Alsations/German shepard with young children

RaverRo808

My girlfriend and myself are moving into a house soon,and we are both animal lovers and delighted after living in apartment for so long we can get a dog,for most of teenage years I kept a number of dogs,and I had a particulary strong bond with my alastaion,so I have always had a great interest in these dogs,so I want to get an alsation pup,but my girlfriend is dead set against it as she is 8 months pregnant,and says that she dosent want the baby being exposed to a german shepard,that its a dangerous dog and could attack the baby,and Im irresponsible for suggesting it,Ive also been told by relatives that its a bad idea,but I cant understand why,I know they are a large breed and prone to agressive,but I dont plan to dangle the baby in front of it so it will attack it,I want to raise it from a pup,train it accordingly and treat it well,so that it will be a good family pet and hopefully a companion for my child,what are your opinions here,I would really appeciate some input,Thank you.

andrewh5

Your GF is talking from a prejudiced viewpoint. As you well know German Shepherd Dogs are NOT aggressive by nature! They have to be made that way which is why the failure for them at police dog training schools is so high.

I had 2 GSDs with one baby and one toddler without any issues whatsoever. The only thing is that - like any breed of dog - I would never leave a dog alone in the room with a toddler. Not because I wouldn't trust the dog - it is the toddler that could cause a problem.

getz

dog attacks on children in the family home are very rare,it is just that when it happens its always in the national newspapers, it happens that more people are injured by horses than any other animal in the uk and ireland.i myself have kept staffies for over 30 years with young children and i have never had any problem ,in fact i know some staffy breeders who will not sell there dogs to people who havent got a child

kerrysgold

Like any breed, they will be a great pet if they are brought up properly. (trained, socialized, exersized regularly etc) Your girlfriend seems to have the idea that the media try to instill in people, that gsd's and all the other "dangerous" breeds are vicious baby eaters! I think they are lovely dogs personally, extremely intelligent. Staffies are known as the "nanny dogs" as they are so great with children.

RaverRo808

getz wrote: »

dog attacks on children in the family home are very rare,it is just that when it happens its always in the national newspapers, it happens that more people are injured by horses than any other animal in the uk and ireland.i myself have kept staffies for over 30 years with young children and i have never had any problem ,in fact i know some staffy breeders who will not sell there dogs to people who havent got a child

Why is that?Id be more afraid of having a staf around a child then a Alsation,mainly because I was bitten by one as a child,my fault as I jumped over a wall and frightened it,tryna get a football back,Im really p*ssed off,I want my aller haha

~Thalia~

Hi there - Your girlfriend clearly doesn't have any experience with GSDs.

I have one and only reason she must be supervised with young children is because even at 2 years old she is still very puppyish and playful and jumps and hops and could knock a child over. She is well trained though and LOVES children!

Best of luck whatever you decide but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a shepherd as a family pet once the dog is well trained and always supervised but I would advise this for any breed not just a shepherd.

koneko

Your girlfriend doesn't know anything about GSDs then, they're big teddy bears, you would obviously have to do a lot of training to make sure the dog is gentle around the baby (they're very friendly but can get very excited ), but they're not vicious dogs.

You shouldn't be thinking about getting a dog yet though, to be honest. If your girlfriend is 8 months pregnant you're going to have your hands full for a while yet, if you get a puppy you probably will not have the time to train it properly.

peasant

andrewh5 wrote: »

Your GF is talking from a prejudiced viewpoint. As you well know German Shepherd Dogs are NOT aggressive by nature! They have to be made that way which is why the failure for them at police dog training schools is so high.

While this is basically correct, one word of caution though.

Alsations are popular dogs for the Schutzhund "sport". To do well in the competitions, the dogs have to be fairly highly strung and show prey drive and agression.

Some breeders are breeding specially for this "market". I'd strongly advise to stay away from that strain and look twice at breeders that advertise stock from a "working strain".

Not all "working" alsations are unstable or bred for competition ...but some are and can be so hard to handle that they wouldn't make good family dogs.

Choose a dog from a breeder that breeds family dogs, working or otherwise.

The other problem with alsations is that the show strain is now practically crippled with its sloping back and HD issues. Finding one that is and will stay healthy is now more the exception than the norm.

LeahBaby

I have a chihuhua and a GSD.

Guess which one bit my 2year old sister?

RaverRo808

No believe it or not she used to have one and many other dogs and she would have had contact with my old alstation,so she knows her stuff with dogs,as do I,we also keep snakes and tropical fish,so we know thing or two about animals,but In dont know why she's flipping about this,probably over protective of the child

RaverRo808

LeahBaby wrote: »

I have a chihuhua and a GSD.

Guess which one bit my 2year old sister?

Ive always said small dogs are no use and aggressive towards children

LeahBaby

As someone already said it's how the dog is brought up and socialized.

If you bring a pup into your house and it doesn't get any attention or training because of a new baby- it's not exactly going to be a teddy bear because it doesn't know how to be.

Maybe think about it again if a few months when the baby is in routine so then you can start on your pup!

My GSD is 18months old and still in his puppy phase, they need a lot of exercise or they'll become descructive. So unless your positive you can give it all teh time it needs, i'd wait.

nhughes100

Personally I think you'll have enough on your plate with a new baby in a month, I wouldn't have a problem with a GSD with kids, they can always be muzzled and any of the herding breeds tend to treat kids like their flock rather then their prey.

The Sweeper

Dogs + kids = bad when the owners don't recognise that a dog is a dog.

This may not be the most popular opinion for this forum, where there is strong support for 'deed not breed', but while I 100% support the deed not breed belief, it's the 'deed' part I have trouble with - or rather, owners who facilitate dog attacks on their own and other people's children because they place too much faith in their dog.

When you have too much faith in your dog, you start to ignore warning signs - you might pass agitation off as excitement. You might overlook signs of discomfort and fear with the idea that if you plough on, the dog will just have to get over it and calm down. You might overlook grumpiness, attributing human ideals to your dog's mood. Then when the dog explodes and goes for someone, the fact is you've ignored the build up because you didn't think your dog would do something like this.

Here in Oz, we've got a dog attack all over the papers - four bull mastiff crosses have killed a three year old and seriously injured her 15 month old sister. My question in all of this is what sort of naive individual agrees to mind her neighbours two toddlers and doesn't put her dogs out of the house while the kids are there? The problem is that I think my answer is "The sort of person who completely trusts that her four boar-hunters have the intelligence and discernment to distinguish between a piglet and a squealing child." They don't. They're just dogs. It was her responsibility to make that distinction and put the dogs out of the house, and in overlooking that responsibility she now has no dogs and her neighbour has no daughter.

It is deed not breed, but that should carry a corollary - owner, not dog. Have as many well-cared-for, properly exercised, appropriately controlled, great big hairy dogs as you like when you have children - but don't ever, ever let them get into a situation where they feel they are justified taking a snap at your child. It's not fair on your dog and it's certainly not fair on your child.

smelltheglove

Could you hold off until after the baby comes and then decide, maybe even until the baby is 1? I got a dog when my little girl was only a few months and would not leave them on the same floor of the house never mind the rom alone together, she pulled at the dog so much that he just constantly went for her, even as far as to jump over the baby gate. Unfortunately the situation was a bit dangerous so he went to live with the neighbours.

Now at 2 she is just about starting to realise the boundaries with our foster dog, a yorkie, who has snapped. I think it is more important to teach the child the boundaries with a dog rather than vica versa