# Too Friendly with Strangers?



## JPS007 (Nov 3, 2013)

Every shepherd I have had or even met has had that typical "aloofness" until now. Bishop is 18 months from WGWL mother and CZR sire, both imports. He loves everyone, kind of like a golden retriever trapped in a GSD body. Any chance he'll grow out of it?


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## BellaLuna (Jan 27, 2013)

Depends some of them do and some don't. Bella loves everyone well kids actually. she loves to be around everybody all the time and she's 3 yrs old, my next door neighbor has a gsd and he's the same age as Bella and loves people as well..

Then the people up the street have 4 of them and two love people while the other two can take or leave people and their above the age of two.. 

Than there's my puppy he's 7 months old and a maniac when it comes to people ha-ha 

So in my personal opinion some grow out of it while some don't..


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## Caitlin (Mar 28, 2005)

He might, he might not. Mine did around three years of age. Every dog is different, however I'd say friendly puppies are completely normal, even for GSDs.


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

i would be happy about him being friendly. you could have it the other way which requires alot of training/socialization and even then the suspicion could be ingrained in the genetic line. So you could have a dog that might be a liability all depending on the degree of suspicion, personality, unbalanced genetics, etc.

if your worried about protection, i think just the look of the GSD can be enough of a deterant for most. be happy he is like he is and enjoy the fact that you don't have to be on your toes when people are around and what he might do.


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## BellaLuna (Jan 27, 2013)

I agree I once had a dog that did not like anyone and I mean anyone kids included. He only liked my kids and my hubby and me the stress level we were under with him was at 10. I could never have anyone over and when we did I had to make sure he was put out and always had to guard my sliding doors to make sure the kids didn't let him in. 

We had to walk him when nobody was around it was awful, and if people did pass by we had to go up our driveway and wait for them to pass. 

Atleast with Bella I have none of those worries it's so nice being able to relax and enjoy my time with rather then stressing my time with her..

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

Yes, that is how it is with some GSD's. Some can be managed with training and hard work. some can even be brought to the point of progression in that area of being around people etc. some can never be trusted around people and you have to manage them for life, those are the ones who are just hard wired to be like that.

i have one that from a puppy he DID Not like people. eye contact from anyone would set him off growling and backing up. this is a pup that had every oppotunity for confidence in every way. Obedience classes, private trainers, exposure to everything, everywhere. at the age of 1 year, i was really worried i had a liability big time. i then seeked a special training from a trainer that trained for police and military work and also worked with rescue GSD's. She interacted with him and wasn't scared of him, then from there we slowly progressed with people. i wouldn't say i trust him 100% in certain situations, but i learned how to control, how to act in situations with him. learning how to read him etc. i learned a ton about dog behavior etc. But, i was not fun for a while the stress and worry about owning a dog like this consumes your life..........i am lucky i did not give up with my dog, i continued everything with him, kept him out in public etc. at 5 years old he has done amazinly well, better than i ever imagined. but it was work, work, work, and still is at times. So again, be glad to have a pup like you have, and continue with his socialization and being with people, sometimes that can change with age if the socialization stops.


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## Alwaysaworkingdog (Feb 27, 2013)

JPS007 said:


> Every shepherd I have had or even met has had that typical "aloofness" until now. Bishop is 18 months from WGWL mother and CZR sire, both imports. He loves everyone, kind of like a golden retriever trapped in a GSD body. Any chance he'll grow out of it?


 
Kind of boils down to a nature vs. nurture thread - like so many others that regard behaviour. Judging from the fact that you said that every German Shepherd you've had before Bishop had a characteristic "aloof-ness", I'd say that it might be largely genetic. Assuming you raised him the same as your other dogs and acquired him at roughly the same age.

The real insight to be gained here is to not see it as a question of nature vs. nurture, but as nature AND nurture, working in tandem to influence the various aspects of your dogs temperament. I'm a firm believer in socialisation and that most traits can be capped or allowed to flourish to their full potential, given the right treatment.

I currently own a shelter bitch and a purebred working line GSD. The girl we got from the shelter is a GSD mix and you can tell that her early upbringing has had profound effect on her. With visitors and staff constantly coming in and out of her enclosure, she learnt to socialise and has come to derive a lot of enjoyment out of it, but I'm also sure that there is a genetic component to it. Granted, had I raised her from 8 weeks onwards, she might have developed different. I could have taught her to ignore people. My GSD boy is completely different and I raised him from 8 weeks. He's very aloof toward strangers and isn't a lap dog by any stretch. Now this may have been partly because I didn't allow him to derive enjoyment from interacting with strangers, but who knows how much of this behaviour is genetically derived.

Interestingly, both my dogs are very sharp and territorial at home.

This all brings us to the question of what we want in the modern GSD, because there's no point having a breed in the first place, if we don't have a standard to which to compare (I personally see working lines and show lines as separate breeds) What's better: to have a dog that's totally aloof? or to have a gregarious dog? 

Well I think standards really need to be about balance. A dog that doesn't want to interact with strangers is a good thing, but if this dog isn't engaging with you, then how do you train it? 

What do we want in terms of sharpness: Do we want highly territorial neurotic dogs? that light up every time the postman drives by? Or do we want dogs that greet everyone who comes onto your property without an ounce of suspicion? Again, I think it's all a matter of balancing these traits so we have a dog that is neither too sharp, nor a dog with thresholds that are too high.

Breeders and trainers alike, both need to ask themselves what they want from the breed, because they both play important roles in establishing the temperament of the adult dog.


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## marbury (Apr 3, 2012)

I have a golden trapped in a GSD suit at first glance. She loves everybody, goes for pets, friendly greeting. Then as soon as she's gotten her kicks she ignores them completely and has eyes only for her dad. This didn't kick in until closer to 2 years of age. I like it because she's a great ambassador for the breed and I completely trust her in any venue, but I enjoy that she will not come to anyone else but me. If they call her she turns away and completes a nice recall to me. It bothers my friends, they feel unloved, lol!
But I had the same concerns. She was everybody's best friend until right up at about 20 months.


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

it is all about Balance and genetics first, then inviroment second. you can have a totally balanced confident dog that nothing bothers, can be perfectly content in every situation., aloofness is fine, i don't think a gsd should be like a golden, its a different breed with certain drives/temperment. but should be confident with a degree of protectiveness, but one who knows the difference between a threat and non threat and not a dog that goes off at everything and sees everything as a threat............depends on the breeding as said and what the dog is being bred for. but still there should be a balance and if there isn't a balance time, training and trust need to be installed to shape the dog the way they should be, working with the individual and temperment.


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## Minnieski (Jan 27, 2009)

Be happy! I have two GSDs - one like yours (Golden trapped in a GSD body) and one who is very suspicious of all strangers. Life is much, much easier with the dog who likes people. And just because he likes people, doesn't mean that your dog won't have the natural guarding instincts when you need them.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

Bianca was very friendly with friendly people, but also alert to " suspicious" people and protective over the home. I liked it that way because I didn't have to worry about bringing her places or be careful if we were near people.
However strangers might assume she was aloof because she was trained so she did not try to seek out petting/attention from people she didn't know, she would wait for permission from me before approaching people. But if someone wanted to pet her and I told her it was ok, she would happily lean on them to be petted or roll over for a tummy rub.


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