Character of the German Shepherd Dog - Page 5

If a person thinks aloof or suspicion means shy,.....then there is nothing to discuss....shy it is.

Swarnendu Your comment “As for learning from mother, a person who craves to own a GSD should also be able to teach a puppy better than its biological mother. After all, WE claim to be the most intelligent species.…”
is, in my opinion talking about two different things.

I would suggest that the education that puppies learn from their mothers is more beneficial in the early stages of a puppy’s life. When the mother is sound in her mind and has a strong character presence then this will be passed on to the young dogs. Very young dogs learn on a copycat basis from their mothers, also, the pups learn very quickly how to behave when scolded by their mothers. IMO this is nature’s way of making them socially better in a pack situation and when in the presence of many other dogs. It also prevents puppy fights and allows the pecking order to develop in a more relaxed way. Puppies that are taken away from their mothers too early and then kept in pens develop different character traits through having to fight.

The human element is in the husbandry skills of rearing the young dogs and, eventually, in the training of the dog which in turn builds on the development of the character.

People can quote all the dictionary definitions and synonyms they like and just confuse the issue but the real evidence for what is right is right before our eyes.

Mackenzie

beetree & Gustav, I am afraid we are running in circles here, without adding anything worthwhile to the Topic.

The word ALOOF is NOT there in the Only Breed Standard which is acceptable Worldwide.

And, ALOOF in AKC Standard has helped to allow too many North American SHY Show Dogs to be passed as GSDs. AKC would do well to create another Breed and name it NASSD (North American Shy Show Dogs OR North American Ski Slope Dogs), and help preserve the original GSDs. So, you can see where my objection to that word is coming from. Not that the Germans are doing great with their Show Dogs.

And, SUSPICIOUS is a negative word.

Both these words allow owners to believe that their weak-natured pooch has the correct attitude & character.

And Fred Lanting: AKC Judge, Alleged Dog Trafficking, UKC (!!), All Breeds Judge, China..... too many negatives in my opinion.

Dictionaries, Lexicons and Thesauruses, words, words and more words = confusion, misunderstanding and misconception of meanings.

To understand the character of a dog the best method is in front of you. Observation and understanding of what you are seeing followed by learning and interpretation to move forward in this important part of the dog’s makeup. These things take time to reach conclusion and this is something that people do seem to have.

Mackenzie

Mackenzie, by "early stages of a puppy's life" & "very young dogs" did you mean 4-5 MONTHS? Where's the mother after 4-5 WEEKS apart from STANDING occasionally to let them suckle? She doesn't interfere in puppy fights! And why cannot an AVERAGE trainer train a wee pup how to behave?

And, regarding wild pack behavior, it's not only the mother, who is the Alfa and not available most of the time, but more so the other members of the pack who show a weaned pup its place.

But why should an owner of a SINGLE dog or a pair of opposite genders bother about pecking order, when there is NO pecking order because the pup has been removed early?

In my OPINION, most of the pups of a litter will develop evenly, if taken away from their siblings BEFORE 7 weeks. No Bully & No Coward will be produced by circumstances other than genetics, provided all of them are in GOOD hands.

As with the "word game", I think I have said enough already. And I agree with your views on that, as long as someone doesn't wish to insert those words in the Breed Standard.

Swarnedu, I said that "shy it is" which agrees with your statement SO as to end this discussion. I do not come to PDB to learn about Aloof or the temperament of the breed. I tend to rely on my experiences. So whatever you say😉

Btw, I have been familiar with the old SV standard, FCI standard and SV standard for past 45 years, but Thanks for the information and since AKC is my FCI registry I feel it important to be knowledgable of it as well as FCI.

It is good news that people are reading the standard! In the standard it say about temperment, ''difficult to describe but unmistaken when present''. Go train many dogs or watch good training. Too many keyboard experts would not know a good GSD if it bit them.

No breeder here but what I get from this thread, and some other recent threads, is that there is either no such thing as a gsd or the gsd is whatever anyone chooses to perceive it as.
 

Swarnendu - yes I do mean from the very beginning of life and through the age of 4/5 months. For dogs that are kept in a kennel with a small run the you are right in saying that at 3-4 weeks all the mother does is just stand or lie for feeding. There is not a lot of other stimulation in those conditions. I have always been fortunate to have sufficient land properly fenced to allow the dogs to free range and investigate whatever they wish. Also, mothers will intervene in puppy fights and I have seen this. If you always let your pups go at 7/8 weeks then you have not seen the benefits of running a dog on.

You raised the question “And why cannot an AVERAGE trainer train a wee pup how to behave?” The answer is simply “no reason” and I have not suggested otherwise. Also, I made no mention of a wild pack situation where pack behaviour is different.

Dogs of different genders do not need a pecking order but dogs of the same gender may need one. It is nothing to do with a puppy being taken away early.

It is not always the case that puppies will develop evenly. Changes take place after 7/8 weeks because of the environment that they are in and feeding regimes that are needed for the full development of the dog. When dogs are taken way from their sibs to an environment where they are alone or with a dog of a different gender there is no need to be either cowardly or a bully. Nothing to do with genetics, although of course genetics do play a part in the dog’s character.

Good hands and caring owners are always in demand.

Mackenzie