What is it like to own or keep a German Shepherd?

Does anyone here have any experience with German Shepards?

How are they different from other dogs?

Do they make a great guard / security dog ? For a home ? Since a lot of the police uses them?

How costly would it be to train the dog? Are there places that would train the dog to bite an attacker, or someone bad? How would they know who is a threat or not ? For example if I’m hiking / running by myself and my dog is with me. Let’s say there’s a scary looking guy behind me, following me, or wants to rape me. Would the German Shepard know who/ and when to attack?

Would a female German Shepard be just as good for a security dog as a male German Shepard?

Is it possible to get a pure breed German Shepard or are they way too costly?

Thanks everyone for the insight, I know I tend to write a lot and ask a lot :) Heheh.

I don’t have a German Shepard at the moment, but I am thinking of getting one…........... I don’t like teeny tiny chihuahua dogs.

Unless I can train this intelligent dog myself, I would more than likely need to send the dog to a good training school right? To be a guard / security / companion dog ?