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We Nearly Gave Away Our Golden Retriever Because He Barked at the Nanny — But Then I Checked the Camera Footage and Was Stunned
When we brought Max home eight years ago, we were told golden retrievers were gentle, friendly, and endlessly patient. Max was all of that—and more. He grew up alongside our kids, slept outside their bedrooms when they were sick, and wagged his tail like a metronome of happiness whenever anyone walked through the door.
That’s why what happened next completely broke my heart.
A few months ago, after I returned to work full-time, we hired a nanny to help care for our two young children during the day. She came highly recommended, had glowing references, and seemed warm enough when we met her. Everything appeared perfect—except for one problem.
Max hated her.
From the very first day, he barked nonstop whenever she entered the house. Not his usual excited greeting bark, but deep, sharp, relentless barking. He positioned himself between her and the kids, growling low under his breath. It was behavior we had never seen before.
We corrected him. We scolded him. We tried treats, distractions, even keeping him in another room. Nothing worked. The nanny grew visibly uncomfortable and gently suggested that Max might be “protective to a fault.”
Soon, the complaints escalated.
She told us Max snapped at her ankles. That he lunged when she picked up our youngest. That she felt unsafe. One afternoon, she told us plainly: “Either the dog goes, or I do.”
As parents, our instinct was to protect our children. As exhausted working adults, we also needed reliable help. With heavy hearts, we began discussing rehoming Max “for everyone’s safety.”
I cried that night like I was giving away a family member.
But something didn’t sit right.
Max wasn’t aggressive at the vet. He adored neighbors, delivery drivers, even strangers at the park. Why just her?
That’s when I remembered the small security camera we’d installed in the living room months earlier and barely checked. My hands were shaking as I opened the app and scrolled back through the footage.
What I saw made my stomach drop.
The moment we left for work, the nanny’s demeanor changed. Her voice turned sharp. She yanked our toddler by the arm. She shoved Max away with her foot when she thought he was out of frame. At one point, she raised her hand as if to strike our child—and Max exploded into barking, throwing himself between them.
Over and over again, the footage showed the same thing.
Max wasn’t misbehaving.
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