I didn't really have a dog as a child. My dad had a GSD when I was little, poor guy had to be PTS for health reasons. I still remember my Dad coming back home that day crying because of it. We also had a poodle mix of some sort that my Dad rescued from the street, but she ran away (we think she was pretty old and she went away to die). After that, we had cats so we never got a dog because of the cats. I still really like the GSD breed though. So I can say that my childhood dogs (or lack thereof) really haven't influenced me as an adult. I had Sadie though 2 months after I moved out of my parents house. I could not wait to get a dog of my own. 3 dogs later, I'm very happy.