Is it true that German Shepards will only obey one person, the person that trains them?

Question

And in your experience are they hard dogs to train?
I think it seems like a lovely dog to have because I just think they're gorgeous dogs, and I read up about them and they seem like a perfect dog..
In your own experience what were the main upsides and downsides with having them?
Thanks!!!


Oh and what are they like when they're left on their own?

Ok, to the pompous idiots out there, yes, I KNOW there is no such thing as a 'perfect dog'.
You idiot.

Answer 1

If that were true, there would be no point in sending them to obedience school. They wouldn't listen to the owner when returned home.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

I am going to relate my experience from years ago with my Shepard. I don't have one now.
When I took my German Shepard to a training class the trainer, at the first class said "You that have the Shepard and the poodle are going to have the least problems as the dog are the most intelligent, then you with the Basset are going to have the most problems as they are headstrong". He also mentioned that the puppies would learn the fastest, but would forget just as fast. The first two weeks were the heal, sit and stay training. The third week he asked if anyone had a dog that would come when called, we had not been taught that, but me like a fool I raised my hand because Titan would come to me. He said for me to take the lead off my dog. We then went through the heal, sit and stay exercises and I did not have the lead attached to my dog and he did great.
The forth week of the class the trainer brought in a cop with a police dog to give a demonstration with the dog doing everything with hand signals. Over the next two weeks I had Titan trained to heal, sit , stay, come and down with hand signals. I could give him the signal when we were walking to stay and I could walk away 50 yards. I could give him the signal to come and he would come running. When he got half way I would signal down and he would come to a stop and lay down. The German Shepard is a very smart dog and easy to train. And it was not just me. My wife could tell him to sit and stay or down and he did it.
The upside is they are a very family protective dog. The downside is they can be overly protective and you have to watch them. Mine would start growling when the kids were playing a bit rough and he thought my kids were going to be hurt. All it took was a "Titan Down" and that was the end of it.
Injoy your Shepard, they are great dogs. I have had four in the past all trained the same as my first, Titan.
I have two American Pit Bull Terriers now and they are great dogs. Plus a Chi/Rat Terrier mix and a Beagle.

Answer 4

I have a male and a female. They are smart animals, thus quick to learn. They do have a tendency to attach to one person, but this will not interfere with the dog obeying commands from others. The only downside I can come up with is they do shed twice a year, once in the spring then once in the fall. Mine are spoiled and sleep inside with me at night, so I often find myself sweeping up dog hair. Keep in mind that this doesn't occur constantly, just a couple of weeks as the seasons begin to change. I love my GSDs. They were easy to house train and take direction well. They do need daily exercise to keep them mentally and physically stimulated. I can leave mine alone in the house or outside in the yard, they would rather be beaten than tear anything up they aren't supposed to have...Set boundaries early and this won't be a problem. Best wishes!

Answer 5

I have had four german shepherds, currently have two. About obeying, 3 of them have been obedient to me and one is more obedient to my husband. All have been great with kids and very protective of the whole family. Two have been extemely easy to train, the other two took some effort.

Downfalls? That would be shedding! All of mine have tended to pull the leash when being walked.

Upsides? Very loving. Great protectors, they don't even have to do anything but stand there and people will be intimidated. I was walking my current two at a park with both my little kids with me and was approached by a bum wanting money, but as soon as my dogs saw him getting closer to me they went into alert mode and the guy ran off!

Left alone: do not trust them alone in the house for the first two years. I've used a kennel with fantastic results. My older dog has run of the house. But my "puppy" (I used quotes on that because he's 11 months old and already outweighs my older dog by almost 30 pounds) must be supervised at all time or he will destroy anything in his path, has ripped up the carpet in 4 different areas, can reach the kitchen counter to steal whatever food may be sitting there, and likes to bug the older dog resulting in him losing his cool.

Answer 6

Well what age would you be getting them? And no this isn't true. A well bred german shepherd is a fairly easy to train dog as it has a great deal of intelligence. They tend to listen to other people as long as they've mastered what they've been told to do. Some shepherds may become more attached to one particular person but usually they are a great family dog once they've been properly socialized. I loved my shepherd! I grew up with one and she was the most patient dog I've ever known! .. And left alone they act like any other dog. Leave them with something mentally stimulating like a kong stuffed with treats or something and they should be fine. Also crate training is a great way to get a puppy used to being alone. Hope that helps!

Answer 7

German Shepards are very loyal and intellegint dogs, they are the on the top 10 smartest dog breeds. They are good family pets if trained properly but good guard dogs as well.. My cousin has a german shepard, he is the nicest dog in the entire world but if he is left by himself in a car, or the house he is very protective, which is a good thing for most people. They are not hard to train dogs at all, like any dog it just takes practice and paitence..

Answer 8

Not true. We've trained many breeds, but mostly GSDs and Labs, and I've never seen one that only responds to the person who trained it. For ease of training, it depends on the dog's temperment. I've seen some difficult GSDs, and difficult Labs. GSDs are gorgeous dogs, and I can't think of many downsides about them. A couple that I can think of: the longhaired ones do require more grooming, and their dark nails make trimming a little more difficult. Ours always needed a chew toy when we left them in their crates while we were gone, but other than that, they would be fine.

Overall GSDs are one of my favorite breeds, and I'd recommend them to anyone who's looking for a good large breed dog.

Answer 9

I raise german shepherds and they'll listen to anyone in the family. German shepherds are great dogs though. Always at anytime in there life are very trainable. My adult dog wasn't great at a lot of tricks but it only took him a day to learn to crawl, bow, jump, and play dead on command.

Most german shepherds usually, like any dog, find a person they are most comfortable with and that will be their "person" but they won't be vicious towards others because of that. In example of this our dogs in our house perfer different people. My mother is always followed around by Kira and I'm always followed by Buck and his son Jerry.

These dogs are very, very easy to train. They have a drive for work and love being told to do things. Also they are easy to train to be rewarded with toys instead of food. They are easy to potty train and wonderful when it comes to commands.

They truly do seem like perfect dogs but that's not intirely true. Without proper training they are very protective of their territory and can seem very mean. But they truly aren't. The biggest problems I've had raising them would be when their puppies if ignored can be very destructive, and also self destructive. Jerry when a pup ate dirt, for some weird reason, and ended up having an interceception, where his intestines telescoped inside themselves. After surgeory he's doing great. Another thing is when they are pups they really do chew a lot but it varies from pup to pup. I've had some that eat furniture to others that don't even want to chew their toys. It's easily corrected though and usually once told something was bad they don't do it again.

The downside of german shepherds are that there health has to kept in mind. As they get older they can develop hip dysplasia. Also sometimes they can have bad alergies. Buck has horrible allergies and is semi allergic to concrete. He also sneezes constantly and rubs his face on everything. His allergies are easily controlled though by his medicine. They also shed. But its controlled by good consistant brushing and maintaining their coats with a bath about every 2 months. More than that and it can wash away too much of their needed oils in their fur. But puppies need to be washed frequently and can be.

Upsides would be that these dogs are so sweet and so loyal and loving. They are just so great to be around they love people and if you love them, they love you. Even if they destroyed or damaged something when they were little I've never regreted having them for pets, not once. Truly to me they are about the best dog you can have.

To answer you last question Jerry is still a pup so when we are gone he stays in a corral but Buck and Kira free roam the house. Buck is 4 and kira is 3. They never destroy anything and usually just sleep when left alone. Buck will usually be on the bed and Kira will sleep under it and when we return they come to greet us and lick us and in general are just happy to just see us. The only thing they've done is sleep on the new couch. (they aren't soposed to) They get on it but jump off when we walk in so they don't get in trouble.

German Shepherds are really great dogs!
I hope i helped you, sorry if my answer was long.

Answer 10

No they are not a dog that will listen only to one person. They are not hard dogs to train, they are smart dogs, you have to be smarter.
Downside is shedding and grooming.
They are like other dogs, they get bored if they aren't given proper exercise and are left too much for too long.

Answer 11

German shepards are very good dogs. The only time they only listen to just one person is if they are trained for special needs( leader dogs, police .etc.)