As you know I live in the sticks like you so I dont often meet other dogs but when I do I find the down works really well. Cullote doesnt like other dogs in her face and wont run up to them but she will start barking at them if they are around and too close. The other day I was out on the bike with her and down the track where we ride, in summer there are some mobile homes, one of them has a little fox terrier who will have a go, I saw him come out and put Culotte in a down untill I got there, she stayed beautifully quiet (I was really proud of her ) this all gave the man time to come out and see what his boy was barking at and get him in. So work on the down it works well for us

My dogs have what I call 'selective' recall. They are great 'un distracted' but if they see another dog they will want to say 'hello'. With this in mind, when I go 'Down South' to visit my family, they tend to be on lead in busy areas. Better safe than sorry.

Thanks for your ideas. I may well try the long line or flexi when we are down at my sister's until I can work out how he is going to react. My sister has a border terrier and she regularly walks with other people with dogs and so, with her help, I am going to try and set up a few situations to see how he gets on.

I think this behaviour is seen in many GSDs unfortunately.

Sounds as though you have certainly found a solution that works for Culotte I am definitely going to polish up on his instant down, as well as his recall Thanks.

I agree it is very typical GSD behaviour - when allowed go unresolved for a period of time I know it is all bluff and bluster, as he is a big wuss really

Yogi will loosely heel off lead, but is far more focused on me when I have his ball ... so will definitely remember to pack that and take it with us.

Thanks for the advice and it is nice to know I am not the only one with this issue!

Thanks for the idea. I haven't used my clicker since Flame was young (she is now ten!) so it could definitely be worth a try. I am looking at getting into a new dog club for socialisation purposes as soon as a place becomes available. Where I live is just not conducive to dog socialisation really, as we rarely come across other new dogs.

Thanks for your experiences WW. I am sure I will definitely keep him on a lead in the more busy areas.

It is not typical GSD behaviour, it sounds like he is an insecure dog - I dont want people on here believing this is normal behaviour for a GSD as it is not
which one is he Kirsty?

Perhaps I should not have said "typical" GSD behaviour, but personally I do believe they are prone to bluff and bluster type of behaviours if not socialised enough (or correctly) as youngsters. I agree he is insecure and doesn't know how to greet strange dogs properly.

He is my younger shepherd Pam. What would you suggest I do to rectify this behaviour?

My Lab does the exact same thing, so he's on a Flexi unless we are specifically practising recall.

One thing I have found helpful is to start giving massive praise the second he looks at me, rather than waiting until he's actually turning and heading my way.

Hope that might help a tiny bit, I really empathise with you, I'm trying very hard to resolve this recall issue with my dog too

Best of luck