Are GSD's naturally protective?? Behaviour

my gsd is very friendly towards people, i can let strangers stroke him and he loves it, although he will ignore poeple unless i tell him. he gives the odd person a "stare" (people with the veils on or hoodies etc but i would trust him 99%) as when i say his name his attention comes back to me. after reading the thread about feeling safe when walking alone it just got me thinking, would a gsd naturally protect you from someone attacking you or mugging etc or is each dog different. people have told me that a german shepherd will naturally protect and guard
peoples opinions please and do you think your dog would protect you?

yes. I have complete confidence that my GSD would protect me (well, not Raz ATM) because they all have faced up to scary people....unfortunately.
Which means I have to spend lot of time training them that blokes running at you breathing heavily (aka joggers) and twonks on bikes trying to run you down, or big men in dark clothing and caps leaning menacingly over you (ticket inspectors) don`t need their throats ripped out .

each dog is diff, within a breed like gsd's or rotties I would say the higher % would protect you, but there will always be the ones that just wouldnt.

Like C&D says this 'protectiveness' isnt ness a good thing! I would say it is more a case of a dog that is more difficult to socialise and more nervous of new things - well thats what I have seen in all the GSD's round here that people think are protective

I would agree with what your seeing in gsd's many round our way are way to nervy and jumpy for me,

with rotties though, you dont see protectiveness as such, ya just gota hope when the poop hits the fan that they will be
the more calm and confident the dog the more likely to protect if need be in my view, {where rotties are concerned anyway} the more jumpy and nervy the more likely they will just go off on one for the slightest thing they see as a threat

hi

i know technicly Tupac isnt a gsd (he is an alsation tho;-) )

i have no doubt he would protect me if needed (not when o/h is shouting tho )
Tupac takes a different view on peeps in the dark,but to be fair most people wouldnt risk messin with a woman with an alsation in tow;-)

Both my GSD's were natural guards. Although they would allow someone to stroke them, they were quite aloof and certainly not given to making a huge fuss of strangers (friends on the other hand got a royal welcome!!).

As for protecting me as an owner - I think it's like Shona says,every dog is different. Rotts & GSD's do seem to have that natural instinct.

What do you mean (the bold bit)?

As a breed, I would say that GSDs are naturally protective of their owner and their property. Of course, it goes without saying that it all depends on the individual dog, and I don't actually think anyone can say with 100% confidence that their dog will protect them in a mugging situation unless that dog is actually trained in personal protection and has been tested.

That said, I am confident that my GSD bitch would bite if someone tried to attack me due to her very suspicious/windy nature , but not sure about my GSD male. He is much more relaxed and confident around new people (which is quite interesting as he was socialised much less than my bitch due to circumstances). He is aloof with strangers but friendly and totally non-confrontational. He certainly wouldn't seek fuss and affection from anyone other than me, but tolerates it I think his size and presence may put people off trying anything though

Here is the (wonderful) photo that Hali took of him on our walk at the weekend - would you take the risk of mugging this dog's owner? ;-)

Ellie, the GSD I used to walk and dogsit was very protective, but to the point that you had to be a bit careful if you know what I mean!

the gsd's round my way all seem friendly and approachable, theres the odd one that barks as you go past it but rarely. but i know the ones your talking about, i used to see alot of nervy ones when i worked at the vets, the vets used to dread it when a shepherd was coming in! but when they met mine they couldn't believe it, they said that he wasn't normal lol he was just calm and was very well behaved when he had his anaesthetic, not at all scared or aggressive. to the vets though he wasn't a "typical" gsd because he wasn't barking and nervous (which to me is not how they should be)
sorry if that doesn't make sense, i know what im talking about i think

I get quite a few GSDs in for grooming and have only had one that was nervy to the point of snapping and biting. She was OK when the owner was present though. That was a 10 month old pup. A lot depends on where the GSD came from though and who bred it. There are a lot of highly strung GSDs around and I think a lot come from byb.

i doubt anyone would try it, unless they were stupid
yogi sounds similar to duke, as in being confident around people which is what made me wonder if he would protect me

I`ve had GSDs all my life and have had `moments` with what they considered norty men.
One time I was at a barn dance and was being energetically whisked round the floor by a burly young man when my young son thought it`d be a good idea to pop in (with the dog) to check up on me.
I heard a roar and out of the corner of my eye, as my partner swung me round, saw the crowd part like the Red Sea as a large Shepherd hurtled towards him and rose in the air to take his face off for touching her Mummy. Luckily I got to her first.
He didn`t ask me to dance again.
Another time we were all at the swings and a man grabbed his son off the roundabout and started shouting at him, and went to smack him. My GSD flew at the guy, and again, I got there just in time, puffing...sorry - he likes kids.
I think most Sheps are big jessies, and like to control things around them because it makes them feel safer.

Oh yup I would mug you - to run away with him he is stunning

Yes I think I know what you mean, but I think most people dont understand and they WANT the jumpy nervy dog that barks at everything

Yup I agree that seems to be the norm in some areas what people are breeding - and it is why I am having such a hard time with Mia and GSD's, their owners think they have perfect dogs but in reality they are a bit reactive and vocal, fine for dogs who have good manners and can diffuse the situation but the owners just see that as their dogs showing they are the dom one - and of course Mia just not taking a telling

WOW pretty scary but also v funny

he is a ceskoslovensky vlcak vlcak in Czech means alsatian/wolfdog ... hence the wink

I'm with the majority vote - it depends on the dog. I wouldn't want a gsd that lunges at everything but more pays attention to what goes on. Monty is protective and has had to prove it before therefore to me he is naturally protective. At the same time, i'm confident that a wee kid could come and say hi to him and he would be fine.

I don't think anyone's told Tala she's supposed to be a guard dog. As for being a deterrent because of how she looks .... well I think the waggy tail might give her intentions away ;-)

Thanks BenMc

imo peeps get confused between an aggressive dog and a dog that guards.