Yes. This. And to clarify, it's not all tires. It's the tires of vehicles that gave that ATV/diesel sound. As I explained, it's not aggression. My dad kep Leg for us when we moved to Oregon and got settled and drove him cross country (because flying would have totally stressed him out.) Dad does farm chores on an ATV. He exercised Legend with an ATV. Legend hears that sound and he thinks, "Game ON!" I'm so glad some here understand. I suspect I should have posted it as a JAWM. I am sorry for every negative experience a person has had with an agressive dog, big or small. It is *MY* personal opinion agressive dogs should be put to sleep, as I stated. No matter how much we love him, if I felt he was people agressive we really would do that. Harsh? Maybe. But 105 dog that's agressive is a threat. Blessedly he is not. And now I think I'll have to stop repeating myself as it seems pointless. Hugs to all who really contributed to my thought process. I really think we will need to work/train on this. Our UPS guy will be perfect as he admires him. I just need to make several Amazon purchases. This is going to be rough. ;). To answer another question he is not excluded on our homeowners policy though we do pay extra, I believe, for his breed. He's an amazing dog. Abd I'm going in on Monday to the post office on Monday to politely reiterate that I really meant it when I signed the card that said NO deliveries. :)

This is how DD's is as well.

It's probably anxiety. After a less than positive interaction with anyone I evaluate and reevaluate what I could have said differently to make it more positive, more upbeat, etc. It never does any good.... That fussing, worrying, replaying of the scenario. It's good. It's okay. The journey was messy but now you're here. Take a deep breath and move forward. You're going to like it here! ;)

BTW, the messy handwriting is a huge clue here. Girls LIKE pretty handwriting.

Absolutely this. What system can't teach a teen to decode in two years? School systems are notoriously bad at diagnosing.

A little tmi but I've heard dog urine and people hair deter deer. Is that true?

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. To clarify: he doesn't chase cars. He never, ever, ever crosses the boundary. He is not aggressive. For example, he LIKES our regular mailman. He greets him with wagging tail and joy, lol. However, he considers his tires prey. ;). They move and he just grabs them. Same with the sub. He likes HER. It's the tires. There's only one person I've ever seen Legend not care for. He didn't bark or bite or act agressive, just moved his body between me and the fellow. I am going to be proactive on this one and call our vet too on Monday. I fear people being prejudiced because of his appearance and breed. This dog was carefully chosen, bred, and cared for. You know how some people get big dogs for ferociousness? We did NOT. We got shepherds for personality, train ability, their skill with children and around other animals. Do I love that he's intimidating looking? I do. Would I keep him if he was aggressive and label it protective? Heck no. He's too big, too powerful to risk my precious babies. I have to be straight forward... I grew up on a farm. There was exactly one purpose for a dog that was aggressive according to my dad. Fertilizer. If I had an agressive dog my parents would be pretty blunt about it with their grandkids. And my dad thinks this dog hung the moon. They hug. No kidding.

I think you might be responding to a post that was not mine? I honestly cannot remotely see the resemblance between my dog and a dog that should have been put to sleep the first time he bit a human with no extenuating circumstances. And he "cowered" - a dog is more likely to bite out of fear than our of aggression (except in a pack.) if he had a fearful dog it was either unstable or abused and both have nasty results. I'm very, very sorry for your child. No kid should ever develop a fear of dogs from being but, not even a "little" bite. A human bite is a human bite. I'd also be curious of his dog's breeding. They've been notoriously overbred.

For example, I had four fellas come pick up a statue today out of my yard in front of my house. It wasn't a diesel and didn't gave that distinct sound. They were men and total strangers. No problems. ;). Let me say I understand the concern. How many times have we seen the headlines: woman mauled or something awful by people who just knew their little darling wouldn't do this? I believe those people didn't know or understand signs of a dominant dog, an aggressive dog, or worst of all, a fear biter.

I'm not being rude, I'm being matter of fact. I'm stating I'd be lying, because, as previously stated and fully explained, I do not have a dangerous dog. I have a powerful dog. They are not synonymous.

I think that's a helpful suggestion. Thank you. I will look into those.

'Cept of course I'd be lying, but thanks.

It's not a pain. We're only a mile out of town. The regular mail guy delivers to us because he feels comfortable with Legend. I'd rather he not, but I know he's trying to be nice. :( Ladies, I want to clarify. It is a vehicle issue. The dog likes the carriers themselves. As long as the vehicle is still he's fine. Rolling tires (prey drive) make him excited. Excited NOT aggressive though I understand the misunderstanding considering people hear bite and assume aggression. He's tickled when this happens. Tail wagging and waiting. I don't know WHY delivery vehicles. All I can think of is the sound of the vehicle is different? He was exercised as a puppy with a four wheeler and the sound of ATVs excites him to NO end. (He's bitten a hole in Dad's ATV as well.) I'm hoping that will clarify the aggression concerns. He's a lot of things, but fearful, dominant, aggressive, etc are not those.

And we've had him for six. He's not dangerous frankly else he wouldn't be around my kids. I'm not stupid but thanks for the benefit of the doubt. There is a world of difference between a dog that hates delivery vehicles and a dangerous, dominant, or fearful dog. He is none of the three.

No. He does it to no one else. Ladies I don't WANT anyone to be able to just walk up and into my house. What is the point of having a German shepherd living out in a rural location? I want people to stay in their car. And they do. We've been here for a year. He does not cross the boundary.

Other. I have no idea. With four kids five and under (and toddlers for years) I cannot remember, truly, the last time I slept in past 7:00ish.

Our dog loses his MIND when a delivery is made. He is normally the most patient, long suffering creature you've ever met. But, add any kind of delivery vehicle, and he is certifiable. So, normally I keep track of incoming packages via text. That controls FedEx and UPS and then he's locked away. Shortly after we moved here we figured out he can't handle the USPS guy delivering. So we went to the USPS and filled out a card and told them we don't want deliveries. Just leave a card in the mailbox and we will come into town and get it. Sigh. Our mail man. I know he was just trying to be nice because, well, he IS nice. But they've ignored the request. Today we had a sub. She drove up to the house. Legend bit her tires destroying two of them. We helped her change the one that was popped, bought her two new tires, and she was very nice. But how do I convince them they really are NOT doing me a "favor" by delivering? This is a small, very friendly, rural community. I don't want hard feelings nor do I want to be sassy. But he will totally do it again and frankly I don't feel like paying next time. :(. Sad. Frustrated. ETA: we have an underground fence running the full perimeter of our acreage. The mailbox is several feet from the perimeter. They can deliver envelopes and small packages without being bothered. The problem is when they drive up to the house. :(

11 kids and more books than even clothing? I figure that gives it away.

I've seen this in every size family and they just don't know any better. Large families are more likely to "accept" each person's differences and not perceive it as an impairment and I suspect this is what you perceive to see as accepting everything as hunky-dory. Moms of many are far more aware of individual giftings and weaknesses and more likely to chalk it up as realm of normal. It isn't pretending and that was a little insulting fun though I'm sure you didn't mean it that way. ;)

I have eleven. One is moderately dyslexic but severely dysgraphic. One is moderately dyslexic. One is profoundly dyslexic with severe working memory impairment. Two littles ones (so far) are dyslexic, one is ADHD, and one of those I suspect is also severe/profound and has a severe language processing issue. It can be overwhelming. I also know their brains are GIFTS and definitely not by accident. I will write more later. What I have found is that taking on THIS day, not yesterday's failures or tomorrow's struggles and anxieties, is very important. Otherwise I get paralyzed. I don't know how old your oldest is, but my oldest with dyslexia is 16. He's freaking AWESOME. I would not change a thing. Actually, he's just like my husband and I can't think of a higher compliment frankly. So, yes, he's going to struggle, and yes, I'm remediating, but he's going to go on and do well. I really like him and he gives me a lot of Hope and encouragement for the others! You may PM me anytime.

ADHD goes hand in hand with dyslexia and dyslexia would NOT have (9 times out of 10) been picked up by the school system. Just as an aside. If this is what it is, you can have REAL hope. I'm hoping for you. And I'll tell you, even successful dyslexics will tell you they really thought they were slow or stupid... It was a HUGE relief to find out they weren't dumb. Failing kindergarten is a real indicator. This has been a life long struggle and people with struggles tend to "self-medicate" - it's helpful to know here that dyslexia is genetic and that the prison population is more than double (50%+) dyslexics vs. real world stats (1 in 5.) (Not that I'm insanely, over the top about dyslexia awareness of anything.....) :seeya:

Look aside from the school for a second. ;) Here's my question: Is he of normal, average intelligence? (This has NOTHING to do with willingness to learn or material learned.) If he's of NORMAL intelligence and was held back in K AND is five years behind in public school THIS KID HAS A LEARNING DISABILITY. And anything you do without remediating that is utterly, totally USELESS. Most likely? 85% of LD's is dyslexia. 40% of dyslexics have dyscalculia. No remediation he'll just experience failure when he finally has hope. That should kill his self esteem and image forever. Get a GOOD assessment. Go from there. Talking about curriculum and graduation is pointless without this information 'cuz really, if you manage to "graduate" him and he still thinks he's a stupid failure and can't cope with learning, really what are his chances out in the world? Not great. BTW, the tone of this post is positive and wants to tell you - this kid could FLY if that's "all" this is. You will give him an ENORMOUS chance. If he's dyslexic, with remediation, the difference in academic and his LIFE could be enormous.

Impairment, shall we? Okay, Olivia, four in June, is most likely severely dyslexic. Her directionality issues mimic those of Tim EXACTLY. (He is diagnosed profound, not severe. We also have a mild and a moderate.) Olivia could not say "mom"or "dad" before age three. She had no words. None. I'd say she has close to twenty now with an assortment of grunts. Intellectually she is totally normal. I'm certain of this. She is CRAZY CAPABLE of making us understand in the most creative ways. I adore this kid. She is easily embarrassed, especially about her speech. We have avoided therapy because we can't find anyone who can tell us they are knowledgeable about how dyslexia and language processing in the brain affects speech and if it can even BE useful to have therapy. Talk to me. I drove three hours last night (and three hours home) to hear a dyslexia lecture on what I thought was specifically going to address this issue of speech. It did not. She said kids like Olivia are considered "locked in" and very difficult cases. She was a solid speaker (I've heard Susan Barton speak twice and a couple other gals) and I enjoyed her but it was on dyslexia which I've heard all the same information multiple times. I spoke with her after the engagement and she recommended a speech path friend for an assessment. That alone may end up worth the drive. I'm willing to go. (Two hours) but I'd sure like to be a little knowledgeable do I can prep questions. Anyone here deal with a child so language impaired with totally normal intelligence and dyslexia? She mentioned Einstein syndrome. I'm not at all convinced that's what I'm seeing. Is say normal intelligence but not genius.

How did he do in 1st -2nd grade? Curious. Failure and lacking to do school work is generally indicative or a learning disability catching up with him. He would rather people think he was "lazy" than stupid and his discouragement pours out in not trying. I haven't read the replies, but I am very curious right now. It is pretty classic. I assume you know there is no drug use so that's out.

*Sorry!!!!! Wrong Board!!!!!!!! nm