Will it eat my friends?

[treycpeterson]

I have a lot of friends who bring their children over to my house, and I'm a little concerned about their safety. I'm sure the dog will respond well once it sees me interacting with them. However, from what I understand, GSD's are a protective bread. From your experience, is there anything for me to worry about?

Thanks for responding, I look forward to everyones feedback.

[Lucy Dog]

Absolutely there should be something to worry about if you're not sure how he will react, but that has nothing to do with the breed.

The number one priority should be the safety of the children. If you're not sure how he's going to react, leash and keep everything simple. You MUST have COMPLETE control over the dog until it can be 110% trusted, especially with children.

How old is the dog and has he ever met any kids or new people before? What was his reactions like... curios, nervous, friendly, aloof, etc?

[Good_Karma]

Yes, it is good that you are concerned, and you should ask yourself the questions that Paul mentioned. Also, have a talk with those kids beforehand and make sure they understand how you want them to meet your dog. You do not want them to do anything unexpected like try to hug the dog or climb on him!!

I would suggest that you have the kids stand still without moving or talking, maybe not even looking at the dog(?), and let your dog (on leash!!) approach the kids at his own pace. If he seems nervous about it, let him work it out and approach IF he wants to.

I hope that some others chime in on this thread with advice for a dog meeting new children, I need to learn more on this topic too!

[Powie]

Powie loves my grandsons (age 1 and almost 3) but at 5 months old he just plays too rough to not keep him leashed or well supervised around them. He's like a bull in a china shop as it is and the boys just aren't big enough yet.

[ILGHAUS]

I see that you are still puppy shopping so make sure that you let the breeder know that you want a dog that will be a family dog with lots of visitors.

Find a good trainer in your area and take your pup to puppy classes, STAR Puppy training, obedience, CGC ... in other words get the puppy out and train and work him around people.

Take the puppy to watch ball games and children at play. Have well mannered children come visit and play with the puppy.

Take the puppy out and sit in front of a grocery store or a place like Target etc. on a Sat. and let people stop and visit. Don't worry someone on a bench with a puppy sitting at their feet will draw lots of people. Don't stay too long as puppy will get tired and you don't want to stress him. I myself don't have strangers give my pups food as that is not how I train mine but many people do. You will have to decide on this one.

[ILGHAUS]

However, from what I understand, GSD's are a protective bread

A GSD can be very protective but you have to remember that a GSD is besides a dog trained for the military or law enforcement, a breed that is trained for Guide/Service work, Therapy work, and trained to track and find lost people from the elderly down to very young children.

[ILGHAUS]

I hope that some others chime in on this thread with advice for a dog meeting new children, I need to learn more on this topic too!

Need to update our site but here are some basics.
Approaching a Strange Dog

[carmspack]

Managing a bunch of giggly kids to stand still , not look at the dog , don't move, don't talk is highly impractical . Kids do the unexpected , that is part of their uninhibited spontaneous nature. How can you expect visiting children to have more self control than a Home Depot employee , who got her nose bitten and made news . Kids are at eye level , face to face .
If he seems nervous, if the dog seems nervous , if you have any doubt , remove the dog from the situation right at the beginning. Crate him up and give HIM a break too, nice peace , rest and relaxation without being super stimulated .
The dog does not have to be central to every situation. You also have to be respectful to your visitors who may have issues or concerns with dogs , who may want to relax and gab with you while the kids play together without having to be "on alert" monitoring what a dog is doing .
I am not saying that the dog may be a bad dog , I am saying that I don't trust a lot of owners in competent management.
A child or a guest should never be put at risk. You have an obligation safety and comfort , and understand that not every one is a dog lover.
Carmen
Carmspack Working German Shepherd Dogs

[Davey Benson]

The first thing I thought after reading the op was... "it's a dog".

I've got several different breeds, and with kids being unpredictable, I can't say that I would bet my life than not a single one of my dogs couldn't be provoked into biting. It's highly unlikely they would... but I wouldn't ever let children interact with them unsupervised, they are dogs.

[Good_Karma]

Originally Posted by ILGHAUS

Need to update our site but here are some basics.
Approaching a Strange Dog

Thank you for the link, and I have read it. It will be useful to the OP. Not so useful to me, unfortunately as I have a reactive GSD who has never been around children. We are currently at the stage where he can observe children on a playground at about 100 feet away without barking. With the advice on that link, "A child should only be introduced to a well-behaved dog that is known to be friendly" how am I ever going to introduce my dog to a child?

Originally Posted by carmspack

Managing a bunch of giggly kids to stand still , not look at the dog , don't move, don't talk is highly impractical . Kids do the unexpected , that is part of their uninhibited spontaneous nature. How can you expect visiting children to have more self control than a Home Depot employee , who got her nose bitten and made news . Kids are at eye level , face to face .

Apologies, this shows my lack of understanding of children. I assumed you could speak to them and let them know how dangerous it is to act like that in front of a strange dog.