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We're on the same page bmw, but I think even better than the dog park would be a supervised playgroup at a training or daycare facility! There, you'd have trained staff monitoring the play and keeping things safe and appropriate. Playgroups are usually really cheap too. The best dog trainers are often... dogs! Let the other well socialized dogs in the playgroup communicate to your dog what is and is not acceptable play. Pup will learn the subtle signals of dog language and be able to better read other dogs in the future. Her social skills will improve and she'll learn how to adapt her approach depending on the signals of the other dog.
I think a combo of both is good. You want to make sure the dogs in the day care are well behaved or else he/she could learn bad habits. It's important to know how well trained the dog supervisor is as well because he/she could be lazy. I prefer dog parks because I can see exactly what goes on so I am able to correct things as they come. It also creates a deeper bond with him/her. Both are good though.
Owners are present throughout playgroups. It is not a daycare setup where you would leave your dog - you get to stay and watch the fun! I find attacks are more likely to occur in dog parks, as well as disease transmission.
OP, I have owned nearly 50 German Shepherd dogs in my lifetime. I Don't think that you can say males are different than females as a group. It is all up to the individual dog. The only difference is that males tend to protect wherever they are standing and females protect their home and family, but aren't interested in protecting elsewhere. That is why males are used for police work. But again, that varies from dog to dog.
German Shepherds are among the very smartest digs and the smarter a dog is, the more you must concentrate on training them. They are easy to train, but they can constantly think of new variations to try, and they must be trained for each new idea that they come up with. It is: I can't chew this corner of the couch so I won't, but how about this other corner? I can't go out this door, but what about this window? No to this shoe, but what about this other pair?
The joke around my family is that the German Shepherds have their lawyer on speed dial because they will examine very small variations of whatever the rule is. They won't break the actual rule, but they can come up with an idea that allows them to do the same thing without actually breaking the letter of the law.
Another family joke is that I trained a dog to come when called back in 1970 and never trained another one. From then on, the existing dog would teach the puppy to run to me when I called. Your older dog will teach the puppy a lot, but he will only teach dog rules. you must teach the people rules.
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Playgroups are usually really cheap too. 
The best dog trainers are often... dogs! Let the other well socialized dogs in the playgroup communicate to your dog what is and is not acceptable play. Pup will learn the subtle signals of dog language and be able to better read other dogs in the future. Her social skills will improve and she'll learn how to adapt her approach depending on the signals of the other dog.
