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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]One more thing OP - I am the PP who has been raising and training German Shepherd Dogs for 20 years.  Obviously, I LOVE the breed.  Both of the ones we have now are rescues.  I got a phone call from an out of state friend about a month ago.  They were looking to adopt a dog and came across a German Shepherd Dog in a local shelter.  The dog was estimated to have been between 2 and 3 years old.  They have a 3 year old little girl and a 7 year old boy.   They spent some time playing with the dog at the shelter and fell in love with him.  She called me before they adopted asking my advise.  I told her that adopting an adult German Shepherd from a shelter (as opposed to a foster) when you have young children in the house was a bad idea.  They adopted anyway.

About a week ago I found out (through another friend) that the dog and the kids were in the back yard playing.  The dog attacked their 3 year year for no apparent reason.  The little girl is going to be o.k., but needed 12 stitches in her face.  It could have been much, much worse.

When you adopt from a shelter, you have no idea what you are getting.  If you are in an adult only household or a home with older kids, it's usually fine.  Adopting a dog that has been with foster family usually works out o.k. because hopefully the family has had time to learn the dogs temperament.  Adopting an adult dog from a shelter is always risky.  I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't do it.  However, when you do, you accept that you may find out that the dog has behavior issues that you aren't prepared to handle, especially with young children in the home.  The moment you see aggression, the dog goes.[/quote]

Since you really seem to know a lot about dogs, I have a question for you. Our beagle is 14 years old, and we've had her since she was a puppy. She's always been as gentle as can be---not so much as a growl. She's been around kids her entire life and has never snapped at them for any reason. Now that she's older, if wakened from a deep sleep by being touched, she'll sometimes snap at my husband or me. Our grandchildren are older and know to never touch her when she's asleep, and we only wake her (if needed) by moving her bed a little, which doesn't seem to startle her. Is this typical for older dogs? Your thoughts? TIA.[/quote]

Your beagle may be in pain or have dementia.  The behavior you are seeing can be indicative of either.  I would take her to the vet and have her checked out.  You have a geriatric dog.  That's a totally different scenario.  Dogs don't do a very good job of communicating pain to us.  Your vet will be able to tell.[/quote]

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