Disturbing: Growling at us when it's time to go outside. - Page 3

get a new BF.

Please have a thorough thyroid panel done and sent to Michigan State. You said he has recently gained a few pounds with no diet change. This could be a key sign along with the behavior change. 
Good luck and let us know how it turns out!
Theresa

He has recently gained 3-4 pounds in the last month and a half after being the same weight for 2 years and had an increasing appetite despite same amount, possibly less, exercise.

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As a dog gets older and has reduced exercise it will gain weight. Adjust their diet accordingly and reduce protein amount. Rocky having an increased appetite could be due to 'comfort eating' because he has nothing to keep him occupied.

On weekdays he does not get taken for walks because my fiance goes to EMS school all day and is a police officer all night.

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Who sees to him to let him out for his toileting?  I find this a bit disconcerting as basically it reads that he is alone 24/7 - so when does your fiancé sleep?  

Two people with very full schedules, living in an apartment, maybe should let someone with time and space for a GSd "adopt" a nine week old puppy. A proper environment with people who have time to spend with him and room to exercise for the poor dog would be nice.....toy dogs are better for apartment living.

Forget "ranking", the dog might be confused about who to trust and who is his master.

First off-- Thank you for all of the great advice.

I haven't replied to your posts because we took a week to use your suggestions as well as go to the vet. After 300$ of 5-6 different tests, including the 'hyperthyroid' the vet came back with nothing. However, we went ahead and got Rocky's hips x-rayed because the vet said that going up and down the stairs to go outside could be painful to him and causing the fearful reaction. He said that his seizure in January could have caused some kind of change in his mental thinking? I was pretty confused by this and had not even thought of his seizure as a cause for the begavior. However, this is right when the growling started!

Rocky has been collared since Thursday AM without removing it EXCEPT when he goes in the kennel. On the three days that my fiance has to work and go to class, he stays in the kennel after their one mile run for about two hours until my stepmom picks him up to go to the dog park with her dogs. My stepmom said that when she arrives, she collars him and puts his leash on and has had zero issues. 

To me, a one mile run and going to the dog park is not exercise....for the past 3 years of his life, Rocky got a 2 mile blistering pace run with me every morning and a long 30-45 minute briskly paced walk after classes, as well as training with our trainer 3x a week.

We stopped "asking" Rocky to go out and instead I taught him a new "place" command at the top of the stairs with the word "out". 

I also had my fiance read this page and told him the importance of using NILIF.

Since Thursday we have had zero incidents so I am not sure if the vet's idea about his hips is right?

Also -- we do fun things with the police department canine officer, however, he is not a trainer. His dog will bite the sleeve and they will practice outs, bark and holds, etc etc......we do the same thing with Rocky but with a thick stuffed animal and we hide it then when he finds it he will sit and bark. He is very good at outs too! (95% of the time) Rocky isn't "hard" enough and I wouldn't ever train him to bite a sleeve on someone's arm with his problems. The stuffed animal is his favorite game!

Thanks to all of your advice. Also, we would LOVE to get any ideas of a trainer in the KATY/HOUSTON area. Right now, Rocky is getting a lot of mental stimulation from our hide and seek/bite/out games and our scent training in the field behind our apartment but I am running out of ideas for new things. 

 

 

by joanro on 28 March 2014 - 12:03

Posts: 3272
Joined: Sun Dec 21, 2008 03:46 pm
Two people with very full schedules, living in an apartment, maybe should let someone with time and space for a GSd "adopt" a nine week old puppy. A proper environment with people who have time to spend with him and room to exercise for the poor dog would be nice.....toy dogs are better for apartment living.
Did you even read my post? Our dog is four years old. My fiance began EMT training in JANUARY and ends in APRIL. I graduate in APRIL.
We have had our "POOR DOG" (LMAO) for four years and he has had a wonderful life.
Who in the world are you to judge my dog's quality of life after reading a 5 paragraph post on the internet? Answer= I really have no idea what the heck you were thinking when you wrote that post.
Go save or rescue some dogs....those are the POOR dogs you need to help JoanRo. Instead of typing rude posts on the internet you could actually do some good for all those "POOR" dogs in the world.
 
ALSO: There is NO proof that a large dog does better in an apartment or a house. Most home owners dump their dogs in the backyard for "exercise". I find apartment dog owners are BETTER suited because they have to take their dogs on walks.

SPOOKS:

Who sees to him to let him out for his toileting?  I find this a bit disconcerting as basically it reads that he is alone 24/7 - so when does your fiancé sleep?

My stepmom and my dad live down the street. They usually pick him up or my fiance drops him off at their house on the way to work. They had two dogs that he plays with in their backyard/house.

My fiance sleeps on his three days off. This has been/is a TOUGH four months for both of us with little sleep--however, it will benefit both of us in the long run. 

Also, he is only crated for two hours until my stepmom picks him up. If she drops him off after instead of waiting for my fiance to pick him up, she just leaves him in the house with free run. (we have do proofed everything)

Well, it sounded like things were gone south for the four year old. I wasn't intending to be rude, just stating an opinion after reading your post. I've seen large breed apartment dogs in big cities, and they look and act like they don't get enough exercise. Anyway, hope things are better for your dog, and that he has stopped running for his den and growling.
I've done a lot of rescuing of poor dogs, all of them from people who didn't have enough time and knowledge to provide adequately for them.

I'm assuming your vet ran the thyroid scan? Right? Did you read the article I posted her written by Dr. Jean Dodds?