Horrible Night!!!

I've kept wolf hybrids for years. As they age the dynamics change and sometimes for reasons I was not privy to.

THEY know though and are wired to respond to certain stimuli that we just don't pick up.

I SERIOUSLY doubt that there is anyone at fault here. I really think it was a pecking order check or confirmation or test.

Don't beat yourself up over it, that won't change anything. Love your dogs and family and do what's right for your situation.

As far as your son goes, explain to him, or this is what I would do, that dogs speak a language that we don't always understand and something went on between those two that your wife missed. It's not that they had bad feelings for eachother or no longer loved his mom, they just had to do dog stuff that is not always understandable to us.

Be the alpha yourself, not being sarcastic, and do what you have to for your pack.

Absolutely solid advice, Wes. Whatever triggered Roxy the fact is she went for your wife in a way that's not safe or acceptable behaviour. Had there not been a shovel nearby it could have been much worse. Obviously both your wife and child are traumatized by this attack by a beloved pet and will need to understand what went on. I think Wes' explanation is a perfect one and one that any child could understand.

I'm sorry to be so blunt but if a very safe and permanent home cannot be found for Roxy with a highly experienced GSD handler, then the only option I would consider if I was facing this in my own home is to put her down. Better that she leaves this earth with love around her then she does this again, hurts someone else and is put down by the authorities. I know that's a harsh thing to face and many on this site will condemn me for this stance but I am a firm believer in not passing off a potentially dangerous animal to another person unless that person can bear the weight of that responsibility for the lifetime of the animal involved.

I am so sorry that your family is going through all this right now - what a painful process you are all going through. I also agree that Roxy needs to be re-homed or put down.

Didn't you recently move to where you are now (like very recently)? Is it possible that the stress of moving may have set Roxy off?

That is very possible. We have only been here for about 5-6 days

When I rescued my pit "Harry" he was staying with a dog trainer who ran a rescue. He told me when I take him home make sure EVERYONE in the house corrects(punishes) him when he does ANYTHING wrong and establishes dominance over him the sooner the better. Other wise he may look at them as equal or below him in the pecking order. Equal isnt good enough because eventually he may feel he has grown past you. I was also taught not to play any kind of competitive games with him like tug of war. He said you want him to look at you like a God where competition doesnt even exist. Dogs in packs compete with each other since they are pups, playing and wrestling with oneanother and in HIS mind winning and claiming dominance. Even the strongest pack leaders(dogs or wolves) eventually get old and the next in line will compete and take over. I was told you dont want you dog to test his position, this is a natural instinct for a very alpha dog. When you play competitive games the dog may think he is winning because he is seeing that he is obviously faster and more agile than you, Not good he said

I was the only one who followed through and now he listens to me like a soldier and kinda listens to everyone else. Lucky for me he has never been aggressive to people and very much understands the difference between people and other dogs, who he does try to dominate.

Some dogs do not give people much clout and can try to correct them(like they do other dogs) which means snapping, biting or barking, thats just what they do in a pack to each other to show who is in charge.

Roxy has shown that he does not reguard humans as superior and that your wife is below him in the pecking order. That is very dangerous because in a very high emotional state(like he was the other night) he is capable of attacking and biting to show his dominance to the others of the pack whom she also feels are below her.

The fact that they are kept apart also can cause serious dominance issues because they are not treated equally(in their eyes). Since one is allowed in the house and the others arent that sends a signal that one is superior to the others since he is allowed where people are and the others arent. This may also make him feel he is an equal or above humans since he goes in the house where people do unlike the others.

He very easily could have misinterpreted something that Snow did and felt he needed to correct her. It could have been that Snow was fed first which doesnt fly well to an alpha male, or she may have been to aggressive towards your wife. Alpha's always get first pick of the kill and set the rules for what behavior is allowed in the pack. Anyone who owns a big dog needs to show them exactly where they stand in the pecking order or they will assume a role depending on their personality.

Feeding time is when the pecking order becomes very significant.

I agree with Wes that Roxy needs to go since she has shown she feels she is dominant over your wife and most likely your children as well. You never know what could trigger the dog to feel the need to correct the pack again.

I hope your wife, family and snow recover without any long term physical or emotional damage.

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Originally Posted by Denial

Thanks everyone for the prayers. We are going to see snow this morning. I think im going to end up having to find roxy a home. Sarah is terrified of the dog now. She started crying this morning when she saw her. Also riley was on our back porch last night when all this happened so he saw a 120 pound dog attack his mother and it really did a number on him.

It could of been a domince thing. We have never really had an alpha female thing going on. BUt it very well could of just started. We do have two male siberian huskies and both are about the same age and both think they are alphas and we always kept them separted in different kennels they never come into contact with one another. But roxy is 6 years old and snow is almost 9 years old. Snow is housed in a kennel outside and roxy was an inside outside dog. She always came outside when we would take care of the other dogs or really anytime we were outside. We just never have had anything like this happen. Snow and roxy have always been so good together. They even lay with each other in the explorer wwhen we take them for there shots. I just dont know why roxy snapped. And it was like snow didnt even put up a fight back. I feel so sorry for her. Roxy weighs in at about 120-125 and snow doesnt weigh but 60 pounds so roxy is twice as big as she is. But the way sarah told me it sounded like roxy was trying to prtect her kill or something because sarah opened the kennel and roxy ran in and grabbed snow they fought and then she said roxy let her go and went to lay down in a dog house and sarah opened the kennel grabbed snow and pulled her out and she said when she did roxy ran an jumped on her and we have two shovels at the kennel that we use to clean the kennels out with and she grabbed one and smacked roxy with it two times and she said roxy ran back into the kennel and she slammed the door shut. Its just hard to understand a dog that you have had for 6 years that has slept in your house with your children and your wife would ever turn andn charge one of them. I still havent come to terms with all that. I love that dog always have been in love with german shepards and have always had them around me growing up my grandfather and uncle trained them for police work and my grandfather had one that worked with him on the force for the sc state troopers. But I love my family more and I need to be sure they never get attacked by any dog. I feel horrible with my self because that should of never happened to sarah last night. She has always been 110 percent with me on my love for animals and anything I wanted to bring home was ok with her. And nothing like this has ever come close to happening. I guess maybe since snow was a little older roxy wanted to show everyone who was boss or something. But roxy has always been a bigger dog then my siberian huskys. Most of them weigh around 60 pounds I have one male that weighs 80 but none are nowhere near as big as roxy is

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Sounds to me like you are doing the responsible, although hard, thing and putting your family first. Good luck finding Roxy a good home.

A friend of mine owns two German Shepards (one male, one female). He got a male german shepard puppy for Christmas a couple of years ago. They came home one night to find that the older female had literally torn the puppy apart. That's some scary stuff. They ended up keeping the female, but they won't let it out with their other dogs anymore.

I want to say I am sorry this happened!

I personally could not keep any animal which had attacked with my other dogs (my dogs' ability to get along is extremely important to me. I generally will not keep a dog that cannot be trusted unsupervised 100% with any other dog I have). I definitely would consider the potential for harm to the children, too. Even if the dog isn't going after the children or any other person, the dog could hurt someone while fighting with another dog, as you experienced.

Rehoming such a dog of ANY breed, but especially a German Shepherd or other large breed dog is very VERY difficult, and no reputable rescue will adopt out a dog that has bitten someone. You have some tough choices... you and your pups are in my thoughts- I know how hard it is!

Very sad news, but sometimes things like that happen, even puppy tame dogs can sometimes (and for unknown reasons) turn on their keepers:
My uncle once owned an Doberman for 7 years, always a gentle and obedient dog, but one day this dog turned on my aunt and bit her in the throat, when she was changing his water, she was not harmed too bad, but the dog had to go.
Another incident, I eyewitnessed was when a friend of my father, an avid hunter, was attacked by his German Drahthaar for no obvious reason, the dog started to attack hiw owner during a hicking trip we made and just let go after he good some real hard punches with hicking sticks. Dominance might have been a problem or the ways the owner tried to make the dog "game", but the sight was terrifying, I was 12 back then.
And to come to an end, my last story. An other uncle of mine once owned an GSD, a very sweet dog, who allowed me to steal food from his bowl, did not mind me try to ride him and did almost everything I told him (I have been 8 or 9 back then), this angle of a dog one day attacked my uncle who lost his right thumb because of this.
So I hope snow will recover fast and luckily there are no worse human casaulties, except the mental thing.
All the best.

I have a white GSD and i love him to death. But if he ever attacked one of my family members he would be fertilizer in my garden. If i were you i would take the dog to the pound and start over with a new one. If the dog hurts someone again it will be your fault for not taking action when you had the opportunity.