I'll try to keep this brief. My 14 week old GSD and I were at the ball fields watching my son's baseball practice. I bring Ranger out with me went it isn't too crowded with kids for socialization. Husband brought the other two boys later on and Ranger had seen them all. It was getting dark and I had Ranger on his leash as usual. I had him with me when I heard my boys running up. All of a sudden Ranger whipped around growled and LEAPED at my youngest son (age 9)! The leash caught him from grabbing hold but it flipped him over. He got up and went at my son again and grabbed his shirt. He let go and started barking. As soon as my son called his name he settled down and sat near me. By that time my husband grabbed a hold of his collar and wouldn't let go. Finally I convinced him it was ok and Ranger lay down and rolled over for my son to scratch his belly and licked him all over. What the heck happened??? The only thing I can think of , it was getting dark, the dog heard running footsteps and reacted. Now he didn't go after my other son who was next to his brother. My youngest one had just come back from the store and also had brand new shoes. Maybe the unfamiliar smell, coupled with darkness and the running made him react?? He's never done that before. He is usually tied to me in the house or on a tether. I was shocked. BOth were fine afterward - Stephen wasn't freaked out and everything was normal in the evening at home and this morning. Should I be concerned about this? He's getting big and I was taken aback at how ferociously my dog reacted considering his age. I don't want this to be a problem so someone please chime in - is this a fear re-action,aggressive behavior or was my dog "defending " me against a perceived threat?

I would say your pup was startled - just that, startled and stressed. When he figured out who it was the pup was fine. I wouldn't attach any big problem or labels to what happened.

My adult son showed up at the back door with a big jacket on a couple of months ago while Lear and I were playing in the back yard. It was dark and Lear growled, barked and lunged, stopped just a few inches from him when he realized who it was. Your pup is younger, got startled, grabbed the shirt by instinct. I think your pup was too young to pull off in time and being startled just set that wheel in motion. Not old enough to know how to stop the wheel from spinning.

Edited to add: these are dogs - they have instincts, from a long time ago...they react out of instinct. It's easier and (more fair to the dog) to read a dog when you know what is instinct and what is something else.

I've had something similar happen with my 1 year old Malinois. He's weaked-nerved, and can get easily startled by strange noises. He's a sharp dog, as Ed describes it. There was one night when I was taking him outside for his potty break. We usually go out through a gate next to our garage. As I opened the gate, my neighbor walked up on us out of nowhere. He startled both my dog and I. Before I knew it, my dog was aggressively barking and trying to lunge at him. I told the dog to cut it out, and he stopped. He's never done this before to my neighbor, and he's seen my neigbor countless times in the past. My dog is well socialized, and is good out in public. It is at night when he gets more alert. There's also been an occassion where my dog was laying right next to me as I watched TV. I guess someone forgot to lock our front door, and my younger sister just stormed into the house. My dog immediately got up, ran up to my sister, and started to bark aggressively at her. She said his name, and he piped down, started waggling his tail. This is probably what happened with your puppy-it got startled. Whether it was a defensive or fear-based reaction, I wouldn't really know, someone who works with personal protection dogs might have to chime in on the defensive/fear-based reaction.

at 14 weeks old, he was probably just spooked.

Oops, missed the part about your puppy being 14 weeks old. Thought I read 14 months. Anyway, like the majority of us say, at 14 weeks old, it was simply startled, nothing to worry about. According to Ed, dogs who have potentional for protection work won't show any defensive drive until it reaches puberty.

This is what I thought but its nice to have some unbiased opinions. I thought he might have been startled when he jumped at my son chest the first time and flipped himself over. He hit the ground hard, got up again and jumped toward him again so that is where I questioned his behavior. He's a baby still and I want to be sure that I handle things with him in the best possible way. Thanks for the reassurance!