Peoples reactions to a GSD

I am annoyed, in fact I am very annoyed.

Out walking my GSD last night and had a couple walking towards me. They literally walked in the middle of the road to walk round me!!!
Obviously they thought my dog was going to savage them

I have only had her since sat and to be honest I feel like a complete leper when I take her out. She is not good with other dogs but people are fine but they avoid me like the plague.....is this my life for the next 10+ years???

Unfortunately, some people are ignorant to the fact that not all dogs in the same breed are the same - just as not all teenagers are hooligans . All we can do is hope to educate them, but many people are set in their ways.

I've had my puppy for just over a week now, and on my first day back at work after collecting her, I was showing photographs to some colleagues. One woman came over and cooed over the pictures, then asked what breed she was. No sooner were the words "German Shepherd cross Staffie" out of my mouth, but she actually took a step backwards, as if she thought the picture would attack her, and went "oooh, THAT'll be savage!"
How anyone could suggest that my mad, dippy puppy could savage anything beyond her fluffy bunny is beyond me . She is the sweetest, gentlest pup I've had the pleasure to spend time with, and with a firm but fair upbringing, there's no reason at all why she shouldn't grow up into a nice natured dog.

Personally, I've had more bad experiences of small dogs, such as Yorkies, but that doesn't mean I think ALL small dogs are going to behave in the same manner .

I wish I had some advice on getting people to understand. I think all you can do is either ignore it, or when people move out of your way, laugh and say "she's not going to eat you!"

Yes, unfortunately there are a lot of people like that, but it isn't just the breed - some people are just frightened of all dogs & would have done that whatever dog you had with you.

And don't forget, for every person who by-passes you, there are many more lovely dog owners you will meet when out and about.

Dont take it to heart hun , ive known ppl cross the street to avoid my mom and her jr , simply because there frightened of dogs , but me on the other hand if ya have a raven loony chasing after ya to pet your dog run like mad as it will be dk chasing after ya i do it with most ppl just to pet there dogs ,ive evn crossed busy roads just to pet a dog i admire xxdk

hmmmmm. you may have to get used to it ....there are a lot of idiots around!

I wouldn't take it personally either. People avoid certain breeds for all sorts of reasons. My JR was attacked by a German Shepherd when she was a pup and its taken almost 3 years for her to start to not scream and cower in fear whenever she sees one . Some people avoid us because they see all JR's as "ankle-biters", some avoid staffies because of the similarity in look to some fighting dog breeds.

I wouldn't worry about it too much, we get people crossing the road when they see Max, and he's a Boxer, supposedly friendly!

It can be for a number of reasons. They could be terrified of dogs - I used to be scared of dogs and would cross the road rather than walk past one, even on a lead!

They could be scared of GSD's (Boxers, Staffies, Labs etc etc) if they have had a nasty experience with one. GSD's used to be my "one" as we had 4 GSD guard dogs living next door to us when I was little and they would bark constantly and try and jump over the wall.

It's only recently (in the last year) that I have actually been brave enough to stroke one (and that's something I've not admitted before)

Believe me, as Hali said, you'll meet loads of lovely dog people out and about. If you take her to training classes, you'll have the opportunity to meet and socialise with lots of lovely dog-minded people!

I wouldnt worry hun, like others have said, some ppl are frightened of dogs, I know Flower...for some reason is frightened of Rotweillers?? I have no idea why because she has never had an encounter with one, I think its there size to be honest! She just barks frantically at them!!?? xxx

Try not to let them get to you . You should see some of the looks I get when out with my dog! There will always be people who will be genuinely frightened of dogs and may have genuinely been intimated by you and your dog. Their are also people who just don't like dogs and don't want to have to have contact with them.

I once witnessed a man walking his young staffie, coming the opposite way was a young couple, smartly dressed. As they passed the staffie it jumped up at the woman - totally playful, friendly, tail nearly wagging off! The woman looked a little surprised but patted the dog. It wasn't until the man and the dog moved on that she looked down and saw that her light coloured trousers were covered in muddy pawprints! The dog couldn't have been any friendlier but maybe that lady will be reluctant to pass another dog so closely again if she thought that all dogs would be allowed to jump all over her like that.

i wouldnt worry too much hun,ppl have hang ups bout large breed dogs,through sometimes no fault of there own,media intrest sometimes,just enjoy youre ownership of her and the close bond that it will bring,and the friendship and unconditional love she will have for you. xxzbxx