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Namely the loyalty and deep bond that you get with a GSD.

It seems like a mal would be far too much to handle for me. I enjoy training my dog but I also like him to relax and settle down once his work is done.

Craig - We've all had a lot of fun with this thread. This is how I get my older 1 year old male Dutchie to relax. They are so hyper and athletic it takes lots of time and effort to calm them down for short periods of time. Here is how yesterday went.

In the morning we did 2 short obedience sessions at the house plus one more longer one in town.

Yesterday afternoon over a 4 hour period I used the Chuck It ball launcher for 3 different sessions. Then I used a soccer sized ball for a additional 3 sessions all within that same time period. I was careful to not wear him completely down in any one session. All sessions were on grass.

After all that he was relaxed for 2-3 hours. Today the routine starts all over again. He is sitting here now staring at me ready to rumble again. I'm semi retired so I can devote that kind of time to my dogs.

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He told me he wants to get a GSD for a quality he doesn't see in the Mals. Namely the loyalty and deep bond that you get with a GSD. So from him, someone who has worked extensively in real life scenarios with both breeds, he wants a GSD.

I hear that from a lot of people, I get why some people think that, but it is a horrible generalization. Not only do you have to take the individual dog into account, but also the handler. I don't like Pitbulls or Rotties, other people think they are the greatest dogs in the world. Is that to say that the GSD is better than a Rottie because I feel more in touch with a GSD?? Not at all, it is just the type of personality in a dog that I get along with better. I feel more in tune with a quick thinking quick reacting super agile dog.

Because someone does "real life dangerous work" with the dog doesn't make their opinion more true than anyone elses, because it is individual taste. I know people who have trained GSD's, Mal's and Dutchies, they prefer Dutchies over all other breeds. They do "real life dangerous work" too. So which of these people that do "real work" with their dogs is right??

Selecting a dog breed is a very personal thing and nothing irritates me more than people who make that same statement you just put forth. I hear it all the time and its incredibly misleading.