Ok, I have a question about my sister's GSD rescue she got from our local shelter. It is kind of an odd situation, and I'm not sure how concerned she should be and I figured I'd put it past the experts.

She has had CJ(the GSD) for 3 years and got him from the shelter when he was approx a year old. He has been a great dog and is very obedient, etc. He appears to be full GSD but is a little small for a male (60lbs) and his hair isn't as full as many of the GSDs I have seen, but I can't see any other breed characteristics that would lead me to believe he is mixed. Anyway, he adjusted well and is a very good house dog...he is good with the children and they have bonded very well. He is protective of the house, but only slightly reserved with strangers in the house and warms up quickly. He doesn't seem timid, shy, or fearful of any situation. He does have a huge issue with male strangers coming near the house, but they wanted a good protective dog and that has been viewed as a good thing. He did bite the FedEx guy after my sister instructed the driver to please stay in his vehicle, but the driver did not listen and said it would be ok and tried to pet him. Thankfully it was not too bad and the FedEx guy never made an issue of it.

He is kind to other dogs (the 2 labs next door at the neighbors are his best friends). He does kill any small animal that gets in the yard (squirrels, groundhogs, etc).

I wanted to give a history so you could get the big picture before I gave the problem. The other evening my sister's two young boys were jumping up and down on the couch (who knows why lol) and one lost his balance and fell on the dog who was lying on the floor. The dog bit him on the face leaving two decent size puncture wounds and a few scratches. My sister was afraid and yelled at the dog to stop and he showed his teeth to her.

I imagine it was painful to have a 6 year old 50 pound kid fall on you, and I was wondering what was normal for a dog to do. She asked for my advice, but I am clueless as to what to tell her. On one hand she has this really great dog who is very loving and everyone would be heartbroken if he wasn't at their home, but she needs some assurance since many people tell her she should never have a dog that would bite her children period. She would love to keep him but is also worried since the kids run around and play and could accidently trip or step on him (this isn't commonplace at their house, I don't mean to make them sound like maniacs lol, but it could happen) and she doesn't want something worse to happen. Also, it isn't a behavior that she can correct since it only happened one time.

Any insight anyone could give me on the situation would be appreciated. I think Ed is an absolute genius and love to read his articles, although I couldn't seem to find any that matches this situation.

She let him outside for a few hours and when he came back inside it was business as usual. He still lays by the kids and seems like his usual self.

Thank you!!

Your sister's GSD sounds like a very GOOD dog to me, so please read the two articles linked below, because I hope she won't send him back into rescue because of any "knee-jerk" reactions to friends' advice...

http://www.leerburg.com/kidbites.htm

http://www.leerburg.com/groundwork.htm

IMHO, this incident was preventable & the situation is salvageable -- But your sister will have to change the way her family lives with their dog <:-)

i'm not an "expert", but i've spent a few years with dogs and kids, so, FWIW: it sounds to me like a very natural reaction to being suddenly landed on by something out of the blue. especially if he was sleeping at the time.

if it was my dog, i'm afraid the kids would get disciplined, not the dog. children need to respect the dog, and not do crazy things that could put either them or the dog in a bad situation. i know that's easier said than done <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />, BTW.

perhaps the solution would be to not have the dog + kids unless the parent is there to control the siuation, ie., the kids. that's basically what i did when my kids were small. "an ounce of prevention's worth a pound of cure".

hope the dog's up-to-date on his vax....

My two cents...I have 3 boys (teenagers now). You mentioned your nephew is 6. I remember all too well what it was like when my kids were 5, 6 and 8 years old. I was an at-home mother and, well, let's suffice it to say I can't believe I didn't have a nervous breakdown <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> !

I agree with the other posters. It seems it's the parent and children who were more at fault than the dog. Especially if the dog is a rescue, you probably will never really know it's true history. We owned a 100 lb GSD when my kids were young. She was NEVER in the room with them without me and/or my husband. I love dogs but I'm one of those that see them as animals first and foremost. You just never know and one error on my part (i.e. leaving dog unattended while near kids) was something I was not willing to accept.

We'd all like to believe our dogs can be trusted to never bite (except the bad guys maybe) under any circumstances but that's just not fair to expect the animals we love to be held to a standard unsustainable in some circumstances and even more unfair to the children who are dependent upon us to know this and keep them out of harm's way.

I hope your nephew is OK.

That was exactly what I was thinking, but sometimes it is nice to hear it from someone else. I thought it was normal for a dog to react that way with a sudden incident like that, and my sister feels the same way. Others see the bite (which is ok, healing nicely, no stitches, etc) and they think omg what a terrible dog......and she really wanted to make sure she wasn't under-reacting.

Like I said, the dog has lived with her for 3 years and really is a great dog. I've always been amazed with his discipline, she can have yummy stuff in the garbage or on the table and leave for the day and he would never touch it. I have a few well trained labradors who still tend to counter surf if given the opportunity, and not to mention the occasional garbage tear up lol. Her GSD is a really sweet dog and this isn't his normal personality.

Her kids aren't nuts or out of control, pretty much just regular boys. They really love the dog and I think now they have a whole new respect for him. He has never once been agressive with the kids before this and has no other signs of agressive behavior with the family at all. I have no problem entering the house when she isn't home, but I'm sure someone else would <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for you time!!

The only good thing about the incident I suppose is now your sister knows what her dog is capable of and will act accordingly. I loved reading your line about how they all have a "whole new respect for him". That can only be a good thing for all!