I have a friend who had a GSD who would do exactly this behavior with her kid. She blew it off as being "puppy stuff" since the dog was only 10 months old and largely ignored it (only gave mild, verbal corrections, and joked about how cute it was that the dog "herded" her son).

Then one day her son (8 years old) was on a swing in their backyard and screaming with happiness about being pushed high. The GSD who previously was mellow and snoozing in the shade practically FLEW and chomped onto the boy, who required 5 stiches and is now terrified of dogs and can't even come over to my house because he knows a GSD lives here. Even if he knows Carbs is crated, he won't step foot into my house to play with my son. It's sad on so many levels.

No aggressive behaviors (even seemingly playful ones) should be allowed. And I know I'm an echo to everyone else, but YOU have to be there, and YOU have to be serious about stopping this behavior. Puppies play at what they will do seriously when they're mature.

And it is possible that we're all overreacting to your post, or misread it, as that is always a risk on an internet board. But in this case, I think it's better to overreact than underreact, you know? Only good intentions here! Many of us have seen this sort of thing escalate, and in this case, it's really better to learn from other's mistakes if possible.

I thought I'd add to this thread that I just received a PM stating that the fact that my dog has jumped up, trying to keep his feet back from my son, will maybe affect performance in protection portion for SchH.

I was well aware that training some manners may (or may not) affect my pup's ability on the SchH field.

I am in no way wanting points at a trial over safety of my son. My pup knows the commmand for jump and other places he can jump. He knows my son is NOT one of those places (or people).

Any one here have a dog on the SchH field with manners at the house??? WHat did you do with jumps on kids and bites on children?

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Well we might be on the same partial page here outside of crating or kenneling the dog 24/7

Geoff, It's not that you have to keep the dog locked up 24/7 but during those times the kids are being kids it's not that bad to keep them separated. My focus is always on my kids, when they are listening and interacting the way I tell them to with my dog he is loose. If they are playing anything that involves movement he is either crated, kenneled,or on leash. I don't do any protection or schutzhund so I can't give you any advice there, but my dog has a ton of prey drive and I think this has helped make it clear to him that he can't chase the kids.

It is possible that it could have an affect, but it can be manageable. Has your pup worked with a helper yet? If he has, you can monitor this affect as you train. I had this exact situation about two months ago, but it did not affect her work with a helper. She was hesitant to jump on me. I need her to jump up on me when she brings the tug/toy back to me and I need her to come in flying at a tug when I am doing drive building and whatever bitework I can do independently. I just worked with her so she understood that jumping on me at all times is fair game (I will transition later to only jumping at appropriate times), but jumping on other people in a social setting is not. Actually, I had to let her just jump for a bit, and then slowly started jump inhibition in only social settings. It is a delicate balance, and really helps to be working with a good experienced helper so you can see what adjustments need to be made as you go.

Geoff,

Your dog can absolutely be a family companion and be a Schutzhund dog provided she has the right temperment and you are the right handler that sets the right rules and expectations. While the dog is a puppy and young adult, 100% supervision is required by someone who knows what they are looking at, but quite frankly I would say this of virtually any dog not just a Schutzhund dog. What has drawn me to this sport so much is the what you learn about your dog by training in Schutzhund is more than you would learn in virtually anything else. You are putting your dog in a controlled stressful situation, and teaching the dog to focus on you, listen, and be handled during that stress. You learn every aspect of your dogs temperment and makeup. This is valuable information in every day life. There are plenty of Schutzhund 3 dogs that live in homes as companions as well. I described it as a "delicate endeavor" becuase it is in fact just that. You walk the line of teaching manners in the home and building drive and performance on the field. While the dog is young, you lay off of manners, but as they mature you can make up for that. You just watch it closely and adjust on the fly. I personally, find it fascinating and am very hooked.

Haven't had the pup on a helper yet. I am planning on making mistakes, (am already "undoing" something to do with the cat and it's food) but when it comes to the kid, *zero* room for mistakes.

I know someone who has a GSD...therapy during the weekdays and SchH on the week nights and ends. It is possible and workable. All of it manageable, like you said, it's knowing what to manage and how to adjust accordingly.

Oh, and just for the record, my pup jumps on me, but off's if I ask him.