GSD found guarding owners body after Double Homicide! - Page 3

1doggie2  You can feel free to PM me or drop me an email anytime.  For now how we are dealing with him is just basically reacclimating him with our family and daily routine.  No pressure on him.  We're learning his habits as he's learning ours.

He is very alert to all the entrances in our house so I'm either assuming he is still struggling with his ordeal or just that he's been naturally protective of his home and people.  One of the things we've had to train our household to do is keep the front door locked so that no one just decides to walk in and get nailed like my parents or 1 girlfriend that just doesn't think sometimes.  At night we started putting him in his crate in our room just until he learns the sounds of our house and gets used to the fact that sometimes our little one does wander in to get in my bed.  I personally think he'd not just react on the kids but because he has not lived with me for so long I am trying to be careful until I know him well enough to say it's ok.

Today my daughter walked in the door from school and he didn't react towards her in an aggressive manner.  We've tried introducing him slowly to other members of the family that visit frequently and it appears that as long as we walk HIM over to the person sitting down and we take their hand with ours to pet him and say "good boy" he does fine, no growling or barking BUT if the dog is laying next to my husband and someone tries to walk up on him he immediately stands up and barks or growls at them. He isn't barring teeth and acting crazy when he does this but it's definately a warning not to come closer.  From what I can tell so far he is ok with people so long as they are not invading his "space" or "people".  I've had him in the car with me going through the drive thru and he has never responded inappropriately.  My husband has had him on walks in the neighborhood and he's not shown aggression BUT we also do not let anyone walk up on him because we are well aware of the situation he just came out of and do not want to put him or anyone else in a bad spot where an accident can happen.

He was heavily socialized when I had him til he was 9-10 months old. From there we know that he spent a lot of time in the hardware store where his owner worked and the dog went everywhere with him.  The people who were killed I was told by all the locals took very good care of Thunder and he was often seen riding in the truck with his owner through town.  I just think he was the type of dog that just bonded heavily to his home and handler and feels it's his job to keep them safe.  He's not nervy at all, he's definately not fearful of anything and he's great with kids so I have to conclude the bite was isolated and justified giving the circumstances but common sense must be used now in owning him.

Thank you.

AgarPhranicniStraze1, how is he doing? temperment, social?

Update please on the murder story and how it turned out for Thunder.

Michele

I'm I the only one wondering why he didn't stop the killer?

wow how did I miss this incredible story?  I'm betting he didn't stop the killer because he "knew" him..

Glad the dog is ok.

Jakoda:

That would be a good first impression guess..and one you always put in the list but with a murder investigation and a dog involved...many other reasons could play and the obvious is not always the truth.

It would be first thought yes, and consider, but you keep open mind and the list of other possibilities would not favour one or the other until all evidence is sought , saved and filed..then the real chore begins...did someone maybe spray the dog...were there two people..one distracted the dog...maybe the dog was outside in a field or not even on premises...fencing in place...doors closed and dog inside by itself thru a doggie door or did he come in by someone letting him in...Many a dog can open a door with even a door knob..so you have to do a long list of checks and pro and con to arrive at what looks like   your first impression which would be a lot of peoples.

Would love to know the outcome. Most murders are family related or familiar people related and that is always the first on the list to check out..but you cannot let it stop you from looking outside that fact.

Maybe some news will be posted..when AGAR  sees the post. She doesn't sign in much right now , she has a new dog.

YR

Yeah, I thought the same thing. Reminded me of a story a breeder told me of a mastiff holding a guy down until the police arrived after he stabbed the owner to death. The town gave the dog a medal. The breeder asked me where the hell as the dog when the guy jumped the 5' fence and was stabbing the woman. But like yellowrose said, you don't know the circumstances. Maybe the dog truly didn't see a threat until the action took place. If it was a friend, why would the dog react if the guy had already shot the husband in the garage and casually walked up to the woman and shot her? The dog now witnesses what has taken place and reacts. Maybe the gunfire startled the shit out of the dog. You'd be surprised what % of dogs would actually put there life on the line. Not many! Besides, what are the odds that the dog could have stopped an armed lunatic?

Bump, maybe when she hets thru playing with her new dog she will visit the board?

I would like to know why the "friend" put his first dog down at 3 years of age. I am selling dogs and am always looking for warning signs. Thus if someone tells me that they put the dog down at 3 years that is a major red flag.
Otherwise it is a great story and I was touched by it. What  an ordeal the poor dog went through. You are good people I can tell.  I bet you that  your 6th sense put urgency on you to find out what is going on with the dog.
. 
Prager Hans 
http://www.alpinek9.com