I am 28, training for 7 years and owned a large boarding and training center for 3 the last 3 years as of feb 1st. Best thing that I have ever done in my life. Plan on having my first litter of gsd in july. Im still learning someting new every day. It has been great.

Dave

Damn near 30 years old. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I was born into this dog crap, both my parents and grandparents were into GSDs and training. It's actually how my parents met and got together. So I've been forced into it since before I can remember.

I was fortunate to have had a working dog influence from my grandfather who was mostly Czech. He trained service dogs and worked on his father's sheep and cattle farm. They sold dogs to police and private individuals to suppliment their income. Pops trained a lot of dogs and was a police handler as a young man. When the Nazi's started to take over in Czechoslovakia, and after the death of his father and mother, he fled North to Bonn, Germany where he had family. He then decided to move to the US. He moved to Holland briefly and changed his name to van Camp. Then he managed to get into the US. He was very much afraid that if they thought he was German or Czech they wouldn't let him into the country.

Here he continued to train dogs and import working dogs to sell to police agencies in the US out of Boise, Idaho. My dad took over his kennel business in 1987 after moving it to Seattle, Washington. When my father passed away in 1993 I took over, kinda. I sold all the dogs and kept the best three for myself. The police dog vendor business is a shatty one, so I stay away from that.


So that's where I'm at now, I've been living with working dogs for damn near 30 years <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> , but only really working with them and training with them for the last 12. It was nice to have an old world GSD man around though, Pops was able to teach me a lot about the dogs.

So one could say I have a genetic predisposition for working GSD fanaticism.

I am 40 and started with obedience at 7, butchered the schutzhund thing got it right,sorta, had my own school, got started with ring sport about 4 years ago, butchering it right now, and hope to get it right in a few years. I figure in about another 100 150 years I'll have all the answers. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Hey and thanks to everyone posting, keep em coming.

Well, since you dared me, lol...I'm 41...

Can't say I've spent any time at all training dogs, though. I've always lived with tons of animals around me, rescueing you name it-orphaned
raccoon, kestral,snapping turtle(these were all rehabilitated back to the wild, don't worry, lol)
spending my allowance on food for the cats dumped in the fields...you know how kids are...

Anytime someone didn't want their pet anymore, I was there to take it in. That's how I found out how special GSDs were. Got my first one, a Collie cross when I was 20, and never looked back. I even took him traveling to Europe with me, lol.

Then, after he passed away, I was blessed to have another GSD given to me. I honestly couldn't live without the awesome bond that these wonderful
creatures are capable of gifting us with. When this dog died of cancer, I was devastated. But once again I was blessed- this time with a puppy!

So far, so good. He's 20 mos. old now and goes everywhere with me, even to work (thank you Boss)
My personal mission is to have my dogs be 'Canine Ambassadors' for the breed, to dispell any myths associated with them.

I haven't 'trained', but I've had 20 years of listening to them, and they teach me tons!

I'm 27, and was born into a family that was breeding/showing German Shepherds. I was doing agility type training when I was still in elementary school. I had a bizarre method of obedience training that consisted of tell the dog what to do, then spank them if they didn't do it. LOL Being that I was just a kid, it didn't hurt the dogs, and I think they were quite amused by me. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I've been more serious about training, learning, and competing with the dogs in the last 6 years. I teach pet obedience, Rally, and do private lessons for Therapy and agility. I also board dogs. With my own dogs I've worked in the past in SchH, herding, and conformation. I'm currently doing obedience, Rally, agility, Search and Rescue, and Therapy work. I'm active in all-breed rescue (with a soft spot for Pit Bulls). Like someone else said above, as of right now I own the best dog I could ever imagine, and am having loads of fun training, competing, and doing SAR with him. He's just fabulous! I fear I'll never be happy with another dog again. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

OK...I'm 43 years young and started training my first dog in OB at 10. Titled my first dog at 15. Had an OB school for several years an campaigned my dog for Top allbreeds in the country at 32. Started in protection programs about 12 years ago. Did FR, MR, BR, KNPV, and currently IPO. So all in all, about 33 years in dogs, training, and after about 8 years of research and selecting specific breeding stock...I began breeding! And I'm STILL learning!

OK now I feel ancient! Yikes! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I'm thirty five, and have been involved in dogs for 4 years, formally for 1 1/2years . When I was a kid, I had Benji-type dogs, but they didn't do much, mainly yard dogs, and had a room in the basement as their den. My mom didn't feel that dogs belonged in the house, so they were untrained mutts...but my buddies, nevertheless.

I always seemed to find the strays, tho, and I had a special affinity for my neighbour's GSDxHusky, who lived his entire miserable life in a 20 foot kennel run. I was the only one who he liked, and he would very gently take treats from my hand, which I would give him on the sly. When he died, I was the one who told the neighbors that he no longer appeared at the fence, even though they 'fed' him every day. Poor Schaff, RIP. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Moved to various apts, and none allowed dogs, so I got cats. Then, when I moved to a dog friendly building, went to the shelter and adopted a mutt, then another the next year, with whom I was introduced to Schutzhund. Then with my third dog I learned about drive training, tracking, learning theory, and all the other good stuff. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

So that is where I am now, looking, learning, and training the dogs I have, looking forward to the day when I have enough room and time to get a balanced working dog.

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Hello Everyone I am 46 started training hunting dogs at 14 trained her to attack also and later I lost her in an accident. I graduated High School joined up with Uncle Sam's Misguided Children got sent to Lackland for Sentry handler school later we shipped out over seas for a tour of duty. Got out in 82 started getting into Rottweilers and my own Shepherd and Bloodhounds. I do helper work teach obedience class for the college have done schutzhund since the service raised several litters of Rottweilers. I have one old belg. sheperd 11 yrs. old, one male Ger. Sheperd and one female Rottweiler.

Hi everyone, I'm 40 this month, born and spent my life in Scotland. I've had GSD's since I was 15, went to classes with most of them, nothing serious just trying to have happy well adjusted pets. Currently have 2 males Diesel (2 yrs)full of attitude and Murphy (1yr)full of fun ! After reading ALL the info I could on this site and others I took the plunge and ordered 2 prongs in an attempt to stop pulling problems.........wish I'd done it years ago ( we can't get them in the UK ).
My current dogs are my best yet, I'm in no doubt that the info contained on this site has had a major part to play. Thanks to everyone who posts, there are people like me who never post but read avidly.

John Thomson
Scotland