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What do I do with semi aggressive large dog?

Customer dropped off dog tonight. He says she was good with kids but isn't too fond of other dogs. He said it was mainly when he was present because she's jealous. Turns out she actually pretty dog aggressive (German Shephered) . I introduced her to my dog through a gate and she lunched and tried to bite instantly. And she barked twice at my daughter... So she's not great with kids either.. My daughter was just jumping singing at the tv, not even looking at the dog. I don't think this dog likes ANY sudden movement. This is a problem because I have two kids!

As of right now I put the dog in my dogs Kennel (Its more like a play yard) and my dog in the bathroom for the night. Is it cruel if I leave her in the kennel and backyard (alternating) throughout the day? I cant risk her harming a child and her owner clearly thinks his pup is an angel or something.

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I hate to say it but I just don't book German shepherd's. But I agree with what the other owners are saying for the meet & greet. Sorry you ran into this situation. I had a situation a while back with a husky who growled at me and I won't book that client again.

Whitney F.

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Serina R.

I find MANY owners over or under estimate their dog's ability. I usually take whatever a client says and double it. So if they say they don't like dogs a little bit...that means they don't like dogs at all. If they say they don't like dogs at all......that means they're aggressive. etc Also consider it's a new environment for the animal as well. Even the best behaved dog will need a day or two to settle down. I always give the new dog plenty of space and quiet time for the first day. The second day is when he gets to interact with my family. That being said, there are ALOT of dogs that just badly behave no matter what.

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Jessica M.

Any dog that presents a danger to himself or others is instantly confined for everyone's own good. I've had 2 dogs now who were so aggressive that they simply had to stay in their crate with just a walk 3 times a day, and fed in the crate. One would bite me during the in/out of the crate process, and even that was a challenge.

At the end of the day, your job is to keep everyone healthy and safe. Time spent running free is just a privilege after that.

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Chrissy M.

I just had one of these types of dogs myself. I'm lucky to have plenty of room in my house to deal with it by blocking off rooms using large crates so the lunging isn't a problem. The second day of that dog's stay was a merry-go-round of rotating dogs in and out of the backyard so they could stay separated. This dog also marked up my house peeing on the corners of everything. Again, I'm lucky because we swapped our flooring for vinyl earlier this year and our furniture is leather so there's no lasting damage from any urine I didn't find right away. If you're not going to do a meet and greet (save yourself a headache and do it) make sure you have a separation safety plan for your kids and other dogs. Large dogs can and will jump a standard baby/pet gate so you need something more substantial. A huge crate shoved in a doorway can be a godsend.

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Sarah B.

You need to do what you need to do to keep your family and children safe. This is why we're recommended to do meet-n-greets at all times prior to accepting or turning down a stay. You can't rely on the owners' testimony, you have to make sure the dog gets along with your dog & children before you accept the stay because it can go very wrong for all involved.

At the end of the stay I would tell the owner that because their dog had issues with your children and dog, it should probably stay with a sitter that has neither. And I would never accept a dog again that is even semi dog aggressive because honestly a lot of owners downplay their dogs' problems & you don't want to put either dog in that situation.

Since the client's dog is going to be cooped up a lot I would maybe give them extra long walks

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What do I do with semi aggressive large dog?

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