My aunt and uncle raised many German Shephards. As family with Jewish heritage it was a deliberate choice. But those were the most protective, loyal dogs you could ever wish for.
Story 1) My aunt and uncle had a housekeeper-nanny. One day my nephew was probably being an unruly kid under the age of 10. The nanny slapped my nephew. Those 2 German Shepherds saw her slap the boy and cornered her in the kitchen for more than an hour before my aunt and uncle came home. As soon as they walked in they knew she had done something wrong by laying her hand on my nephew. Those dogs are very protective. She was dismissed immediately.
Story 2) The dogs were mostly kept in a dog run with 8 foot high fencing. My aunt and uncle lived in a beautiful home, but across the street and down 2 lots was a sort of commercial medical building. Some criminals decided to break into that building. The German Shepherds just somehow knew that these perps did not belong, so they scaled the 8 foot fence ran down the street and cornered the perps. The police arrived, but even they were afraid of the dogs! Finally my aunt and uncle realized the dogs got out and went and called them back home. The police were relieved, but also quite pleased that the GS dogs cornered the pers. The dog Commands were all in German - which again was a deliberate choice for a family of Jewish heritage - but the police did not know the commands. Few people know those commands.
For those who may not realize, GS dogs were used to herd Jews back in the Nazi German era. So it is absolutely liberating for a Jewish American family to raise their own GS dogs to be protective of their hearth against anyone who would threaten a Jewish family.
Personally, I’m a Labrador kind of guy. They are fun and want to please and seem to enjoy life when they are given a life to fulfill. But German Shepherds are a special breed. They require a lot (as do Labs) but they give a lot back (as do Labs). Between the two breeds, imo, you couldn’t expect greater loyalty - just depends on what you want from a dog.
My daughter’s dog is a GS, so her daughter learned the German commands masterfully when she was just two. When she came to our house and used them on our Lab, he just stared at her. But her command presence was so forceful that she communicated effectively regardless, so that by the time she learned the English equivalents she was already very much his pack leader.