So here is the situation. A friend of mine was rough housing with his nephew with his german sheperd watching. When my friend turned his back so that his nephew was behind hime, the dog bite the boy and shook. Luckily there while be no lasting damage, but my friend feels that he needs to put the dog down if he cannot find a new home. I live in the Cincinnati, OH area and am looking for any type of rescue program or anyone who could take a dog in. This dog is genereally very friendly with people and children and I am not an experinced enough trainer to know exactly what happened here but it would be great for my friend not to have to put his dog down. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas it would be greatly apprectiate.
Thanks
Jake Brandyberry

Humm, the dog wants to play with his pack.... since he has no hands he uses what mother nature intended for him to use...his mouth... but due to ignorance, myth.. and simple stupidity the dog is at risk of being put down for it.
Sounds like the owner needs to get rid of his dog. He's too dumb to own one.

Years ago, my Golden-Collie did the same thing to my 4 y/o niece - nipped her on the butt as my niece was running up to give me a hug. I think my dog did it to protect me - this screaming wild child was coming straight for Mom! Had I put my dog down after that, I would have missed out on 13 wonderful years of the most loving dog I have ever been blessed to own.

If there's a history with your friend's dog acting out like this, then your friend needs to do *something*. Some vets have Behavioral Specialists that could evaluate the dog if they wanted to spend the money and go that route.

IMO, it sounds like the dog was just trying to get in on the fun.

Yes, I agree with Kate and Kevin. How old is this dog/pup and what training has it had? Does it have a history or does the dog just get wild when playing?

I'd hate to see a dog be put down for playing rough when everybody else was guilty too.

Get a crate or let him outside when they want to be wild. That's a lot of distraction even for a trained dog.

Also if the kid didn't need to go to the hospital, The dog was most likely just playing at the same energy levels the family was giving off.

I hope the little nephew is doing okay and doesn't end up scared of dogs.

I've seen a video where some GSD's where working sheep in Germany. when the dog wanted to move the sheep it would bite the wool and give it a good shake. the shepherd said the dog doesn't really hurt the sheep, but I don't think the sheep think so. Max started to nip my 3 year old to move him around. that was corrected. Max figured out he could do the same thing by licking the face. I went ahead and re inforced it but that's another cute story. I think if you set up the same conditions and then apply correction and repeat and re inforce it might fix it. I'm just a guy w/ two dogs and one obedience course. all you pro's please jump in and help us out.

So I guess i need to clarify. There was some pretty serious damage to the childs leg. It took several hours of stitching to repair the wounds. There was no serious muscle damage but it was a serious bit. I am not sure but i think that this is the first time the dog has bit anyone. My friend loves the dog but is now uncomfortable and the dog needs a new home. I know it is not the dogs fault and it would be a shame to have to but the dog down because we cannot find a place for it. I would take the dog myself but my current living conditions don't allow for it. Thanks for all the replies and please if there is anything else you could suggest that would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Jake

disregard my last post. I assumed it was a nipping problem. my fault for not asking more questions. I think your going to have to find a home w/o kids and someone with more training experience or as earlier suggested, secure the dog when visitors are over. really secure, not just locked up in the back bed room. how old is the dog?


Aki San, Dozo?

Jake,
There are a few questions to ask. How old is the dog? And has this person raised this dog from puppy hood? Were they rolling around on the ground? Were they screaming and yelling? Did the dog bark? High pitch frequently, or low deep / growling barks?

As Kevin mentions this is considered pack behavior. And is really hard to make an assessment with the amount of information given.

1) But it may be safe to say that the dog was following his owner’s lead. Your friend playing rough with his nephew (sparring), just got his dog got “turned on,” and he jumped right in when the owner was in trouble. At the time of attack you mention that your friend had his back towards his nephew. A dominant position for the nephew to be in, and the dog thought otherwise. I guess you can call it a dog pile of sorts. In my opinion I think the dog was just helping out his owner, and not seeing it as play. Just some natural defensive behavior in relations to the severity of the bite. If it were play, maybe some nipping. But a full on bite and shake, that is for real.

2) Or the dog was “turned on” and was in prey drive. Chasing a scrappy little kid half his size.

Lack of information makes it hard to determine how things looked at the scene.

As for your friend, he should be looking at training and socializing the dog. The dog just needs some guidance from his owner. If he gets over it (owner), as he should (wasn’t the dogs fault). Give the dog a second chance. He should be a little more careful about how he interacts with people. Don’t pretend that he’s getting beat up. If he does well keep the dog confined. Just to prevent it. I’m sure there is some one out there that will take in a dog like this and give him the attention he needs maybe a local schutzhund club near by. As much as I dislike the AKC they have breed specific rescues online as well. But as for your friend, just should have thought things through. Does he want a protective breed or not. Probably the wrong type of dog for the wrong type of person. May be a shih tzu next time.

P.S. Not saying that Shih Tzu don’t bite

Posting reasons of what went wrong, or why is counterproductive. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> The owner just wants help placing this dog in another home. Anyone have any practical suggestions for him?

http://www.destinysrescue.com/index-old.htm

Perhaps this rescue will have some advice, or can place a courtesy listing on petfinder.com for the owner. I think Putnam Rescue is your way, also.

Do a google search for dog rescue + Ohio and a lot of rescues will come up. I don't know if there was an actual biting incident, so can't say whether a rescue would take him in.
Poor baby. I hope it works out.