# experiences with prejudice?



## Inziladun (Jan 14, 2010)

German shepherds are great dogs and obviously we all love them, but sadly there's a bad stigma about them. People look at them and associate them with aggressive attack dogs and not the smart lovable creatures as we've come to love.

About two years ago my sistere got a bulldog puppy and everywhere she took him he was treated like a celebrity. It was amazing, she couldn't eve get trhough a meal without a dozen people crowding and cuddling him. Just recently I got my pup and the difference is like night and day. Hardly anyone stopped to pet him, it seems more like people are trying to avoid him than anything. I've only ever had TWO people stop and genuinly seem interested in him in the three weeks of continual socialization. Now that may be because I'm in the south and people like bulldogs a lot more but its still surprising and gives me a hint of some of the discrimination we might experience as he gets older.

What are some of your stories and experiences with discrimination and your GSD?


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Rushie was born the last day of January, so he was not quite seven months old when the county fair came along. He had been in classes from ten weeks old when I got him. He walked perfectly on lead and had no problems walking in crowds, etc. as he was well socialized. (He is currently a therapy dog.)

Well often times after the fair shuts down for the night, we have brought our dogs with and walked through, maybe purchasing something from a vendor who has not closed up yet. This way we do not have to pay (to get in). 

Well, I brought Rush up and he was doing great, had been petted by a few kids, when one of the people at the fair in charge came up to me and told me the dog could not be there. Actually he escorted me and Rushie out, and the whole time was telling me how he has a shepherd and would never bring it here. 

I told him that if my dog was not allowed, then he should kick the other dogs out too. He claimed there were not any, but I told them there were dogs in the concessession stands. 

He then told me "that woman back there was afraid of your dog." I corrected him and said "puppy." I was pretty peeved. But what could I do? She did not seem terrified to me. But maybe she was. 
I am sure there are women out there that are terrified of men, maybe they should ban all the men from the fair to make those women more comfortable. 

Rush is my dark blanket back boy. His heaviest weight was 79 pounds, and is usually about 75 pounds, so not huge. He is also my people-friendliest dog and is dog friendly as well. But I have been kicked out of more places with him than all the rest of my dogs put together.


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## mjbgsd (Jun 29, 2004)

I've had parents tell there children to get away from the "mean" dogs.... I wish sometimes I could smack the crud out of people... I think with any "guard" type breeds we will always get the finger pointed at us even when our dogs are perfect models.


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

Many people associate GSD's with the police or military and guardian duty and draw the conclusion they are aggressive. My own mother warned me my first GSD would kill us in our sleep. I laughed but she was serious.

It is very sad and although we laugh about some of the things people say to us and we comment on them here, what we really say should be things to enlighten the public. Only we can change people's attitude by keeping our dogs under control and well socialized.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

kill you in your sleep. brain will get too big and he'll snap. eat the kids. woman who started screaming in terror and causing a huge scene in public (rayden was probably all of 20 lbs at the time).

Kathy, most of those people won't have their attitude changed. It's always "sure he's friendly now, but...." It will help those on the fence realize that the dogs aren't bad. I had a guy grab and twist Rayden's ear to "prove" that he would eventually turn on me. 

I'm friendly to the hesitant ones, the snarky prejudiced ones can take a running leap. We used to have a pit mix. OMG the terror then!!


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## angierose (Apr 20, 2009)

I feel really bad for the children of people who are very scared of these dogs, but hopefully most of them can learn on their own. Last weekend we were on a trail, it is a steep one. We were going down and a man with his two kids were coming up, so I took Kaylee off to the side as best as I could and made her sit. The little boy said "doggy!" and looked like he might want to pet her, until the father told him to watch out because "that big dog there is really watching you." After that the kid got as far over as he could and walked very, very slowly, making little scared noises that of course made the dog even more curious.

The little girl, though, begged her dad to let her pet Kaylee. He let her, advising "don't look into its eyes or touch its mouth." The little girl looked so happy petting the dog, and I heard her telling her dad as they walked on that "not all dogs are mean, and maybe we can get one like that, because she was really nice and she licked my face and didn't bite me..."

People who don't have dogs may have trouble teaching proper doggy manners to their kids, so erring on the side of caution with strange animals is pretty sensible. As long as they don't accuse my dog of being mean for sitting there with her ears up and her mouth open, I'm okay with it.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

*When our GSD was 6 months old he had people terrified. I dont know if it's just because he is a GSD or because he is a solid black GSD. My dog is very very sweet, loves people and other dogs, but we dont live in the best neighborhood and if people fear him it makes me feel a little more safe, all that matters is that me, my friends and my family know he is as innocent as a kitten.*


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## valreegrl (Nov 11, 2009)

My sister won't come over our house.
My niece was mauled by a pit bull about 6 months ago, and they use this as an excuse to judge our Shepherd.
I have had my Mom comment on the fact that he should never be trusted and that I should seriously consider keeping him crated when I have people over!

At this point, I am at my wits end with it. I have told my sister, who has a boxer herself, that Timber is VERY friendly with people (kids especially) and that I didn't think for a second that he could ever harm anyone....invited guests that is. And don't get my started with my Mom.....she has a chihuahua who would sooner bite your face off then look at you. But that is acceptable because he is small. UGH!

How I counteract this behavior from others......train, train, train and more training.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

For every discriminating person, I get five that come over to gush. I try to be sensitive since some people are genuinely terrified of dogs or have had really bad experiences. Depending on the visitor, I may crate my dogs, more often for their own peace! My friend is not really a dog person, she doesn't seem to care about them either way, but when we walked to the ice cream shop she let her daughter "walk" Nikon (she was holding the leash, but I was holding the end of the leash right behind her). Nikon's head nearly came up to her little shoulders and she stroked his back and talked to him the whole way.


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## Josiebear (Oct 16, 2006)

People are more quick to pet my sheltie than my German Shepherd. I have had a few people wanting to pet my sheltie when i had both the dogs with me. One lady said " can i pet your sheltie?" and i responded with " if you want to pet my sheltie you have to pet my German Shepherd". Sometimes i get the wierd looks and sometimes i'll get the " Oh of course!".


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

I gotta say people that fear GSD's can be a good thing or a bad thing. It's good that they fear them because people that see that you have a GSD are more likely to not break into your house, or rob you while you are walking your dog. I knew someone that was walking her Shiba Inu and got robbed. People see GSD's on Cops and hear stories so they fear them. But it's also a bad thing because you can get banned from dog parks or social events and people automatically think your dog is a bad or vicious dog. I believe some Insurances wont cover you if you have a GSD. So it's kinda of a in the middle thing for me. I live in a not so good neighborhood, it's not bad but it's not good. It was all I could afford being 22 and with only my income. My dog makes me feel very safe and several of my neighbors are scared of him and I prefer they think he's blood thirsty instead of him being the sweet, gentle, friendly, people loving dog that he really is.


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## crs996 (Sep 19, 2001)

I think it also depends on where you live, I live in No. California and find that people are generally quite accepting of GSD's. There are always those that give me a wide berth, but never any scenes or grabbing up of children. People generally give them a bit more room, and I'm fine with that, and they _ask_ before running up to pet our dogs which is another good thing. Now our Rottie is a different story, I have had some crazy reactions with him. There is something about the Rottie stance, feet square, head up and ears perked that freaks people out. That's why he sits ALOT.

I make a big point of being an ambassador of both breeds, and get appreciation for this often. There is just something about a well mannered, well trained dog that gets a good reaction from most folks, and makes shady characters cross the street.


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## Josiebear (Oct 16, 2006)

crs996 said:


> I make a big point of being an ambassador of both breeds, and get appreciation for this often. There is just something about a well mannered, well trained dog that gets a good reaction from most folks, and makes shady characters cross the street.


I try to do that too. Couple months ago when my husband i visited Michigan we went to petsmart. It was packed and perfect for Josie's socialization. Must have been adoption day or something.

Anyhow a little girl probably around 8/9 years old spotted Josie and asked me VERY nicely " may i pet your dog?" i told her to check with her parents first. She asked her dad and when he saw Josie he had the look of " i don't know". I re-assured him that Josie is a BIG baby and just loves children and people. He said "oh really?". He petted her first and Josie licked his hand and gave his daughter the approval. The little girl did pet Josie i even had the girl have Josie do a couple of tricks. She was in heaven and definitely put a smile on the dad's face. Right when we were leaving he says "you don't see very many shepherds that are friendly". 

It felt good that i had an effect on one person's opinion on German Shepherds.


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## crs996 (Sep 19, 2001)

It is a great feeling! We have 2 Petsmarts within 5 minutes of our house and I love to go on adoption day, great continued socialization, training practice with lots of distraction, and always a chance to change someones mind.


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

Kayos and Havoc said:


> My own mother warned me my first GSD would kill us in our sleep. I laughed but she was serious.


I couldn't help but laugh when I read this. When we got our first shepherd my fiance's dad asked "Has it bared it's teeth at you yet?". 

The Jewish step-grandmother is also terrified of our dogs. Although I'm not sure I blame her...


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## crs996 (Sep 19, 2001)

JKlatsky said:


> "Has it bared it's teeth at you yet?".


Yes, his teeth are often exposed while sleeping upside down by our feet.. lol


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

LaRen616 said:


> I gotta say people that fear GSD's can be a good thing or a bad thing. It's good that they fear them because people that see that you have a GSD are more likely to not break into your house, or rob you while you are walking your dog. I knew someone that was walking her Shiba Inu and got robbed. People see GSD's on Cops and hear stories so they fear them. But it's also a bad thing because you can get banned from dog parks or social events and people automatically think your dog is a bad or vicious dog. I believe some Insurances wont cover you if you have a GSD. So it's kinda of a in the middle thing for me. I live in a not so good neighborhood, it's not bad but it's not good. It was all I could afford being 22 and with only my income. My dog makes me feel very safe and several of my neighbors are scared of him and I prefer they think he's blood thirsty instead of him being the sweet, gentle, friendly, people loving dog that he really is.


We discovered after we rented that our neighborhood has a bunch of hoodlum teenagers. Not hard core criminals, but they can still be a PITA destroying property and stealing things. We walked our dogs very conspicuously for a couple days. If we were asked by said hoodlums down at the park by our house, if they could be pet, we said "No. They're working dogs." Let them draw whatever conclusions they want from that. 

And if that fails, I'll suit Justin up, bring a sleeve and a whip, and take the dogs down to the park where the kids hang out in the afternoon. We'll make a big barking show, let the dogs take a couple bites, and walk home.

In this situation, prejudice definitely works in our favor.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

Ya I tell everyone that he isn't friendly.


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## LARHAGE (Jul 24, 2006)

I have almost exclusively overwhelmingly positive remarks on my dog, I have never had a dog so approached as my Gavin, he is like walking Elvis when we go places, people just gravitate to pet him and ask about him etc... last Sunday in the quad of a mini-mart a police officer pulled over and got out to come see Gavin, he told me he wanted one exactly like him and wanted to know where he was from etc.., the whole time we were talking he was on his knee embracing Gavin who was licking his face and soaking it up, everywhere we go he's complimented on by people, I call him Rockstar!!!


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## Mrs.K (Jul 14, 2009)

I am not sure if it is a military family thing but I have never had any bad remarks from fellow military families. Instead they all stop to tell me how beautiful and well behaved my dogs are. Sometimes they even stop while they are driving, roll the window down and shout "BEAUTIFUL DOGS." and than they drive away. 

Same happened in Landstuhl today. I have the green camo harness and with the label "YES I CAN!" and another one "Made in Germany" and everybody that noticed it had to laugh.

Usually it's my fellow grumpy Germans that'll give a stupid remark like "**** dogs..." and stuff like that.


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## GSDBESTK9 (Mar 26, 2002)

When Sam and I started Agility, he was the only GSD in the class, shoot probably at the facility. Our trainer confesed to me years later that when she first saw us come into her class, she said to herself: "Oh gosh no, not a GSD"
This trainer fell in love with Sam in just a few sessions, she would always tell me how she was going to steal him from me. She got so excited every time she saw us she would come and hug Sam and I would hear her tell everyone what an awesome dog Sam was.


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## smerry (Dec 5, 2009)

I was out at the park, with my son, and was holding one of the 6.5 week pups, and a guy wanted to let his son say hi, and the mom say NO! it might bite him ....

Good grief! ..... a 6 week old pup????


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## cjauch (Jul 2, 2009)

While we were taking CGC prep classes in our pet store our trainer grabbed a couple teenaged girls shopping to help with the "accepting a friendly stranger" portion. The class had 2 labs (both larger than our GSD) and a medium sized dog. One of the girls walked up and pet all of the other dogs and when she got to Trooper said, "ooh I am scared of big dogs". Without batting an eye our trainer said, "well, then this will be good practice for you to get over your fears" and made the girl do it!


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

When I had Bianca and my foster GSD Tyco, a friend of mine wanted to show them to one of her friends (who likes dogs.) We brought them to his house and while he was meeting them (while they were licking him happily) he commented that he thought German Shepherds were supposed to be mean dogs! 




GSDBESTK9 said:


> When Sam and I started Agility, he was the only GSD in the class, shoot probably at the facility. Our trainer confesed to me years later that when she first saw us come into her class, she said to herself: "Oh gosh no, not a GSD"


I'm taking an agility class with Bianca right now... My trainer is a GSD person-- she has decals of Shepherds all over her car and all she owns are GSDs. I think Bianca is the "teacher's pet" because the instructor is always complimenting her!


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## Raziel (Sep 29, 2009)

I have only had 2 instantances of this happen.
One was time was at the gas station and a guy trying to sell me stuff, approached MY car, comming closer after I told him I was not interested.
I asked him nicley to not come any closer & Kilo started to growl.
HE CAUSED A HUGE scene and embarssed me saying "Your dog shouldnt be near the public, you raised a killer, he shouldnt act like that to people."
But I mean, Kilo was protecting me. I didnt teach him that.
I just ingnore people like this. If they dont give MY DOG a chance, THEY dont get a chance to meet him & see how nice he really is.


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## VaBeachFamily (Apr 12, 2005)

I understand completely. At my son's school, a lot of people walk their dogs up there when picking the kids up. One of them is an aggressive chihuahua, another is a very gorgeous Sable female GSD, some labs, some poodles, etc! Nobody says anything to them ( even the snappy chihuahua, whom I have been told by the owner that it's mean and bites) except " please stay off to the grass area, so the kids can move freely" which I understand!

One day, I walked up there with Gizmo to drop off my son and neice in the morning, and within seconds, I was rushed at and told " Ma'am, there are NO dogs allowed on school property, please leave with her". As I was leaving, 4 other dogs and owners were walking kids to school, and nobody was spoken to. I was a bit peeved. That afternoon, I brought her back, and again was told to leave, which I refused as the kids were getting ready to come out. NOW, be advised, Gizmo is the most friendly babyfied Pit Bull you will ever meet! So when my neice comes out of the school, the " security" lady comes out and advises me that she has a bit of a 'mouthy problem'. Ha... I asked my neice what happened, turns out, she walked in that morning after the comment about the dog and asked the lady " do you have a problem with MY PIT BULL, because you seem to be acting unfairly, and I don't appreciate it" and she, at the age of 5, took it to the principal. 

I took Cullen up to get my son the other day, and they said NOTHING, actually, teachers wanted to see him. So I walked them together the next, and as they attempted to say something, I brought up the fact again, and they now have learned to shut their mouths. Irritating, because the lady with the Sable GSD had been givin mouth by them before, but all the others act like it's nothing. BAH at these prejudice punks!


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

Speaking of agility...... Havoc and I were in classes while we lived in Oregon (have not found one on OK yet). One of the students just had fits everytime Havoc was off leash or was anywhere in the vicinity of her dog. The instructor finally snapped at her and said "that German Shepherd has shown ZERO interest in your dog YOU are causing an issue for YOUR dog, knock it off!" I was very surprised that she would lay into a paying student like that in Havoc's defense but she did. Of course Havoc loved Joann and so did I. I really miss training with her.


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