Why So Many GSD's getting a "Death" Sentence? - Page 1

Three (3) words: Easy Way Out. Two (2) words: Quick "Justice". One (1) word: Stupidity. The last word can sometimes be applied to more than one (1) party, but never the dog.

Regards,

Bob-O

 The reason is simple. Dogs are out doing things they should not be doing. But it starts with the breeder. Too many breeders breed and sell GSDs they know little about in terms of temperament. Selling a pup at 8-10 weeks tells one little about the temperament of the dog. They know even less about the people to whom they sell, preferring to take the money and run. The owners all too often are clueless and irresponsible and fails to properly contain the dog, see it is rigorously trained and socialized. I see these problems here every week. Then, when the dog is in trouble, they want to dump the dog, or worse, ask someone like me to take it and adopt it out. Worse yet, they also think that a dog that bites should be a great candidate for a police department.

I know intimately of the dog involved in the link above. Do you think for one moment that if the judge did nothing and the dog then seriously hurt someone or worse that there would not be an uproar? The fact of the matter is that this owner knew the dog was aggressive and did nothing about it. The dog was scaring people before it got loose, once again, and chased and bit a woman. Who gives a damn that it was a superficial bite? The dog BIT a woman. NO EXCUSE ! The woman was frightened, as was completely reasonable, and she had a baby with her. The neighbors then got scared and then the situation spiraled out of control. And what should the judge do? Tell the woman to get rid of the dog? What reputable rescue would take such a dog? Not mine!

The time to make damn sure these things do NOT happen is before something happens. If you do not socialize and train your dog AND be absolutely certain the dog is properly contained, don't be surprised when such events occur. It is sadly ALWAYS the dog who pays for owner and breeder mistakes. But society has a right to expect that dogs are contained and safe. I do NOT allow my dogs to be out loose when strangers come on the property even though most of them are well trained and extremely well socialized. DOGS ARE DOGS!

I love this breed more than anything, and it makes me livid to see people being irresponsible with their GSD. It gives the entire breed a bad name. Not everyone should have a dog, let a lone a GSD. But I am sure nothing I say or do, including not breed and breed and breed and sell to the first idiot with money, will make even the slightest bit of difference. Eventually, it will be illegal to own such dogs in most places in the country. WE who say we love this breed are cutting our own throats.

 Mystere,

I am also in agreement with your concerns. But I see just as many from all sides of the fence where this is a concern.

I think there is a lot to be said about the power of delusion. There are people who expect a GSD to be something other than a GSD.  They think that a dog will be what it is expected to be instead of what it is. So, they believe a GSD dog that has never be tested, either through Sh or another type of work, can be counted on to be stable. Even though the dog has not been proven to be mentally sound under pressure so you can really know it, instead of assume it's nature. Not trying to get the titles thing going but how do you know for sure how your dog is going to react and behave about things if it's never been tested and trained when there is no pressure on it? There is just no way you can know for sure what your dog is like when all it does is lay next to you in the house, IMO. It seems the reason the titles debate comes up so often is that it is so elementally key to having a realistic knowledge of the dog.

In boot camp the people who seem the most squared away in the beginning don't always prove to be that way and end up washing out. Or doing so poorly that their superiors wish that person had washed out. Any way around it that person can not be counted on to excel for the majority of their time in service. Same with martial arts. Natural ability will get you started well in techniques and kata (routines/forms) but won't do you much good when people are trying to kick you in the head. That's when people crack. Controlled pressure shakes out the superficial and sifts down to true character.

So it seems to me it is definately a combination of breeding for that stability and educating GSD owners that you can't rely on a working dog to be a retriever just because that's your ideal of what you want in the breed.

JMHO.

Isn't this the answer:

        http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/bulletins_read/153334.html

It can happen in any breed.  We recently saw a Springer Spaniel post Quarantine exam after biting a girl in the back.  The owner did not seem to get the message that she needed professional help for the dog immediately.  The dog ran out the front door to bark at the children walking by the house and according to the owner bit the "quiet one"