Still trying to firm that up. My OH hasn't had a break from work to meet him and we are agreed we'd probably want to neuter before taking him home (Loki is due a season soon and then we'd said we would spay her from then onwards). But I got a chance for cuddles and chats with him when I was working ☺️ (Excuse the mess of his kennel the guy who owns it cleans his own dogs out at the end of the day)
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Thankyou Moyra 😊 I feel very lucky to have a dog that just fits with me so well

I'm Loki's number one fan ☺️ She often surprises even me with how well she's turned out! Gotta love GSD's

Definitely my thing

Lovely dog. And you have a good place to walk him.

I've said it before. It's a two way street. You get out what you put in several times over.

Yes I agree, but I also think that genetics play such a huge role in a dog's temperament that it makes it so important to research not only the temperament of the parents of a potential pup, but also grandparents, great grandparents etc etc.

Well, ours is a rescue picked up as a stray so we nothing of his background or genetics. But he has a lovely temperament.

Last night we had hordes of trick or treaters - around 80 young children, possibly more. When I opened the front door Max would meet and greet. They were local children most of whom knew him, love to see him, and make a fuss. He is very gentle with them even though he is quite a big fellow. Nice to see that interaction.

Back to genetics. As you may know/recall, I grew up on a farm in Scoland. Lots of hill land and lots of sheep so we always had a buch of collies. They had a range of temperaments from benign to you shouldn't turn your back on him if I were you.

I had my own and he was much like my present dog except black and tan. Gentle, biddable, good with other people and dogs. A neighbour had another from the same litter. That would have made them twins and they looked identical. I was sitting having a conversation and absently leant over to stroke it. The blasted thing bit me.

I can see that genetics would account for their remarkably similar appearance but not their remarkably different temperament.

But litter mates share on average 50% common genes, but only on average. Each litter mate gets at random 50% of its genes from the father and 50% from the mother and not necessarily the same 50% from each.

This is a very interesting article

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...gs-personality

And another here:

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/articles...mperaments.htm

Yes they can be, and sometimes are, different in both appearance and temperament.

But the twins I spoke had diametrically opposed temperaments. Apparently the one that bit me made a habit of it with others. And it isn't the first time I've heard of this.

The difference between nature and nurture........