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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I would stay away from German Shepherds. Those dogs have a way of looking for a fight. I have trained many dogs, and those concern me. Other breeds that are worrisome are Dalmatians, Akitas, Samoyeds, Rottweilers, and Vizlas.

In general, the herders are the "smartest" (they listen to us more). The hounds tend to be less intelligent ( they listen to us less).

[/quote]

Just for the record, German Shepherds are herding dogs, which are among "the smartests" (as pointed out above). As the loving owner of a 5 year-old German Shepherd and a 9-month old baby, I cannot imagine having any other breed. DH and I got our Shepherd as a 4-month old puppy and spent lots of time and resources into training him. Now he is terrific with our DD! But these dogs are not for everyone.  [/quote]

Just had to respond as well.  Saying that a German Shepherd Dog is "looking for a fight" is ridiculous and tells me that you are not really a dog trainer. Also, any dog trainer would know that a German Shepherd IS a herding dog.  Any reputable trainer will tell you that GSDs are some of the easiest dogs to train because they are so smart and so anxious to please.  They are fantastic with children!  They adore kids!   In all of our years of parenting (we have five kids ranging from age 9 - 22) we have never had an issue with any of our German Shepherds.  They love to play with the kids and with their friends.  They can be a little suspicious of strangers, but that's a good thing.

Our GSD is obedience and protection trained.  In other words, if you are a threat to me or my family, he will attack on command.  But he is also a certified Canine Good Citizen.  If you get a Shepherd, you do want to make sure you buy from a reputable breeder.  And it's critical to begin training and socialization early.  But they learn very quickly. They are also really easy to potty train. But, they tend to have a long puppyhood.  They don't really "grow up" until somewhere between 2 and 3 years old.

We'll never own another breed.  [/quote]

ah, I have a GSD as well.  100% pure bred and very well socialized.  I agree with most of what you are saying (smart, loyal, playful, distrustful of strangers, etc.)  But in your post, you also note that your dog is trained to "attack on command".  Any dog that can be trained to attack on command is not for everyone, and certainly not everyone with small kids.  My GSD is not "protection trained", but the protective instincts are obviously there, and there have been a few instances:

#1.  Once a really dumb and huge (300 lbs +) cousin barged into the house while the dog was barking and going crazy.  The dog didn't know the huge person, and rightly saw him as a threat.  The person didn't have enough sense (unbelievably, but true) to wait while a dog is barking to assess the situation, but instead barged on into the house.  The dog grabbed his pants and would not let him enter the house, ripping the pants and scratching the skin (luckily not more of a bite than that).  #2.  I mistakenly opened the garage door before I could put the dog on a lead in preparation for a walk.  Just at that instance, a Fed Ex driver was running up our driveway with a large box.  My dog took that as a threat (our property, big guy in uniform, etc.) and charged the guy and chased him up a tree.

Now honestly, in both situations I am somewhat ok with the dog's behavior, since she was protecting me and my family and following her instincts, and nobody got hurt.  However, you need to know this before you buy a GSD and make sure you understand the risk.  Accidents happen, the dog can occasionally get out of the house.  People are sometimes stupid with dogs.  You might have some liability.  Again, I'm ok with what I consider the low risk of liability because the dog also protects me from crime and protects my children from harm.  But you don't have the pros or the negatives with a dog like a golden retriever.  [/quote]

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