# Please advise me, my dog doesn't like children:(



## Mrs.gagel (Jul 27, 2013)

Hi everyone! I recently adopted a dog from the shelter. It was said he was found as a stray, and he was very very thin and his fur was raggedy and dirty and there were gigantic clumps of dead hair just sticking everywhere to him! I happened to be up there one day because I had found a pitbull running in the street and almost hit her, so I was taking her to the shelter to tr and find her owner. Well they put her in the stray holding area, and I wen back there to say goodbye to her, and that's when I saw the most pitiful black German shepherd I have ever seen! 

Now I am a German shepherd girl all the way. I've almost always owned shepherds, but I've always gotten them and raised them from puppies. I had never gotten one from the shelter. When I first approached his cage he was barking so wildly I couldn't even try to baby talk him. It took about a half hour for him to calm down to the point where he would actually listen to me. But when he did, he kept cocking his head at me And giving me the sweetest looks, and I was hooked! 

I visited him every single day that he was in the stray hold, and he got very used to seeing and hearing me. I adopted him pretty much the second he went up for adoption lol. I named him Aries because he was at war with the world when I first met him! Aries is a very sweet loving dog towards me. He is literally bomb proof with me. I can do anything to this dog and he doesn't try to protest or growl or bite. I have out my hand near his food and he has absolutely no food aggression, and I've practiced taking bones and chew toys out of his mouth and he definitely is not aggressive with those either. 

However, I have a few problems with him. First and most important, he does not like children. He isn't big on barking much, but he will bark when he sees kids. I walk him two hours a day in a state park near my place and when we are walking near any children I have to put a muzzle on him just to be safe. I feel awful doing it but I don't want to risk his life or a child's because I think that it sucks for him to wear a muzzle. 

One day my friend and one of her children asked if they could come and walk him with me and I explained to her that he's uneasy around children and that I wasn't comfortable with him being around them, and she laughed it off and told her son to go up and pet Aries to prove he wouldn't bite. Well, needless to say, he definitely tried to bite her son, who is about 7 years old. His muzzle was on him at the time but he still had enough room to open his mouth the tiniest bit, and he lunged at the little boy and I heard his teeth snap together, but I pulled him back before he could actually bite. 

I'm at a loss. I mean I like to think I have total control of him, but obviously I don't. He is good with most adults, and when I walk him he walks on the leash like a dream! He heels with no issues, and ignores other dogs for the most part when they walk past. But this is something that makes me very nervous. Whenever he sees a child he starts barking like crazy and lunging on the end of his leash. 

I love this dog so much, I just can't rehome him or put him down, that's not even an option. I just need to know if anyone else has ever had this problem and what did you do to solve it? I just can't believe he can be so calm and sweet with me and so hyped up when he sees children. I don't know his background, but the tips of his ears were badly chewed by flies which tells me he must have been an outdoor dog, because I've never seen and indoor dog with chewed up ears like that! Any tips on how to fix this would be greatly appreciated. 

Not sure if this is important or significant but he caught kennel cough while in the shelter and has an upper respiratory infection, and is on amoxicillin for it. He's a wonderful beautiful dog, and I can't believe he is the same dog that was going crazy in the shelter! He has another issue, which is he is way too protective of me. I appreciate the concern on his part, but I honestly feel like his protection is bordering on obsession and its unhealthy I think! If I hug my husband Aries will push his way in between us. My husband patted my leg affectionately the other night and Aries went crazy! He never jumps on furniture but he jumped up on my bed, where I was at, and stood over me and started barking and growling at my fiancé, whom he usually likes a lot! 

It's so weird, he's like way over reacting to the smallest things! I know this is part of his breed but I would never have thought a pat would trigger such aggression. He doesn't seem to be a fearful dog. As a matter of fact he seems pretty fearless for the most part. He yawns if I turn on the vacuum and basically doesn't really react to things that would scare of startle most dogs. I know that no dog is perfect, but if I could fix these issues I think Aries would have a good chance of being pretty close to it!  I love my boy and I don't want him to have to wear a muzzle for the rest of his life whenever we take walks. I feel like it will really limit places he can go if he doesn't learn to accept children. I don't want him to live a limited life! Any advice is soooo appreciated! Even constructive critism is welcome! Thanks in advance!


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

I think it would be best for you to have your dog evaluated by a good behaviorist. If you post your general location, I'm sure someone could recommend a behaviorist in your area.


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## katieliz (Mar 29, 2007)

clarify for me...are there children in the home where he will live. and also the husband/fiance...one or two different people (sorry, lolol...). and what general area are you located in...


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## Zookeep (May 17, 2012)

I had a GSD which met your description almost exactly. Your story brings back some really bad memories. I wish I could say it ended well.

I recommend you find a veterinary behaviorist. That is a vet who specializes in behavior and is a member of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (assuming you are in the U.S.). I found that trainers were not equipped to handle this type of situation. The veterinary behaviorist will evaluate your dog and explain what is causing the aggression. He might also recommend medication. 

One of the best ones is Dr. Nicholas Dodman at Tufts University, who has written a few books. I went to one at Cornell for a different dog with other issues. 

I wish you all the luck in the world. I know how devastating it can be to have a dog that you love, and that loves you, with this awful problem.


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## Mrs.gagel (Jul 27, 2013)

Thanks for all the replies! I am in Oakland county Mi. Aries will not be living in a home with children, but its almost impossible to avoid children on our walks. Lol sorry my fiancé and husband are the same. I literally just married last week and I still catch myself calling him my fiancé, since I am so used to that term! We were engaged for three years!  I really hope this is something I can correct, or that a specialist can correct! When Aries first met my cats, he would lunge at them but now he completely ignores them. Maybe I'm just being way too optimistic but I'm hoping that since he changed his behavior towards the cats that it may be possible to change his behavior towards children? I love this dog so much! He is soooo good hearted, I just can't believe that there's no fixing this!  Like I said, I'm not sure about his past, I just know that he was picked up as a stray, so I'm not sure that he has ever been around children. While he was in the stray hold I looked everywhere online to see if anyone was missing a black male shepherd but no one was looking for one. I did find an ad though that was about a month old of someone trying to give a black male German shepherd away for free that was three years old, from the white lake area which is where he was found. The dog in the ad was three, my vet estimates that Aries is 2 or 3. So I thought maybe that family couldn't find a home for him before they moved so they may have just ditched him. Of course, that could just coincidence, and I'm afraid his past will always be a mystery. I would love to find out about a good behavior specialist in my area!


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## Mrs.gagel (Jul 27, 2013)

In the meantime while I am trying to get it sorted out what is causing his behavior, are there any precautions I should take other than a muzzle, or anything I can do to ease his nervousness around children? In every other situation I have complete control over this big guy. He is extremely obedient. It's just when he's around children that he has these issues, aside from the over reaction to any physical contact that he considers aggressive. Like if my husband rubs my back, he's ok with that, or holds my hand he's fine with that too. But when we hug he pushes himself between us, and maybe he views a hug as aggression because of the way my husband wraps his arms around me? But I don't need or want the dog for protection, I want him for companionship and friendship, and someone who share hiking trips and fishing trips with! So I really do want to find out how to fix this is possible :/


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## Zookeep (May 17, 2012)

Here is the site for veterinary behaviorists:

Find a Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist ACVB

I know this list is not complete, but it is a start.


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## Twyla (Sep 18, 2011)

Many fearful dogs project the image of the big tough guy, ready to move forward and scare the monsters away. Many times they are hyperalert, like your guy reacting to the smallest things. It also sounds like he is resource guarding instead of being protective - you are the resource.

An experienced Behaviorist, like others have said, should be located. Be sure they are experienced with GSD.

Be prepared for this not being corrected, but managed instead. Especially since kids are his fear, as unpredictable as kids are, learning management techniques will be critical.


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## Mrs.gagel (Jul 27, 2013)

Is there anything I can do to diminish his fear so that he will not act out aggressively when he sees my husband touching me? I would definitely say he is more fearful than protective, perhaps anxious, because I have noticed if I'm out of his sight he panics. If I close the door to go to the bathroom he whines and scratches at the door. I can't lock him out of my room at night so no adult time for me and my husband lol. I don't crate him because he goes crazy if he's in a crate, so he pretty much sleeps in my room every night. If I leave to go to the store he cries at the door until I get back. Is he maybe needing more exercise to tire him out? We walk on trails for about two hours everyday and he doesn't seem hyperactive, just needy. Like if I'm laying around, he will lay around too, so it doesn't seem like he's super high energy. Thanks for the link, I will check that out ASAP!


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## Twyla (Sep 18, 2011)

As sensitive as this situation is regarding his aggression towards your husband, the best suggestion is to locate a behaviorist ASAP. Any suggestions given would be without seeing what is actually happening and if followed could end up with your husband or you hurt.

How does he do if you AND your husband walks him with your husband handling the leash?


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## Mrs.gagel (Jul 27, 2013)

He will allow my husband to handle the leash without showing any aggression towards him. He heels pretty good for my husband. Occasionally if he and my husband are ahead of me he will stop and want to wait for me to catch up, or if I'm ahead he will pull a little bit until my husband has him heel again. He really likes my husband, and he has from the very beginning. He will let almost anyone who is an adult walk up and pet him, and he wags his tail and kind of snorts I guess you could call it lol. It's only if my husband is hugging me or patting me that he will start barking and growling at him. Also once my husband told me I had a zit(gross I know) and he was joking around acting like he was going to go after it and I said ,"oww!" And Aries reacted to me saying oww by growling and barking again. At least I think it was me saying oww that set him off, because until I said that he was fine, but I wasn't aware that German shepherds could speak English  He's a good boy and if you think it would be best to have him see a behavior specialist then that's what I will do. I will do anything for this boy, he is so sweet and sensitive towards me. The shelter did tell me that he reacted towards some of their staff members like he has had a past of being abused, but I thought they were just assuming at that point. He does have a bad scar around one eye. I figured it was from maybe fighting with a racoon or something but maybe he has suffered at the hands of a person , and if so I will do whatever I can to figure out how to help him with this. If a person was responsible for creating the problem then it's only fair that a person should fix it if possible. All I know is I've had many shepherds from puppies and none of them has ever had these issues.


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## Mrs.gagel (Jul 27, 2013)

I just went and took him for a walk, and someone else was walking their husky and the husky attacked him for no reason. Aries didnt react at all except for maybe some surprise at the sudden attack. The husky didnt do any damage, the owner pulled him off very quickly. Afterwards Aries acted like nothing had happened, he literally shook it off and continued his walk unperturbed. I don't understand how he can be so even tempered about something like that, but then turn around and show nervous aggression towards children. Every shepherd I've ever owned before has loved, or at least tolerated children.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

He could've been teased or hurt by children.


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## Mrs.gagel (Jul 27, 2013)




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## Mrs.gagel (Jul 27, 2013)

I was thinking that he may have been hurt by children but unfortunately I'll never know. Here is a pic of the scarring around his eye, does it look like something caused by an animal maybe?


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## katieliz (Mar 29, 2007)

you are in my area. i have good information for you. will send you a private message tomorrow. thank you for helping this dog. your situation is not as dire as it would be if there were actually children in your home. have patience with him, dogs often need a while to settle in, and trust is often also an issue with shelter dogs. take care, more tomorrow.


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## katieliz (Mar 29, 2007)

in the meantime, you might want to limit a bit more the activities you're doing with him, my feeling is that you may be expecting too much and this dog may need a bit of decompression time from being in a shelter and from whatever his past has been. there is an excellent behaviorist in our state, who specializes in shepherds. always remember every dog is a different dog and no matter what your experiences with other shepherds has been, this guy has obviously maybe not had the secure upbringing that a dog you've had from puppyhood may have had. sorry, really gotta go now, more tomorrow. in the meantime, google brenda aloff, heaven on arf. midland, mi.


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## Blitzkrieg1 (Jul 31, 2012)

Can you say CRATE? It will likely help him get used to being on his own, the nervy ones are often velcro dogs and this should not be encouraged. It sounds like your feeding into a lot of his insecurities. Find a successful trainer with PROVEN results. 
I recently worked with a dog that was on anti anxiety meds. I did not like what it did to him and he still reacted badly to his target stimuli, was just more muted. Anyways it took little time to discover the handler was playing a huge role in his insecure behaviors.


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## katieliz (Mar 29, 2007)

to the OP...would you feel comfortable pm'ing me your phone number?


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## mebully21 (Nov 18, 2011)

i would put a basket muzzle on him so he can breathe better on walks,that nylon muzzle is better for vet visits if need be but for walks outside and for training a basket muzzle is way better....
also yes start crate training him , and stop taking him everywhere- let him decompress from the shelter to a home ... you are expecting too much too soon and he doesnt even know anyone well enough to trust.....

keep him settled for at least a month and limit his interactions with people and start giving him rules to follow- no need for him to have free reign, let him earn his privileges....

and get a basket muzzle- it will be much more comfortable for him and will not stress him out as much as the nylon one


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## wyominggrandma (Jan 2, 2011)

More than likely his aggression towards children, along with his "guarding" tendencies is the reason he was found wandering. I would assume his former family had someone get bitten, they couldn't give the dog away, no rescues would take him after a bite, so they just dumped the responsibility of his aggressive issues on the street.
You need professional help with him, because it sounds like he will indeed bite if given the chance, especially with children.


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## JackandMattie (Feb 4, 2013)

First and foremost, thank you for adopting a black GSD. It's really tough to find homes for solid black dogs, especially young males, so you're a saint for that!

I adopted an 11 month old GSD, one the sheriff seized from a mill operation. All he had ever known was living with 200+ dogs in a long barn. (My Jack is also missing part of an ear from I guess fly biting... almost all of the seized dogs were...) He had never seen a child in his life. I had him for another year and a half before I moved into my current neighborhood, and realized only then that he had still never seen a child. Well, this neighborhood is very social, and we don't have fences, and the children are all over the place. Disaster waiting to happen 

For the first couple of months, Jack would hackle and bark at every child he saw. It wasn't aggression, though. It was fear reactive behavior. Nonetheless, it terrified me! He was so sweet with adults, but with kids, aargh. 

I can't advise you, but I want to encourage you. Have no more idea of your dog's history than you do, but it is possible that you can overcome this obstacle. My solution was to enroll in private OB classes with a trainer/ handler who has four competition, highly titled IPO GSDs of his own. That part gave me a dog who was more focused and biddable. 

I also enlisted the help of a family who fell in love with my rescue, and already had introduced me to their own two highly training hunting Labradors. Their children have grown up with their dogs. And they trained them all together. So those are two exceptional children who knew how to train and handle dogs. They knew the body language to calm him, knew not to approach him, knew not to reward negative behavior, and knew when to freeze and drop the reward. It took a lot of management, two dedicated parents, and two very experienced and patient children, and a ball and a flirt pole to reward Jack, but we achieved our goal. Also, a Whole lot of very vigilant management, before we knew he could be trusted. I wouldn't recommend doing this on your own, though. Again, I'm only sharing to give you hope. 

It has been an eight month journey now, but today I know I can absolutely trust Jack. He has proven to me that he has overcome his fear of children, and he is gentle as a lamb with them today. Even when the weekender children visit our lakeside neighborhood, and come to meet "Jack, Jack!" I don't worry. He has come full circle from fear hackling to "I see a playmate!"

It may never happen with your rescue. I completely agree that you need a behavioralist! At the same time, I will recommend that you start with obedience. Follow with desensitizing the dog around children (under your complete management, which includes a muzzle), and when that is solid, if your dog has a demonstrated play drive, you *may* be able to introduce (the right) children as a play reward, and achieve the same results. If you can't, then management will be your solution. 

P.S. You need to start OB with the dog, anyway, for your husband's sake. If you want your rescue to thrive, you need to correct and redirect any negative behavior he exhibits toward your husband. That is Not acceptable behavior. Don't let your human emotions for a rescue dog prevent you from giving the dog the consistent direction he clearly requires to become a good canine citizen. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## katieliz (Mar 29, 2007)

WG...oh hooey, sorry, we have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what this dog's background is. to stick a bunch of opinions which become labels on him is totally unfair.


to the OP...are you still reading, there have been some really good suggestions. I hope everything is okee-dokee.

the poster who suggested you stop taking him places and exposing him to new things so fast is right on. he needs to decompress from the shelter and learn about how life is going to be very slowly and carefully. these dogs have been exposed to so much. please do not take to heart opinions about what your boy has or has not done before you got him.

sorry WG, I know you have much wisdom to share, but think what reading your post and its' implications could do to the mindset of a new rescue guardian. it could scare the bejesus outa them and really turn them off to wanting to even keep the dog. NOBODY knows what this boy's background is.

op...call Brenda. she is expensive but she is SO WORTH IT.


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## deloreshussey1 (7 mo ago)

Mrs.gagel said:


> Hi everyone! I recently adopted a dog from the shelter. It was said he was found as a stray, and he was very very thin and his fur was raggedy and dirty and there were gigantic clumps of dead hair just sticking everywhere to him! I happened to be up there one day because I had found a pitbull running in the street and almost hit her, so I was taking her to the shelter to tr and find her owner. Well they put her in the stray holding area, and I wen back there to say goodbye to her, and that's when I saw the most pitiful black German shepherd I have ever seen! Now I am a German shepherd girl all the way. I've almost always owned shepherds, but I've always gotten them and raised them from puppies. I had never gotten one from the shelter. When I first approached his cage he was barking so wildly I couldn't even try to baby talk him. It took about a half hour for him to calm down to the point where he would actually listen to me. But when he did, he kept cocking his head at me And giving me the sweetest looks, and I was hooked! I visited him every single day that he was in the stray hold, and he got very used to seeing and hearing me. I adopted him pretty much the second he went up for adoption lol. I named him Aries because he was at war with the world when I first met him! Aries is a very sweet loving dog towards me. He is literally bomb proof with me. I can do anything to this dog and he doesn't try to protest or growl or bite. I have out my hand near his food and he has absolutely no food aggression, and I've practiced taking bones and chew toys out of his mouth and he definitely is not aggressive with those either. However, I have a few problems with him. First and most important, he does not like children. He isn't big on barking much, but he will bark when he sees kids. I walk him two hours a day in a state park near my place and when we are walking near any children I have to put a muzzle on him just to be safe. I feel awful doing it but I don't want to risk his life or a child's because I think that it sucks for him to wear a muzzle. One day my friend and one of her children asked if they could come and walk him with me and I explained to her that he's uneasy around children and that I wasn't comfortable with him being around them, and she laughed it off and told her son to go up and pet Aries to prove he wouldn't bite. Well, needless to say, he definitely tried to bite her son, who is about 7 years old. His muzzle was on him at the time but he still had enough room to open his mouth the tiniest bit, and he lunged at the little boy and I heard his teeth snap together, but I pulled him back before he could actually bite. I'm at a loss. I mean I like to think I have total control of him, but obviously I don't. He is good with most adults, and when I walk him he walks on the leash like a dream! He heels with no issues, and ignores other dogs for the most part when they walk past. But this is something that makes me very nervous. Whenever he sees a child he starts barking like crazy and lunging on the end of his leash. I love this dog so much, I just can't rehome him or put him down, that's not even an option. I just need to know if anyone else has ever had this problem and what did you do to solve it? I just can't believe he can be so calm and sweet with me and so hyped up when he sees children. I don't know his background, but the tips of his ears were badly chewed by flies which tells me he must have been an outdoor dog, because I've never seen and indoor dog with chewed up ears like that! Any tips on how to fix this would be greatly appreciated. Not sure if this is important or significant but he caught kennel cough while in the shelter and has an upper respiratory infection, and is on amoxicillin for it. He's a wonderful beautiful dog, and I can't believe he is the same dog that was going crazy in the shelter! He has another issue, which is he is way too protective of me. I appreciate the concern on his part, but I honestly feel like his protection is bordering on obsession and its unhealthy I think! If I hug my husband Aries will push his way in between us. My husband patted my leg affectionately the other night and Aries went crazy! He never jumps on furniture but he jumped up on my bed, where I was at, and stood over me and started barking and growling at my fiancé, whom he usually likes a lot! It's so weird, he's like way over reacting to the smallest things! I know this is part of his breed but I would never have thought a pat would trigger such aggression. He doesn't seem to be a fearful dog. As a matter of fact he seems pretty fearless for the most part. He yawns if I turn on the vacuum and basically doesn't really react to things that would scare of startle most dogs. I know that no dog is perfect, but if I could fix these issues I think Aries would have a good chance of being pretty close to it!  I love my boy and I don't want him to have to wear a muzzle for the rest of his life whenever we take walks. I feel like it will really limit places he can go if he doesn't learn to accept children. I don't want him to live a limited life! Any advice is soooo appreciated! Even constructive critism is welcome! Thanks in advance!


 I have a year old Shepard and I think Belgian malnois mixed in as well. Got her as a pup but was not around children a whole lot as my daughter spend most of her time at friends. Our friends bought their daughters who are a little older but had a baby of 6 months and kept nudging her and nipping at her legs, as we try to get her used to children it’s just as bad or worse. I don’t know if a protective thing but I’m concerned.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

Start a new thread about your dog. This one is 11 years old and the posters are not here anymore.


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## herojig (Apr 3, 2013)

Ha, I'm here with this advice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dgjsmrcetd0 watch all of this guy's vids!!! I just watched this one last nite, where he talks about why children are threatening 2 dogs, fascinating!


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