german shepherd dogs

Question
My german shepherd dog (2 years old) befriends everyone including strangers who come to my house. I was wondering if someone was to attack me would he be this friendly?  

Answer
Hi, unfortunately it is commonly believed that all GSD's will protect, and that is not always true.  Normally if a dog, of any breed, is going to be protective, they will show a natural ability of it at about a year of age.  This will be in the way of barking at strangers, growling when someone knocks on the door, hair raising etc.  You should not see these signs in a dog younger than a year as they are too young and can't mentally understand what they are doing, so if they are showing signs like that, you normally have a problem dog.  If at 2 years of age the dog is not showing any of these signs, then odds are your dog does not have the natural ability, and there really is nothing you can do.  If you try to make him protective, you can end up making him mean and/or unpredictable.  Hope this helps,

Dawn