Comments about a dog’s action reveal more than a Rorschach test

My family has Anatolian shepherd dogs . ... I know, I never heard of them either until my wife brought one home.

Anatolians are guardian livestock dogs [GLD], meaning they were bred to guard livestock from predators. For example, herders in Africa were having their livestock eaten by cheetahs until it was discovered that having their animals protected by guardian dogs resulted in fewer cheetahs being shot and less livestock eaten.

The dogs are huge and amazing; females average about 120-140 pounds and the males can get close to 200 pounds. They can actually fight off a mountain lion or bear, but love people and other animals. Unless there is a predator, no one would know they are more than equipped to guard with their lives.

If a guardian dog doesn’t have livestock to watch over, they consider families they live with as their herd to be protected.

My wife belongs to a guardian livestock dog blog where owners exchange stories and tips about their dogs. Recently, a GLD owner posted the kids she was watching for the summer were being picked up by their dad. The guardian dog was very bonded to the two young boys; when their dad came by, one of the boys did not want to go with the dad. The youngster mouthed off to his father and started running away. The dad grabbed the boy by the arm, then the dog grabbed the dad by his arm.

The dog stared at the dad with a look that said, “You may want to rethink this. I’ll let you go when you let the boy go.” The dad let go of the boy and the dog released the parent. There was some bruising and a small amount of blood, but the dog did not attack the father, rather it used the force necessary to get him to release the boy.

The owner was asking other GLD owners what she should do with her dog? At last check, there were more 300 posts ranging from the dog was only doing what she was bred to do to put the dog down.

As a family therapist (and dog owner) it was fascinating to read the responses. No dog should be permitted to be aggressive with another person or animal, yet this dog perceived the father was being aggressive with the child. Most dogs, not only guardian dogs, are protective of the families who raise them — one of the traits that make dogs so appealing.

I am not a dog expert nor do I have more information than what was blogged. What I saw were men and women projecting into this story their own experiences with having split families. It was better than a Rorschach test in ferreting out how people experience and feel about sharing children. Soon, it was apparent the responses to this story were as much about family dynamics as dog behaviors.

I have no idea if the dog overreacted, or the father was too aggressive. I wasn’t there, but I have seen times when both have been true. This boy was young and should not have mouthed off or run away. Maybe most dads would have grabbed their son, or maybe not.

It was the perception of the dog that the father was being a threat, not a parent. A snap judgment, made in an instant, that gives us all pause and hopefully time to reflect how to best react when we believe a parent is being too physical or a child oppositional.