as i dont own gsd's---i cant tell her if its normal for them to be skittish as a breed,-------????????????????

No Dizzy they are not supposed to be skittish and nervous at all they should never readily accept strangers but should be accepted, nervousness is a temprement problem thru lack of socialisation or whatever

Janines

didnt think so--but wasnt my place to say so   :D

Erm what?? I was just saying that all this talk about what is and isnt allowed in showing etc was not in the posters question

we know that--you just told us----so we asked the question should the breed be nervous and skittish!!!!!     concentrate   :D

I already replied to that one Dizzy and no it should not be

Janines

  janines--i know you did---just zoe asked again. -she must of missed it,

The GSD's characteristics are or should be : steadiness of nerves, attentiveness, loyalty, calm self assurance,  alertness and tractability...as well as courage with physical resilience.

Nervousness, over aggressiveness and shyness are serious faults.

I think this applies to the breed as a whole, and has nothing to do with colour.

Lisa

although mine is still a pretty young pup, 3 months old, I can see all of the above
characteristics in her ;) I hope they stay and grow.
in addition she's very active, splashes water bowls, punctures lilo's, digs holes, picks flowers,
uproots plants, chews leaves on some plants, plays in the rain,
occasionally barks/growls at the big dogs when we walk,
less since she got a bit of a shock by a full grown boxer she didn't see coming until the last moment,
luckily the boxer was forced to stop dead in its tracks by a closed gate.
I probably shouldn't speak too soon but she's also stopped destroying my plants lately.

Wolfwitch. It is not normal to be skittish, you don't say how old your dog is but socialising is of the utmost importance with any breed but IMO even more so with a Shepherd.  I have owned or had experience with all colours but I find that people in general approach my white boy very differently. He is very bold and friendly, also completely trustworthy, wherever we go people call him over to say hello and then ask 'what is he?' The most common reference is a Pyrenean.  I have had many people pull back their hand when I tell them he is a German Shepherd. I also have a young Blue boy with peircing pale eyes and people take a wide berth of him, so I have to ensure that he meets lots of people who won't react like this towards him.
:)

Wolfwitch, I will answer your question and use your thread to reply to the "show" people's irrelevant comments as well.
No, your breed of dog should not be "skittish".  They are normally of a wonderful temperament, extremely loving and loyal but at the same time are wary of strangers in a protective way.  I am sure he will turn out just fine.
For the "show" people I would say this.  No, it wasn't a mistake above to call my dogs White Shepherds, that is the correct title for this breed of dog as now recognised by many countries in Europe.  This year Holland has officially recognised them as a separate breed to the ordinary GSD and won't accept any more from this country unless they are titled the same.  Last year Switzerland did the same.  They are now recognised as the 347th breed by the FCI (Fédération Cynologique Internationale) and several other European countries have followed suit.  Even more wonderful, the EU Parliament are now discussing the possibility of passing EU law to standardise the recognition of all dog breed standards including the White Shepherd!
So there you have it!  My female White Shepherds are neither German nor a Dog but are simply White Shepherds.  In fact there has been no contamination of my dogs from ordinary coloured GSDs for six generations and the resultant pups are wonderful family pets and are sought worldwide.
So if you own a White Shepherd, walk proudly with him and tell everyone what he is when they ask - a White Shepherd!
Reg

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