# German Shepherd/ Labrador retriever cross



## xena (Oct 3, 2013)

Yes, i have GSD/lab cross 
And I'm looking for people who have the same cross of breeds and would like to share some information *IS YOUR DOG MORE LIKE GSD OR MORE LIKE LAB?*
I believe my dogs mum was labrador (I'm not sure which breed was mum i only know he's cross of thoise two breeds). I think so, as puppies most likely learn behaviour from mum. And he has a soul of labrador- loves every human and every dog- wants to say hello to everyone)) But must say as he's getting older now (we got him when he was 10months old, now he's 13,5 months), he shows more and more of his GSD part.

Something about him: 
as i said- he loves everyone, except cats (i wanted to get a cat at some point but i don't know if it would work... he would chase them, maybe not all the way, as he comes back.. hard to say as my previous dog would chase cats but had her own cats at home and was really good with them)
At this point he is a bit too "jumpy", when gets excited nothing will stop him from jumping on people, so i need to be careful as at this point of life he's about 64-65cm tall and weights about 35kg.
He is absolutely ball obsessed- i think it's because in previous home he did not have any training and his only activity was retrieving ball... I am sure he did not have enough stimulation as a puppy, enough walks etc. When i took him and i would take him for a walk, at 10 months of age, everything was scary- bushes moved by a wind, some object standing on a street, cat crossing the street, and especially other dogs bark- he would just panic. Now everything is good, he's ok with dogs barking, he's even interested in it, he gained some confidence. He's still submissive but not to the point where other dogs feel like attacking him, and it was real story... I've been told he likes playing with other dogs, and when i got him i realized he didn't know how to play. he didn't know what to do. Now he's perfectly good but only for his size dogs, because he likes speed and is not really careful when chasing small dogs. Looks like chasing a rabbit and as he's getting older and i see the way he chases small dogs... i don't have too much confidence in what might happen... so i leave the play for bigger dogs (for example his golden retriever girlfirend)
As a part Labrador he LOVES water! Third day i had him, i showed him a lake (first time he saw water). He started swimming straight away
With he's willing to work constantly, he's not good dog for everyone, especially with such a strong ball obsession.
He has a good sniffing skills and is motivated to work. I think he could be a good sniffing dog, as he never has enough of work and looking for it constantly.
He's very good with children, tho when on a walk i don't need to worry he will run to children playing or running around. He will ignore their presence, unless they come to him themselves.
He's very good with puppies. as at first sight he's scary for them because of his size when the puppy is scared- Dexter would lay down and start licking puppies face really cute
As he grows older he shows more of guarding skills. 
He definitely don't like to see someone to ticle me, or hit me (even just as fun). He reacts in a matter of seconds. So we definitely don't play around with our guests too much also he will not be happy if i'm not happy that some dog gets too excited around me and jumping on me. if i'm cool, he's cool, but when he senses i don't like something he would step in to protect.


absolutely not food oriented.... food is not a real reward for him- only toys. there's no food in the world that would be more important than a ball.
He doesn't eat a lot, just as much as he has to. Food can stay in his bowl all day and he will not eat until he's really hungry. He won't eat everything, he picks food he likes... if it's healthy hypoalergic food- he's not interested at all and would not touch anything for two days when i wanted to try "you will eat when you're hungry".
He has very sensitive stomach also, so with any changes i need to be careful
*
i could talk and talk, but if you have gsd/lab cross please share some information about him/her*


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## JTurner (May 19, 2013)

He looks my like my lab x GSD mix. Mine came from a high kill shelter in TN and I adopted him when he was 8 weeks of age & he just turned 1 year old last week. He is around 65 pounds probably finish at around 70 pounds my guess. He is extremely hyper, happy, and loves to run wild. He is about to graduate from intermediate obedience at the end of this month & he has truly come a very long way! In basics, he was one of the most misbehaved dogs, and at times I felt hopeless with him. Last week at class, he was used as the prime example of how the other dogs should look-I was so incredibly proud of him almost brought me to tears! He moves onto basic rally obedience at the end of this month too hooray! I have been told by trainers that he is just very immature which is typical for labs, and that he will come around with time, practice, and patience. Food is a huge reward for him, but it has to be the right kind such as venison, beef, dried beef liver, so it can't be anything fake or cheap. I think he def has more of a lab personality-loves water too. Despite being well socialized, he is cautious around other dogs until he gets to know them. His nose is always on the ground-it was even recommended for me to get him into search and rescue but nowhere local does that and I'm not driving hours away each week for training. In a couple of months I plan on turning him into my trail running buddy and he will love it! I just need to wait for growth plates to complete growing. Hope this helps!
For more photos you can check them out here: 
http://www.dogforums.com/general-dog-forum/216586-happy-birthday.html


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## xena (Oct 3, 2013)

ThaNK YOU FOR SHARING AND YOU HAVE A BEAUTIFUL PUP About traaining i was a bit unhappy when i heard at 11months of age Dexter haas been sent to aan adult training group by trainer... I think at this age he was (aand still is) very immature. Much more excited and much more active than adult dogs. He does not have a patience. i think they should have classes for dogs between 8-24months separately... He has done very well at obedience training as he's very intelligent but it's still very hard for him to focus, when so many dogs around him. He has this overwhelming need to say hello to everyone and to play with everyone. at this stage he is so silly, that dog telling him off or simply being agressive towards him- for Dexter it means LETS PLAY!!! and he annoys the dog even more


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## JTurner (May 19, 2013)

Aww thanks! Yours is a cutie too. My dog's tail looks like your dog's-very fluffy! & yes-he becomes overwhelmed around other dogs, so what I need to do is use a gentle leader on him, and until he grows up a bit I will need to phase it off of him because he is out of control around other dogs, but he has gotten a lot better. I took 8 weeks off after basic obedience and got some extra help from somebody I know, and we would go all over the place such as parks, petsmarts, etc just working on distractions and getting him focused without the gentle leader. It has been a lot of hard work and is now just beginning to pay off sometimes lol. My trainers have told me that once he matures he will come around and be an excellent dog at competition because he has incredible drive, and with no distractions he does a beautiful job such as full eye contact, heel, around, forward, place, touch, etc...If you need any help please feel free to pm me I'll try my best since we both have similar dogs! & yeah, mine is super silly as well-he makes me laugh all the darn time! The stuff he does cracks me up!


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## BellaPup (Jul 7, 2007)

Your boys are gorgious! I love black lab/GSD mixes! GSD/lab mixes are my favorite. The best of both worlds! 

Bella is GSD/yellow Lab. She is about 60lbs and still *full* of evergy at almost 7 yrs old! I got her from a rescue as a pup - she was shipped up from a kill shelter in South Carolina.

She is more GSD in personality. When she is excited she also has that sharp, eardrum-busting shepherd bark. She doesn't like water like a lab either. She used to be more lab-ish when she was younger in the sense that she LOVED everyone. Nowadays she is much more cautious of strangers. She is not a snuggle bug like most labs. She is happy to be on the other end of the couch or in another room. She is also very protective. 

The only lab traits she has (other than her appearance) is her addiction to food. Training her was/is a snap - you have a goodie, she'll do anything!  
And fetch - she can play fetch for HOURS. omg


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## xena (Oct 3, 2013)

a lot dogs of this particular crossbreed look very similar it comes to this point where when i met a man who owned GSD/Lab in he past, he had tears in his eyes when he saw Dexter. He said that he is just identical to his dog, who had been hit by a car and died when he was 3years old. he said to me that once this dog matures (about 2-3 years old) he becomes a perfect pet. Naturally lab craziness stays somewhere there, but in more appropriate way  and definitely works well as guard dog. I had an example when i woke up one day because he started going mad at 3am. was standing next to my bed and barking (with typical GSD's "woof woof") and he looked really serious about it )when you wake up this way, first thing you do is panic- OMG!!!! someone is in our flat!!!!!!!!! And it was just unexpected shade of our drying rack standing in the other bedroom )))) we had to get up, go there (he was all the time next to my boyfriends legs), turn on the light, touch the rack and just then we could go sleep as he understood it was nothing too be worried about) he fell asleep in 1 minute  or sometimes when i walk him at night and he sees something suspicious, he will alert, but never attack. Tho i can be sure noone will do me harm when he's nearby.


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## xena (Oct 3, 2013)

pretty lady))) 
looks like one thing they all have in common is fetching )))
i wished my Dex was food oriented.... it's so difficult to get a dog with toy obsession and no food drive, and train him. Rewarding him with toy is just getting him even more obsessed, and rewarding with food not always work. Sometimes i think work is a treat and treat is a work for him 
That's why i hate when people take a dog not trying to understand needs of breed.... At s9ome point it's too much for them and they give him up and he develops problems like obsession, which are very hard to work on


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## xena (Oct 3, 2013)

and the last thing i'm wondering... if he will ever stop growing hihi. At 13months he's at the maximum height GSD should be (not overgrown GSD) 64-65cm not counting head aand neck... and i heard large breeds can grow even until they reach 18months of age


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## JTurner (May 19, 2013)

At night my dog-Mack-goes under the blanket turns around and lays his head on my pillow lol it's adorable. I've never met a dog that actually enjoys being under the covers. I did tons of research on the mix and he def fit my lifestyle I was looking for an active, friendly, possibly protective, intelligent, medium - large sized dog that would love to hike, run, and swim. He barks a lot! but I don't think there is much I can do about that o well! Rather him guard the house than not care at all!


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## xena (Oct 3, 2013)

@BellaPup do you know if mother of yours was GSD or Lab?


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## BellaPup (Jul 7, 2007)

xena said:


> pretty lady)))


Thank you!! I love my little twerp 



xena said:


> and the last thing i'm wondering... if he will ever stop growing hihi. At 13months he's at the maximum height GSD should be (not overgrown GSD) 64-65cm not counting head aand neck... and i heard large breeds can grow even until they reach 18months of age


I think Bella finally stopped growing (tall) and started filling out at around 2 years. I was wondering if she was ever going to grow into her gazelle legs! 



JTurner said:


> At night my dog-Mack-goes under the blanket turns around and lays his head on my pillow lol it's adorable. I've never met a dog that actually enjoys being under the covers. I did tons of research on the mix and he def fit my lifestyle I was looking for an active, friendly, possibly protective, intelligent, medium - large sized dog that would love to hike, run, and swim. He barks a lot! but I don't think there is much I can do about that o well! Rather him guard the house than not care at all!


Yep! I *love* the mix - I knew that was the mix I wanted before I got her.  Just wish she wasn't so smart that she gets the best of me. She does bark a lot, too. And will spend hours stalking chipmunks...lol She has yet to catch one. ....yet. 



xena said:


> @BellaPup do you know if mother of yours was GSD or Lab?


I don't know, unfortunately. I never thought to ask the rescue.


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## SDRRanger (May 2, 2013)

When I was a teenager we had two labxgsd crosses. They were about 75lbs each and both black with a couple white toes. We had them from 10 weeks to 13 years. 

Currently I have Ranger, who was adopted out as a BCxlab, but I've always thought he was gsdxlabxBC based on looks and temperament. The SO thought the pics from Xena were Ranger until he realized there was no white chest haha. They could be siblings.


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## xena (Oct 3, 2013)

Exactly they are all so similar ))


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