I bought a female GSD from Vom Fieldcrest her name is Grecia Vom Fieldcrest call name Ava. Her mother was Uhli Vom Leerburg and father wwas Zeus Vom Ausland. She is now 7 months old and is full of fire never stops. I got her when she was 4 months old and she ran right up to me and licked my hand and was very welcoming to me. Since I have brought her home 2 months ago she is very hesitant around strangers. I try taking everywhere I can football and soccer games and she does fine when on leash she just watches people very intently with kind of a thinking look like what do I want to do with this new person. For example my Sister came over about a month ago to check my new pup and the dog just watch her from a distance pacing back and forth never taking her eyes off her until she realized there was no threat and my sister gave her a treat about 20 minutes had went by before she would take the treat. Another time she was in her crate and I let the repairman in to fix something and when he left I let her out and immediately she put her nose to the ground and hair up on her back and went to the place he was at and just sniffed and then was fine. At Halloween I took her with me to walk the kids and the kids had ran to my neighbors house and we came out after they had already left. I walked into their driveway and when the kids came running back my dog immediatley got in front of me and started barking at them. She did not know who they were immediatley because of the costume and masks and after I told the kids to stop and take off their mask she immediatley stopped and wagged her tail at them. So my question is this normal for a Working line GSD to act so weary around strangers and take a long time to warm up to them? She's not scared of anybody or anything its just how she watches people that just has me curious. I have had Dobe's and Boxers and they never showed this at all. Everything else is great with her, she loves the kids and the whole family. She doesn't bark or growl except for that one time at Halloween I am not sure what to think of that but hopefully that will come as she gets older. If anybody can tell me more about her parents or have seen them personally that would be great. I saw the father and he was impressive.

I don’t know the parents but I can talk a little about what you are seeing. First, what do you plan on doing with her. You will need to answer that question first. Since you have a working line dog I am going to assume that you are going to work her. I believe, not that I am mister all pro dog trainer, that what you are seeing is a great thing. When she stood in front of you and started barking she was protecting you. That tells me that she has accepted you. I would keep doing what you are doing by socializing her. What you need to do though is start putting it on cue. Lets say a GROWN person walks up to, if you know the person is alright then tell her friend. If the person is kinda suspicious tell her watch. When you tell her friend make her sit beside you and relax. I think its ok for her to be weary of people. I would much rather my dog be cautious of people then be like a boxer and just wanna lick them to death. I had a boxer so I am speaking from experience. All my boxer wanted to do was lick people, my GSD now looks at everyone as a potential threat. That’s why we put in the cue “friend” so that she knows ok I can relax. If I give her no cue then she knew ok this person may not be dangerous but I will keep an eye on this person. If I gave the cue watch she new ok the person as a good chance of being a threat so she would make her presence known. Like I said I am not a professional trainer or been doing this as long as some people so if somebody else has better advice listen to them. I think a lot of it is training to your life style. With that said, I believe that a dog should NEVER SHOW SIGNS OF AGGRESSION TOWARDS CHILDREN. Now if they are dressed all funky then hey she is protecting you. I hope this helps you in some sort of way.

My Mink linebred is also very cautious around strangers. The breeder told me this early on--that he would be suspicious. He will wag his tail and get up on people once they greet him, and then ignore them--he's very aloof. In fact, even with my boyfriend whom he always greets and jumps up on, he won't follow on a leash if I'm not with him. I personally don't mind, as long as he isn't *afraid* of strangers.

Jason:
With all due respect, we are talking about a puppy here, who is showing signs of fear- head down is one thing, and standing in front of the owner, could also be- I have a sometimes fearful dog, who does just that (she wants to be right up next to me). At seven months, you want a puppy who is confident, and sees the world as his, and that means, perhaps an aloof dog who does not over-react to strange persons. I myself, would not want, or expect a 7 month old puppy to be protective yet. Confident, aloof? Yes, but not deciding someone is the bad person. Using commands like "watch" in a non-confident dog will blow up in your face. You stated that your GSD looks at everyone as a potential threat? This is not a good thing- not everyone is. Wrt Boxer attitudes, my Boxer is very confident, and does NOT run up and lick strangers. He stands next to me and looks them in the eye, until I let him knowby my actions that this person is "okay". And, he is NOT interested in licking said person, and having everyone be his friend. Confident dogs don't make overt moves to appear more threatening. Confident dogs watch the situation calm and collected and if needed, with a direction, they will handle the situation. My advice for this puppy is to get him out as much as possible, and do not react to his reactions about people- don't validate his concerns. He may turn out to be a great protector, and his genes will dictate that.
Julie

I may need to clarify some things. First it is not as though my dogs looks at everyone as a threat. i used poor wording there. what i am saying is that she don't just run up and like everyone. she minds her manners but at he same times is always evaluating the situation making sure the person ain't the "bad guy". i mean i take her to the store here and people pet her and kids pull on here and she is ok with that. she just evaluates everyone though, adults i mean.
second, maybe i am miss reading the persons message but the way i read it was not a fear thing but a thing of hey this is my owner and you will not hurt them. i know the pup is still to young to have defense drive but i do read it as a confidencething. i mean the writer didn't say the dog was behind them or on the side of them but instead the dog postioned itself between the "threat" and the handler. now with that said i agree with you 100% if the dog is showing fear but i didn't read it that why.
third, as far as putting it on cue, it could be done by simply walking the dog. you walk by somebody you say friend. once in a while stop and talk with a person. after a while the dog will relate friend with somebody that isn't going to hurt them. when you play tug with a helper just tell the dog "watch" when the helper has the tug. don't make any corrections let the dog do its thing. by saying watch and then a few seconds later the helper presenting the tug and the dog biting it the dog learns ok i may get to bite this later you add the bite cue.
forth, like i said i never claimed to be rose grad. i am just going off what worked for me. i respect your response and do take everything into consideration. but a wise man once said everyone has an opinion on how to train your dog, just ask your mail man. so i do take what has worked for me and go with it. if i read something that makes more sence or seems better then i try it. in my opinion, and you know what people say about opinions,nobody knows the perfect way to train a dog. the only real way to learn is by trying. rather a handler will admit it or not, everyone of us at sometime or another has done something that was counter productive to our training or may have even damaged a dogs working ability. unfortunitly that is part of learning and there are people and places to go to keep it to a minimum. when a baby learns to walk they will fall and scrape their knees. same goes for dog training. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

I will be working her in Obedience and personal protection for the family. Getting back to the Halloween incident I might have made it sound worse than it was she was sitting next to me and the end of the driveway and the kids came running towards us and the dog stood up walked forward them as they were running and let out a growl and then barked at them. Once she knew it was our kids she wagged her tail and sat back down. I personally don't think this is fear but confidence but maybe I am wrong and that is why I am here. She is not afraid of anything loud noises dogs, she ignores every distraction. But is aloof with strangers. My Sister came over this morning and Ava had not seen her since the first time about 4 weeks ago. Ava remembered her and it was nothing to have her come in and Ava just and went and got her toy and brought it to her to play with her. My Parents and brother are do in from Virgina this afternoon and have never met her so I will let you know how she reacts to them.

Thanks

Larry

don't be suprised if you get the same response you got with your sister the first time. i wouldn't push it to fast either. if this is fear it could be detramintal if you do. if it is confidence then if you push it you could ruin that just the same let the dog warm up to them. the dog will see that these people are ok and she don't have to watch them nonstop. good luck and lets us know. i personaly am really intrested in this dogs behavior. i think i could learn things here as well.

Well my parents and brother made it to my house after a long trip from Va. So after all the excitement was over they wanted to see Ava which I had her in her kennel in the backyard. I put her on leash and brought her into the house and grab some treats to give her and for my parents and brother to give her. We walked in to the living room and I told her its ok and she looked at everyone in the living room and immediately walked up to my Dad and I told him to just let her smell him which she did and she went around to my Mom and brother and that was it. She immediately started wagging her tail turned around and walked back to me mind you she is still on leash and sits next to me. My Dad said take her off leash she is going to be ok and I said I would like to wait a little longer and she walked over to him and he handed her a treat and she immediatley sat next to him which is how I have been teaching her to behave in the house is to sit and she will get pet and played with and she is starting to catch on to this.

After she did that I let her off leash and she did not have a problem went to them all and got her treats and she let them pet her and played with them with her toy and everything was fine. Maybe before she was growing up and now that she is little older she is more relaxed or maybe taking her everywhere has paid off and she is over that stage. Just wanted to give the update and thanks for the advice everyone.

Larry from what I can tell so far it appears that you are handling your dog correctly introducing her to people. Just a word of caution. I have a 10 mos old GSD (Coach) and a 3yr old Golden Ret (Noley). Coach is by far the more aggressive of the two dogs. Last week when I was staying in a dog friendly hotel I had both dogs with me coming in from a ride over to my Father -in-laws house. They were both leashed with prong collars on. A woman in the lobby noticed Noley and commented on how pretty he is and that she had a dog that looked just like him several years ago. Both dogs were in a sit stay and were doing wonderfully. Noley is a definite people dog and loves to be petted. I had spent about 10 mins chatting with this woman when Noley, the non aggressive Golden Ret. went ballistic and started barking and growling and getting very protective. I had to make a harsh leash correction and put him in a down to get him to calm down. Coach just watched the whole situation without moving, barking or growling. The point I am trying to make is to be vigilant and do not let your guard down. Good luck with every thing and I wish you and your dog many happy healthy years together.
Merry Christmas
Terry