I completely agree. My GSD pup is now one year old and we had her in a puppy class followed by an obedience class starting when she was about 16 weeks old. I would also highly recommend it.

I'm not a professional, but in my experience with the GSD's I've owned, the classes are a good idea for a few reasons.

1. GSD seem to love to have a purpose and enjoy having their minds/bodies worked. They are so smart and classes are very stimulating for them.

2. GSD's get big and don't have the best of reputations with some people. For that reason I wanted to make darn good and sure that my Gracie had plenty of socialization with people and other dogs. You can do that on your own, but every bit helps and classes tend to be pretty structured. The classes are a nice neutral setting to interact with other dogs without having to get into the territorial issues that many shepards have.

3. My GSD was extremely dominant as a pup. Not only did the classes give my wife and I good ideas (my wife had never owned a dog, so the ultra-dominant Gracie was a shock) but it was another place where we are obviously in control and reinforced where Gracie's pack rank was.

4. They are just plain fun!

I hope you enjoy your Shepard pup. I will never own another breed!!