Our sweet dog of 8 yrs. The dog dh and I purchased after we got home from our honeymoon.

Last week she snapped at Caleb for stepping on her tail (in the fluffy grass, so I am sure it startled her more than it hurt her). Yesterday evening she snapped at Garrett, he threw down a small car he was holding. It either landed beside her, or on her tail (according to my 3 yr old)...she turned and snapped at Garrett, leaving a small scrape from her teeth on his upper arm. Matthew says she's gotta go. I have to agree. I have always spoke negatively about my motherinlaw who keeps her small weanie dog around who has bitten a few times. Keeping my dog would make me no better. This afternoon while the boys were swimming, I called her over to me. I started petting her. I grabbed her collar to hold her head up so she could look at me and said 'honey, don't be biting my kids, do you understand?'....this was NOT in any sort of a tone, other than a stern tone, no yelling, no fierce tone. She growled at me! I let her go. She lay back down and just looked at me. I am so startled. It scared the crud out of Garrett last night, he cried and cried, his eyes were huge from being frightened.

Now that I think about it, she started fighting with the nextdoor neighbors smaller dog about a month ago. They got a new dog, about half my dogs size (our dog is a registered german shepherd). The neighbors dog is pretty much full grown, but still puppy-ish. When they first got their dog, it would stray over, our Nakota would stray over there too to play with that dog. We live in the country, so the closest and only neighbor is across the pasture. We would go fetch our dog, they would come fetch theirs..other than fetching each others dogs, the dogs played well. Then a couple nights around 3am, we heard them fighting with each other. Last week while a friend of mine and I were walking our daily 2mile walk, Nakota darted out as we passed the neighbors house and just ran after that dog like mad, and pinned that dog down and fought it. She didn't bite hard enough to draw any blood, but the smaller dog was squeeling from being scared/etc. I always take Nakota with us on our walks, as a deterent to any 'wierdos' that might drive by. Being so far in the country I doubt any weirdos would drive by, but you never know. She enjoys the walks with us and we feel safe.

I no longer feel safe now. She growled at her mama (me!). How dare her.:( What has happened to our sweet dog, who used to put herself between my sisters dog and the boys, as if protecting them? This morning I noticed when I fed the cat, she didn't come up panting/licking/wagging....she just looked at me as if it were no big deal. She is 8 yrs old. Is this 'old' for some dogs? Maybe German shepherds get 'problems' when they get certain ages? I can no longer trust her and at first was sad about finding her an adult-only home, but now? I don't trust her to give her to adults either. To some this may not seem like much, but to me its a big deal when I have a dog that acts this way. Her height is tall as the boys, which puts her face to face with them when they are in the yard. I would hate hate hate, and cringe at the thought that something worse might happen? She is due for her rabies shots this month, but from what I hear rabies shots can go 2 yrs. Its only been a year since her last rabies.

I just don't know. This is the last thing I expected to happen. I was just thinking about taking her to 'dogs day out' for pampering......but now?

What would you do?

Denise? Help!

There might be a reason, like the dog is in pain or has rabies. My advice is to have a vet check the dog out, and remove her from your family ASAP.


Wendy:)

Could she be in pain? Maybe arthritis in her joints or something? Maybe medication would help her feel better? I hope you are able to figure it out and make a good decision for your family.

Take her to the vet first and explain the problem. He should do a full blood workup as well as a thorough exam. Pain (arthritis, hip dysplasia, etc) can cause a dog to lose patience far more easily. So can things like the onset of diabetes or kidney problems. Eight is not an old dog, but it is an age at which many active dogs start feeling their age.

If all these things seem clear, *I'd* have a trainer out to the house to work with the family before I let an older dog go. It may be that they could turn things around.

Finally, I have young kids and I talked to numerous trainers about how to be sure that my dogs wouldn't bite the twins and they said, basically, "young kids are hard on dogs. If you want to be absolutely sure -- don't leave the dogs alone in a room with the kids and make sure the dogs have safe places they can go where the kids can't bug them." So both dogs have their own kennels and I use baby gates to separate the species when I can't be in the room to supervise.

edited: Hoo! We all posted at the same time. I'm just adding that German Shephards are prime targets for hip problems.
But rule out physical problems first.

No on the rabies...you'd know by now. LOL. You'd know within 24 hours. But hip issues or other internal ones? Even dental pain can be severe and cause dogs to "tell" you they need help and are in pain. I'd highly recommend a full exam and blood panel, and do x-rays too if needed, if she shows signs of hip pain or knee pain.

A lot of dogs get snappy in their older years because of pain as everyone else has mentioned. Although putting her in another home would not help her, if you can't get her pain managed (I would definitely recommend glucosamine cause it can't hurt, for starters), then at least find a home where the person understands what the vet has diagnosed (be it just arthritis) and understands the care involved.

Another thing is tell your kids that when your dog is content and on its own, it doesn't want to be bothered and they should stay away from her. If they understand that their dog is in pain and still play next to her, it is not her fault but theirs for being snapped at. When Christine gets growled at by our five year old dog, I tell Christine to leave her alone because Daisey is warning her; Daisey always throws me a thank you look and wags her tail. When she harasses our pom mix and gets bit, (even after being told by me to leave him alone), I don't immediately get made at Kipper (or dd) but remind her again that that is what happens when you play rough. Dogs have to protect themselves and getting rid of a dog who is warning a child not to do something is not fair to the dog.

Here's my take, 2 cents from the peanut gallery, but here we go.
I would definitely do the vet thing, rule out physical problems, keep the dog away from your kids if you can, and other animals too, for the time being. If you are seriously afraid for your children, I would call a local branch of the German Shephard Rescue, there are a few in almost every state, see if someone can give you pointers, or if things don't work out for you and the dog, maybe they can foster her and place her in a new situation. Sometimes the dog can be placed, sometimes, it can't. I feel for you, I know what it's like to have to make hard decisions when it comes to animal companions and family members. I know I don't have to say it, especially on here, but your kids do come first. Trust your gut and do what's right for you and your family. Tragedies can happen in an instant, and we always blame ourselves.
P.S.
I always feel when I see stories on the news of animal attacks on children that it is the parents' responsibility to maintain vigilance. Kids understand lots of things, but often not consequences, and animals are really just animals. We have to take responsibility if it's on our watch.