- Nov 21, 2025
- 4
- 4
This is another thing that I actually appreciate very much about GSDs: the truly well bred among them are not all that needy in terms of touchiness. There's a continuum of course, and a lot of them that are bred purely for sale as pets have had that aloofness - which allows them to do a better job of shepherding - diluted. Sometimes considerably.The many facial expressions is something I wasnt ready for and it teaches us a deep level of language, wild and pure cause there is so much they like to communicate and they are able to do it all without the need of words (although they do use many voice tones)
And they are not known for being very touchy; there are moments for this but not always
My other dog is very needy and cuddly and sometimes i think "maybe my gsd is feeling lonely and ignored" so i go Elmyra tf out of her and after a couple minutes she reacts in a way that makes me imagine her telling me "alright enough let me go" in an adolfian way
When I first started with this breed - pre-internet - I did a lot of reading, and one of the things that most attracted me was that these dogs are meant to be working partners, not lap dogs; and at least among the writers whose books I read, the ideal behavior to be expected was watchfulness and attentiveness - but from across the room. (Not necessarily literally. They're just not to be expected to slobber on your knee or lean on your leg, like some dogs do.) Working together, with my best dogs, has been my delight.