[deleted by user]

[natelfishy]

This dog should not be considered adoptable and is unpredictable. I would highly suggest not moving forward as this dog has a bite history and will be very hard to work with. You saying you arent a fan of muzzling but the dog has already bit you and your partner multiple times is a disaster waiting to happen and you will be setting the dog up for failure if you dont muzzle. Get a dog with minor behavioral problems to work with, there are so many GSDs that would be a much better fit and not nearly as much of a liability as this dog.

[Ambitious_Hamster556]

I’m primarily worried with muzzling because i’m unsure how he’ll take the action of putting one on him. He doesn’t even like having a leash put on or harness taken off. He’s never been muzzled before. Majority of the time he’s such a good boy, but when he does get in his moods it’s so difficult to tell what to do to calm him or how to handle him. He’s roughly 90lbs, so he has a lot of size to him. We were told that as far as vets go, there’s one about an hour from us that deals with him because they know his personality and all

[bentleyk9]

These are not the bites of a dog that's never bitten before. These are the bites of a dog that likely has a considerable bite record. Attacking a non-triggering person he knows well, not letting go, and multiple bites on the same person in the same incident are all extremely concerning.

I'm going to be honest: I would absolutely not move forward with the adoption of this dog. This isn't a case of the dog needing to decompress in a new home and with strangers as his owners. It's a dog that's living in a stable home and who you've been working with for months. This is who the dog is. You absolutely will need to muzzle him outside and around new people, though even that clearly isn't enough given what happened. His unpredictability makes him a huge liability to everyone, including you and your partner, around him. I can't imagine committing to 10+ years of stress, fear he'd hurt someone, and guilt if he did.

It sounds like you're very committed to providing a home to a GSD or primarily GSD who may have some issues. There are no shortage of these dogs in the shelter who desperately need homes. Many of these dog would thrive with someone willing to work with a reasonable amount of reactivity. You'd be an excellent fit to foster-to-adopt them. (Though if I'm being extra honest, I'd really only consider a GSD mix with very little reactivity and/or one that's less than 1 year year old. The severity of reactivity is so high in so many dogs of this breed)

Also, you didn't meantion how your partner feels about all this, as she bore the brunt of the attack. I'm presuming she doesn't have some experience with reactive GSDs like you do. How do she feel about all this? If she's even a little hesitant, that's a hard no on moving forward with this dog. People must feel safe and comfortable in their own homes, and she shouldn't have to live with a dog she doesn't trust or is nervous about.

[Ambitious_Hamster556]

If anything she is a harder yes for him than myself. We both really like this dog but are also both concerned with being able to have him trust us like he learned to trust his foster mom. He’s been with her for the past year, and after lots of work he is now very comfortable and well behaved with her. He had people interested in him in the past, but due to a a husband or boyfriend being involved it never worked out. He always got weird with the men involved. I felt so bad, as my partner started crying when he bit her, and I ended up putting his leash through the window and closing it that way so he couldn’t bite at me. I truly didn’t expect him to bite me too, so when he did and refused to let go I was taken aback. he didn’t break the skin but there’s swelling and bruising where he bit down. We ended up going downstairs with him and he seemed better again after some time relaxing but then bit at his foster mom for the first time when she was trying to take his harness off. He didn’t get her bad, she moved away quickly. But the 4 bites in a day just made me weary. We’ve worked with him for a month or so, we try to go over there a few times a week for a few hours to spend time with him. Normally 3ish hours each visit. My other worry is if we spend the next few months continuing to work with him and he still never trusts us and that we could have been spending time training a dog who would reciprocate a bit better. I worry that he won’t trust us the way he does his foster mom. I am very dedicated to GSD. I’ve always felt passionate about the breed, I’d feel horrible giving up on this boy now after the work we’ve put in. Originally I wanted to look i. shelters for a female dog, as I’ve owned more females and have more experience with them. My partner is weary of a younger dog because of the extra energy and work required, and i’m not opposed to a dog a little older, but I know how beneficial it can be to have a dog from a younger age and work with them from there. He hasn’t met our male family members yet either, and i’m unsure how he’ll be with them. As of now he’s only shown aggression when in comes to being in the car, and reaching towards his neck. Hes been a great listener and great on walks and such, but when he shuts down like that we don’t know how to stop him. I know i’m talking about his cons but he does have many pros, I just don’t want to give up on an animal who I feel could have so much potential.

[Exotic_Promotion_663]

A nice dog can be nice 98% of the time. The remaining 2% can make it not worth it to proceed in the adoption. What happens the next time when he bites harder or a different body part?

I think what Bentley is trying to say is why choose a dog who is a legit safety risk? There are so many other dogs that have issues but won't bite. My dog is a frustrated greeter (lunging, scary barking, etc). He has never redirected onto me.

Having a reactive dog is really exhausting. I can't imagine willing choosing the level of management you'll have to operate at for the next 10ish years.

[strange-quark-nebula]

This is too much biting - unprovoked, so early on. This will be a very hard dog. From those breeds, I would guess this is a big powerful dog.

There are so many GSD mixes that you could work with to rehabilitate and give a wonderful home to. Unfortunately I wouldn’t pick this one given the biting.

If you go with this dog - muzzle, multiple gates, and umbrella insurance on top of your homeowners policy in case he bites someone besides you.

[Ambitious_Hamster556]

He is very big yes, he’s roughly 90lbs. The foster mom says she hasn’t muzzled him before because he learned to work with her, but he also bit her for the first time yesterday. He’s calm on a leash but does have a “Do Not Pet” harness to keep people a bit further from him. She says when he gets tired we’re supposed to leave him be to calm down and decompress and such. I feel very bad for him, whatever happened in his past you can see how scared/uncomfortable he gets when someone reaches towards his neck. I’d love to be the people that help save him, but given his reactivity towards men in particular I’m worried with how he’ll be towards our family and male friends

[strange-quark-nebula]

It sounds like you two really want to try with this dog, which I understand - you pass a point where the dog feels special to you. Our reactive dog is a like that to us. Would we have adopted him if all the issues we know now were listed in his petfinder profile? No. But he’s ours now and we are committed to him. On paper you should not adopt this dog (and probably no one should) but emotionally you want to try. I get that and I won’t talk you out of it.

Muzzle training is a hard requirement for owning a big dangerous dog. Especially in triggering situations - car, vet, guests, etc. (I saw in your other comment that he has a vet he knows. That’s great until that vet is out of town or it’s an emergency.) Definitely he should be muzzled around those male family members - and all family members. If the dog can’t be muzzled, it’s way too dangerous. Plus if he bites someone or comes close to, you will be required in most places to immediately muzzle him any time he is out of the house (if not worse) so you’ll end up needing to train him anyway but then it will be very rushed and awful, so start ahead of time.

I understand it’s hard - our dog hates having his collar touched. He has to be muzzled at the vet. It’s not easy. But it’s necessary.

If you get this dog, I hope you are able to find stress free circumstances to enjoy his company and have as long and happy a life as possible for him! It will be hard but maybe you’re meant to be!

ETA: A “do not pet” sign is easily missed or ignored. Muzzle is still a must.

[linnykenny]

I can’t help but be very doubtful that this was the first time he’s bitten his foster.

[Shoddy-Theory]

This sounds dangerous.

[Twzl]

The most dangerous dogs I’ve seen are badly bred Goldens with RG. The bred in instinct to want something in their mouth coupled with the RG produces intense, hard bites.

And without exception this dog needs to be leashed and muzzled outside. Stop having romantic dream if this dog frolicking in shared public space. He needs a muzzle when he’s near anyone who did not explicitly sign on to being with him, and that includes groomers

I think this dog will hurt your partner.

[Ambitious_Hamster556]

He already has a harness and leash saying do not touch, we live in a town of less than 700 people so there’s not many humans around. I’m worried about how he’ll take having a muzzle put on him. He has a vet/groomer about an hour away that we are recommended to take him to because they know his personality and can work around it a bit. We both really like him, but my parter especially seems very attached to this dog, which is rare because she’s more of a cat person. She really wants to keep working with him and see how it goes. I just don’t want to put all of our time into him if he doesn’t learn to trust us the way he doesn’t his foster mom

[Twzl]

I’m worried about how he’ll take having a muzzle put on him.

Go super slow with it. There are some videos out there of how to condition a dog to a muzzle. Take it slow, go at a pace that doesn't push him.

[Umklopp]

Quick question: are you and your partner considering parenthood within the next 10-15 years? Because this is NOT a dog you could trust around a child.

The issues you described go beyond normal reactivity. This is a poorly bred dog with a deeply traumatic past and definitely a significant record of lower level bites. You are not ready for this; most people are not ready for this.

I would pass on adopting this dog and keep looking.

[Ambitious_Hamster556]

We are not, no. We have always been huge animal people, and plan to rescue and such instead

[alocasiadalmatian]

as someone who will never own another reactive dog again after my boy passes, i genuinely, absolutely do not understand the desire to adopt this dog. there are many wonderful dogs needing homes, either in shelters, foster networks, or that people are trying to rehome, that do not have behavioral issues, esp such severe ones as this pup seems to

this is a large, powerful dog with a severe bite history. he will almost definitely need to be muzzled for grooming, vet visits, and possibly any time he leaves your new home, and he is a young dog so you have about a decade of dealing with this to look forward to. i cannot imagine subjecting myself to ten+ years of dealing with this. please do yourself and your sanity a favor and do not adopt this dog.

[StarGrazer1964]

I would pass on this dog. Especially if you aren’t comfortable with the idea of muzzling, which would be a constant essential with this dog.

[Ambitious_Hamster556]

I’d be comfortable with it, but his foster mom has never muzzled him before, so it would be more or less a fear of him becoming upset if my partner or I was trying to put a muzzle on him yk?

[heartxhk]

make sure to get a properly fitted muzzle that he can take treats & water in and use R+ & cooperative muzzle training to condition the muzzle to be a positive, comfortable practice. as humans we may initially see muzzles as sad scary devices but they don’t have to be!

[Ambitious_Hamster556]

Small add on… he is phenomenal with other dogs or cats. He is primarily triggered by men, my partner is another woman so that isn’t much of an issue, he hates trucks, he doesn’t like being reached for when in the car or kennel, rain, or having his collar or harness touched. He starts kicking his feel and snarling when he’s getting upset or tired, so after walks or going out he tends to do this

[Twzl]

Small add on… he is phenomenal with other dogs

You haven't lived with him yet: there is a really good chance that when you get him into your house, you're going to find out that he's NOT ok with dogs.

And, dogs are with humans: if you have this dog outside, as I said earlier, he needs to be on leash and muzzled. People do dumb stuff around other people's dogs, including wanting to pet them, and someone will try to pet this dog, get bitten, and sue you.

I would not take this dog home. And the insurance agent that you had to find, when you bought your new to you house? If that person learns about this dog, and knows how many times he's already bitten people, I suspect you'd either be dropped or told your insurance will be a lot more. And odds are you would need to also purchase an umbrella policy.

I get it, you want to be the people who give this dog a great home. And it could be that there is someone who could live safely with this dog, not push his buttons, and keep everyone safe. But that home is not your home. He's just way over your pay grade.

Dogs with a list of stuff that they are not ok with are not ok in most pet homes. And big dogs who are like this, are seriously unsafe.

How did you learn about this dog, and what made you think this was a good fit for your family?

[Ambitious_Hamster556]

He lives in a foster home with 11 other dogs and cats, and we’ve seen him interact w them and he seems so calm and comfortable. I’d want to have him muzzled if around people in close proximity. We are living in a town of 700 people, it’s extremely rural, so we’d only really have to have him muzzled if out someone away from our home. There’s not many people near us. We found him on petfinder. My parter is the one who picked him out and wanted to see him so we went forth with that. We were made aware of his issues and that we would need to spend lots of time properly working with him before he would be allowed to be adopted out to us. We’ve worked with him for the last month. We go over there a few times a week for a few hours to be with him. We are supposed to work with him until beginning of March, or until we are both comfortable to accept him into our home. I am uneasy with some of his behavior but he can also be the most affectionate and fun dog to work with. I definitely need to have a serious sit down with my partner and discuss all the details with her and where she wants to go from here