German Shepherds and Children: Prince Meets His Match

The first time Prince began to  bark at a child, I immediately assumed that he had been upset by something that the child had unintentionally done.  I thought the child might have shrieked, moved too quickly or even showed him some object he was not accustomed to.  I realized I was wrong when Prince met Selena.

When  Selena was a baby, her mother would frequently pass my yard pushing her in a stroller...and Prince would bark at them to the point that the mother would become uncomfortable.  I thought it was because her stroller reminded him of a lawn mower (like many other dogs, Prince has always had a strong reaction to mowers).  The real reason for his barking, however, became apparent when he encountered her later, when she was big enough to walk.

A Bottle!

We were passing the house that she lived in when she unexpectedly came toddling toward us, and stopped immediately in front of the fence that we were walking by.  I saw her grandfather start to come after her, but immediately change his mind when he saw Prince.  Prince himself barely seemed to notice her when she was within touching difference, until she shouted at him.

At first, he looked at her with an expression that almost seemed to convey surprise. Then his tail began to wag, faster and faster, and his ears went all the way down, and he put his nose through the fence and began to nuzzle and then lick her face as she grabbed at him.  That was when I had my epiphany.

Prince and his Bottle

Prince was not barking at her (or any of the other children) because he felt aggressively toward them.

Prince was barking at them because he wanted their attention, and as soon as they gave it to him, he stopped barking.

This is one "trait" that Prince continues to possess to this day.  He still barks at small children and babies...until they come close enough that he can sniff and lick them. Then he immediately stops until they move away.  He actually does the same thing with any of the neighbors who pass by that normally talk to him or pet him.  If they fail to do so immediately, he will bark at them until they do what he wants them to.

Somehow, and I really am not sure why, I have ended up with an inordinately friendly German Shepherd Dog.  He likes ALMOST everybody...there are a few notable exceptions, but for the most part, Prince actually thinks that almost everyone wants to be his friend.  I think part of the reason may be because he has met so many people.  Another part may be that he has never been hurt by a human being.  Since Prince has never been afraid of anyone, he has never had to act aggressively to anyone.

Prince's attitude has surprised a lot of people...but perhaps no one was more surprised than the crew of construction workers that we happened to run into last summer.