I have a 1yo gsd purebred. He is great...except when it comes to strangers. We are working through it but it's hard since i still with mom and dad. They are not as strict with him as they need to be and i feel i don't spend enough time with him for his breed. I walk him for 1hour in the morning while doing some commands so it's higher distraction. Then we come home he eats after resting. Then after more resting we play fetch for 45 min then i go to work until 10:30pm. I just don't know if he is getting what he needs. He hates my sisters dogs and her because she lives at another location. Plus she will be moving out of state and that means she will be staying with us when she comes back. I don't know if this is enough for a GSD to be happy or he needs a new owner that will be with him more and do more "tasks" with him.

The best thing to do is to work with him. All the exercise he is getting is great, and it is no doubt helping a lot. I suggest also doing daily training with him for about 15-20 minutes a day. Have your parents and sister do the same thing every day.

But it doesn't sound like there is a problem. Keep working with him, have members of your family work with him and keep taking him for those walks!

Thank you! I'm just so worried about him. He is a fabulous dog. I constantly get compliments on what an attractive GSD he is and he is not noise sensitve. Plus I almost got him completely immune to the vacuum cleaner. He keeps his commands when given them and I haven't seen any aggression other than when a person he doesn't know comes over.

Hey, i think you should bring him to a park and throw balls or frisbees. that way, he can get the exercise he needs.Also, you should take him to your local Petsmart and give him training lessons.Im sure he'll do well!

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Originally posted by RescueGSD:
Thank you! I'm just so worried about him. He is a fabulous dog. I constantly get compliments on what an attractive GSD he is and he is not noise sensitve. Plus I almost got him completely immune to the vacuum cleaner. He keeps his commands when given them and I haven't seen any aggression other than when a person he doesn't know comes over.

hehe, that vacuum cleaner thing's funny. yesterday was claires first time to see one. it was kind of funny how she wanted to sniff it instead of running away. then she got her nose on the nossle and she got scared cause the vacuum cleaner was sucking it in. she let me use it to vacuum the dirt off of her though.
why don't you try having him greet visitors through a fence? that way he might feel a little safer but still explore them. or you could have him greet them outside, where there's lots of space for him to run if he feels he's not safe. keep a muzzle and leash on him though. also, have visitors give him some chicken when he's calm.