Posted: 2/15/2010 12:55:02 PM EDT
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Probably one of the hardest posts I've ever had to make, let alone "do research" on.
3 weeks ago we had to put down our dog of 13 yrs. Besides the huge hole in our hearts and lives, I now have a large void in my security plan. As much as I travel I don't like the house being empty or wife being alone without a dog. I can never replace what I recently lost, but I do like having a dog around and consider it a vital part of my planning. I'm really leaning towards a GSD for many reasons. For those that have GSD's did you have them professionally trained or did you find that you could do it well enough on your own? |
Sorry to hear about your loss. I had my GSD trained by a guy that trains dogs for police work locally. They kept her for a month. She is an amazing dog. I don't have any qualms leaving my wife at home alone knowing that Kimber (the GSD) would protect my wife against anyone intent on doing her harm.
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Wow, she's beautiful. I was thinking the same, but our local PD just got their first K9 unit last summer, so not a lot of places close by that fit that bill.
That was my real reason for the question. I'm willing to travel to have one trained right, just not sure if any one had success doing it on their own. I have trained all my dogs up to this point with amazing success, but everyone I have ever met with GSD's had them trained, usually by someone that does LEO training. |
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Contact a local K9 organization and ask who trains their K9's. Surprisingly, my wife is the one that did the research to find who to train the dog with, and from all the cops I've spoken to (and the breeder we got Kimber from), suggested the same one. I did a google on k9 trainer georgia, and found this: http://www.gak9.com/ may just be able to call one of the k9 'clubs' listed on the site and get recommendations.
Mine is a german working line, and she is very dog aggressive. i had her trained professionally partly to help deal with that. from what i hear, the american gsd's are not as dog/people agressive as the german line, although that is just my perception, and could be complete bs. 
good luck with what you decide. gsd's are the most amazing dogs (imho). |
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I don't know how far you are from Nashville but these guys are no joke:
http://www.nashvillek9.com/ |
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Try this guy to lay the groundwork for before you send off you dog. He has podcasts and ebooks free and seems to have a good reputation from everyone I have talked to.
His Marker training idea is working wonders for our new pup. |
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Sorry to hear of your loss.
Of our current GSDs, we had the first one professionally trained. The next two followed the lead of our first GS and quickly learned the commands, along with a little coaching from us. The older one likes to herd the cattle and all three chase the coyotes off the property. They provide an important added layer of security for the family. I expect our daughter to take her GSD with her to college. |
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Sorry to hear about your loss mine is getting that way too.... seizures seem to be getting worse. Anyways...
http://www.lackland.af.mil/units/341stmwd/index.asp This might be something to look into. But Lackland AFB does the training for all the military working dogs... and these dogs do come up for adoption which is free... Some are program flunk outs.... some are retiring from service... Its good when they find a home otherwise they go away as they are goverment excess at that point. |
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This is actually a complex question and depends upon a number of factors.
Is the dog to be an outside/guard dog, a kennel/crate dog or a house dog? Do you want a personal protection dog only, or a more versatile and obedient dog as well. If the latter is the case, I recommend Schutzhund, and would investigate whether there is a club in your area. DVG http://www.dvgamerica.com and Schutzhund USA http://www.germanshepherddog.com are the major groups. My 1st choose is always to get a high quality working puppy and train it yourself in the setting of a club, which must include help from a professional trainer. This is a lot of work! #2 is to get a young, partially trained dog, and continue its training as above. Last choice is to get a fully trained dog, or send your dog away for training, as most people then no longer spend any further time training the dog. I have seen a few people purchase adult GSD for personal protection, who have continued to train only once a month and have satisfactory results. The quality of training seen in law enforcement varies greatly. So read up and do your homework. Similar posts as yours have appeared in the dog forum in the "General" section of ar15.com and several very knowledgeable people have responded, so check it out. |
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Alan, Thank you and great questions, all of which I have asked myself.
Indoor and more versatile is the intent, with the tilt towards protection but you bring good points and I would defiantly want a pup. Doing the homework is the toughest part. I didn't even know ARFCOM had a dog section! I will be sure to check it out. |