My poor excuse for a German Shepherd

Question
 First of all I love my German Shepherd named Hailey, but in my opinion she's lacking most of the prized German Shepherd traits.  Hailey is a 50 lb. 2 1/2 year old female pure breed German Shepherd.  Our family purchased Hailey when she was 6 weeks old.  We bought Hailey to help guard and protect the house and alert us when someone's on the property.  I work nights as a police officer and my wife and I wanted a dog to protect the house when I'm not home.  Hailey is a good dog that loves people, but she's just a big wimp.  Hailey doesn't possess any of the strong and protective traits I was looking for in a German Shepherd.  Just as an example, when I get done with work and return home at 5:00 in the morning, Hailey will run and hide.  Hailey is very timid and non-German Shepherd like.  Hailey never barks when someone knocks on the door, she either runs around a corner or just stands in front of the door sniffing it.  When the door opens, Hailey jumps on the person wanting to play or just rolls over and wants to be pet.  Hailey comes off as a bit stupid at times.  Maybe it's just genetics?  Half the time it seems Hailey is running away from something with her ears back and tail between her legs.  Is there anything I can do to make my German Shepherd more protective and less of a wimp?  Thanks, Steve  

Answer
Hi Steve,  Where did you get her from?  What are her genetics?  It sounds like you got an american bred shepherd.  They are bred more for the show ring, and not actually to work.  They tend to be more timid, and not outgoing as far as being sure of themselves.  There is nothing you can do to any dog to bring out protective ability if they don't have the natural instincts in them to want to protect. A dog (no matter what breed) will not show these instincts until they are at least a year of age, and if you are seeing these instincts younger than a year, then most of the time you have a problem dog on your hands.  A dog is not mentally mature enough to understand protecting anything until they reach about a year to a year and a half.  It is unfortunate, but not all shepherds are protective.  Hope this helps you understand your situation,

Dawn