Thanks Ingrid! Yes, when I posted that it was very early and she was gentle with our grandson and he did ask that I post a good comment about the dog.

Strictly companion - now that you know where she's from, I could post email comments from him, but I won't. There's no point. We may have made a bad decision, maybe not. We're just out to find answers and make sure that nobody ever again gets hurt and that we can be a family again because without our children and grandchild - we're not a family any longer.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

CRATE THE DOG when children are there, and get help.

Ditto this...and, like Connie also said, NO EXCEPTIONS.

I recently made a decision to surrender my dog back to the breeder because of 2 incidents which involved alert, dominant barking at my son. The second incident involved a lunge. ZERO room for error in handling in that situation. Children are always priority as you know...
SO sorry you are going through this experience. Good luck with an experienced trainer/behaviorist.

Did you have a contract? Is there a return clause in it? It is hard to give advice over the web but you might be in over your head if you want just a companion animal. I would have the dog evaluated and than you and your family are going to have to make a hard decision as to whether this dog is appropriate for you and your family.

Thanks to all of you. Hoping a good trainer will help; I think right now we're just in a shocked state of mind, but also one that's open.

Our biggest fear should the decision be to re-home her, is who would take her? Sounds simple, but I'm sure you all know it's not - she has become so attached to us and likewise other than the recent incidents. How would one ever know that someone would treat her kindly. The breeder does not want her back as she's been spayed and frankly, we'd not want her back with him.

Yes, our family and children do come first - my husband had nightmares all last night about what "could" have happened. For now though, it's all good with crating her whenever someone is arriving or the doorbell rings - not the way of life we've ever lived or expected, but it's what we have.

Dea,

Something is fishy about your breeder. Why would he not be interested in what you said? I hope that this isn't a scam where you brought a dog for a lot of money. If he is not answering your phone calls or emails, I am guessing that you might not be the first customer who had a problem with him?

He sold you a 20 K dog who is a schutzhund 3. Is there any proof that she holds schh 3 titles? Everyone kept asking you what did your contract say? Can you please answer the question? If you have brought her to local sch club, what did they say about her?

Yes, we have all her papers and the judges scoring of all her trials. The local Schutzhund club read them all and absolutely confirmed her line and results as she can read German.

Her comment was that she was a nice little girl, but skittish. She could jump over the "jumps" to retrieve, but unable to bring back. That was when we had her about 1.5 months. She did good however on the bite work.

We really did have her re-evaluated - again, I'm sorry if I sound hesitant to answer. Ask any questions and I will answer.

What kind of contract did you sign? Did you really pay 20K or 2K?
Either way I am so sorry for your situation and hope there is a satisfactory solution.

Why did you want a SchH dog?

Dea,
The dog was titled in Germany? Who did the training?

The dog was fine at first but is now showing territorial agression? Or just toward children?
Are you just doing exercise with her or making sure to do her OB. to keep it rounded out?
For the moment I'll have to second or third or join the chorus in saying, untill you get a handle on this, don't allow the dog free rein around children or strangers.

If my dog isn't learning, I'm doing something wrong.
Randy

I checked out the contract, which is available online, and it says the seller is released from all responsibility and liability for the dog. There are no warranties of any kind given for the future handling of the dog.

A dog can be returned within 72 hours of delivery with no questions asked...but there is a 25% restocking fee :smirk: The seller has first right of refusal if the buyer wants to sell the dog. The buyer is supposed to initial each point of the contract prior to purchase.

Dea, Make sure that whatever trainer you bring in is familiar with SchH training. Better yet, a trainer used by the schH club. Bottom line, do not let someone who is not experienced with this type of dog to work with the dog. A bullsh*t trainer who thinks they know what they are doing will make this situation worse. The thing that I picked up from the incident with your hand is that the dog did not target you when you started to cry, etc. It avoided you. This is actually good that the dog did not get more agitated. I think the dog seems to be acting a little too dominant, and once that is settled you may still be able to keep the dog, just will need to make some changes to maintain the dog. When the dog is "doing so well" a lot of people slack off on rules, thinking they are now unnecessary. This cannot be farther from the truth. The REASON the dog is doing well is BECAUSE of the rules. Crating is a big thing. Not allowing the dog freedom to do "whatever" has a huge impact. So does tethering the dog to you.
BTW, have the children ever participated in hand feeding or giving treats?