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Take this dog everywhere, socialize the beegeebees out of it and wait till it is mature. Most Molossers will do what you are wanting without much in the way of training, the ones that don't tend to either genetically lack nerve or just have not been exposed to enough people/circumstances as pups.

Start motivational OB as soon as possible. The biggest problem people have with these dogs are controlling them once they are mature.. espeically if they are confident dogs.

Just my 0.2 <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

He is from good Italian bloodlines and shows good nerves in all new situations so far. I own a store close to the city so he is exposed to kids,trains, box trucks, buses, blacktop,concrete, "people parks" ect.. I figure I will try and put him in as many new envronments as possible now that he is young and not showing any shyness. I will probably take him to the outdoor gun range by my house next and see how he responds to that. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

He already watches people that pass by very closely so I think that will naturally fall into place, more concerned about the proper bite mostly. Just not sure if I should play tug with him fetch ect.. Hopefully the DVD will fill in the gaps and help me figure out which direction to go. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Steve,
You didn't come across in a bad manner. I didn't take it that way.

My question about your experience was perfectly legitimate. This is a discussion forum, right?

Thanks for correcting me on the breed. I thought the dogs that bit Ms. Whipple were Canes.

It is great that you know what you are doing. How did you learn to train dogs? (I am looking for as many resources to help me.)

I am just a tad tired of seeing poor nerved and poorly handle dogs that bite people held up as an example of what the whole breed (of the offending dog) and all the dog owners are like. (I am not saying that you are going to do this. This is just in general.)

Everytime I have a discussion about dogs with someone, when they find out that I want a German Shepherd, I get various negative responses. I hear they were chased by one, bitten by one, et cetera. I also get this insane look of disapproval. (I don't care about the approval.)

To me a GSD is a loyal and trustworthy companion. To the public, a GSD is a horrible creature that wants to bite everyone on sight. Unfortunately, public perception is THEIR reality. If you think about how the the Rottweiler, Pit Bull and Dobermann breeds have been maligned, you can understand how a few incidents can go a long way into damaging the reputation of a whole breed of dogs.

Good luck to you in your endeavour.

 Quote:

Steve,
You didn't come across in a bad manner. I didn't take it that way.

My question about your experience was perfectly legitimate. This is a discussion forum, right?

Thanks for correcting me on the breed. I thought the dogs that bit Ms. Whipple were Canes.

It is great that you know what you are doing. How did you learn to train dogs? (I am looking for as many resources to help me.)

I am just a tad tired of seeing poor nerved and poorly handle dogs that bite people held up as an example of what the whole breed (of the offending dog) and all the dog owners are like. (I am not saying that you are going to do this. This is just in general.)

Everytime I have a discussion about dogs with someone, when they find out that I want a German Shepherd, I get various negative responses. I hear they were chased by one, bitten by one, et cetera. I also get this insane look of disapproval. (I don't care about the approval.)

To me a GSD is a loyal and trustworthy companion. To the public, a GSD is a horrible creature that wants to bite everyone on sight. Unfortunately, public perception is THEIR reality. If you think about how the the Rottweiler, Pit Bull and Dobermann breeds have been maligned, you can understand how a few incidents can go a long way into damaging the reputation of a whole breed of dogs.

Good luck to you in your endeavour.

Carolyn,
Sorry for being defensive it is just painful how many time he gets confused for a Canary dog and how many of those people actually think it was the dogs fault and dont take the time to dig deeper and find out the full story. (not saying you are one of those people) I honestly feel 99% of the dogs with problems are due to the owners not genetics.

Heck you can make a "toy dog" a screwed up agressive dog if you dont know what you are doing <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> (most, not all of the little dogs are because the stupid owners think it is cute.) <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

Are you asking as far as basic dog obidence and pack mentality/rank or protection training? Protection wise I really dont know much and am in the process of trying to learn as much as possible from this board, Ed's DVD's, and lots of reading.

If you are talking basic obidence then there are many books and dvd's out there as well as just thinking like a dog and understanding their history. The biggest things dogs live for in no special order is food, leadership, exercise, and dog "fun" depending on your choice of dog that can be anything from protection, agility, swimming, all the way to hearding. Or being a vain little pup and loving dog shows <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

One last thought to keep in mind and again just a personal opinion of mine but I think if every dog bite was recorded big or small dog you would see the small dogs bite alot more due to people buying them because they are cute and thinking they are so small they could never try and be a dominant dog. Good luck with whatever dog you choose!

Steve,

I have a few books and buy a new one when I am finished with whatever I am reading. Right now, it is Cesar Milan's book.

I am also watching the DVD of his program and I am learning a lot.

Everything I have watched so far indicates that the dogs behavior started out as a minute annoyance and then grew into something massive.

Also, the little dogs have been fiercer than the big ones. Cesar has been bitten twice (on the episodes I have watched so far) and they have been from little dogs.

I am no psychologist but I think that people feel little dogs are harmless and cute. This is, why I think, they become "out of control". I also feel that their size contributes to the amount of people who just want to grab them irregardless of their body language et cetera.

I also suspect that bigger dogs because of their appearance tend to have less people who want to touch them. (I don't own a big dog. I am just taking an educated guess.) I think you will probably get two varieties of people who try and touch the big dog:

1) A respectful person who will ask and generally be gentle/mannerly with the dog.

2) The nincompoop (male or female) who wants to show that they are "THE MAN" and can touch a big dog.

Cesar has some good points/ideas. Just wish he would do more with puppies on the show to teach people more. It is nice to finally have a "main stream" voice that can teach people that specific breeds arent the problem. As opposed to us and people like us who can talk until we are blue in the face and not reach 1/4 as many people. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />