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Need to find a home

12K views 82 replies 32 participants last post by  LuvShepherds 
#1 ·
I dont know where to put this but i know all of you are good people on here and i thought you could help me out. I'm devasted. My GSD was aggressive with my 1 year old and i feel i have no choice but to rehome him. I dont know what to do. Words cannot describe how much this dog means to me. He's my best friend, my heart and soul. I only want the best for him. Please help.
 
#3 ·
Contact your breeder first.

It will depend on 'how aggressive' and the circumstance as to whether a gsd rescue will even 'touch' him.

However, they may do him as a courtesy listing to a home with NO children. Again, depending on what happened between your child and him, will depend on whether they will even consider him.

And PLEASE be truthful with anyone interested in him, I would also contact your vet's office see if they know anyone looking for an older dog.

For right now, I am going to move this thread to agression only because maybe someone can HELP you with what happened.

Please come back and describe exactly what happened with your child , hopefully someone can give you some help and ideas which may allow you to keep him.

For now, NO contact between dog and child. Good luck
 
#4 ·
Where are you located? We will be able to give you better advice on re-homing options if we know your city/state.

I also encourage you to share some details of the incident. Not only will this also help members advise you on re-homing but, more importantly, may help you better understand if it is indeed aggression that you observed.... A lot of people can read aggression into dog behavior when aggression was, in fact, not the driver of that behavior.
 
#5 ·
What happened was i was sitting on the couch watching tv, i wasnt paying attention. Jager(GSD) was standing beside the couch and my son was on the other side of him, i guess pulling his hair(like he normally does) then all of a sudden jager starts growling and mouthing his head. My son has a couple marks on his head from his teeth. I'm located in ironton, missouri.
 
#9 ·
If your baby is ok, and there are just teethmarks (from having head in mouth), I wouldn't say he's super aggressive. If he'd been really aggressive your son would be in really bad shape.

Your dog probably should be re-homed. You have a lot on your hands with a new baby and perhaps don't have a lot of experience with the breed.

Call your vet and any other leads on finding him a home.

I would not characterize him as "aggressive" based on the description of the incident. Your dog probably just had a reflex to a hurt, and being a young dog, didn't contain his reaction as well as an older dog used to the pulling and tugging of a baby.

I hope he ends up in a good home.

Can you share more about the dog? Breeding etc...."
 
#11 ·
Patchon - absolutely agree. I am one who was brought up by parents, relatives and at a time when people would ask what someone did to the dog to make them bite.

However - right now - think of it as triage - get a handle of the situation, dog's age, who might be able to help, then, because the gate is being closed after the horses get out, after everything is settled, we can talk to the OP about prevention around other dogs (because kids generalize - if I can do this to my dog, I can do it to anyone's dog). So priority is not on that right now - or not in this thread - feel free to start another about that topic - and we need to focus on helping the OP's dog.

Thank you!
 
#12 ·
I too know the heartbreak

Jager, I'm going thru a similar situation, not with a baby, but with my 10 month old GSD attacking my other little dogs. Its hard to think of rehoming your dog, that you love dearly. But your baby is your Baby. I never ever leave my grandson who is 5 alone in the room with any dog. Never know what could happen. Good luck to you. I know first hand the heartbreak, I have a dicision to make myself, but am trying everything to stop her aggression. I absolutely wouldn't chance more aggression towards a child.
 
#16 ·
How old is the dog, and why was it OK to repeatedly let the baby pull on him? At that age babies pull hard! I remember my sons doing this to me and it was scream worthy pain.
Patchon - absolutely agree. I am one who was brought up by parents, relatives and at a time when people would ask what someone did to the dog to make them bite.

However - right now - think of it as triage - get a handle of the situation, dog's age, who might be able to help, then, because the gate is being closed after the horses get out, after everything is settled, we can talk to the OP about prevention around other dogs (because kids generalize - if I can do this to my dog, I can do it to anyone's dog). So priority is not on that right now - or not in this thread - feel free to start another about that topic - and we need to focus on helping the OP's dog.

Thank you!
Hey, everyone, let's see if we can focus on the dog and then later do the education part.

Believe me, this is the method that works best in terms of helping the dog.
 
#15 ·
I can't blame you about looking into rehoming your pup. If I had a baby, and realized I couldn't trust my pup around him, I would be considering the same thing.

While you are looking at your options, keep the dog and baby completely separated. Use gates, closed doors, crates, leashes; whatever it takes to keep the separation.

Is your pup a rescue or from a breeder? If a breeder, was there a contract? If a contract, it should state in it that the dog would be returned to them if you are unable to keep it or care for it. If not from a breeder, locate a GSD rescue, and as others have stated, be honest about the circumstances. What your baby was doing, and the dog's reaction.

If you choose to attempt to keep the dog. First thing, have the dog in for a FULL exam, include a thyroid test. Have the vet go over his body in detail looking for anything out of the ordinary. Next get a behaviorist on board who has as one of their specialty of integrating baby and dog, along with aggression.

You didn't say how old your GSD is. How much training has he had? How much exercise each day? How has the interaction before this been between your dog and baby? What is your dog's normal temperament daily? These are all questions that will probably be asked which ever direction you choose to go, so please be thinking about them.
 
#17 ·
I am far from an expert but we had three young under five children at one time back in the 80's and our sheperd was so protective of them, I did not worry at all.. That being said when they are as young as one we had to be very watchful of both the baby and the dog. Little kids can learn at that age the word NO land not allow them to pull on the dog in anyway. What your dog did, does not sound like true aggression but myself or anyone else could not say for sure unless we were there..It sounds like your dog was simply saying back off little person. Talk to your vet and get his or her opinion..
 
#18 ·
Oops, I realize that I confused the dog's age with your son's age. How old is your dog?

I also think that some additional information on the dog's typical behavior and temperament will help in assessing the situation.

Please know that I am not asking these questions to open you up for judgement. I can tell from your initial post that you love your dog. I, and others here, are really trying to help you in your decision and to point you in the direction of good resources whatever that may be!

If you decide that re-homing is your best option, please look into GSD and all-breed rescues in your area. Most will do a courtesy posting so that the dog can stay at your home until a suitable new home is found. I think that arrangement would work well for you as knowing where the dog was going might be a solace to you.

If you decide to keep the dog for further evaluation, take some of the other posters' advice in terms of separation and supervised interaction.

I really do wish you the best and hope that the experience of others will help you in your decision.

Please PM if you any questions!
 
#20 ·
You should rehome and not replace the dog until your child is older. When my children were babies they weren't near the dog (not a GSD) except in extremely well supervised situations. We waited to get a GSD until they were old enough to understand how to behave around that breed. Even then, the breeder insisted on meeting all of us, plus friends of my children, and watched them all interact before letting us take a dog home.

I would contact your local GSD rescue, explain the situation, and see what they say. They may even have other suggestions or options for you. At one time I was going to rehome one of my dogs (a rescue that we weren't completely sure we were going to keep) and the rescue organization gave us ideas and a different perspective on how to deal with the dog.
 
#25 ·
There is something more here then a baby just pulling the dogs hair, did the baby step on him and kinda push him? Is your dog injured anywhere that he might be protecting himself? Was there food around? Is the weather hot and miserable, etc...there are tons of different reasons why this could have happened. Do I think the dog is aggressive? Nope, not by a long shot, the dog had a big opportunity to do major damage and it didn't. Would I let any kid pull on a dog's hair, ears,etc? Nope, but like someone else said it happens. I had a dog one time that was laying on the couch, my son's friend(they were about 3) was jumping on the couch(which I didn't allow to begin with) and jumped right on the dog sleeping on the couch, the dog chose to growl and run the other way...never attempted to go after the little one. That is the kind of dog that people want around their kids. I think more details are needed to describe what exactly happened
 
#32 · (Edited)
Actually, now that others have shared some stories, I realize I do have some relevant experience when it comes to kids and pets. My last dog was the definition of kid-friendly... he was the absolute favorite of all the neighborhood kids and spent a lot of time with my SO's daughter. He was fawned over, ridden on, dressed up... you name it, he loved it!

However, when he got older, his rear legs became very weak and he had arthritis in his front legs. I repeatedly told my young nephews not to lean on, grab, or otherwise handle him roughly. Well, one of my nephews kept grabbing at his rear end and my dog growled.... It was the first time in 13 years I had ever heard him growl. I sat my nephew down and had a long discussion with him about how to be respectful of elders. I did not blame my dog at all!

Flash forward to my current dog. My nephew, now 5, was over at my house. He was in full kid mode. He was play marching and came down full force on my dog's front paw - he saw the dog there and there is a part of me that knows that he knew he should have changed course but, back to the story.... My dog screeched and then mouthed his arm. The mouthing was just that - mouthing - the dog did not apply any pressure. But, the screech followed by the mouthing got my nephew's attention. Now, at last, he seems to be careful about how he treats dogs.
 
#36 ·
I feel for you with this decision. It would be so hard for me. I have had dogs my whole life and when my kids were young, I just always felt that they should not be alone with the dog. I know a 1 yr old pulling hair HURTS! They just don't let go because they don't know. I can remember lashing out when my kids pulled my hair! No, I didn't bite them....
I have a 3 yr old grandson and 9 yr old grand daughter. Stella adores the 9 yr old and I still make sure I am there to supervise. And forget about letting the 3 yr old near Stella. If he hurt Stella I wouldn't fault her for a reaction. (I am not talking about an extreme attack or anything of course) It doesn't sound like a real attack to me. Stella is 13 months and will mouth my hand if I accidentally hurt her....of course she gets corrected and is so sorry after. Even my mellow, you can do anything to me newfie/lab will turn and look like he is going to snap, if something hurts him. He always catches himself though, but he has had years of training and is just naturally tolerant of people and pain.
I guess what this long winded post is trying to say is....every situation is different, every dog is different. A one yr old child is a lot of work and takes a lot of supervision. I will not babysit my grandson alone if I know I have to watch him and Stella by myself. Waaaaaay too much stress and work at this time of my life!
 
#40 ·
Agreed!

To the OP, even if you do not want to share additional details to the entire board, please "Private Message" those who you would like additional information from. I think MaggieRoseLee, Twyla, Jakoda would be great resources for you. I would also be happy to do research on rescues and network with rescues on your behalf if that is what you decide.

Again, best of luck, I know this is a very difficult time for you.
 
#42 ·
op, sounds like you were not supervising well. that being said, i am guilty of this as well. the truth is my kids , now 19 and 21, were born when my wife and i had two gsd dogs. my gsd were perfect kid friendly baby sitters. i would often do chores or not really pay attention to to dogs and kids. maybe foolish on my part, but i never had any fear or doubt in my mind that children were completely safe. you have a few options here, trainer, keep the dog separated from child ect... sorry you have to make this type of choice, but you also need to know your child is very safe. wish i had some really good advice for you, but i am not sure what i would do.
 
#46 ·
I just woke up and i'm trying to go through all of these posts.

Okay, What i THINK really happened, and i know my dog VERY well, is because of jealousy. Jager was standing in front of me, between me and my son and he just attacked for no reason.

Maybe my son was pulling his hair or whatever but he's done so MANY times before and it's never bothered jager.

Jager is a very jealous and possessive dog when it comes to me.

I was just distracted for one second and it happened.

Jager is 4 years old, my son is the only baby he has ever been around.

What do i mean by mouthing? well obviously he didnt try to take a big bite, he was just trying to tell my son to back off or he could have done alot more damage.

Someone asked if blood was drawn and yes there was a tiny bit from where one of his teeth raked against his head.

Today i'm taking jager to a good friend of mine to stay.

I'm going to try and go through these posts and answer your questions.
 
#52 ·
I just woke up and i'm trying to go through all of these posts.

Okay, What i THINK really happened, and i know my dog VERY well, is because of jealousy. Jager was standing in front of me, between me and my son and he just attacked for no reason.

Maybe my son was pulling his hair or whatever but he's done so MANY times before and it's never bothered jager.

Jager is a very jealous and possessive dog when it comes to me.

I was just distracted for one second and it happened.

Jager is 4 years old, my son is the only baby he has ever been around.

What do i mean by mouthing? well obviously he didnt try to take a big bite, he was just trying to tell my son to back off or he could have done alot more damage.

Someone asked if blood was drawn and yes there was a tiny bit from where one of his teeth raked against his head.

Today i'm taking jager to a good friend of mine to stay.

I'm going to try and go through these posts and answer your questions.
In case this post got lost in everyone's back and forth.
 
#47 ·
Something I've noticed with Felix my 2 y/o GSD (may help you out a bit):
I've got 2 little brothers ages 5 and 9 (I'm adopted) and a niece, 17 months. Felix is very bothered by the boys because they are very rowdy. He has a tendancy to try to "herd" them and has pulled shirts and "mouthed" arms/legs to get them off of high surfaces or off of swings he's deemed "unsafe". I've told the boys several times that if they pester him or act wildly that this will happen. They're full aware but they do it anyway because they don't mind it. Sometimes he does hurt them (unintentional--his canines are quite a bit longer than the average GSDs) and they'll come to me crying and have said "Felix bit me but it's okay because he didn't mean to he thought we were playing or we scared him". NOW with my niece it's a completly different story. She doesn't pull hair or anything... simply pats him on the head sometimes and will intentionally put her fist in Felix's mouth because she gets tickled when he VERY gently "mouths" her hand. She LOVES it! He's also grabbed her little arm once to move her away from another dog that we later found out had aggression issues. He's just following his herding instinct in both situations and the kids know this and love it. Like I said, i've explained to them WHY he does it. He's also very protective and possessive of Mommy but I hold no candle to Brynna (my niece) and he is GLUED to her side the entire time she's here. HTH!
 
#50 ·
Jager - where are you located at? Do you have pictures? Is he neutered? UTD on vaccines? Does he have any obedience training?

These are things that need to be listed in order to help find him a new home. Have you contacted any rescues to see if they will courtesy post him on petfinder for you?
 
#56 ·
And for the record, and maybe its something the OP should consider, I would appreciate a dog that had the mind to only give a warning growl/nip/pinch after being repeatedly pestered and maybe even hurt by the child instead of a full on bite. Not all dogs would do the same, and it sounds like the OP actually has a really good dog.
 
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