Are German Shepherds Loving?

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If you are thinking of getting a German Shepherd you might be wondering how loving they tend to be.

This post will show you how loving German Shepherds are and what you can do to get one to be more loving.

So, how loving are German Shepherds? German Shepherds tend to be very loving towards members of their families when they are raised well. How physically loving they are can vary a lot between them. Some are very physically loving while others are a bit more aloof.

There are actually a number of ways that a German Shepherd be loving and it might not always be so overt. However, if you want a German Shepherd that will cuddle with you a lot there are some things you can do to get it to do it more.

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How loving German Shepherds are

German Shepherds are usually very intelligent and loyal dogs. They will also often show a lot of love towards their owners but they will usually be very cautious around strangers and they can be very protective of their owners.

However, the amount of love and affection shown by individual German Shepherds will depend a lot on their own personalities. Some German Shepherds will show a lot of overt love and affection towards their owners by doing things such as laying on their owner’s laps all the time and hitting their owners with their paws.

Whereas, other German Shepherds will not show so much love overtly and will show love towards their owner’s in a more indirect way. For example, they might show love by doing things such as sleeping in a vulnerable position or making eye contact with their owner’s a lot.

Despite that, if you do get a German Shepherd and it does not show a lot of overt affection there are some things you can do to get it to be more physically loving which are mentioned below.

Ways that German Shepherds are loving

There are many ways that German Shepherds can be loving. If you decide to get one, it could be the case that it will show love to you without you realizing.

Below are some ways a German Shepherd might show love towards you. I have written more in-depth about how your German Shepherd might show love to you in this post.

Following your orders
Following you around
Putting its paw on you
Making eye contact with you a lot
Getting excited when you arrive home
Protecting you and your home
Putting its nose on you
Putting itself into vulnerable positions around you
Licking you a lot
Leaning on you
Getting you to rub its belly
Laying on you
Sleeping next to you
Bringing things to you
Jumping up at you

How to get a German Shepherd to be more loving

If you decide to get a German Shepherd, there are a number of things you can do to get it to be loving physically by doing things such as cuddling with you when you want it to. Below are some of the things you can do.

Positive reinforcement training

Positive reinforcement training is where you encourage the behaviors you want to see by rewarding the dog when it shows signs of displaying them.

To use positive reinforcement training to get the GSD to be more loving, you could start by rewarding it when it sits near you and then gradually require it to sit closer to you and for a longer time in order to get the reward each time.

You can watch the video below for some tips on how you can use positive reinforcement training to get it to listen to you and to do what you want when you want it to.

It would also help to train it to come to you when you call it so that you can get it to sit or lay with you when you want it to. I have written about how you can train it to come to you on command in this post.

Avoid negative reinforcement

Negative reinforcement training is where you inadvertently encourage behaviors that you do not want to see by rewarding them. If an owner gives rewards to a GSD when it misbehaves then it will likely do it more in order to get more rewards.

Instead, of giving it things such as toys, treats or extra attention when it is not loving, it would help to reward it when it is loving, to stop rewarding it when it stops being loving and to use positive reinforcement training to avoid the behaviors you do not want to see.

I would also recommend that you follow the training tips outlined in this book so that you can keep it well behaved in many different scenarios.

Interact with it positively

It would also help to give it positive attention throughout the day so that it is more likely to want to be loving towards you. Ways to give it attention would be to train it, exercise it and to play with it.

Also, German Shepherds are meant to be a part of the family. When they are not included as a part of the family it can cause them to develop behavioral issues and to become much less loyal. So, it is important to ensure that you will not be separating it from you and the rest of your family for long periods of time since German Shepherds are not a breed that likes being separated from their family.

Avoid punishing it

Punishing the German Shepherd can also cause it to be less loving and it can cause other behavioral problems as well such as distrust. It might also not understand why it is being punished and it could cause it to misbehave more.

Instead, it would help to avoid rewarding it when it does it, to try to redirect its focus when it seems like it is about to misbehave and to train it to stop using positive reinforcement.

Things that could cause a German Shepherd not to be loving

If you get a German Shepherd and it is not overtly loving, there are a number of possible reasons why it might happen. I have written more about why a German Shepherd might not be loving or affectionate in this post.

Below are some possible reasons why a GSD might not be loving.