We have a large boxer that sounded similiar in behaviour to the german shepherd when we first started camping.
I think you sound very responsible dog owners and I would suggest you take your dog and just be cautious. If your dog is muzzled he can't do any damage can he?
We have been camping with our dog (and 2 others) for the past 5 years and he absolutely loves it and all the walks that go with it. You'll probably find with the fresh air and extra walks your dog will sleep quite a bit.
Personally we always go to the campsites without a bar/clubhouse as these tend to be less busy and if possible visit a site where you can choose a spot away from most or ask the camp owner if it's possible to have a quiet corner spot where people aren't walking past all the time.
We also use windbreakers which give the dog privacy.
I have a dog, a labrador x, everyone thinks shes lovely and wants to pat her but she is a rescue dog and very nervous so I try to keep people away from her not the other way round. She would never bite but people scare her so I always keep her with me at all times. I would not bother if I saw your dog in a muzzel just think you knew your dog and which situations you needed to use the muzzel in. Funny though the softest most laid back dog I had was an alsation x rotweiler that people used to cross over the street to avoid but she was the one that I would trust in any situation she loved people, children & other dogs. On the other hand I think that some people should keep their children muzzled and tied up (especialy the ones that were kicking a ball against our van a few weeks ago.)
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Dogs that bite should not be on a campsite. Dogs that bite should have a oneway ticket to the vets or be kept in a secure situation away from the general public.
I have just had some friends to stay who have not seen for a long time. Daughter lost two front teeth to a dog she tried to pet who she actually knew when he was tied up. She has had two sessions of plastic surgery. Why oh why do people want to keep dogs likely to bite?
Whether she should have been approaching the dog is not the point, her intentions were benign... the dogs were not.
We take our dog camping, she is always on a lead on the site, unless in the campervan. There are usually one or two dog owners on site who think they are exempt from the "dogs on leads" rule, and their dogs will be drawn to yours, which will result in your dog being defensive and barking. I have never yet seen a campsite owner take issue with people who let their dogs off the lead on site. We always try to be wary when walking our dog past a dog left outside a unit on site. You can't assume they are tied up, and may rush at you/your dog.
I would suggest you try taking your dog to a quietish site to see how you all get on. You may not sleep too well if the dog is constantly disturbed by other people walking round at night. We had an old dog who would bark at any movement when his eyesight started to go. It would not have been fair to him, us, or other campers to take him out of his comfort zone.
As one dog lover to another - although I don't currently have one - can you explain to me why you feel the need to own a dog like this? I'm sorry to say this but GSD's, rightly or wrongly, have a reputation for having qwerky temperaments.
It seems that away from home you are unable to relax in its presence and I would have thought that a caravan/camp site was entirely the wrong environment for it.
Our neighbours have a GSD and as gorgeous as he is, he comes bounding up to you to give you a true doggie welcome, but if you don't know him, this can very frightening and intimidating. He also barks at every slight noise which is not without its nuisance value. I have spoken with his owners about his behaviour and they simply won't have it.
I think you have quite a few issues to address before you can take it to a campsite with a clear conscience.
I suspect you and your family love him to pieces but no one else knows your dog like you do and I think personally that others will have issues with him especially site owners.
Sorry,
Vic
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Hi again to the oldies on the boards... not been posting for a while.. too busy sorry...
Ermm this is a really old post, and I have not read all nine pages of replies, and maybe I should because no doubt someone will already have made some of my points... but anyway..
Without flaming you 'Tent Peg', and trying to understand your feelings for this little girl.. I have two German Shepherds, and I can call them both too me, have them sit, lie, stay, wait (which is not the same as stay), all by hand signals as well as verbally.... I have my dogs under control... They have never shown any agression at all towards people, well maybe the older one once.. but she barked then came sat by the side of me.. not exactly a killer.
So Question: Would I allow a child to play with either of my dogs, whilst they were tethered, without me having hold of that tether. Answer, not in a million years!!!!
Is that the dogs problem? I don't think it is. It's my problem, because there is something that many people do not understand, DOGS BITE. We can train them, teach them, do everything you can think of to try and curtail this action, but it's in built, it's part of who and what they are. So if we want our presious ones to stay well, we need to keep our eyes on them. Was someone holding this dog when it savaged her.. I rather think not...
I won't go on any more, but I will finish by saying what I have said here before. If anyone approaches my dogs, and tries petting them without first asking me, they don't need to worry about getting bitten by them - only because I will tear pieces off that person before my dogs will ever get to them. No one has the right to touch my dogs and maybe if as a nation we ALL began to think that way there would be less dogs bites?
All the very best
Chris
------------- Give a dog love, and they will give you their all back!
http://committed.to/germanshepherds
1. I have nothing against any breed of dogs only those that bite. Have no problem with any civilised mutt on a campsite. Indeed enjoy having a good natured 4 legged neighbour to my pitch
2. No matter how often you drill things into kids, or how vigilent the parent there are times when your back is turned. And quite frankly having animals that bite in a public place that will behave like this is simply unacceptible.
3. If I was to purchase a wolf and tie it to a post in the park I would quite rightly be in a lot of trouble as a dangerous animal has to be caged correctly. Dogs that are liable to bite left in such as situation fall exactly into that catagory, they should be in a in a secure area.
I grew up around animals to a much greater extent than the average and like and respect them, I have also been a dog owner. Of course kids should not approach a strange dog without permission but.... No dog owner should be excusing a dog for biting because a kid came up to stroke them, that is an issue of your control of your pet. The trouble is once a dog has bitten regardless of whose fault it is they will bite again, then they become dangerous!
Incidently the girl in question had been playing with the dog with permission of the owner the day before and had not realised that he was trained to bite when tied up!! She was 12 years old at the time of the incident and on her own.
Quote: Originally posted by ChrisandOdette on 30/11/2
I have two German Shepherds, and I can call them both too me, have them sit, lie, stay, wait (which is not the same as stay), all by hand signals as well as verbally.... I have my dogs under control...
Chris
Even Doctor Dolittle couldn't control his friends. No matter how good a trainer or communicator you are YOU DO NOT HAVE THESE DOGS UNDER CONTROL
Dogs are unpredictable, suffer mental illness, attack the leader to become top dog, leads break, collars slip and stakes uproot. (by the way I used to have a corgi did you know a male can jump eight foot fences when required?)
There was another horror story about some staffs attacking a child last week because they broke thru a fence all staffs put down but why isn't the owner punished? There is now an almost automatic jail sentence for causing death by driving if speeding, reckless etc why not the same for owners of unsecured dogs?
------------- A wise man learns from his own mistakes - a genius learns from the mistakes of others
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