I'm in my 30's, have a 3 year old male GSD who I bought as a pup, and no kids. I got married last year and plan on starting a family within the next year or so. We have been babysitting my wife's sister's young daughters, including several overnight stays. Our GSD has been awesome with the girls. They lay on him and lead him around like a show pony. He couldn't be more gentle and tolerant.

I think dogs, perhaps German Shepherds in particular, have a natural understanding and acceptance of our pack members. However, my theory excludes the acceptance of house cats.

If you know you will have a GSD, getting him before the baby comes would be a good idea. That way you can housebrake your pup without the extra stress. Having a pup is like having a baby, only the pup grows and learns quicker.

With a confident, well-socialized GSD, you should not have any problems. My GSD has been with us longer than my youngest three kids. Just make sure you don't allow the dog to come near the baby for the first few months.

Search leerburg.com for bringing a baby home. Ed is a controversial figure, but his advice is usually spot on.

ETA: Sorry, I missed the part about you being single. Get the dog, dude.

Your bitch is a beautiful sable.

Hate to be a party pooper, but I should point out to the OP that he should not allow the behavior displayed in the first image. It appears dominant.

Sorry... I had to...

I just would like to bring some experience with this breed to this issue. Every GSD is not going to be the same, some are never "social" to the extent others are. The outcome of training, socialization etc is never a guarantee, and the one thing this breed is BIG. We have 5 currently, one in particular gets very stressed by adults lifting children from the ground, and appears to try to defend the child. One of our females is overly curous and seems to think she needs to taste babies. We have decided over time and example after example of different unpredictable reaction to not take the chance because a self defense action to pain, or a playful wreslte could still harm the child by accident .not to interact the dogs with small children.

All of that being said, GSD are family oriented, protectors, and you should not assume any dog that is in the family before the child will be OK until you find out it isn't the hard way. Also, assuming your dog IS OK with your child, do not allow your kids to do things that may hurt the dog, or make the dog feel his is being dominated by the small child. This type of action could get an un wanted reaction and who can predict when that might happen? Let face it, those teeth on a newborn face would be a DISASTER!!! Why chance it?

Also, you can find many many refences on the net of the family dog suddenly biting a playmate of your child. Because of the defensive protective nature of this breed, normal childs play often looks to the dog like HIS child is being harmed....be careful of this, you can't really blame the dog if you think about how kids play.

I am not saying don't get the dog, but don't take un-necessary chances, don't underestimate the play or aggressive strength of this dog. Be careful around small children. They are small, these dogs are BIG! You can't expect the dog to understand why it's ears are being pulled-it hurts, he may react to it in a way that will harm your child.

I hope I made a point without making you think negatively about this or any other large breed dog. It is not the dog that needs training, it is the HUMANS around it!!!

When we brought our first child home from the hospital, my female gsd mix sniffed, investigated, and decided that it was her puppy. She sat in front of him, and would not let the other dogs - or people outside of our family - near him. She had done that with each of our babies, and if the baby cries, she gives them a few licks as first-aid, then comes running to us to get us to help the baby.

My son had a lot of ear infections during his first year. The dog in question would sniff them out and obsess over that ear. She was correct in determining the infection, in the correct ear, 100% of the time. They're was one catch however.... She would usually start a full day before any doctor would be able to see any signs looking in the ear, so each time she started, we would just make an appointment for the next day when the doctor would be able to see it.

Now my male gsd mix.... He likes the kids. Likes to snuggle them. likes to play with them. Sniffs them to make sure that they are alright. But he does not have that same maternal drive, which is understandable.

There are a lot of folks who don't believe me. I might not believe it if I hadn't seen it.

thanks for everyone's contributions!

The real trick, with any dog, is to always be watching them. Leaving your dog alone with a young child is just a disaster waiting to happen (not for all dogs, but be on the safe side).

All babies have parents. Not all homes have dogs.

No, they just stick them in ovens, drown them in bathtubs, hold them in boiling water, etc, etc. Humans are far more destructive than most dogs.

what the fuck are we talking about? drop it

Clearly it is better to just assume your dog will be fine and nothing can occur.

You control what you can control, it is just flat out silly to say "because there are bad people in the world, don't worry about it"