There's a lot in
this article about them, and all 7 plus points are true. There's an unmentioned 8th: their patience.
My Aunt Norma favoured German Shepherds, having patience only for 'proper' dogs, i.e. big dogs. Not for her the Jack Russell or Pekinese. She trained her dogs herself, and I don't recall a single one
ever stepping out of line; she was firm but fair. Right from puppyhood they knew who was boss.
I remember Rebel. He was
huge; the first time I saw him I said to her, "That's not a dog, it's a wolf!" He would put up endlessly with her granddaughter's antics, even when she pulled his tail and rubbed peach yogurt into his fur. He never, never bit. There wasn't
anything little Karen couldn't get away with.
But don't think for a minute that he was a total softy.
To explain: one night a burglar broke in - only to freeze in alarm at hearing a menacing growl. All he could see in the dark was two eyes glaring at him...and a fearsome set of fangs. Rebel barked, letting Norma know what was happening (her training was excellent; a dog of hers would
never bark unless there was a damn good reason). She called the police...who found the burglar easy to take in, as he didn't dare move!
(He wasn't to know that Rebel would
not, of course, have hurt him; he would've just held onto him, albeit for hours if need be. His own, quite understandable fear froze him in place, and Rebel was so powerful the burglar would've had to shoot him to get free - but burglars in the UK usually weren't armed back then. To some degree a dog depends on the
perceived threat to be an effective deterrent, but Rebel wasn't bluffing; he
looked threatening - scary as hell, actually -
and had the muscle to back it up. He was at least
capable of inflicting serious harm, but was too well-trained to do so.
But the burglar didn't know that!)
Rebel got prime steaks and doggy treats for that entire week. He'd earned them by doing his duty. Marred as muck when it came to kids...but trespass on his turf and you were for it!
I once took him for a walk. To be more accurate, he took me for a drag! I did express my doubts beforehand to Norma, as I wasn't sure I could hold him.
I was right. I couldn't!
