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by lookin4ppgsd on 02 October 2008 - 02:10
I'm new to the site and figured everyone here would be useful to talk to.
I've been been reserching GSD's for about 3 years now. I understand what to look for and not look for physically in choosing the right GSD. I'm looking for a sound personal protection GSD. Can anyone give me advice on what to look for Blood line wise? Would you choose one over another?
Thanks for all the help!

by AgarPhranicniStraze1 on 02 October 2008 - 03:10
I'm sure you will get variations of opinions but here's my .02 worth. lol If you are looking for a personal protection GSD I would steer you towards a working line definately. I myself have 4 WL now and I'm partial to the czech dogs as that is what I own and like. They may not turn as many heads as a showline would at the park but they will certainly turn heads when you see them work.
Are you looking for a pup or an already trained PPD? How much training experience have you had?

by Bob-O on 02 October 2008 - 03:10
Please understand that I do not mean for any of my remarks to sound trite and condescending.
I will offer limited advice here-you must know exactly what you seek. In my opinion, a "perfect" personal protection GSD is a physically correct and mentally sound GSD who has an excellent grounding in obedience-one who makes it visually and vocally known that he is alert and watching if he senses danger and firmly stands his ground, i.e., this dog is the equivilent of a chambered Colt 45 pistol with the safety on. That is the only type of "personal protection" GSD that 99.999% of people need.
When I think of a TRUE pesonal protection dog, I think of one that has high civil drive and little potential for callback once he is sent into action. Such a dog presents a very high liability for its owner as we are all sometimes in unplanned situations. This is a dog who is only suitable for police and military duties.
There are those dogs out there who posses a true "on/off" switch. These dogs are adults and were selected and trained for their duty. This type of dog is indeed special, and will cost a lot of money-not to mention the greatly increased liability.
Do not be surpised if you recieve much e-mail from those trying to sell you a true "bad-assed" dog. Don't go for it. Seek a balanced dog of correct conformation and temperament that is true to the standard. The correct GSD is a working dog who is gentle yet protective of his family.
Good Luck,
Bob-O

by katjo74 on 02 October 2008 - 03:10
Bob-o is very right.
This messageboard is not the place for a rather naive person to inquire openly for such a trained GSD.
Lots of inadequate dogs get sold here as PP dogs, and then the naive buyers complain heavily about the transaction on this messageboard.
Do some research on PP dogs, what they are supposed to be able to do, and find some clubs to maybe get a reliable reference from. Check all info given on a breeder/trainer, and make sure all equals up.
by lookin4ppgsd on 02 October 2008 - 04:10
You all are really helping me and I thank you a great deal

by yellowrose of Texas on 02 October 2008 - 06:10
Where are you located..What state..You need to get in touch with some well known people in the gsd world and sit down and have a long talk about your request..You open up a lot of liability and a lot of very serious lined dogs if you really are asking for a pp dog...or do you want a german shepherd who is sound , fun and trained in strict obedience who will protect no matter what , after he is bonded with you or a family...are their children involved here or wife or husband...Dave Kroyer, Dean Calderon, Ivan or Pia among others can go over this type and what you need. Whatever region you live in, someone of these can cover that and lead you in right direction...dont fall for the I train pp dog ad, or email....you may or may not like what you get or are told...seek lots of advice if you are truely asking for a pp dog.

by Ryanhaus on 02 October 2008 - 13:10
First off, if you are looking for a personal protection dog,
then do just that, get a young dog that has started basic pp training and
has not flunked out, then continue his training, that is if you're looking for reasonably
priced. If you want the works, get a fully trained pp dog, make sure you can see the
dog in person and in action doing what he's trained to do, then there's no getting
ripped off.
I would not recomend a pup for you, as pups that have great potential can become
staggered in their ability to learn if you are new to training.
I prefer East German bloodlines, with some Cezch, I myself am not into pp training as
much as just plain obedience, I do love the video's of the cezch dogs from the
Jirkova dvora bloodline, now here's the bloodline you want:
This video is fun to see...it's title is: Czech police attach dog Ex Jirkova dvora
Enjoy, and lots of luck with your search, hope you find what you're looking for!
Paula
by Bancroft on 02 October 2008 - 14:10
You have to be more specific about your needs and what you plan to do with your dog.
Are you in imminent danger, do you need a serious dog who you will likely need to rely on? What kind of man stopping power do you want? What do you plan to do with the dog - home companion, follow you to work? Are you going to do dog sports, schutzhund? How are you going to keep up its training? Do you have a family with children and basically want a social, family companion who you can take for strolls in the park? Realistically what can you and your family manage - size of dog, exercise requirements?
If you are an average family that lives int he suburbs then I suggest you might be looking for a dog with naturally high defensive drive and is territorial, not too much prey, medium energy levels, able to bond to family pack but also social enough so you can take it anywhere. My personal choice would be a rottweiler - serious man stopping power but manageable size, low-medium exercise requirements, usually no constant barking problem to deal with. If brought up right will be social. Natural defense especially in working lines means you don't have to train him every week but the instinct means he will fire up when needed.
As for working line GSDs (forgive me but what i am about to say is just generalization, there will be notable exceptions of course)
West German lines - normally very high energy levels, may not be suitable if you cannot give it a lot of exercise. Many sports breeding may not have enough defense but have very high prey. May have to keep up regular training to ensure he does his job when needed.
DDR - has higher defense drives generally and less active. Tend to be bigger, especially the males. This would my choice for a pure PPD.
Czech - somewhere in between the two above.

by yankee girl on 02 October 2008 - 15:10
As others have stated, if you buy a dog already trained, becareful. Allot of people will claim their dog is a PPD but if you dont know what your looking at, you could easily be fooled.
Seek advice from an experienced trainer with references. Some one who has titled their own dogs and has a list of their accomplishements. A good trainer will help find you the right dog to fit your needs.
Read up about PP training and what it involves so when you talk with someone, you will understand what they are talking about, ie; prey dirve, defense drive, balanced drives ect.
Can you be a confident leader to the dog? A friend of mine owns my females brother. She treats him like a baby doll....like a big fuzzy wuzzy teddy bear (YUK) instead of a dog. He will protect her but she has no control over him what so ever. He is a HUGE liability and the dog will be the one who suffers for her ignorance about dogs.
Expect to pay good money for a trained dog. Allot of time, money and training has gone into a good dog so they dont come cheap. Same with if you go the puppy route. It will be an ongoing thing for the dog (and yourself) to have a good dog.
Which ever route you go, if the breeder/trainer doesnt ask you about your needs and life style, run, dont walk.
Good luck!

by Ryanhaus on 02 October 2008 - 15:10
Hi again,
I'm sorry, here's the link to that video, ( I didn't even spell attack right)...
Hope this gets you to it..
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xjxh-nlq5t0
And like everyone is saying, you have to get the dog that fits into your lifestyle..
checking around for 3 years is good, but then there is checking their pedigrees
and meeting their relatives in person, (Way more fun than meeting human relatives!)
Paula
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