I'm in a bind and need some advice. I have a 1 year old GSD that is aggressive towards children. I also have children so this is a pressing issue.

I socialized the heck out of this dog. My house is always full of kids and he's been everywhere. Since he was a pup he’s always been more aggressive with kids than I’ve been comfortable with. Towards adults he is very, very friendly. Towards kids he can be very friendly, but he has proven to be unpredictable. Recently he has been snapping without warning. There's no growl. He appears to be calm and then he'll snap. Luckily he hasn't bitten anyone, but we had one very close call. He snapped at a kid’s face without warning, or at least any warning I could discern (which is probably key here, but at this point it's also moot).

I think he would be a great dog for an adult, but I don't think I can keep him with children around. He'd pretty much be in his crate all the time.

So my question is... Am I wrong to want to get rid of this dog? Or can a behavior problem like this be corrected? I feel horrible, but at this point I don’t think he’s worth the risk.

Thanks.

This is only my personal opinion (although I am sure I will get slammed for it LOL) If it was a dog in my HOUSE it would be given a one way ticket to the vet's office.

I say in my HOUSE because I have kennel/working dogs whom I know would not tolerate noise/activity of being around kids. I have a couple of young dogs with super intense prey drive that I know would hurt the kids.. but not on "purpose" regardless, I don't trust them with kids.. BUT they never come in contact with kids and I don't expect to see kids running around on the trial field.

Now the dogs in my house are another matter. If any of our pet/house dogs so much as showed teeth at a kid it would be gone to the vets and not coming back. I just have zero tolerance. I won't make excuses like "Well, the kid should not have been near the dog's food/toy/bed" or "Well, the kid should be careful not to wake the dog/startle it" etc etc etc. I don't buy it.

QUOTE: Now the dogs in my house are another matter. If any of our pet/house dogs so much as showed teeth at a kid it would be gone to the vets and not coming back. I just have zero tolerance. END

Me too.

And no one is being done any favors by having a house dog put up all the time because of a house full of kids.

I think the behavior could've been corrected, but it wasn't, and it can't be in the houseful of kids. Let him go to the right adult trainer and be upfront about the issue. Just MHO!

I agree with probably everyone else that this is no longer a do-it-yourself training! Contact a qualified professional trainer with experience with aggression and GSD's.

Keep it clear in your mind that this is a lifethreatening issue for both your children and your dog.

I completely agree that this is a serious issue. I'm actually frightened about this. Around me and my wife this dog is a baby.

About a professional trainer....

My current thinking is that bringing in a professional isn't worth the risk. Is that wrong? Someone could come in and evaluate him, make recommendations, visit weekly to train, etc., and then the dog could bite a 5 year old who approached him incorrectly.

It's the unpredictability that really gets me here. My last dog was a golden retriever. She lived for 8 years without ever once biting or even snapping at a human.

I agree, too (three). Find the dog a new home in a place where it won't be around children. Make the new owners aware that the dog isn't reliable around children, that it might bite a child. I don't think euthanasia is necessary - (though I agree with Sammy - if a HOUSE dog of mine ever bit a kid for any reason, it might make a last stop at the vet depending on the situation) sounds like an ok dog but not with kids. Some dogs no matter the socialization and raising around children, are not good with children - genetic nerves, temperament or sometimes a health problem, problem with dominant behavior - or even submissive behavior (kid at a level with dogs' face and making more rapid and unpredictable movements than adults)
Good luck.

molly

It is easier to train a dog exactly what it must do when it sees a child than put it in a home where it will only see strange children occassionally in unsupervised/unfamiliar situations and expect it to no hurt something.

If you can't work it out with a trainer, put the dog down.

If it is a working dog, get it into a kennel where it will always be with experienced trainer(s) and will never see a child for the rest of its life.

If you can't bear to part with the dog, keep it at a boarding kennel everyday that you cannot give it 100% of your attention and supervision - and yes people actually do this.

I would personally put the dog down rather than place it in a home where you don't know what would happen to it or have any control over whether it met another child. Mostly becuaes I would never forgive myself if a dog that I had given away then killed or maimed a child.

I have 2 young children, and I have had to put dogs down in the past due to child aggression issues.

But maybe I'm just harsh.

QUOTE: I would personally put the dog down rather than place it in a home where you don't know what would happen to it or have any control over whether it met another child. ......... But maybe I'm just harsh END

No, it has nothing to do with "harsh." When I replied that the dog could maybe go to an adult trainer who knew the issues, I meant an adult trainer with no children who knew the issues. (I didn't stress ADULT enough.) But maybe you're right. "Harsh" doesn't apply here, IMO. Maybe I wasn't correct in thinking that the dog could be placed. Other opinions? Couldn't this dog be placed as a working dog with a trainer who knew that the dog could not be around children? Or is that too iffy?

But what kind of work would the dog do besides sport ScH or French Ring? It couldn't ever do service work (police, SAR, etc) being child aggressive.

Or maybe that's my naiveté with working dogs? And I'm the first one to admit that!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />