Best of luck to you - It sounds (to me) that you have a good plan to get the best outcome from this situation, and it sounds like you have given a lot of thought to solving this problem. I hope everything works out for ya!

I think another thing, in this particular situation, to take note of is that this was not a 6 yr old boy scout. While the words "Boy Scout" can emit pleasant thoughts of little boys sitting round the campfire roasting marshmallows...this boy scout was no "boy". We have a few 14 yr old boys scouts in my sons troop and they are as close to men as anyone can imagine. The dog had no idea that the strange person standing at the door was under the age of 18. I have noticed on some of the dogs that we have owned that for some strange reason hats can be a threatening prop. Was he wearing a hat? Either way, the German Shepherd dog is well known for it's protective nature/instincts. Most times, it is not in the dogs ability to determine a real threat from a perceived threat. To consider putting a dog to sleep for one infraction of this kind is, to me, premature at best. I realize that this kind of behavior was not something that you had seen before in this particular dog but I don't think that your son is at any risk. Nor would any of his 'regular' playmates be at risk, most likely. Still, to be safe, I would venture to say that any new friends or new people coming into the house should recieve an introduction first before being allowed to interact with the dog. Also, since he has shown this behavior, putting him up while your son plays with his buddies in the yard is probably a good idea. We had a friend whose dog bit the little boy her son was playing with when he was chasing him. He saw that as a threat to one of his own. Pack structure is also a huge factor. Definitely something I would begin working on in earnest. Now, if this kind of thing isn't something that you would want to deal with on a regular basis I would suggest that you follow through with trying to rehome him. Whether the behavior the dog displayed was one of fearless protection, or one of fearful aggression, or fearless aggression, it is hard to say. It is important for you to keep in mind that a lot of police stations will not accept a dog into their programs if it has been neutered. Nor will neutering the dog assure a less aggressive animal, sometimes, quite the contrary. One very important thing that I wanted to ask, that you neglected to mention, was the age of the dog in question and how long you have had him in your home. Age can be a huge factor in the way that some dogs can behave. Not to say it's excusable by any means but, on occasion, can be representative of the dog coming into his own with regards to testosterone/maturity/sexual frustration. Now let me just end with one more comment, I am very sorry that you had to go through such a frightening experience with this dog. I can't imagine the fear that both you and the boy scout had to go through. It is hard to know why this dog behaved the way he did or what his background and training were in the past, perhaps his past training in Germany called for him to attack someone in uniform, for this reason I would definitely give the dog a bit more time and take the advice of some of the others that have previously posted and get an 'informed' opinion on the dog. I wish you luck, Lisa.

I disagree with Robbin over neutering. I've been training k9 's for police and protection work for over 40 years and "never" sold one dog that was not neutered.
Neuter the Your dog and You will see a less aggressive dog. However, You still need a lot of with this dog. Good Luck Tom

 Quote: tom lasko

I disagree with Robbin over neutering. I've been training k9 's for police and protection work for over 40 years and "never" sold one dog that was not neutered.
Neuter the Your dog and You will see a less aggressive dog. However, You still need a lot of with this dog. Good Luck Tom

I can tell you from MY experience, that I HAVE seen neutering NOT do the trick as Robin said, and sometimes make no difference at all. The age of the dog, training level, all play a part. Sometimes you find out the aggression is not testosterone aggrivated when you DO neuter and find it has made no difference. That's when you realize the behavior is 100% lack of training (or medical- sometimes the case as well.

Who cares how big the boy was. It was still a terrible attack even if it was a 35 year old male body builder at the door.

Neutering MAY not be the answer but it definately will not make the situation worse.

I am SO SO glad you are taking this seriously and not making excuses for your dog.

So many people find alibies for their dogs lack of good social skills.

I agree w/Robbin on the neutering issue; you have bigger fish to fry w/this dog. Neutering wouldn't even be on my top ten suggestions on what to do first. Not to say he wouldn't mellow a bit, but the behavior is ingrained, he's mature...he's done it before and he'll do it again...balls or no balls.

CRATE. CRATE. Oh, and CRATE. From the description, it sounds like the dog thought he was doing a good thing; like Molly said (though I disagree that he's automatically a liability) he bit with intent-this was not a fearful bite nor a nip. I also wonder about the uniform. You don't say much about his history; maybe you don't know enough about his history to have this dog loose (uncrated and/or unleashed). I don't see why you're worried about your son except for the rough play, but that's your responsiblity to supervise and not allow a large dog to roughouse with a child. I don't see how the two things are connected, except that the dog is getting away with whatever he wants to get away with. I would bet in his opinion, he was being a good boy. You did say he immediately retreated when you intervened; this really sounds like a scenario that could've/should've been prevented, and also a scenario that is more a result of unknown history/training than a "loose cannon" type of dog. Maybe he's too much for you. If you think so, I would urge you to find someone better qualified (and I don't mean that insultingly-this kind of dog takes a lot of time that someone w/kids and other dogs probably doesn't have). I think it's dangerous to say the least to neuter this dog and expect him to be "fixed" no pun intended. Not inferring that anyone suggested neutering as the only action, of course.

NOW-I am not saying I don't feel horrible for the kid (though 14, to a dog, is not a child) and you are very lucky his parents are not litigious people looking for blood. I also know you must've been shocked and terrified; that's a horrible thing to go through, and the flood of emotions is unpleasant at best! I just don't see the dog as a liability that must go as much as a dog who is working on his own, unsure of how he's supposed to behave, and relying on instincts. JMO.

Edited to say; I wonder if this dog was half-ass PPD trained by some idiot in the past? I misread the original post at first and missed the fact that you had gone outside, too. Sounds even more like he thought he was doing the right thing and defending you from a threat (real or perceived). CONTROL is what's needed on this dog.

Edited by Jenni Williams (05/31/2008 10:19 AM)
Edit reason: Re-read post

We sure are doing a lot of resurrecting lately. At least this thread was only 6 weeks old and not 5 years, which we did yesterday.

LOL. I didn't look at the date of the first one..only the last three. Just checked active topics and there it was. Makes me wonder what ever happened though.

Isn't there a way old threads could be closed after a certain date?

Sure there is.

But the dates are right there to tell us if a comment is likely to be relevant; also, some old threads (lists of good vets is one example) shouldn't be automatically closed.

And sometimes new info that changes the POV of a thread is beneficial.