a bit.... 

But I know what folks mean; one neighbour told me not to smile at Juno so much. I am not much of a smiler, so I can't imagine that I was smiling at my puppy. I thanked him politely and continued on my way.


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## Bearshandler (Aug 29, 2019)

I meet a wide range of people. Some don't really pay attention to my dogs, some love them, some move to avoid us. Now that I take the puppy out, there are some people who become insistent on him meeting their dogs. It's honestly starting to grate my nerves since they don't want ti take no for an answer. Its also interesting because those same people put as much distance as possible between their dogs and Bear. I did run into a lady the other day who was upset about my dog pooping in a park.


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## CactusWren (Nov 4, 2018)

Sabis mom said:


> I always seem to locate the weirdos. I told an old lady that Shadow was 9.5 and she laughed at me and told me someone had lied to me because she knew dogs and Shadow was 4 or 5 at best.
> The bad dogs owner likes to tell people that her dog is prettier then a stupid German Shepherd.
> People move away from Shadow all the time and it hurts her feelings, because now that she has learned to say hello she wants to meet everyone!
> Someone asked the other day why I cropped her ears. I told him it was tissue damage from something before I found her. He insisted they had been cropped.


Bizarre! The closest thing I can think of is this guy with a kangal who, when the kangal starts lunging and growling at Jupiter from across the street, yelled, "You're a bad dog! He's a good dog! (referring to Jupiter, who wasn't doing anything). Yes, _You're_ the bad dog!"


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## CactusWren (Nov 4, 2018)

KarmaPuppy said:


> he's a handsome fella! I'd pet him and let him touch noses with our Karma!
> 
> I've seen the same reactions on walks as well. I chalk it up as people who aren't dog people (freaking weirdos!) or people who are just overly paranoid about 'aggressive breeds'


Yes, I think that about sums it up. To be honest, I had only met one or two GSDs before I got Jupiter and would have been at least wary of him, and also to be honest, most of the GSDs I have seen in the wild have been reactive/fear-aggressive, unfortunately.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

I would pet Jupiter. But keep in mind that most people who own GSDs don't want people touching their dogs. That may be a lot of it.
Except in Calgary. There people have no regard for personal space or property. It was a huge issue with Shadow who spooks easily, especially with people rushing at her and shrieking PUPPY at the top of their lungs. It was also not uncommon for us to have to body block people with the patrol dogs. Doing crowd control people were know to try and hug them. You can't fix stupid.


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## brittanyS (Dec 11, 2018)

When I lived in California I had a lot of people cross the street to avoid me and Beau - even when he was a young puppy. Now we've moved to Washington and nobody crosses the street anymore, but I also haven't had anyone try to pet Beau (maybe it's coronavirus related, I don't know). I've found I'm much more likely to be complimented on Beau in Washington than I ever was in California.

The other day someone asked if he was a "fancy German Shepherd" which caught me a little off guard since I don't know what makes a dog "fancy" or not. He's a sable, so maybe that was it?


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## KarmaPuppy (Nov 22, 2019)

CactusWren said:


> Yes, I think that about sums it up. To be honest, I had only met one or two GSDs before I got Jupiter and would have been at least wary of him, and also to be honest, most of the GSDs I have seen in the wild have been reactive/fear-aggressive, unfortunately.


that's sad. We have a few family friends that currently own, or have owned GSDs in the past and i've never had a bad interaction with them. But these family friends always have dogs, and i trust them and their proper training of their animals. They are more well behaved than their kids lol




Sabis mom said:


> I would pet Jupiter. But keep in mind that most people who own GSDs don't want people touching their dogs. That may be a lot of it.
> Except in Calgary. There people have no regard for personal space or property. It was a huge issue with Shadow who spooks easily, especially with people rushing at her and shrieking PUPPY at the top of their lungs. It was also not uncommon for us to have to body block people with the patrol dogs. Doing crowd control people were know to try and hug them. You can't fix stupid.


That is one thing i did notice on the walks. I get a lot of people who ask first before they pet Karma. Even when she was little. i didn't mind people petting her as i wanted her to learn there are good people out there, and i wanted her to trust me and my judgement. The only GSD owners i have encountered that really didn't want people touching there dogs were K9 officers on the job lol. But i've only encountered GSDs in family friend situations or in public with working dogs. All other times i have seen a GSD i've always been in a car driving by


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## jarn (Jul 18, 2007)

I think Agis getting bigger has helped (he's 9.5mos now), people don't make a fuss over him so much now. When he was younger people with dogs would stop and stare at him intently, and he'd react. I didn't want him reacting, but I was also like 'Come on! You're challenging him! You're a dog owner, you should know better!'

Now that he's 50lbs he's apparently more avoid-worthy than stare-worthy. Which is fine, we generally try to avoid people (or at least ones with dogs) as we too have a reactive hound - he's pretty well-behaved now, but space helps. 

People do think Neb (12 year old mutt) is a puppy. More so than Agis, which is weird, because Neb has a big blocky head and is...this'll sound weird...well hung, so to speak. He's 12lbs lighter than Agis but has a bigger head and Agis has a tiny penis in comparison. It weirds me out when I look at them, but I suspect it's the respective ages of their neuter. Anyways, Agis looks less sexually mature than Neb, so younger (to me). And now that I've exposed myself as a weirdo that compares my dogs junk, I will scuttle away...


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## CactusWren (Nov 4, 2018)

It's interesting that @brittanyS has had different reactions in different areas. I have wondered about how regional such things are. Once when I had a Golden retriever puppy, we ran into some Mexican children, and they acted afraid of the pup. I thought that was weird, until I considered that maybe they don't have the same associations with Goldens that the US does. If you have young children, you're probably aware that Disney puts out about 6 Golden-retriever themed movies a year, whereas it's difficult to find GSD movies unless you go back to Rin-tin-tin.

Really I have never been in a place that had lots of GSDs, but have always seen tons of labs, goldens, and white foo foo dogs. I know there are GSDs in our neighborhood, but I think most of them stay inside. The reason I thought it was strange was because, I think GSDs are the 2nd most popular dog in the US, and the most popular dog worldwide, right?


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## drparker151 (Apr 10, 2020)

After we rescued Rocco I was surprised at the reaction people had on the street when they would see him. To me he was just another dog. However my daughters were teens at the time and I liked it


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## JunoVonNarnia (Apr 8, 2020)

My aunt lives in rural India and terrified of dogs. They live in the village, but in the streets. People give them food, but no one pets them or names them. They don't belong to any single person. They are mostly feral and can be aggressive or mistrustful toward humans. I understand why she's scared. She was surprised to learn that I keep dogs in the house. It took her three weeks to pet my docile hound, and then only his back not from the front. He loves people. She was terrified of him and startled every time he entered the room.

She got a good laugh one evening when she saw me brush their teeth LOL.


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## CactusWren (Nov 4, 2018)

JunoVonNarnia said:


> My aunt lives in rural India and terrified of dogs. They live in the village, but in the streets. People give them food, but no one pets them or names them. They don't belong to any single person. They are mostly feral and can be aggressive or mistrustful toward humans. I understand why she's scared. She was surprised to learn that I keep dogs in the house. It took her three weeks to pet my docile hound, and then only his back not from the front. He loves people. She was terrified of him and startled every time he entered the room.
> 
> She got a good laugh one evening when she saw me brush their teeth LOL.


That's interesting and sounds like how it was 30 years ago... guess things haven't changed that much. I live in a very built-up suburb with an HOA. No strays around here.


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## davewis (Jan 7, 2020)

I think GSDs act very puppy-like compared to other dogs. The same thing happens with border collies. They are so active, alert, and attentive that people mistake them for young dogs.

I like to mess with people with pup and I go on walks. Sometimes we do a little obedience work. He is starting to look calm and almost poised doing that. Other times I get out the tug and toss it. He charges after it and gives it a vigorous death shake while he brings it back. Finally, we play a bit of tug. He snarls, pulls, and growls like he is his going to kill me to get the tug away. I say out, give him a treat and say 'go play'... he wanders off to sniff the flowers as calm as can be.

People are surprised at how quickly he can go from completely calm to fully aroused in just a few seconds and then return to calm just as quickly. It also helps that his current favorite tug is a bright red, yellow, and orange braided rope. Pup looks ridiculous shaking that obscenely bright toy around.


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## KarmaPuppy (Nov 22, 2019)

i'm still very envious of you owners with dogs that will play tug.. neither of mine will.. bubba the 65lb boat anchor bulldog only wants to be loved on (nothing wrong with that), and Karma will play fetch, and if not watched, other naught land shark activities! But whenever i get out the tug, bubba just huffs and walks away and lays down, while Karma will open her mouth, but wont clamp. I'm going to see if a longer tug will get her going? maybe it's too short/small? anywho! back on topic!

you have a handsome fella on your hands, and maybe since he's all black people are unsure what type of dog he is? I know before joining this group, i had ZERO clue there were white and black GSDs out there. So maybe with some people not being familiar with the breed and it's colors, stay away due to lack of knowledge?


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

KarmaPuppy said:


> i'm still very envious of you owners with dogs that will play tug.. neither of mine will.. bubba the 65lb boat anchor bulldog only wants to be loved on (nothing wrong with that), and Karma will play fetch, and if not watched, other naught land shark activities! But whenever i get out the tug, bubba just huffs and walks away and lays down, while Karma will open her mouth, but wont clamp. I'm going to see if a longer tug will get her going? maybe it's too short/small? anywho! back on topic!
> 
> you have a handsome fella on your hands, and maybe since he's all black people are unsure what type of dog he is? I know before joining this group, i had ZERO clue there were white and black GSDs out there. So maybe with some people not being familiar with the breed and it's colors, stay away due to lack of knowledge?


Not to detail but Many of mine did not love tug. Sabi did though and that's why I am commenting on this.
We taught Sabi to play tug with the kids AND with adults two different ways. So if the pressure was below my waist level she basically just hung on if you lifted your arm she would tug like crazy and shake it. As soon as you dropped back low she would go back to lighter pressure. It might be fun for people with kids to try teaching that. It makes it safer for them.
Back to the walks. I love how normal people are here. Two people this morning commented on how beautiful Shadow is and the old guy told me it was a great day to be alive.


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## CactusWren (Nov 4, 2018)

KarmaPuppy said:


> i'm still very envious of you owners with dogs that will play tug.. neither of mine will.. bubba the 65lb boat anchor bulldog only wants to be loved on (nothing wrong with that), and Karma will play fetch, and if not watched, other naught land shark activities! But whenever i get out the tug, bubba just huffs and walks away and lays down, while Karma will open her mouth, but wont clamp. I'm going to see if a longer tug will get her going? maybe it's too short/small? anywho! back on topic!
> 
> you have a handsome fella on your hands, and maybe since he's all black people are unsure what type of dog he is? I know before joining this group, i had ZERO clue there were white and black GSDs out there. So maybe with some people not being familiar with the breed and it's colors, stay away due to lack of knowledge?


Funny you say that, I have managed to get Jupiter (who's all black!) interested in tug and been taking it out on morning walks. I take him to the park and play a bit, make him down, drop it, etc. and reward with the tugging. 

He took a long time to warm up to it. I think I made a mistake when he was a puppy and lifted him up by the tug and it scared him. I've tried a long thick rope, shorter PetSmart like toys, and the chuck-it ball with strap attached (which I can't recommend, since he once missed it and bit my hand and I had to go to the clinic and he ended up being reported to Animal Control). He's caught on finally--the toy is made out of hard plastic that looks like tire material, but it's shaped like a rod, maybe the size of a smaller person's forearm. It's attached to a rope about a foot and a half long. He enjoys this one a lot. One nice thing about it is that you can throw it pretty easily, too. One hint, keep the toys locked up until it's time to play with them.

I do think that people don't know what black or white GSDs are. What I'm not sure is whether that would make them more or less afraid of them? After all, GSDs are known to be police dogs and guard dogs, but what do people think when they see a dog that kind of looks like a huge, rangy lab with tall ears? Maybe a wolf?


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## davewis (Jan 7, 2020)

I taught pup tp tug with a piece of suede leather attached to a six-foot nylon leash. I cut the metal clip off the leash and used my mom's heavy-duty sewing machine to sew the end of the leash to the leather piece. My back was too sore to bend all the way over to use a normal tug when he was a puppy. 

I stole the idea from Leather Bite Rag


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## NadDog24 (May 14, 2020)

Since I live in the country we don't walk through town a lot but whenever we did Nadja was well behaved after I got her focused on me (before that she would bark when she saw something interesting, she's not being aggressive just gets a little excited) and people gave us the stink eye and crossed the street. One person with an off leash lab made it seem like Nads was a viscous animal. She was only 3 months old when this happened so we'd only had her a month.


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

CactusWren said:


> Bizarre! The closest thing I can think of is this guy with a kangal who, when the kangal starts lunging and growling at Jupiter from across the street, yelled, "You're a bad dog! He's a good dog! (referring to Jupiter, who wasn't doing anything). Yes, _You're_ the bad dog!"


when people talk to their dogs like that, of course it is for the human's sake. I still remember a young couple with a boxer telling their dogs "we don't behave like that". I took as their odd way to apologize for the dog's lack of manners, which actually, weren't that bad.


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## CactusWren (Nov 4, 2018)

car2ner said:


> when people talk to their dogs like that, of course it is for the human's sake. I still remember a young couple with a boxer telling their dogs "we don't behave like that". I took as their odd way to apologize for the dog's lack of manners, which actually, weren't that bad.


It's hard to say what's on people's minds when they are interacting with their dogs. And then I see plenty of YouTube trainers who are so wordy, and whose timing is so different from mine, that their methods are not so different from what you're describing. But I guess they must be getting some results...


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

I think some of the Y'tub trainers need to stop talking and train. They can add a voice over later.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

CactusWren said:


> It's hard to say what's on people's minds when they are interacting with their dogs. And then I see plenty of YouTube trainers who are so wordy, and whose timing is so different from mine, that their methods are not so different from what you're describing. But I guess they must be getting some results...


Shadow and I have running conversations on our walks, I've done it with all my dogs. Lol. Neighbor thought I was on my phone! Never take it with me, walk time is dog time not phone time.
No wonder people think I'm crazy!

Is that a squirrel? Did you see that silly cat? Remind me I need to get creamer, don't like coffee mate. Should we cut through here? Leave it, that's gross. I know. People are rude. When we get back stay off the bed with your sandy self, and stop hiding your ball under my pillows. Get out of the ditch. Oh! We can go for a ride later. I need to gas up the car and maybe we can go down by the lake. 

No wonder people look at me funny.


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## 491527 (Jan 11, 2020)

CactusWren said:


> Jupiter is a well-behaved, 19-month old black GSD and we go for walks most days. Generally he gets one of two reactions: people either cross the street or coo and say how beautiful he is. I can't complain too much, because he gets a compliment literally almost every time we go out.
> 
> This morning was typical. Our score was: 3 people crossed the street to avoid us (this despite that I will move about 8 feet into the street to let people stay on the sidewalk), 3 people ignore or greet civilly, 2 people pet, and 1 person saying he looks young because he has a pretty puppy face.
> 
> ...


I have found men move away from our GSD, Sebastian, and make comments such as, "He could eat your face off." He probably could but he wouldn't unless he feels threatened. Women coo and want to pet him. He does look menacing because he smiles, showing his teeth. We take him for a ride every day so he can bark at people, we live in a tourist town. Enjoy your baby. Sebastian is black as well and a big baby. He weighs 95 pounds and still sits on my lap.


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

I got a Working Dog Do Not Pet vest for Inga. People do not loom over her and ask to pet her anymore,it's great.


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## Jorski (Jan 11, 2019)

I somewhat regularly walk my dog off lead. Having said that, he is always in a perfect heel, not roaming or walking freely. He will not break the heal for dogs, people nor any other critter. We do have leash laws where I live, so, yes, I am in the wrong.
There is a lady in our neighbourhood who walks two medium sized mixed breed dogs at the same time. Her dogs lunge, bark incessantly and are significantly dog aggressive. I have encountered her a few tines. Both times, my dog stays tight at my side while her dogs go insane. The last time, we crossed paths, we were headed towards each other, and the sidewalk we were on has a guard rail on one side with the road on the other. I stepped off of the sidewalk, and onto the road, yielding to her.
She started yelling and swearing at me for not having my dog leashed. Ironically, she had zero control over her leashed dogs, while I had complete control over my unleashed dog.
I understand why there are leash laws, but the if the intent is to control the dog, some can do better off leash than many can do on leash.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

Sabs was off leash a lot. Shadow is never off leash. It depends on the dog and the handler. Shadow will and has flipped right out if dogs rush her or get to close. I do my best to keep her needed distance
I don't care about leashes, I care about control. If I ask you to get your dog I expect you to do so. I understand that my dog is the one loosing her marbles, but I keep her leashed and out of the way as much as I can. She still needs walks.
On a sadder note, there is a Lab that lives in our neighborhood that we see daily. It walks on a prong and in a perfect heel. It is not allowed to sniff, or look, or do anything. It gets one walk a day and then returns to its dog run. It makes me very sad.


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## 491527 (Jan 11, 2020)

We have no leash law in our area, we live in a rural area, yet our dog is always on leash because we feel it is safe. Example: we had a highly trained K9 who followed command on and off lead.One day we let him out of the truck and he ran toward a cliff while on lead. He was a big Doberman who was running at full speed. My husband yelled at him to stop while pulling tension on the lead yet he slid to the edge of the cliff and would have gone over the mountain had he not been on lead because his momentum would have carried him over. Since then we have ALWAYS kept our dogs on lead.


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## davewis (Jan 7, 2020)

@Sabis mom I think you would approve of Ole's walks. A reasonable heel while we go down the driveway -- It helps him get his wits about him. Long lead for 1/4 mile through the neighborhood to our hiking trail. On the long lead he can sniff and pee as much as he wants as long as I can generally keep moving at a constant speed. Any leash tension and I freeze until he comes back to my side. Then 45 to 60 min off-leash in the woods. Same routine coming back home. A reasonable heel going back up the driveway earns a couple throws with the chuckit.

Pup is happy as can be. My blood pressure and weight are slowly going down as well.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Every time I take my boy anywhere, at least one person says he’s beautiful.
Many ask what kind of dog he is. Apparently, few know that GSDs come in black 😏


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## CactusWren (Nov 4, 2018)

Nurse Bishop said:


> I got a Working Dog Do Not Pet vest for Inga. People do not loom over her and ask to pet her anymore,it's great.


That's good to hear. Others have said that many will ignore such things, but I guess you can't control everyone.


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## hirakawa199006 (Feb 9, 2020)

Mine ignores most dogs. Unless they want to play.


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

JunoVonNarnia said:


> My aunt lives in rural India and terrified of dogs. They live in the village, but in the streets. People give them food, but no one pets them or names them. They don't belong to any single person. They are mostly feral and can be aggressive or mistrustful toward humans. I understand why she's scared. She was surprised to learn that I keep dogs in the house. It took her three weeks to pet my docile hound, and then only his back not from the front. He loves people. She was terrified of him and startled every time he entered the room.
> 
> She got a good laugh one evening when she saw me brush their teeth LOL.


I Pass an Indian women several mornings a week on our first walk. The first few times I'd see her down the path, she turn around immediately and I felt bad for her. Later on she's walk by and make zero eye contact with either me or the dog(s). I've found it's worse with everyone when you have 2 dogs.

Later I would make a point of saying Hi to her and she would say it back but keep moving. One day I asked her if the dogs frightened her (the little guy was probably 3 months) and she said yes, in India these dogs can be vicious or used by the police. I had 2 Chinese ladies tell me the same thing.

We've progressed to the point where she smiles at us and even pauses for a very quick conversation. I should point out that at all interactions, I have both dogs in a sit/stay.

One day I'll ask her if she wants to pet the 6 year old; he loves everyone. He will be the GSD converter


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

In true Shadow fashion she is winning over the neighborhood, one house at a time. One couple leaves a dish of water out for her when it's hot. A couple of elders play hose games with her. Several ladies out for their daily walk greet her by name. The 96 year old lady on the corner calls us over to give Shadow a cookie, I don't know what they are but they are small and she is 96 and living alone so I risk it.
One house full of people stood outside to cheer her on when we were trying to get her closer to Sarge. I was smiling listening to "You got this Shadow" and "way to go good girl!". Disruptive but in the best spirit.
When the loose dog charged us the other night a man came out of his house to help. He watches us walk by every day he said. He offered to let us come in so I could check Shadow over and see if she was ok as it was nearly dark.
And then we have the guy who opens his umbrella at us, even across the road! The lady who yells at us. The child who barks at us. And the bad dogs people, who are also bad.
Its a fun neighborhood.


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## Chip Blasiole (May 3, 2013)

Walking your GSD is for exercise for you and your dog. The dog should be on a prong collar unless it is a GSD in name only. If the dog shows aggression toward people or dogs, he should be corrected. The general public is afraid of GSDs and if I approach someone on a sidewalk, I shorten up on my leash and give them plenty of distance. If my dog shows any aggression, I quickly correct it which has lead to almost total extinction. I recently moved from an acred rural setting to a suburban area of stuck up, entitled snobs, so walks are now required. The general public like so much of our culture is prone to pussification unless the anarchists disagree with things. We should not dilute the breed anymore than giving up our founding principles.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

I live in the city and never walk my dogs with prongs and my dogs aren't GSDs in name only. A little training can go a long way if done properly. Aggression shown for people should not always be corrected as the criminal element does not announce their intention, and can present themselves as quite harmless and even as dog lovers (used to assess a dog's mettle). You know what they say about smiling faces. The criminal element has more fire power than the local police and they have been known to kill our police K9s. You can't paint dog behavior, aggression or management tools with the same brush.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

I have mostly lived in cities as an adult. I bought my first prong when Shadow was about 5. I used it to aid with a specific issue and it now hangs unused. I used it twice recently, to correct a problem due to forced lack of exercise, it went right back to its spot being a wall ornament.
I do not walk the dog just for exercise and she is free to partake in the many delightful scents. Yesterday was garbage day plus it rained so we stopped every couple of inches so she could sample the many fragrances. And today the pee mail was apparently very plentiful so the poles were lengthy stop overs.


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## CactusWren (Nov 4, 2018)

I suppose we all keep our dogs for different reasons, but my Jupiter is a pet and in my environment, passersby are not a danger (nor have I ever heard of a single incident of a Phoenix cop ever being outgunned; even our motorcycle cops carry around AR-15s for some unknown reason). He would be harshly dealt with for showing aggression to a random person, unless that person was threatening me. On the other hand, I allow him to do his power bark routine when people ring the doorbell and am more than happy for him to announce his presence in that situation.

Not that I hear it said here much, but on the Facebook group I often hear people saying they encourage their dog to bark at strangers, because "you should always trust your dog's instincts." If I trusted my dog's instincts, I would have to agree that the vacuum cleaner and the rolling trash bin are out to get me and must be ripped into tiny pieces and gnawed on. I trust my own instincts and I want my dog to do what I tell him to.

In fact, Jupiter unfortunately has a very intense stare and stiff body posture with other dogs he doesn't know, which I'm sure doesn't help that much. Once in a while other owners will comment on it. Partly, I think he is a fairly dominant dog and doesn't particularly care for other dogs. At the school today, a lab he tolerates kept trying to play with him, but Jupiter kept his eyes on me (and my ball-thrower) like twin lasers, to the point the lab's owner joked about it.

That's just how he is; very on-task. He has even wiped me out two times chasing a ball or the end of the flirt stick.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

A lot of gsd fans out their. Always getting compliments and lots of attention. If you can imagine two German shepherd large, medium and a little chihuahua walking together I suppose it is a site for sure lol! No recent stories I ran into someone I knew on a walk. The dogs just layed down on the road while we talked for about 20 minutes. My son walks Luna all the time. I’m glad she keeps him company while out on walks. Max will be 6 Luna 4. Ran into a lot of great people and crazies all the like. We have seen a lot the madness out there a lot of unplanned events such as life. The strangest story was last summer. To walk through the neighborhood we gave to walk down a path in the woods. At night there are no lights and pitch black. There was a man on the side of the path hiding under some trees or so it seemed. Not saying a word until my light in my phone shown on him. The dogs just got watched him as we walked passed. We walked all way around had to take the busiest road back I was not walking through the wooden path that night again. When my nephews are out we like to take big family neighborhood walks. The dogs love playing tug as mentioned the swayed tug is lunas favorite. That is her special toy and make sure we put it away. I would swivel it around the floor when she was a pup like a swifter Motion it drive her mad. Max lives to retrieve toys even though his though his tonsils were pierced with a stick that needed to be surgically removed it never squelched his love for retrieval. I am though traumatized by sticks lol. A favorite toy on a rope and when he wins turns into a game of fetch. a great way to Get them into a game of tug and letting them win and triumph boosts their egos.


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## hirakawa199006 (Feb 9, 2020)

Comments vary here, one thinks mine is an attack dog the other loves it. It depends on how many German Shepherd drama series some have seen. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣


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