Reply to S/O - why is a German Shepherd a bad idea with first time dog owners?

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[quote=Anonymous]OP, I was an inexperienced dog owner who, unknowingly, adopted a high needs dog. Though I had some experience with applied behaviorism in humans, I had not worked much with animals before. I had no idea what the training commitment for a dog looked like, what the common errors were, and the risks of messing up training. I missed early warning signs that my rescue was becoming aggressive (a potential issue with a smart, strong breed like German Shepherd). I inadvertently reinforced behavior behavior I did not want to encourage, like jumping on people coming through the door and guarding resources. These behaviors can become a nuisance and, if a dog shows any aggression, can be dangerous. With small, docile, less intelligent dogs, it’s easier to undo the mistakes that first-time owners will inevitably make. The larger and brighter the dog, the more dangerous mis-training, poor supervision, and dog boredom become. We all start out with the best intentions, but every first-time dog owner will make mistakes.

For these reasons, I also recommend against fist-time dog owners with children adopting from shelters. If you don’t know the behavioral warning signs to look for, it can be really hard to find a good fit. It’s also not uncommon for dogs to be stressed by having boarded at the shelter, which changes their behavior. Almost all of them have some stress-related issue that, while fixable is a challenge —separation anxiety, leash reactivity, house soiling. You won’t know the true dog until you’ve had it home for a few days. It can be really hard on children if you have to return a dog that’s not a good fit.[/quote]

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