I am wondering if this is a common behavior (trained or otherwise) or if I am the only one who has a GSD who MUST have something in her mouth to greet people!

When Saber was a baby, she had those super sharp shredder teeth. Our arms looked like we were all suicidal. People were asking questions! "Are you okay? What are those cuts across your wrists??" Anyway, she was quite mouthy so I immediately trained her the command "get a toy" by shoving a stuffed animal in her mouth when she approached anyone. Very soon, she didn't need the command and would get a toy on her own to come and play with us. No more shredded arms!

So now she is a year old. And it is so funny, if she is excited/ramped up to greet someone or to play, she first goes running around to grab the first toy she can find. Sometimes she can't find a toy of hers fast enough so she just grabs whatever is closest. It is hilarious to be greeted by an exuberant German Shepherd with a Barbie in her mouth! Once she grabbed a kitchen towel, another time my daughter's sweater from the couch, another time a sofa pillow, and once she came dragging her dog bed in her mouth! Last week she greeted us with a paper towel. And yesterday we happened to be outside when my son came home, and she looked around frantically before running to him with a giant leaf in her mouth!

She is so cute!

p.s... if your dog does this, do NOT purchase a 3 foot long bully cane unless you want to lose an eye or otherwise end up getting whacked repeatedly.

My first dog Max used to do the same thing. He'd go and grab a toy when I came home from work.

Aodhán also did this and would greet me with the toy and be "talking" around it.

Caleb doesn't do this when I get home, but if I call him to me he looks for and grabs a toy before coming over.

All of my dogs have been taught to do this or have caught on that's it is a good idea. Rafi puts things in his mouth to calm himself down and he gets so excited when his human friends come over that he has to grab a toy to calm himself down. Without a toy he is a nutball.

He also circles around the person while talking with the toy (usually a ball) in his mouth.

Ruth, Saber circles the person too! Must be a herding thing?

Nadia does it too. However the toy does not calm her down. She can circle faster than any dog I have ever met. Her tail wags at warp speed and her body is not far behind.

Yes, definitely herding. Herding and pacifier.

Mac can't do anything except eat without a ball in his mouth!!!

Tara does this too! Usually she grabs a shoe unless a toy is closer.

I saw an amazing border collie once, a herding dog, who had taught himself to hold something in his mouth so he could avoid the temptation to bite at the sheep. He would grab whatever was available - a stick, a clump of grass, whatever. I even saw him grab a mouthful of dirt when nothing else was available. He was a great herding dog, earned lots of titles, and his handler told me he had figured out the "substitute mouthful" on his own.

All of my shepherds and my Aussie, too, carried toys everywhere. They usually greeted with a toy mostly in hopes that the person would throw it for them .. *L*

Melanie and the girls

That is actually a great behavior. I am teaching Havoc to do this we might be able to do agility without me being perforated and disqualified.