# Unbeatable Loyalty



## kingofdogs

I have a GSD, Candy who is 13 months old as of today, but I want to share an incident that happened about 5 months ago, when my baby was just 8 months old. I've got a helper at home, who takes care of washing Candy's vessels, sweeping and mopping and general housekeeping work. He has seen Candy from the time she came home when she was 3 months old. He has played with her, she was at peace with him, and we at home assumed that she would not harm him.

 I work the night shifts and I usually retire anywhere between 11AM to 2PM. When I sleep I sleep like a log. The following is as narrated by my helper.
 One day the helper comes into my room when I'm asleep and calls me. Candy sleeps at my feet on my bed. She gets up and crouches. This helper called me a couple of times and then he wanted to pat me to wake me up. When he raised his hand to pat me, she bit him and chased him out of the room and stood at the door of my room for about 5 minutes and came back and slept near my feet. He along with my father mention that she doesn't let anyone into my room if I'm not at home.

I was amused at the way she could be playful with him when I'm around and the way she would be standoffish of him when I'm asleep or not at home.


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## JazzNScout

I'm sorry to burst your bubble, and I KNOW it's great to have a dog that will protect us -- but we have to watch out for the dog feeling like s/he owns us (and therefore thinking it is the leader of the pack), which is a different thing. I would also be concerned about the bite. A dog can protect without biting. 
This kind of behavior can lead to a dog getting taken away from someone, you getting sued, etc. Not to mention that I would think you would want your helper and your dog to get along -- and having been bitten by your pup could stir up some resentful/bad/fearful feelings toward her. 
You might want to think about bringing in a trainer to curb some of this behavior. 
You are right -- German shepherds are unbeatable in their loyalty. But it is our responsibility to make sure they channel these good traits in a positive manner. Good luck!

*I'm sorry - I see this is your first post here. Welcome! This place is a wealth of good info! Please share more info about your Candy (including photos!)


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## gsdraven

Welcome to the forum!

I agree with the above poster. It was not appropriate for your dog to react like that to someone she sees and plays with daily. He was not threatening you so she wasn't protecting you; it is likely that she was guarding you. That is not ok in my book and she would be put on NILIF (Nothing in Life is Free) and be removed from the bed.

Hopefully your helper was understanding about being bit and chased out of your room. I wouldn't let it happen again.


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## Jax08

While it might seem amusing now, what if you had a medical emergency and a paramedic needed to get to you? Or if the house is on fire and someone needed to come get you or her? 

I agree with gsdraven and JazzNScout. You really need to stop her from guarding you and your room, and let her know you will decide who is a threat. That's not to say that she won't someday react appropriately to someone who IS threatening you, but that she needs to learn that this particular behavior is not appropriate.


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## EchoGSD

My first GSD, Bailey, once bit my brother on the arm...but different circumstances: she was almost a year old and had never met my brother before. She was in the backyard with many guests at our daughter's 4th birthday party (and getting along famously with all - kids, adults, and a friend's labrador) when my brother attempted (for the 2nd time) to reach over the fence gate and pick my daughter up. Bailey sounded a ferocious alarm when he attempted this the first time- snarling, growling, barking, running back and forth. When my brother disregarded her alarm (and before we could get to the fence), he reached over a second time and attempted to pick my daughter up. He was rewarded with 67 pounds of GSD hanging from his forearm. Luckily not a serious bite (didn't break the skin, mostly just got his sweatshirt), and my brother was totally apologetic about it and said he should have listened to Bailey when she warned him (we grew up with big dogs but never a GSD -- he knows about dog behavior and what usually follows such a warning). We watched Bailey carefully for several months after that, and did a lot of socializing with her. She never attempted to bite, or even growled at, anyone again. We think she was protecting our daughter from the stranger in the driveway; and frankly I was okay with that.


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## Jax08

Gee LeeAnn, don't you think those are quite different circumstances than the OP's? Even just a little?


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