is a 1 year old german shepherd dangerous?

This seems to be a wind up to me. If he had to leave 'at once' then you already have the dog!!

"He is asking" "Had to be there"

No one can tell you if the dog may be dangerous or not - you cannot tell by its age, breed, or sex. It may be a lovely dog, and I’m sure the dog is not aggressive or your friend wouldn't have asked. BUT, it up to you - this is a big adolescent male dog and you and your children need to feel confident and know how to handle it. An 18 month old dog is a challenge for any dog owner – they are boisterous and full of energy and constantly challenge you. As you are not familiar with dogs and have young children, I would suggest against it. You and your children need to know how to behave and handle the dog, and the dog must be socialised with children. You should never leave your kids unsupervised with any dog, both children and dogs can be unpredictable. On the other hand dogs are great fun and can be a wonderful addition to a family, I have a Rottweiler and a young family and they are great together. There are other options than kennels – You can find services where dog lovers will take your dog into their home and you can also find house sitters who stay in your home and look after your pets while your away. Just interview them first to find out if you like and trust them. I found a young couple on a house sitting website, and now always use them when I go away, my dog is much happier being home and they enjoy it as well.

It depends on the dog, not the breed. Saying "So and so breed is great with kids!" is rather stupid as it's how you train the dog, not the breed. They might let you foster it for a bit. Bring it home and see how the family likes the dog and how the dog does around the family then you can either finalize the adoption or (If it doesn't work out) take the dog back. Dogs can be diffrent when they actutally get home so be aware the trainned dog you see might be a mess when you get it home. (Not to discourage you as I think it's WONDERFUL you are adopting as should more people. They can make -amazing- pets.) However you must realise, the dogs been cooped up in a cage for god knows how long. The dogs going to come to your house and be wowed by it! Meaning the dogs probably going to be hyper and might accidentally be destructive the first few days until all the energy is run out of the dog and everything calms down. :P Dogs arnt stupid and with a little trainning can be the perfect family pet. :) Kongs are good to give dogs when you just want them to settle down and keep them occupied. Get a Kong, stuff it with yummies and give it to the dog. It'll spend hours licking out all the goodness. This is really good when the family is watching TV. Give the dog a Kong on the floor and pet the dog every now and then. This will help everyone bond. :) Though if it's an active pup he might want you to toss it a bit. Lol! Just make sure to give the dog lots of exercise and I'm sure you'll be happy about the desicion to adopt. :D

Any dog can potentially be "dangerous" in the right (or should I say wrong) situation. Generally an unnuetered male will be more unruly than a neutered dog. If the dog has been well socialized, it should be absolutely fine! I'd ask your friend if the pup has been around kids at all, and maybe even plan a trial run, just to see how he fits in with your family. Remember, a 1 year old dog is still pretty young, and may not be out of the puppy stage.

I'd also ask the owner if he plans to neuter the dog--generally this will calm him down quite a bit, and get rid of most aggressive tendencies seen in unneutered males. Good luck!

The breed isn't as dangerous as the person. Go meet the dog (as an individual) and then decide if he is okay around your small children. He can always place his dog in a kennel if need be.

An untrained shepherd can be very rambunctious and will likely knock your children over in rough play. The last thing you want is a little kid that develops a dog phobia, or worse, a hospital visit. But a well-trained dog should be fine with your kids.

I would simply ask to meet the dog and assess his manners first. :-)

Only handlers experienced in owning or taking care of large dogs or working breed dogs should have German Shepherds. They are different than small dogs. Knowing if the dog is dangerous can not be determined by its breed. Dogs are individuals with all kinds of personality types. Regardless of what type of dog he is, small or large, a dog should never be allowed direct contact with small children even if you are right there.

If I were you, I would find out from my colleague what type of training his dog has. At the very least he should have had some basic obedience training. He should also have a kennel to stay in. It will make him much more manageable if he is kennel trained. This way he has a safe place to go when the children are toddling around and you are busy, he can sleep in it at night, and he can stay in it during the day when you are out.

My dogs are kenneled at night, and when I am at home they stay in the utility room or the kitchen. I put walk thru baby gates up with adjustable height between my dining room and living room areas to seperate the area the dogs are allowed in from the area my son plays in (my son is 3 years old). Although I trust my dogs completely (I have had them since they were pups) and although they have never growled at my son or another person at all, my son and my dogs have never been closer than that gate allows. If they get uncomfortable they know they can walk away from the gate and he can't interact with them and vice versa.

You need to go meet the dog. If you are not comfortable or if the dog makes you nervous then you should not volunteer to take care of it.

If you decide it is going to work out you should make financial arrangements with him. You should have a credit card (his) to pay for any needed dog food and veterinary care. He also needs to notify his vet clinic that the dog is in your care.

I hope everything works out and you are able to help your friend. German Shepherds are very loyal dogs and are very smart. They are talkative also. But as I said before, you should meet the dog, and if for any reason you feel uncomfortable you should politely decline.

Nope not at all, you'll be fine! I have a German Shepherd who is 2 years...I remember when he was 1....we didn't have him neutered at the time and he was still a perfect pup! German Shepherds are awesome dogs...I am fourteen and I have never been scared or my dog and he has NEVER been a threat to anyone! Either has any German Shepherd I've met!

Have your children met the dog before via babysitting or the likes? If not, give the dog a quiet room, one that can be his quiet place while his owner is away and introduce the kids slowly. The dog is more than likely friendly, but overwhelming him could stress him out. Especially with his person gone and he in a new place. Make sure he comes with comforts of his home and keep the kids from playing with his toys, go buy new toys for the kids to introduce to him so he won't be possessive.

You most likely have nothing to worry about aside from the transition to your temporary home for him. He doesn't know that his daddy has to go so he'll probably be understandably nervous. Just go slow with him, use CONFIDENCE or he'll walk you when you take him out, preferably on a leash i'd hope. All new dogs are nervous in their first home, your best way to face it is like you got a dog yourself and you're introducing him to the new place. :)

I'm a vet tech, and I wouldn't do it. Un-neutered?? German shepherds are beautiful dogs, and I had one a few years back, BUT I do not trust them all.

We had one come in for vaccines on Friday. Nice owners. But they had to muzzle her (spayed female 7 years old) and she would've taken our faces off if she could have. They have no trouble with her at home, but we cannot even look at her.

If you still want to help, I'd insist on a crate and would keep the dog in there unless you could supervise 100 percent of the time. No way would I let the children near him. Is this dog used to children?? Noisy young families? Food aggressive??

We left our loveable labs with our daughter and her children, who were toddlers. Came in to find one of them bouncing on her back, riding her like a horse. That scared me, even tho Maggie has never hurt a fly. But if in pain from being bounced on, I wouldn't trust any dog.

Would your children squeal and run around?? That's too much stimulation for lots of dogs. Would they try to share food? Dangerous. My shepherd bared her teeth and chased a young visitor who took her daddy's hand, turned and skipped out our front door. I had no idea she'd do that!! Nothing bad happened, but I had to grab her.

Please don't think I'm against shepherds. I am not. But an unneutered male with small children and a dog you don't know is very scary to me.

Request a meeting and see how it goes? Or try to help them find someone else?

lol..no ..no dog should be dangerous regardless of the breed. My step dad use to be a state trooper so we always had German shepherds (GSD) running around. We currently have a 2 year old GSD and my 8 and 12 year old sisters literally hang from his ears..They are great dogs! you shouldn't assume the dog is dangerous just b/c of breed or size. I have seen more snappy small dogs than big dogs.

this would depend on how the dog was raised and socialized

if they are not use to children and haven't been around kids they can fear bite

they need a lot of excercise and if not can become bored and destructive

you also need to check the laws

where I live if the dog is in your possession for more than 5 days the dog has to be licensed in your name also against the law to watch a dog without a license for mor than 5 days 9 have to have a licensed boarding kennel)