Aw shucks. Thanks Judy;-)

I like your perspective as well!

Denise,

Take your time and do your research. Five days isn't that long.

I have a dog bred from working line German imports, his sire and dam were from the old country. There were times when he was younger that I thought I bought more dog than I wanted, but he's 13 months old now and as he matures he has been calming down.

He does need exercise. We go for 30 minute walks at a time. I've never pushed it to the limit, but I suspect my arm would fall off before he got tired of playing fetch with his ball.

He can be sound asleep and hear the slightest noise outside and he's up and barking at the door. He's constantly bringing toys to us to play with, which makes it hard to watch TV in the evening. Thank goodness for Tivo

On the other hand, he travels very well. He's very affectionate and truly enjoys being with his family. He learns very quickly, and I can get him to do anything for a treat or a chance to play with his ball or tug. I work from home, and as I type this he is laying against my leg, so soft and warm. I know that if my wife is home alone with the dog, and anyone malicious comes to the door, they'll think twice, because they'll hear him barking before they knock or ring the door bell.

What others have said about dogs from the same litter having different amount of drives is true, so when you contact the breeders, tell them exactly what you are looking for.

Good luck.

Go figure, vastly differing opinions on dogs.

It boiled down to this for me. To some degree, I needed to go *see* what I could live with.

"High energy", "high drive", "dominant" etc meant. These words mean nothing out of practical, real-life context. And obviously, there are degrees of each. Not only degrees, but varieties. Jennifer described a dog who was more alert than physically hyper (chronic pacing, no sleeping). My dog could be described as more physically hyper than "alert". Both high energy?

She described a dog who wasn't destructive. Mine chewed off a seatbelt in very short order and still shows interest in our carpet. Some go as far as messing with their own crates.

Furthermore, mine is still a year old. Who knows what'll *change* in the next year or two. Will he be more amped up, or more chilled out. Maybe both, depending on context.

Furthermore, your rearing has bearing on all this too. I talked to a LOT of breeders, but I visited very few. I saw first-hand a few more owners, but talked to dozens.

No simplistic answer, other than...you'll just need to put some miles on your car at some point.

Edit: And I agree with John, below.

Judy,

All I can say is that I respectfully disagree with you.

I don't believe that seeking out breeders whose goal is to produce nice, pet GSDs is the answer.

I'm a working dog person, the GSD is a working dog. Go back and read some of Stephanitz' work, read about the early SchH trials, then compare that to the bulk of the GSDs you see in America today. If someone wants a GSD I will always recommend seeking out a working-line dog, even a pet quality dog from such a litter. If the person doesn't think they can handle that, then as Mike mentioned, maybe its time to look at another breed. I sent Denise a PM with some breeders of working-line dogs who, I'm sure, have produced their fair share of pet quality dogs.

If you're not breeding to improve the breed then you shouldn't be breeding. To me, breeding the GSD with the aspiration of producing a nice pet doesn't cut it, and I'm not going to send someone new seeking out breeders with these type of goals. Don't lower the bar.....

sorry to jump in on this post, but it brings me to ask..what do you do as far as not knowing anything about your pup? will you know going thru training where this dog can "go" in training? my pup was purchased for me and we know nothing of him/parents/etc. we want to raise him in pp, but do not want to take the wrong turn, especially having kids. so do you just go through the training and "see what happens" and how will you really know?
(sorry again for jumping in)

Thank you for all the positive feedback. A lot of the info I have been reading lately often included the words "high drive" and that's what had me doubting my abilities to keep the dog happy.

I WILL KEEP LOOKING AND LEARNING!

Steve's post reminded me of something. My dog once ate through a wall to get out of a bathroom. I guess that could be labeled destructive, eh? He also screwed with the water shut-off to the toilet until he had a fountain in the bathroom, which he deemed super-fun, not destructive;-). So perhaps I should edit to say that destructive itself is subjective. I think for working lines, he's pretty easy...but it was lots and lots of work and attention and stimulation. My family thinks he's hellspawn. It's all perspective, I guess.

They do change quite a bit during maturing...so keep in mind that what you have at 8 wks may not be what you have at 1 yr may not be what you have at 3 yrs...etc., which was the case with the dog I'm referring to. Drastic metamorphosis in some areas!

I remember my last dog Shadow. She was full of energy and didn't really settle down until the age of 5 as well. It was just tough handling her because I had 3 young children at the same time. Now I have 3 teens who can wear the next dog out. haha.

Well I respectfully AGREE with you !!

I really do. My only reason for "disagreeing" with you before is that I feel it's not fair to a dog who is meant for working or, to simplify it, just needs a damn good amount of mental and physical stimulation and then, doesn't get it because the owner is not suited for or chooses not to provide it.

I didn't consider suggesting another breed because she seems quite set on the GSD but another breed might be the better answer.

And for what it's worth, I myself won't get another showline ever again but that's NOT due to any shortcomings in my dog. It's due to the education I've received here and how much I disagree with the showline community and what they seem to be doing to the breed.

I think there are GSD's out there who are showline who are great dogs. I think they can be a wonderful "pet" for some people who really like the GSD. Maybe you're more black and white in your GSD mindset. I guess my perspective has some grey in it .

Denise,
Have you checked out the rescues in your area? Sometimes there are owner surrenders due to economics or divorce or things like that, You'll be able to see what the dog is and how it's temperament is and hopefully he/she will fit into your lifestyle. If that's not what you think you'd like to do, John and Mike gave you good advice. I have a 5yr old female that's a jerk, do you want her? NO? Ok, i'll pay you to take her.......JUST KIDDING, unfortunatly my wife loves her...