I just recently purchasd my 2nd gsd. She is 3.5 months old and is from east german and CZECH working lines. I have a 2 year old male that is west german show and czech working. My pup is a very strong willed determined confident and out going. She has tremendous drives and is very attentive. I have noticed a great difference in the demeanor of both dogs, but just recently have have noticed the true difference between working and show line bred dogs. I have a friend how also has a show line male who is 5 months old. His papers say that he is german but, but I beg to differ. At 5 months old he has a funny walk he has a lot of rear angulation and has absouletly no drive. I can lay a bowl of food down in front of them and he will sniff and walk away while my working female practically pushes the bowl through the yard. He also doesn't have a lot of confidence and barks at every person or dog that comes by Then runs and cowers between his owners legs. My dogs on the other hand...especially the pup confidently walks up to strangers w/o barking(she does bark when strangers come into the yard or knock on the door). Basically she is not afraid of anything!! My friend has asked me to assist in obedience traing her pup. IS IT WORTH MY TIME AND EFFORT?? I don't want her dog to become one of those fear biting American style Shepherds. I don't know how much I can help, but I am willing to try. Should I try and use the same methods that I use training my dogs or should I try an entirely different approach? I have several Leerburg Videos that I think she should watch so that she can get an idea of what Real German Shepherds look like! Any Suggestions. Sorry about the long post!!

Well, lots of things in this post.

First off, a lot of dogs "walk funny" at five months.... growth spurts and whatnot do it to them...

Secondly, working with the dog will not make it a fear biter. Obedience is the BEST THING you can do for a dog that is a little on the spooky side. Again, at 5 months the dog is not set in stone. Socialization, and play are important. I am glad that you can see the difference in drives now, but just because the dog isn't a food hound doesn't mean it isn't trainable.

Training dogs that are like this will only make you a better trainer. You learn where your limits are and how to read a dog better. The working dogs are far more forgiving, but in the end when your friend has a decent dog, you will be proud you were able to help her out.

Thanks Deanna!

I appreciate the feedback! I will stick with it and hopefully we can make him into a decent pet. As far as the whole leg thing goes, I think I should elaborate more. What I see when I watch her dog walk is an animal that is very weak in his rear legs. He has been this way since I first say him at 8 weeks. Here is another question for you then. Could his development and growth have something to do with his feeding habits. I know she feeds him like oncee a day, but his food is left out so that he can eat whenever he wants. I personally thought that he should be eating 2-3 times a day at such a young age! What do you think. Thanks again for your input!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />