 Barked: Thu Apr 15, '10 5:44pm PST |
 | |  | | You are not sounding offensive at all  It is in the perspective. Any amount of reading my posts underscores the Giant is EXTREMELY playful and can be trained to a very, VERY high level. Hence my objection that they do not resemble working dogs. They most certainly do, and are a play-driven breed. That is not to say they are easy, however, nor good for beginners. Golden Retrievers are playful and trainable, Giants are playful and trainable. It is in character composition that *other* qualities in and amongst these traits shift the balance, as to whether they are suitable for a family generally, or are for the more advanced.
Perhaps this will help under the differences. From Digitaldog.com, there is this..
"From a coat that presents itself as elegantly as a tuxedo, to an expression that is purely royal it is easy to overlook the comical, creative and fun loving personality lurking within."
Followed by this....
"For those with the advantage of having known a good example of the Giant Schnauzer, few dogs can be compared. Indeed, they have the potential of being virtually everything one could want in a dog but like most highly valuable things, they do not come without a price. The Giant Schnauzer is an intense and complex personality that REQUIRES an experienced, fair and knowledgable owner to nurture and develop that potential. The Giant Schnauzer will occasionally test limits and an experienced trainer will not miss the timing to address the overstep. Hesitation at that point can quickly put the dog and relationship on a path that will result in further difficulties. The experienced trainer will also know when to reinforce a spontaneous behavior that will help build the dog's confidence in the future. This is not a dog for someone who will need to "learn as they go" their intensity, sensitivity and perceptiveness will be too responsive to those early mistakes that all inexperienced trainers make."
So once again, here we see the representation....the ACCURATE representation....that the Giant Schnauzer is a fun loving and vastly trainable dog. That does not mean he is easy. That does not mean he will thrive in inexperienced hands. He is not and he will not.
Which is my issue with this breed booth. The Giant Schnauzer offers many, many exemplary qualities and I could talk about them all day....and do!  First and foremost, however, MUST be that this is a dog of serious consequence and belongs with the experienced dog person. To not stress this in and amongst the substantial laurels is the antithesis of responsible breed promotion. As evidenced by your reactions, which can take "playful" and "trainable" and sort of short shrift "courageous" and "commanding figure when aroused." He is all those things. ALL. When we promote our breeds, a well rounded picture should be articulated. It is just human nature....some will accent the pros, others will focus on the cons, but one can at least hope it does not flip to fluff.
In terms of your own learning, I do suggest you consider the digitaldog quotes which plaudit the Giant as a fun loving personality....and being an all breed expert, I can say that FEW breeds are AS fun loving as this dog....and then contrast it to the second paragraph. They are indeed fun loving. They also are pushy, fearless, staunchly protective and uncommonly vigorous. "Fun" does not always equate itself with harmless. Or easy. Czech GSDs are very fun loving and trainable also  Edited by author Thu Apr 15, '10 6:02pm PST
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