I'm posing this to the more experienced GSD owners to get some insight into this topic.

As a first time owner of a GSD (9mth old), I'm somewhat pleased that our guy doesn't want to let my 5 yr. old son get to far out of range. For instance, if my son is out in the background playing (yard is totally fenced, son is supervised) and Riddick is in the house, he is constantly running back and forth between our windows and patio doors to look outside to see where my son is. If we go outside with him, he is quite content to lay down and chew his Kong all the while constantly looking up to see where our son is and what he is doing. If my son moves, Riddick moves to where he can see him.

Walks are the same way, he's not happy unless he can keep our son in visual range.

Now I realize this may be a natural trait but should it be overtly encouraged or should we just let Riddick be?

Would encouraging this behaviour lead to being over-protective and seeing threats where there are none?? i.e. if my son is playing with other kids and happens to get hurt etc.

I would assume that he is being protective because since he was young he would lunge at people that approached my wife if she didn't greet them first. We have since toned him down a bit with respect to that behaviour.

Does that make any sense??

There are a couple of things that jump out at me.

1- Your dog is 9 months old and it's loose (unattended) in the house while you are in the back yard. A mistake you could come to regrett.We would never do this here. The dog should be in a crate when you are not with him.

2- The thought that your dog would be out loose when your son is playing with kids. Again - something that should never happen.

3- It sounds like you should consider some serious Ob training

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he's not happy unless he can keep our son in visual range.

Had the same thing happen with Max and my four year old. My guess if he (your son) is anything like mine, he is leaving a trail of yummy crumbs and smells of food. It was made worse by my wife allowing my son to play in the crate with Max. I encouraged it by playing hide and seek games with my son and Max, But it turned into a major distraction problem when I went to OB train Max to the point I had to remove my son from his sight.
Your puppy is barking and growling out of fear. I would get Ed's basic OB videos and puppy videos and crate the puppy when visitors show up.

Thanks for the replies guys. I'd like to add the following for clarification.

Ed stated There are a couple of things that jump out at me.

1- Your dog is 9 months old and it's loose (unattended) in the house while you are in the back yard. A mistake you could come to regrett.We would never do this here. The dog should be in a crate when you are not with him.

-If Riddick is inside then we are inside. If he goes out then we go out. That said, he is crated if we are busy and cannot watch him.

2- The thought that your dog would be out loose when your son is playing with kids. Again - something that should never happen.

-Again, if we are all outside, kid included, then Riddick, at the very least, is on a long line. I realize he is still a puppy and even though he may not be aggressive there is always a chance that he may decide to chase the kid(s) and accidently bump them, run'em over etc. Therefore, he's on lead at all times.

3- It sounds like you should consider some serious Ob training

-Yes, he is being OB trained.

As you can see, I do subscribe to the Ed Frawley school of dog training and I do have all the videos mentioned plus some!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

The question I was trying to ask, and forgive me for not being so clear, was if you were to overtly encourage this watchful/protective behaviour, is there a chance that this overt praise would lead to an over-protective personality whether or not the threat is real or just perceived? A paranoid over-protective personality if you will.

Or are dogs that have that type of personality the result of bad nerves/training?