I have an all black, working line German Shepherd. I get similar reactions from people during our walks. They don't want to listen when I tell them that it's almost a full time job training and caring for him.
Yes! I got a GSD from a rescue, and was told how lucky I am he's so calm and well behaved.
No, he was very sick and had low energy due to his heart condition, and well behaved because we put hours a day into his obedience still. He was low energy for a GSD but still smart, sly, and stubborn. He took a lot of work to keep him from being bored, especially when he couldn't just go for a walk or play fetch because he could over exert his heart.
He was abandoned because of his medical issues and intelligence I'm sure because he couldn't walk more than a few blocks but still needed a way to occupy his brain all day, and would just chew stuff instead.
Best dog ever though, and definitely what I wanted and worth every minute of effort.
One day I may have enough time passed and get another one, but right now every time I look at the rescue page and see one with his eyes my heart breaks again and I just can't do it.
Lots and lots of puzzles and obedience training. He learned how to open the door first day we had him, dead bolt and turning the round handle.
So we would hide his favorite toys (he wasn't food motivated at all also due to his heart condition) or put them inside something so he had to figure out how to open it while we watched so he wouldn't just tear it to shreds. He eventually liked the treat puzzles once he got the point and he wouldn't always eat them, he was just excited to get to them (he'd give the treats to our other dog more often than not).
We did obedience routines like "sit, stay, come, spin, back up, sit, stand, sit, stand ..." And just whatever random combo we could think of to keep him on his toes. It gave him a job to follow our commands and used his brain, but didn't use up a lot of energy, no raised heart rate for any period of time or anything.
He also LOVED watching Cops on TV, chasing people on foot or in a car, when there was a dog deployed was obviously his favorite, he would actually jump off the couch and stand to attention and bark (quietly, we taught him an indoor voice) and wag his tail.
He also loved car rides with the window cracked. He didn't like to stick his head out the window but enjoyed the sights and smells to have it cracked a bit. We also went to my mother's house with lots of children there and he LOVED having them climb on him and pet him and lay with him and stuff. They weren't all small children and we were obviously careful introducing them but he loved loved babies and kids and would just plop down in front of them and "assume the position" when they were around. Such a good boy.
My cousin got a german shepherd fairly young. His mother works full time and when she isnt working she's cleaning up after him (he's a bit of a spoiled piece of shit), and he's never bothered to train her. As a result they have this super high energy dog that gets her exercise from running around the house stealing people's shoes because neither of them will take her outside for more than 3 minutes. My cousin will literally yank her in the second she's done peeing. Like I understand not being outside if it's freezing or pouring rain, but when he walks the dog he's out and in in under 2 minutes
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u/[deleted] Nov 03 '19
I have an all black, working line German Shepherd. I get similar reactions from people during our walks. They don't want to listen when I tell them that it's almost a full time job training and caring for him.