I have had Goldens, a German Shepherd, springer spaniel, mutts, and Schnauzer
But what is clear is that by the 1920s there was a public perception that the German Shepherd had few redeeming qualities, and that the breed’s only contribution to society was in increasing the number of dog attacks in the community. We find the public debate in full swing concerning the nature and disposition of the German Shepherd by the early 1920s. After a volley of letters debating the behavior of the German police dog was printed in the editorial section of the New York Times, Mrs. Dorothy Holden voiced her opinion in a response dated July 11, 1924:Read more about this 'devil dog' of the past...“I live in a neighborhood where there are at least ten within a radius of a half a mile, and during the past year six women and children (including my own daughter) have been attacked by them without provocation—in two cases the victims were only saved from being torn to pieces by the intervention of the dogs’ owners.
“They do not seem to attack men or large dogs and if even a small dog shows fight they usually slink off. And for any usefulness they may have or endearing qualities, I do not notice…and with only a thin veneer over the wolf, they are certainly not to be trusted.
“They are being imported in such numbers and are breeding so fast that they will soon be as numerous as the rabbits in Australia, and are a far greater menace.
“In conclusion, we live in a semi-besieged state of terror from these German police dogs, and the law does not seem to be able to help us, as their owners are wealthy.Indeed, this woman was not alone in her beliefs. In 1925, a New York magistrate proposed a ban on the German Shepherd dog in Queens. The City Magistrate of Queens requested that the County Health authorities ban German police dogs from the city, as they had been “branded a menace.” Magistrate James J. Conway was also quoted as saying the German police dog was:
“…savage, vicious and bred from wolves...In the city at the present time there are thousands of these savage dogs. The police records show that there are 2,000 German police dogs in Queens...Hundreds of persons have been victims of dog bites during the past year, and the majority of biting dogs were police dogs. The dogs should be barred from the city.”
The New York Times, January 7, 1925
http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/pit-bull-placebo-text1.pdf
Chapter 7... pgs 72-78
I had two Shepherds and a big Schnauzer...he was a pretty game feller
never met a skunk he did not want to kill...we went through a lot of tomato juice