# What is the thing said most about your GSD that makes your blood boil?



## Mishka&Milo

We here a lot of "what's wrong with its ears?" "Is that a birth defect?" "Are they sewn together?"... And god help us when we go out with her ears glued. One woman just looked at her, then at me, then shook her head and sighed "Americans". Lol


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## brembo

You wanna sell him/her?

"Yeah, lemme lop off my arm and you can have that as a bonus."


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## SunCzarina

One of my neighbors has a blue doberman. I happened to see this pup for the first time when it was wearing ear post contraption after cropping. That poor woman, she was so guarded in her response to 'can I pet your puppy?' Then she seemed very relieved I knew it was a blue doberman and why it was wearing a couple 'toilet paper rolls' on it's head. :rofl:

Imagine the comments my pup got with X marks the spot on her head. I didn't have to tape those ears, they were good comedy until she was 7 months old and I have a whole book of wisechick responses to is she a lab.


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## Courtney

I had a random stranger tell me "you know german shepherds are known to turn on their owners, right?". Nope, didn't get that memo. lol


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## Chip18

He's pregnant??


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## Courtney

Chip18 said:


> He's pregnant??


Ok, I just about spit my drink out!


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## Mishka&Milo

SunCzarina said:


> One of my neighbors has a blue doberman. I happened to see this pup for the first time when it was wearing ear post contraption after cropping. That poor woman, she was so guarded in her response to 'can I pet your puppy?' Then she seemed very relieved I knew it was a blue doberman and why it was wearing a couple 'toilet paper rolls' on it's head. :rofl:
> 
> Imagine the comments my pup got with X marks the spot on her head. I didn't have to tape those ears, they were good comedy until she was 7 months old and I have a whole book of wisechick responses to is she a lab.



Lol, a lab.... That must be aggravating 



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## SunCzarina

She still gets it once in a while! Almost all grown up with her big tall ears, long legs and skinny teenage german shepherd body.


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## Zlata

We have a GSD mix. His mom is a beautiful long-haired Black and Tan GSD. Dad is whatever made it over the fence. But complete strangers love to argue with us that he isn't GSD at all LOL People get quite invested into arguing with me so that I actually have to pull up pictures with him with his mom when he was a pup! People are strange!


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## MissLilyBean

"That dog doesn't belong inside the house."


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## SummerGSDLover

ugh. "That dog doesn't belong in the house." My dad says this to me all the time. Or used to. I finally told him that this is MY house and YOGI'S house. He can get out if he doesn't like it. He finally stopped but yes, that one makes me angry too.

*-*Summer*-*


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## Beauxwolf

"It's just a dog." 

Sends me in a rage. 


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## Sp00ks

Is he vicious? Will he be vicious? German Shepherds are vicious you know.


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## Angelina03

Most people have nice things to say about Rocco. Luckily my family loves animals and see all our pets as part of the family. I can only remember one time when Rocco was a "teenager" and we were a out. My daughter had him and he was pulling her (we were still training with leash walking). Some lady started screaming at me saying "you have to choke him!" I ignored her but it really pissed me off and I almost told her to go choke herself (I wish I would have)! Lol. 


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## Eiros

The comments I hate the most are usually something like "I don't usually trust German shepherds but..." Or "he's friendly? Usually they're so protective!" 


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## LaRen616

"It's just a dog."

"He sheds too much, he should be an outside dog."

"You are crazy for spending so much on dog food, I pay $20 for my 30 pound bag of dog food."

"Is that a black Lab?"

"There is no way that he is purebred, GSDs don't come in all black, you need to call the AKC and tell them that they made a mistake registering your dog."


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## dpc134

"That dog shouldn't be outside. German Shepherds are indoor dogs."


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## belladonnalily

Nothing strangers could say would make my blood boil. I don't value strangers opinion. Mostly, I think their ignorance is funny.

That said, my mother has the ability to make me feel an urge to stick a fork in my ear.

She repeatedly tells everyone within earshot that GSDs are "a man's dog." She loves my husband way more than me (which is fine...when she needs elderly care, he gets her and I'm moving cross country ). Its more a jab at me because she believes women are weak and incapable of anything without a man.

I finally broke my silence last time and asked her what experience her opinion was based on. A GSD when we were growing up that only my dad worked with. She wasnt a "man's dog." She was my dads dog.

Funny that my dog won't listen to anything my husband says. Mainly because he spends no time with him, and when he's around he's impatient and cranky. 

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## blackshep

I shouldn't let it bug me, but I hate it when people tell me my dog is too thin. I'm sorry if I don't want her fat, especially since she's got a bad hip. Argh. lol


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## Lilie

"You know you need to breed him, don't you? If you don't, he'll end up being aggressive."


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## uteg

Come on. That is just crazy..


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## Okin

She is pretty small ... 71 lb female.


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## Sarah~

How big will he be when he's full grown? Lol he is 2 and 90#. He's big enough already!

He's going to grow up into a mean dog did you not know that when you got him?


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## Traveler's Mom

blackshep said:


> I shouldn't let it bug me, but I hate it when people tell me my dog is too thin. I'm sorry if I don't want her fat, especially since she's got a bad hip. Argh. lol


I get this ALL the time!!!

I free feed my dog and what am I supposed to do? Stuff it down his throat I guess.

I also get the "Why haven't you neutered him?" Um, can you tell me why I should? Idiots.


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## Athena'sMom

I hate it when I take my kids and Athena to the playground and parents grab their children and leave and I hear, "no you can not touch that dog". UGH!! She loves kids and wouldn't hurt a fly. I always set her in platz and she just watches my boys play. I find it really ironic when they bring their yorkies and they won't stop barking yet it is my obedient dog that shouldn't be there.


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## Germanshepherdlover2507

"You know he's going to rip up all you're furniture right?"
"A big dog like that inside!? Big dogs belong outside and little dogs belong inside."
"I would never pay money for a dog like that!"
The response that I usually want to give is "You don't like my dog? Good well I don't like you!"


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## Gwenhwyfair

Just that my 74 pound female WGSL is 'too small', once and awhile.


The vast majority of comments I get are polite and positive though.

Honestly walking a well behaved shepherd can make you feel like a rock star.....

"Oooooooo look that's a German Shepherd" is the number one comment. Number two most often and usually from kids "oh look, a police dog". 

Heck even police stop to say nice things about GSDs.


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## Blanketback

The worst one for me is people asking me why I get GSDs when "they've all got bad hips." Duh. I get a kick out of playing stupid, and replying: I've never heard of this wonky hip issue, what exactly is it? "Stammer stammer, uh uh, they're all sloped and uh, they all have bad hips." Really, none of mine have ever had this - I don't know what you're talking about, and it sounds like you don't either. Poor people, having to put up with me. That'll teach them to talk to strangers. LOL!


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## misslesleedavis1

My mother and her "he is too skinny comments" always upset me, i am so tired of hearing about my dogs being to skinny. Tyson is throwing weight on, dexter is just naturally thin. It is so constant with the "skinny" comments. Dex stopped going to grandmas because she feeds him crap, like butter on spoons and tarts. I ended the visits, i had too it was not fair to him, i dont want my dog eating butter off of a spoon then topping it off with endless amount of food. Then it becomes the guilt trip "well if he gets sick he will die instantly because he has no fat to live off of" wth? does that even make sense? no.


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## Blanketback

I solved the "too skinny" problem by asking if whippets or greyhounds were also considered too skinny by their observation, and then asked them since when were GSDs supposed to be lard butts? Ah, beautiful silence every time, lol.


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## ayoitzrimz

"How do you keep this dog in an apartment?!"

It's called exercise you know... The dog just sleeps in this small apartment he's not running back and forth


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## NSweet

"Oh your dog is a service dog look at her little backpack!"

"Your dog is too hyper...you should just keep her in the crate"


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## hunterisgreat

Either "he's dangerous" or "he's unstable". Both being misreadings of the dog. He's actually much safer and stronger nerved/predictable/stable than my other dogs.


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## Gwenhwyfair

Perfect strangers tell you your dog is unstable, or is it people you know a bit more?

I ask because that's unusual language for the average non sport dog owning pet dog person to use.


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## Sunflowers

It's said by my mom. "I consider you a martyr. That dog is way too much work, I had dogs, too, and I never had to put that much work into them."


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## Msmaria

I dislike when people make comments that german shepherds are dangerous and I should not have him out in public. 
However 90 percent of comments are positive and most everywhere we go we get comments on how well behaved he is.


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## AngelaA6

When the little dog owners get mad at me for having my "big mean gsd" in the store even though their dogs were the ones trying to rush and attack him. He's perfectly fine and ignores them as we go about our business so it just irks me that little dog owners wont train their dogs and just blame everyone else for their shortcomings. 

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## Springbrz

Only one time has a comment or conversation made my blood boil. It went like this.

Teenage Kids: I like your dog
Me: Thank you!
Teenage kid: Can I have her?
Me: Excuse Me?
Teenage Kid: Can I have her?
Me: No you can not have her.
Teenage Kid: I think I'll just steal her then....

Me: call Hubby at home around the corner. Please open carry your firearm (legal in our state) and meet around the corner ASAP...run. Kids following me threatening to steal the dog. 
Hubby did as I asked. As soon as he showed up the kids scrammed. I haven't seen them on our walks since. 

I wanted to scare them off before they knew where I lived. 
That made so very mad that I felt that I had to go to that extreme to protect my dog. 

I am more likely to be upset by what other people say about their dogs behavior than anything they say about mine. 
Example: It's ok (dog is growling, snarling, hackles up at my puppy) he is just vocal. Really? Keep deluding yourself...


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## mego

I get the skinny comment a lot too because I like to keep mine thin, she's actually really athletic, muscular legs and when you feel her she's solid. I offer her more food than she cares to eat so I know she's not starving. Drives me nuts.

I also hate when people tell me she has to be a mix and that I got ripped off because of her longer hair. 

I know it shouldn't bug me, and it usually doesnt, but some days I'm just not in the mood lol


some guy told me once that she looked like she was worth a lot of money and he wanted me to bring her over so he could inspect her. She growled at that guy and barked at him when he tried to approach us. He was a real creep.


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## wolfstraum

I had a really really good female by a male who was bred way too much to way too many mediocre females...and females he just did not match up with. Every time I said anything about her - I had to hear what a piece of no good garbage her sire was....I went to T Floyd with her - at the end of the first day training - all three phases, he came right out and said -"I expected you to bring me a piece of <junk>! this is the best dog I have seen from <her sire>" At the end of the second day of training, he said, "heck this is the only GOOD dog I have seen from <her sire>! You need to breed her. She is a koer class one female."

Got real tired of her being put down by people who never saw her because they did not like what her sire produced for sport people. But interestingly, I know several police officers who also used her sire and got great police dogs! My female was from a female bred by one of those POs....and they wanted a grandson of her desperately for a K9 - but the timing just was not right for it.

Lee


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## SunCzarina

LOL Lee, that brings in a whole other level of crazy people.

I think Otto has tuned in to my feelings about the 'is that a lab mix' comments. I like to respond with getting in close and asking the person if their eyes are blue so I can make them feel ignorant of genetics. Otto's taken to glaring at people so they just want to go walk in the street away from us LOL Either that or he just doesn't want to be bothered stopping to talk to people, he doesn't have time for that.


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## Gretchen

I try not to let comments bother me too much. About a year ago I ran into a breeder, she learned that I got my dog from another local breeder (her competition) and let out sentence and sentence of what is wrong with my dog and my breeder. My female is unusually large, but not typical of what my breeder was putting out there. Anyway, I wrote about my experience and several of you on this forum made me feel better.

The comments that mostly upset me are when we are walking by people with a small dog/s and they are yapping at us and the owner says, "leave that big dog alone, it will eat you". It's sad they are totally missing an opportunity to socialize their dogs and often just reinforce the dog's bad behaviors. Molly likes little dogs.


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## Apoolutz

I have a sister that doesn't really care for dogs, so whenever Niko or now Gunner gets against her all I here is. Oh he got dog hair on me, grrrrr!!!!!


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## Redrider469

Gretchen said:


> I try not to let comments bother me too much.


I agree. Allowing someone I don’t know to upset me with their lack of knowledge or ignorance doesn’t do me any good. I generally try to educate them and if they really just want to argue, I just move on…


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## JakeInJersey

I get the "she's a mix, right?" because a lot of people have no idea what a bi-color GSD is..


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## wolfy dog

Not really making my blood boil but it is annoying when they ask me how old the pup is and when I answer that he is 4 months old they say,"Ohhhhhhhhh, he is just a baaaaaaaaaaabyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!' in a whiny, high pitch voice. While he actually is a pre-adolescent brat, except when he is sleepy.


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## Jusdy

My neighbor lady across from my house comes over one day to bring me a pie.

Me: Hey Jackie. What's up?
Jackie: Oh nothing dear. Just decided to bring you a pie for Halloween.

My 2 year old GSD Ivy starts barking and growling at her.

Me: Don't worry about her. She isn't fond of strangers.
Jackie: I'm not worried about her. I'm worried about you. German Shepherds are known to turn on their owners. I have a shotgun in my house if you one day wanted to use it.
Me with gritted teeth: Thanks for the pie. Good-bye Jackie.


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## Eiros

Today someone said he couldn't be pure because "his back end looks Mal or Dutchie." 

I have no idea what that even means. 


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## sechattin

I get a lot of people that try to say mine's a collie mix because of his long coat. Normally it wouldn't bother me, but I've had a couple of people that just flat out say I didn't know what I was talking about and that I didn't know my own dog. I also run into a lot of people ranting to me that I should put a muzzle on my dangerous, highly aggressive dog (usually while their yappy toy dog is yammering away at mine and Kaiju is rolling on his back in appeasement) and tell me that I'm going to be the cause of a dog attack someday. Apparently I can't be young and responsible?


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## Freestep

Ignorant comments don't usually bother me. If the person seems like they are interested in learning something, I will educate them, but otherwise, I really have no need to prove anything to these schmucks. The only thing that bothers me is when people stop me on the street wanting me to breed my dog to their dog. One guy actually said he got his dog cheap and on limited registration because he "only had one nut", but he can still breed, so he's looking for a nice female. I knew the person he'd bought the dog from, she breeds top showlines and has a fairly good reputation. I could just see steam coming out of her ears over this dolt she'd sold the puppy to. I told him that my dog had an overbite and she was not for breeding. He scoffed and said "Oh, big deal, you could still make a lot of money selling puppies."

That kind of thing does make my blood boil.


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## wyoung2153

I don't know why it bothers me so much.. because I know these people are just not educated on the subject, but... when Titan gets anxious and chases his tail.. I always get "Wow.. he's SPECIAL.. and he trains SAR??" 

Then when people see how driven he is with a ball.. "Dang, he must have some issues for him to be so obsessed with a tennis ball..." 

I don't usually get bothered by comments, but those 2 are the 2 that just make me want to punch someone.. lol. Maybe I take it personally, like it's an attack on how I raised him or trained him, I don't know..


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## Lilie

Freestep said:


> . He scoffed and said "Oh, big deal, you could still make a lot of money selling puppies."
> 
> That kind of thing does make my blood boil.


That is why it makes my eyes cross when someone tells me that I HAVE to breed Hondo or he'll become aggressive. Of course, they always have a female that they can LET me use. 

One time hubby and I were had the dogs with us and we were going through a small town flea market. A doodie head came up to us and told us he had two female huskies that he wanted bred. Hubbie said Hondo was my dog and I wasn't interested. Doodie head said it's important to breed male dogs at least twice a year. I said, "Oh, that will never happen, hubbie is the jealous type."


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## Serbrider

Most things I just smile and nod... a couple people/things really do get me mad though, even if again, all I do most of the time is smile and nod and walk away... occasionally I'll go into a rant with all sorts of facts and statistics I've memorized and that usually shuts them up... because they have nothing but "my grandpappy always did this". *rolls eyes*


1. Why do you buy all this raw food for mutts? I mean, it's not like they're worth anything, so why not just get them some Pedigree and let them live out their days.

2. You keep your puppy in a crate all day and night? You're so cruel!! Crates should never be used.
(I keep her in a crate if weather is bad and I'm at work/school, she sleeps in her crate at night because she started peeing in the bed when I was trying to have her join me and my other dog there at night. Otherwise she is out walking around the house with me or in the backyard... and she will actually sometimes go get in her crate HERSELF and take a nap... so really... shut up)

3. Why don't you breed her?
(umm, she's a mixed breed with no titled or registered parents, and even if I get her titled in something and make her worthwhile, she's still a mutt and I'm not about to add to overpopulation just because you think puppies are cute.)

4. Your dog isn't a wolf, you're going to kill her by feeding that raw meat. (as this same person feeds Ol Roy or Beneful... *facepalm*)

5. You need to just let them play it out, they'll be fine. (in a case where a large st. bernard was coming after my dog with his tail high, teeth bared, stiff legs, obviously wanting a fight, not at all calm submissive and friendly)

6. If you can't spend all day with your dog you shouldn't own one.
(Umm... I go to school full time and have a job. Neither of which allow me to have dogs there. I spend as much time as I can with my babies, but just because I can't be there 24/7 doesn't mean I'm cruel)

7. Your dog kept bugging me and then she peed in the house... she needs some serious retraining.
(I train my dogs to come to me or someone else if they need to go outside. Lets me know and I let them out... you KNOW this because I told you this, I was gone for a weekend, and you did nothing... thanks... urgh. This was a roommate who then kicked me out and left me with over $500 in bills that were in my name that she refused to pay... bitch)

8. Your dog is ugly.
(I mean... really?)

9. Your puppy is so thin! You should have a round belly at all times!
(umm... no. You shouldn't actually. She's a good healthy weight, happy, eats what she wants and is active.)

10. If you have to keep your dog on a leash at all times, you shouldn't be taking it out in public, because obviously it's a danger.
(no, she's dog reactive (will be friendly but feeds off of energy given by other dog, so if another dog acts upset or dominant, she will mirror that), and doesn't have a solid recall, so she's staying on the leash)


Not really about GSDs... my girl's a GSD mix and the other is a lab/pit/heinz57fromSerbia mix. But yeah. Mostly it's the stuff where people point at me and call me an animal abuser. My life revolves around my dogs. I feed the best I can afford, do so much research, train my animals and take them places. And then after working so hard to keep them happy, have someone who doesn't know me, doesn't know my animals, tell me I abuse them because I feed them a raw diet or keep one of them in a crate on occasion? Urgh... that is what makes my blood boil.


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## wyoung2153

Something that someone just said to me actually really irked me.. Since I have been doing all this research on foods for Titan's allergies and I finally found one, a couple of my coworkers make comments like "Surprised you're putting that much work into it for your dog.. it's allergies, let him itch." 

And this is a small attack on me too because I have a good amount of medical issues.. "Dang, you're a hypochondriac for your dog too.."


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## Baillif

Courtney said:


> I had a random stranger tell me "you know german shepherds are known to turn on their owners, right?". Nope, didn't get that memo. lol


Yours must be waiting till you let your guard down before launching a surpise attack.


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## selzer

Blood boil -- not from strangers. 

Now my BIL told me that if my parents' dog, Cujo, bit him, he would kill him and every dog in my kennel. That made me boil. He said this when he was drunk and yelling and saying mean things to my parents. We through him out. Cujo did not bite him. But I wouldn't have blamed the dog if he did.

My sister, married to the baboon's backside above, went out to give the dogs the remains of their steaks, and one of the dogs, was a little more enthusiastic about her piece and closed on my sister's hand. Did not break the skin or cause a bruise. But she said the dog bit her. Whatever. She was so worried her husband would hear the dog bit her. Huh, that got me a bit peeved. BTW, I did not tell her to go ahead and give the remains to the dogs, but whatever. 

My oldest brother once said to me, "I don't need a dog like that, I don't need an attack dog." Well, really??? Whose dog actually attacked someone Brother? I tend to remember your little Chow mix going after the HS Principle's Wife while she walked down the street. And he owned collies. Collies, herding dogs with teeth, lots of hair, not all that different than GSDs. They bite. The dog bit him -- but he picked the dog up with a dislocated hip, so not the dog's fault.

I did have this rescue person come up and pet one of my young boys and was really enjoying him, and in conversation she gleaned that the boy was not yet neutered. She went off on me, DO YOU WANT HIM TO GET CANCER!?! Like she was all mad and stuff. The misinformation and aggressive manner of trying to push me to do something with my dog, kind of ticked me off.


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## David Taggart

> Most things I just smile


What will your answer be, if some other small dog owner, not a drunk or anything, quite sober and good looking person says: *"Keep your pooch away from my pet!!!"* - ? (taking in consideration that your dog you are proud of is extremely well behaved)


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## selzer

David Taggart said:


> What will your answer be, if some other small dog owner, not a drunk or anything, quite sober and good looking person says: *"Keep your pooch away from my pet!!!"* - ? (taking in consideration that your dog you are proud of is extremely well behaved)


I'll bite on this.

If someone else who has a dog, who is not drunk or anything, sober and good looking (not sure why that matters), says: "Keep your pooch away from my pet!!!" I would oblige him and keep my pooch away from his pet. 

Is there any reason to get upset over this. I am sorry, but when people want to save every child-biting dog, and allow dogs to get out and accost people and dogs, because dogs will be dogs, and accidents happen, how can I get upset when some owner of another dog is worried about my well-behaved dog? 

A well-behaved dog is not necessarily incapable of making a lightning fast lunge at another dog. 

And if someone is that afraid of my dog to make such a statement, then he is probably transmitting that down the leash, and through his breath and body language to his dog. 

The best thing to do is to stay away, and getting angry won't hurt that yayhoo. It will only eat my gut. So how does that help me?


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## Serbrider

David Taggart said:


> What will your answer be, if some other small dog owner, not a drunk or anything, quite sober and good looking person says: *"Keep your pooch away from my pet!!!"* - ? (taking in consideration that your dog you are proud of is extremely well behaved)



I smile, nod, tell them to do the sand thank you very much, and walk to the other side of the road or go in the opposite direction at the park. I prefer to let my actions speak louder than words, and if I push and argue, I'm doing nothing to help the ideas people have of the breed and their owners. Not a big deal. They don't want my dog walking by theirs. Mine may be well behaved, their's might not be, or something could have happened to make them wary of big "mean" looking dogs, or whatever. Not my place to judge or be an ass about it.


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## misslesleedavis1

Well i was walking tyson down a narrow sidewalk i came head on with a man that was walking his very petite dog. The snow was high on both sides so i decided to tell tyson to sit so that the older gentleman could go by. Well he picked up his little dog, turned his back on us and swore at me for having such a vicious dog, i was stunned to say the least. Tyson did nothing but sit while the man went by us sheilding his little dog and cussing at us.


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## David Taggart

> such a statement


My dog never had problems with small fellows or cats since she was a puppy. That bloke had spoken as he knew the consequence of his abuse.
Every dog owner loves his dog. I suppose, there are some owners who do not love the dog in their dogs, just the looks, but, still, love rules the hearts of the majority. We feel being hurt, if someone says something abusive about the creature we love, it simply hurts, it hurts almost physically. And, those who say such hurtful words, absolutely unnecessarily, know that it hurts. I don't know, if you ever heard about aka "vampires" (psycho-energy suckers), some dog owners belong to their category. The vampire hooks you by saying something stupid and abusive about the object you love, dog owners are an easy prey. Only you start saying anything back - your energy flows to the vampire and he/she gulps it in huge portions depends on your mental state. The result - you feel like a squeezed lemon after, this scuzzy feel may increase depends for how long you decided to talk to the vampire. While you feel such encounter (and it could be not another dog owner, could be some stranger) as a personal injury - that one was fed anf looks satisfied, he got energy from you. You should know what to do. You should block your dog from him by turning your back to the abuser and stand face to face with your dog. Wait for him to leave. Normally he wants to hook you again, let him be dissapointed. There are many ladies who feed as vampires.


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## selzer

When we react visibly to a total stranger's comment, we do feed the vampire, especially if the comment was made soley to get a reaction. 

Unfortunately, there have been a lot of incidents with large dogs like ours, and a LOT of people do have a fear of them. So your original statement, "Keep your dog away!!!" That doesn't necessarily mean the person is a vampire. Just poor in expressing herself when she thinks you are a typical, uneducated dog owner who thinks letting your dog prance right up to the other dog and make friends is perfectly ok. 

GSD owners, as much as their dogs, cause us a world of pain in the world.


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## LifeofRiley

I can't think of one comment that has really bothered me. My current dog (much like my last dog) always elicits a lot of positive commentary from people we encounter day-to-day in the neighborhood.

Sure, I have had kids who say... "Mom, is that a wolf?" But, we have used those moments to introduce my dog to the kids. It has always been a very positive experience!

I have also had adults who say, “your dog cannot be purebred” because he doesn’t have a severely angulated rear and does not bark at everyone who comes close to him. 

I have to say between my current dog, and the GSDs I have fostered, I have learned a lot about the negative preconceptions people hold of the breed. 

But, not surprisingly, those insights had nothing to do with the actual behaviors of the dogs I fostered, but had everything to do with the experiences that people bring to the table at adoption events…. … a lot of these conversations are started by people being shocked that my foster GSD dog was able to be approached by strangers. Yes, I know, ridiculous.


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## David Taggart

> GSD dog was able to be approached by strangers


Shall never be allowed!!! If that tendency the public has developed goes further, I wouldn't be surprised if court cases ever appear. Like with so called "sexual abuse" - some man jumps into the train in the very last minute, just by sheer chance pokes his thumb at the lady's well protected by clothing teat, and there is a cry...Witnesses from the train, lawers, court, a case of sexual abuse. If we ever go that way, we would demand everyone to be a robot including our dogs: he should never turn his nose in a direction of a dog or a child of a person who might bring you to the court. Very strange - seems there are two polar issues: so many want to train in protection without realizing what it takes, and other people don't want to allow their dogs even the most innocent bark in order to avoid imaginary problems. People are scared of life. Though, I remember a couple with a little boy who weren't scared of life at all. The toddler was wagging onto my Ella from his father's hands, I warned the parents that my dog may lick his face and the little face will be covered in her saliva. That what I heard back was rather geeky: "No problem, there is a fountain, we will RINSE him there." By that time I was afraid of such parents, who, without knowing the dog, encouraged their child to approach, and if the dog barked - they threatened to call police.


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## Mishka&Milo

sechattin said:


> I get a lot of people that try to say mine's a collie mix because of his long coat. Normally it wouldn't bother me, but I've had a couple of people that just flat out say I didn't know what I was talking about and that I didn't know my own dog. I also run into a lot of people ranting to me that I should put a muzzle on my dangerous, highly aggressive dog (usually while their yappy toy dog is yammering away at mine and Kaiju is rolling on his back in appeasement) and tell me that I'm going to be the cause of a dog attack someday. Apparently I can't be young and responsible?



It's hard to be one of the rare young AND responsible people. I'm training our girl to be a service dog, and boy do I get some nasty looks. 


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## TigervTeMar

whenever people mouth off, never had this happen to me, about owning 'a dangerous dog' just remember they are one of the most popular dogs in America. and don't let it upset you, just pity the fool


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## Nigel

selzer said:


> I did have this rescue person come up and pet one of my young boys and was really enjoying him, and in conversation she gleaned that the boy was not yet neutered. She went off on me, DO YOU WANT HIM TO GET CANCER!?! Like she was all mad and stuff. The misinformation and aggressive manner of trying to push me to do something with my dog, kind of ticked me off.


Lol! Tell the her to quit looking at your dogs junk, weirdo.


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## Brisco_dog

I had just gotten my pup, and I took him to work with me the next day so he wouldn't be alone. He was sleeping by his crate and a customer asked if he could pet him, I said sure. Next thing I know the guy is messing with my pups floppy ears and checking his mouth and trying to make him walk around. I asked the guy what he was doing as I picked up my still half asleep 8 week old boy. The guy was saying there was something wrong because he was so inactive and his ears weren't up. I politely called him a moron by stating that he's a baby and what do you expect? I never allowed him to touch my dog again. Now my boy is almost 3 and I get nothing but compliments from people. People are so suprised at how well behaved he is, especially when we go to the beach


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## tlilyinc

I hate whenever I walk in the streets with my 10 month old german shepherd, and he gets dirty glares and people always look at him in fear. Like, I am a small petite asian girl thing, does it look like I'm going to have a violent animal in my possession? 
He is such a sweetheart, he has never been violent with people, children, anything, he just wants a lot of kisses and hugs. He doesn't get to socialize with anyone here because everyone is afraid of him.


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## Jusdy

I really hate when people tell me I "have" to breed my GSD's Ivy and Jorden with their male GSD. Ivy is only two and Jorden is fixed.

Ivy and Jorden


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## ayoitzrimz

Jusdy said:


> I really hate when people tell me I "have" to breed my GSD's Ivy and Jorden with their male GSD. Ivy is only two and Jorden is fixed.
> 
> Ivy and Jorden


They are beautiful dogs!!! Thank you for not breeding them even though they are both amazing animals


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## Mishka&Milo

Jusdy said:


> I really hate when people tell me I "have" to breed my GSD's Ivy and Jorden with their male GSD. Ivy is only two and Jorden is fixed.
> 
> 
> 
> Ivy and Jorden



Such beautiful babies you have!!


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## alexg

Jusdy said:


> I really hate when people tell me I "have" to breed my GSD's Ivy and Jorden with their male GSD. Ivy is only two and Jorden is fixed.
> 
> Ivy and Jorden


and that makes your blood boil?!


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## AnaleighK12k14

I offered to watch my friends westie for a few days while he went out of town and he said "your German shepherd will probably eat my dog". My German shepherd wouldn't hurt a fly. I'm not even sure she'd hurt someone that was a threat, although this has thankfully never been tested. 

Guess he will find someone else to watch his dog. 


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## GSDolch

The only time my blood gets boiling is when I am told that I'm a bad parent for putting my children in danger, by having a dog that will turn around and attack them.


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## Shaolin

Anything about him attacking either a human or animal. Finn doesn't even bark at a stranger, let alone make aggressive motions, but everyone backs away and says "Oh, he's going to bite me!"

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## Mishka&Milo

GSDolch said:


> The only time my blood gets boiling is when I am told that I'm a bad parent for putting my children in danger, by having a dog that will turn around and attack them.



That's awful. My husband grew up with one, and it was his best friend. To this day I enjoy hearing about all the fun times they had. Thank you for letting your kids grow up with a great dog  they won't forget! 


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## GSDolch

Mishka&Milo said:


> That's awful. My husband grew up with one, and it was his best friend. To this day I enjoy hearing about all the fun times they had. Thank you for letting your kids grow up with a great dog  they won't forget!
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Thanks! It's a long story, but when my mother hand me and up until I was taken away I had a GSD. This dog followed me everywhere and would lay on me if I started walking toward the road. (I was only around three).

I honestly think that I had some GSD imprinting going on lol.

My fathers parents raised me, my grandfather was in the airforce and the only experience he had with GSDs was through the MP. This was long long time ago, back when they wanted them to be all big and mean (according to my grandfather).

After I married and moved out I knew I wanted to have GSDs the rest of my life. Thankfully it has turned out really well and my kids have a love for them like I do. (they love dogs in general lol)


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## wyoung2153

Not with Titan specifically, but I am starting to get REALLY annoyed with ignorant people who have GSDs that really have no idea what they are talking about trying to tell me how to train my dog and GSDs as a whole... today: "it's really a waste of time to train GSDs when they are puppies, they don't start listening until they are 2 yrs." :headbang:


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## SunCzarina

I've never had someone tell me something that idiotic. Perhaps because I usually have one in either hand, sometimes both in the same hand walking at a *fast* heel past them.


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## Eiros

Today we were at a state park and I could see two girls that were coming around the corner towards us, on rollerblades, with a puppy. I put Warden in a sit and we waited for them to pass, but when they saw us they stopped dead in their tracks and pulled off to the side. I put him in a down and waited. I overheard one of them say "good thing we stopped, he'd kill us..." So we just got up and walked past. 

We get compliments more often than not though. 


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## Harry and Lola

I've had a couple of different people say to me "are they guard dogs?"

well no, they are our family pet


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## wyoung2153

SunCzarina said:


> I've never had someone tell me something that idiotic. Perhaps because I usually have one in either hand, sometimes both in the same hand walking at a *fast* heel past them.


I was in the toy isle at petsmart trying to find a toy... I should have just walked away.. but I humored him with his other story... in came that comment after I said I put hours into training Titan.. *sigh*


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## Ellimaybel

There are a number of things I have seen in here while reading. I went through the frustration of people not believing Gunther wasn't a black lab until his ears stood up. I get mad when people tell me he's "just a dog" or when people think he will attack them. My mother in law refuses to come over because we have a german shepherd... which isn't really all that bad lol. Except that when she came over for Christmas my husband put the dog outside and got upset that I was upset over this. To me Gunther is one of my children and I should not be putting him out of his own home to accommodate anyone. If you do not like our dog, don't come into his home. Period.


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## Sabis mom

I seem to get the same stupid comments from different people
with Bud I get 'he must be a cross, his head is to big for a Shepherd' or 'If you don't neuter him he'll turn mean' he's almost 12, still waiting for this mystical meanness to occur.
With Sabi, I most often got the 'she must be mean if you use her for work'
Although one dumby who mistook her for a male looked at me when I corrected him and said 'Are you sure?'

The only comment that ever made me angry, was the loser who looked at Shadow and said ' She's kinda funny looking for a Shepherd'
My response ' Your no super model yourself, but most people would be to polite to comment'


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## Cheyanna

Fiona gets referred to as him a lot. Even in her purple harness.

"What's his name?"

Her name is Fiona.

He is a girl.

Yes, she is.

I have one lady at church who thinks Fiona is too thin and asks if I am starving her. Then tries to sneak feed her.

My step-dad used to say the dogs eat better than us (they are on the raw diet.)


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## Shaolin

The only other thing that made my blood boil was a one-off kind of deal. I was doing a SAR demo and this guy was following me around. He said he was with Big Name GSD Breeder (The name is a big named kennel here) and he offered me money (3,500$), plus pick of his next litter for, and I quote, "to destroy that abomination." 

I understand where White German Shepherd Dogs fall on the GSD respect scale, but the things he said about Finn were completely uncalled for. Even the Team Commander stood up for Finn, calling him one of the best SAR dogs he's ever had the privilege of training and saying he was just as much of a GSD as his own (From a very well known breeder here.)

I was amazed at his gall and what he was saying. That was the only instance where I was so upset I couldn't breathe over what someone was saying about my dog.

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## vprasad

"Please don't get him neutered! He is such a handsome boy! He will be great parent!" The unfortunate truth is that my boy has limited registration and I have and been volunteering at the humane society so I see things that most people don't. And more than that, Ill get him neutered because I can't imagine myself living without... well you know what for the rest of my life.


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## SummerGSDLover

GSDolch said:


> The only time my blood gets boiling is when I am told that I'm a bad parent for putting my children in danger, by having a dog that will turn around and attack them.


I just got that one last weekend. I have three boys. "I just don't understand how you could put those precious boys in danger!" *slowboil* 

*-*Summer*-*


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## GSDolch

SummerGSDLover said:


> I just got that one last weekend. I have three boys. "I just don't understand how you could put those precious boys in danger!" *slowboil*
> 
> *-*Summer*-*



*nods* yup

Although I do remember one time, and its not one of my prouder moments, that I said something that could have got me a call from CPS. 

I am also Pagan, this one conversation was with a person who neither likes Pagans or German Shepherds. I was in a snippy mood and when she made the comment about my kids/GSDs. I looked her dead in the eye with a straight face...

"Oh, its OK, that just means I can have more kids for the human sacrifices" 

Then I walked away. Probably not the brightest thing at the moment, but it got that person to never talk to me again. I was never shy about not liking her to begin with too. lol


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## PoukieBear

Last week, I was out with Wako for a walk through our forest, which is a designated ON LEASH area.

A lady came by with her 3 unleashed dogs. I hollerd at her and told her that Wako was not fond of offleash dogs, and to please leash them up. She ignored my request, told me they were all friendly. 

They rushed at us, Wako was scared and confined on his leash, and he defended himself with a snarl when the dogs tried to dominate and mount him.

She then glared and yelled at me to "Muzzle my beast". Uh, YOUR dogs just attacked mine... screw you!


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## selzer

GSDolch said:


> *nods* yup
> 
> Although I do remember one time, and its not one of my prouder moments, that I said something that could have got me a call from CPS.
> 
> I am also Pagan, this one conversation was with a person who neither likes Pagans or German Shepherds. I was in a snippy mood and when she made the comment about my kids/GSDs. I looked her dead in the eye with a straight face...
> 
> "Oh, its OK, that just means I can have more kids for the human sacrifices"
> 
> Then I walked away. Probably not the brightest thing at the moment, but it got that person to never talk to me again. I was never shy about not liking her to begin with too. lol


This doesn't quite fit, I have a friend who has a Doberman. No kids. But she used to rescue ferrets. Anyway, she had gone to the store and bought a bunch of babyfood in jars. All of it we chicken variety. 

Some do-gooder in line noticed all the chicken, and asked her why she only has chicken. My friend decided to pull her leg a bit, and said all she buys is the chicken. So the lady said, but you have to buy vegetable and fruits, etc. And my friend went on, nope, just chicken, that's all I use. 

She got a call from CPS. The lady turned her in. They came to the house and asked if they could see her baby. My friend told them, sure, they are in cages in the back bedroom. 

Anyhow, I guess there are people out there that will call CPS, really.


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## TwoBigEars

Shaolin said:


> The only other thing that made my blood boil was a one-off kind of deal. I was doing a SAR demo and this guy was following me around. He said he was with Big Name GSD Breeder (The name is a big named kennel here) and he offered me money (3,500$), plus pick of his next litter for, and I quote, "to destroy that abomination."
> 
> I understand where White German Shepherd Dogs fall on the GSD respect scale, but the things he said about Finn were completely uncalled for. Even the Team Commander stood up for Finn, calling him one of the best SAR dogs he's ever had the privilege of training and saying he was just as much of a GSD as his own (From a very well known breeder here.)
> 
> I was amazed at his gall and what he was saying. That was the only instance where I was so upset I couldn't breathe over what someone was saying about my dog.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


That's horrible! I just don't understand the intense hatred that some GSD people have for white shepherds.


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## selzer

Today was GSD day at Tractor Supply Co. I drove in to get dog food, and I saw a baby puppy outside. Of course, weirdow me, had to say something to his owner -- her kid was outside with the puppy. 

Then when I was inside getting the food, a large two year old boy, who was very nice, was inside. His owner was training him. I asked where he got him, after asking to pet him. Another lady said they don't make them like that around here. 

While I was in there with her, there was a giant harlequin Great Dane in there. The GSD owner came back in, and he came up and made love to Babsy. Babsy was letting him. She sniffed his hand, and then went on to sniff his face, and give him kisses! 

He was knowledgeable, and I let Babsy go to him. I had to by pigs' ears just so Babsy wouldn't follow someone else home. The lady behind the counter said, the other dog was older than her. And I said, no he's just two, she eight years old. Oh, but he is so much bigger, she's so small. 

Uhm, Babs is about 73 pounds -- not exactly tiny. 

But no one said anything gruesome. Babs is an old lady. I had Hepzibah out earlier and talked to a fellow with a little dog. He kept saying how big she was. But she's only 54 pounds. 

Well, I went ahead and put my food in the car and brought Babsy in. 

So Babs, who is large and could lose two or three pounds was called "so small." And Hepzibah, who is small and skinny, and could gain about 6 or 8 pounds, was called "so big" over and over again. 

Both in the same day, but the blood wasn't boiling at all.


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## GSDolch

selzer said:


> This doesn't quite fit, I have a friend who has a Doberman. No kids. But she used to rescue ferrets. Anyway, she had gone to the store and bought a bunch of babyfood in jars. All of it we chicken variety.
> 
> Some do-gooder in line noticed all the chicken, and asked her why she only has chicken. My friend decided to pull her leg a bit, and said all she buys is the chicken. So the lady said, but you have to buy vegetable and fruits, etc. And my friend went on, nope, just chicken, that's all I use.
> 
> She got a call from CPS. The lady turned her in. They came to the house and asked if they could see her baby. My friend told them, sure, they are in cages in the back bedroom.
> 
> Anyhow, I guess there are people out there that will call CPS, really.


Oh wow, I feel I shouldn't laugh, but that is a good one! lol


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## Ellimaybel

PoukieBear said:


> Last week, I was out with Wako for a walk through our forest, which is a designated ON LEASH area.
> 
> A lady came by with her 3 unleashed dogs. I hollerd at her and told her that Wako was not fond of offleash dogs, and to please leash them up. She ignored my request, told me they were all friendly.
> 
> They rushed at us, Wako was scared and confined on his leash, and he defended himself with a snarl when the dogs tried to dominate and mount him.
> 
> She then glared and yelled at me to "Muzzle my beast". Uh, YOUR dogs just attacked mine... screw you!


 
I can't stand it when people do that! My dogs will be leashed and they are the ones who give me dirty looks when their unleased dogs rush at mine. I feel your pain, people always think their dogs are angels until it's shown that they aren't. I make no such assumption, I warn people that my dog is friendly but I don't know how he will react to strangers. I have a neighbor whose kid likes to stick her arms through the fence to play with my dogs. I know neither of my dogs would attack her viciously but it still bothers me a lot. I think it encourages my dogs to try and get through the fence to play and I can't promise my dog might not accidentally hurt her by playing. I have tried talking to the parents about this but they express no concern about their child being hurt. I have even said if they wanted to come into our yard to meet him it would be ok, but they say they're fine but continue to let her do this.


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## blackshep

How did the lady know where to send CPS, did she follow your friend home? 

Nobody really says anything about my dog to make my blood boil, everyone thinks she's beautiful


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## GSDolch

blackshep said:


> How did the lady know where to send CPS, did she follow your friend home?
> 
> Nobody really says anything about my dog to make my blood boil, everyone thinks she's beautiful



Around here all you really need is a license plate number, or if its a small town like where I live, its really not hard to know where someone lives.

And then there are the crazy people who would follow you home lol


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## selzer

I didn't ask, but I suspect the license number. 

Once upon a time, when my older sister's (who is supermom) daughters were 2, she had them at the park and the younger, who is gifted and headstrong -- really interesting personality, was lagging behind because she wasn't getting her way. My sister kept on walking with her older 2 year old daughter and got in the line to get ice cream. 

Some lady came up to the younger one and started trying to get her to tell her she was lost or something, so my sister said something like, "She's fine" to let the lady know she was not some lost baby. 

The woman proceded to come over and started berating my sister. So my sister said, "Ya know what, we don't need ice cream today" which immediately started the older one going and the younger one added to it, so my sister took them by the hands and went to the parking lot where her car was, kids crying. 

The lady followed, "No, don't take it out the children" and on and on. And finally my sister got them in strapped in the car, got in and left with the woman still going at her. 

People are nutty.


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## DJEtzel

"You BOUGHT him!?"

Sorry you don't think he's worth it, I do!


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## Tide vom Nobles

"You SPENT how much on him?!?" yeah I know a breeder really well I have worked with her line so I wanted a puppy from her.


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## sechattin

Haha, I've gotten the money comment before too. "How much?! You know, my neighbor was selling some of those shepherd pups just last month for 50 bucks." Yeah, and I'm sure for fifty dollars your neighbor has done all the necessary health and temperament screenings as well as worked their dogs on a competitive level to further test their drive, intelligence, and mental and physical soundness.


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## selzer

Tide vom Nobles said:


> "You SPENT how much on him?!?" yeah I know a breeder really well I have worked with her line so I wanted a puppy from her.


If you don't like this, don't tell anyone what you paid for the dog. It is nobody's business.


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## Needing Advise

When the CGHS seized my 9 year old GS from his boarding kennel & refused to give him back to me for weeks. Mind you he does have health issues & was on medication for his condition. They stopped his meds, kept him in shelter for over a week before seeking treatment he needed badly, fed him food he was allergic to, but my blood really boiled when they recommended Euthanasia for him. BTW this is when they released him to me. Two other Vets saw him & both knew instantly the Vet that Volunteers for the Humane Society did not diagnose him correctly and operated and gave him antibiotics that did nothing for the infection he had. BTW this was suppose to be a No Kill Shelter that seized him along with 38 other dogs & puppies. They wanted us to pay $800 for his Vet bill, while advertising his bloody face & ears on their website begging for donations.


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## Freestep

Needing Advise said:


> When the CGHS seized my 9 year old GS from his boarding kennel & refused to give him back to me for weeks. Mind you he does have health issues & was on medication for his condition. They stopped his meds, kept him in shelter for over a week before seeking treatment he needed badly, fed him food he was allergic to, but my blood really boiled when they recommended Euthanasia for him. BTW this is when they released him to me. Two other Vets saw him & both knew instantly the Vet that Volunteers for the Humane Society did not diagnose him correctly and operated and gave him antibiotics that did nothing for the infection he had. BTW this was suppose to be a No Kill Shelter that seized him along with 38 other dogs & puppies. They wanted us to pay $800 for his Vet bill, while advertising his bloody face & ears on their website begging for donations.


 I am so glad that you found this forum and are speaking up. Many of us have been following this story and we can see that there was something fishy going on with this seizure from the start. I am so glad you finally got your dog back, and I'm sorry that this happened to you. The truth will come out.


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## Needing Advise

Thank you for your kind words Freestep. I've been quiet & in tears for almost 2 months. I can't wait to tell the whole long story, it's a nightmare. I will be posting some pictures when I can figure out how to do it.


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## PoukieBear

I had a guy yesterday try to convince me that Lako was part wolf. LOL, this is the second time this has happened.


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## PoukieBear

Hubby and I made the 6 hour drive back to Toronto for the Easter weekend, and of course we brought the dog to meet everyone for the first time.

Hubby's best friend has an opinnion about EVERYHTING and I absolutely hate it. 

Lako Jumped out of the truck on command, peed on a bush and laid down in the shade while we stood around talking.

Hubby's friend told us we should muzzle our dog, because he looks threatening....ya, as he's sprawled out on the grass, sleeping with his tongue hanging out. So threatening...


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## volcano

That dog needs shot records of lepto and kennel cough to be near our dogs...


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## petite

It doesn't really make me upset but I do think it's hilarious to be asked if my puppy is a "Police Dog" nervously. I also had a man talk to me for ten minutes about how epic his "GSD/Dobie" mix was and I was lucky to have one before I politely mentioned she's a bi-black GSD, no "epic mix" here.


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## Witz

My dog is a sable so I have heard, "he's a wolf cross" or "he's not a purebred because he does not have a solid black back". The best was when he was profiled as "that dog attacked my friend on the trail the other day", number 1 we were never there "that day" because we never go to "that" trail. For those who were confused over the many coloring types, I tried to explain. For the loon who implied the attack, I told her we were never there and then told to her that she would make a lousy witness. I could see and hear the fear and anger in her tone, so we just walked away. Those GSD's just draw a lot of attention.


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## GSD Fanatic 101

I have only got one comment that made me angry and that was about a year and a half ago when Kara was still in training. Other than that I get mostly good comments. I usually get the comment about her being a mix because of her coloring. There was one woman who said she thought she was because she had a bigger smile than the average shepherd?  I do get the "Can/will she bite?" or "Is she aggressive?" question. I always say no but my smart mouth always tries to get the better of me . I have gotten the service dog question from time to time because Tokara wears a backpack on our trips to the corner store or when going on hikes. I take that as a compliment though


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## robeangyalchen

Recently " you could buy another dog, rather than wasting money treating him." I swear it boiled my blood. Some people have no feelings whatsoever.

ETA: he was not THAT sick at the moment, i was just helping him by carrying him up and down the stairs.


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## Mishka&Milo

robeangyalchen said:


> Recently " you could buy another dog, rather than wasting money treating him." I swear it boiled my blood. Some people have no feelings whatsoever.
> 
> 
> 
> ETA: he was not THAT sick at the moment, i was just helping him by carrying him up and down the stairs.



Some people just don't realize how big of a chunk of our hearts our dogs possess. They are family, not just pets. 


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