John & medic,
GSDs have been my favorite dogs since I was a kid. When I saw my first black one, I knew what I wanted! Chopper's sure been a great one. He's right around 80 lbs now - still a growing boy! When I got him(at 10lbs and 7 weeks), my intent was to get him into SAR; I have a friend that started a SAR outfit here in OK. I started his training at 4 months old. Then, since my job started taking me out of town so much, I haven't been able to keep him going in the training like I desired. Next to me, his favorite people are my grandkids! He'll play for hours - non-stop.