I have a 9-month GSD that I bought for personal protection. She doesn’t seem to have a mean bone in her body. Did I waste my money?

You can not expect an 8 month old dog to be protective. That is like expecting and 8 year old boy to protect his home. The dog and child are not mentally mature enough to protect anything. A dog that is aggressive at 8 months has a temperament problem. It usually means that they are being aggressive because they are insecure, never because they are strong. What I expect to see in an 8 month old dog is a nice temperament. I want a dog that likes people and does not shy away from things. I also want to see good prey drive. (See my article on the drives of protection training).Just as important as having the right drives, a dog must have the right bloodline. If you have an American bloodline dog, do not expect it to be protective. It is genetically incapable of doing protection work. Expecting an American bloodline dog to protect is on par with expecting you local farm horse to win the Kentucky Derby.

To learn what a dog should be doing at 8 months, refer to my video titled The First Steps of Bite Training.