German Shepherds and new baby

Question
My husband and I are about the adopt a German Shepherd puppy.  We are also expecting a baby in June.  Since we have never had a dog before, we are wondering if dog might be harmful for the baby.

Answer
No doubt about it, there are problems with dogs and children.  A healthy, well trained dog with good leadership shouldn't be a problem, but still needs supervision around a baby.  

Having a good pack structure reduces such problems. The dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/  www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm has some additional material on dogs and children.