Rotties and GSDS - similar temprements? Behaviour

Hi

I hope I am posting this in the right section.

I have a friend who is currently trying to decide between getting a rottie or a gsd. She is fairly experienced in dogs, but finds these two dogs have similar temprements, drives etc. I found this to be a very interesting question.

Would any experienced rottie and gsd owners have any comments to make which I can pass onto her to help her make her decision?

Many thanks

Sorry, but in my experience these two breeds are not alike - yes, they`re both protective, but the shepherd has a herding instinct as well etc. I`ve never seen a rottie do search / retrieve / tracking (I`m expecting to be proved wrong here!).
I`d have thought the rottie was `steadier` but that they were less responsive to the handler.
I`ll be interested to hear what other opinions are.

Rotties are used in police work on the continent and the states but to be honest, although never owned either breed, I would not say that they are similar in character (excluding individual traits obviously) or temperament. There must be someone on here who has had both!
Becky

I cannot help either but I would agree with the above that they have different temperaments

Rotts make excellent trackers/retrievers, they're very good at schutzhunt training too, their temprament is also better under the proper handler/trainer then a GSD, IMO.

However, they're not as agile as GSD's, they're heavier, a GSD could prob scale a higher fence than a rott could, but rotts are more laid back, not so twitchy as most other dogs, I dare say some will disagree, but you asked my opinion. ;-)

Have to agree with you there Nero. I have never owned a rottie, but all the ones I have met have been more laid back than my GSD's.

Thanks for all the replies which are so quick. Would be really informative to have a response from someone who owned both!

My friend is very interested in biddability and handler responsiveness and has read/heard that gsds are usually much more willing to please than rots, and work to please the handler, whereas rots are more stubborn, mount more challenges and need a motivation (eg food, play) to work as they don't care about pleasing the handler. Is that right?

Which one has the highest prey and pack drives?

Maria

Claire and Daisy - what do you mean by rots being 'steadier' - do you mean less quick to respond to stimuli, less likely to chase prey, generally less active etc?

The best person to ask about rotts regarding their ability to work/please their trainer is Shona, she has certs in obedience and has won prizes in the obedience ring, she also runs an obedience club which I attend, she has also owned a GSD. ;-)

Hello
my mum has a german shep hes 10 year old and is the most loving dog you could ask for, he has been raised with children and small pets, he is quite responsive to my dad hes the main owner of him, excellent to walk, he walks to heal, BUT then i myself have a rottweiler she is 18 months old and again a lovely bitch, she is brought up with my 2 young children and although shes not too keen on my guinea pigs were getting there lol,
when i was out walking my rotti a few months back i saw a man with 2 rottis both dogs and i stopped to say hello, he showed me how many things his tow were good at eg- stay, fetch, walk slow, and run, he could say go have a swim then and they both jumped in the water, he told me this phrase and its stuck in my mind since "You will only ever get out of your dog what you put in"
which i think is totally right, if both trained in the right way they can both make an excellent pet!
I say get one of each no chosing then!! lol

re. query on what I meant..
I`ve always found that my GSD`s seem to get upset quicker (are more reactive) than a friend`s rottie. They seem to be a more nervous dog. This could of course be down to individual dogs, but I`m just going on my own experience. I was interested to see that rotties are used for scent-work as I`ve never seen any at trials etc. - I suppose the heavier dog has more probs with the agility aspect.

I would think that the answer to that question depends on what she wants from the dog. I would say that rotties and GSD's aren't the same, and from watching rotties and gsd's in training, their drive seems to be different. With us Kahn does things because he is a good boy, he is happy just to have a cuddle for his reward. The two rotties I have watched always want a treat or game from mum. But the only two rotties I've known have had a few problems, so aren't necessary a typical case.

Hopefully Shona will be on to shed some light soon!

Oh an additional thing, I have witnessed first hand and have been told is that GSD's seem to be a 1 person dog, they will be very loyal to one person on the family, rather than the whole family. I have yet to witness where this isn't the case. They will love the whole family, but it seems that there will be a special bond between one person and the dog, which will get more from it.

And from what I've seen, rotties seem to be more of a family dog!

i agree with the gsd been a one person dog as i said earlier on my mum has one and he will do any thing for my dad but is reluctant to do it for any one else, although my rotti does any thing for me but not so much my partner, but the she is only a young dog!

Have owned both, I dont feel they are at all alike, rotts are more laid back and less hyper than gsds I had to put far more work into my gsd, x

Thanks for all your replies guys - I will let my friend know.

Shona - in what way did you have to put more work into your gsd - was he/she less biddable/willing to please than the rotts, or was he/she more stubborn?

sorry just read through the thread, ok, I have a rott that tracks and so on, but I have to say, they may not do as well over long tracks as a gsd, but I tend not to do long tracks, Rotties are not as repetative as gsds, aka,,, they may retrieve three times then boared, gsd may do it all day but there are exceptions to the rule, MEA being one, sol being another, I have found them easyer to train for healwork, but the bitches have a high prey drive, it can be controrled or even tunneled if you know what I mean, hth x

I would say more hyper, a hyper dog will not take things in as quickly as a calm dog, also i found him very slow to mature, dont get me wrong he was a perfect dog but the work load was heavyer than with a rotty, x

She also wants to know which is more likely to be reliable on off leash walks / less likely to wander off on their own, dissappear after another dog etc - I told her a lot of it is down to training which she knows, but she wondered if there were any differences in breed tendancies in that respect.

Maria

I cant say I had any problem in that area with both breeds so I would say its defo down to training, my rotts stay with me and dont go up to other dogs unless told they can so did my gsd,