Would you consider this "normal" GSD behavior? - Page 2

Well said DH, RmB please take note of DH's reply, I have worked with many dogs over the years, what you are experiencing is the 'teenager' pushing the boundary's it is up to you to take control and give your dog a set of rules to live by. Please find a trainer who can help you with this. regards C

His bite broke the skin, left puncture holes, he went in once bit and retreated.

hodie, What i mean by the positive reinforcement dominance program is I think,what you refered to as setting limits. the people Going out the door first, eatng first, waiting to be released from the vehicle. At the begining of this program, the dog had to do something for every mouth full of food. if he refused to work, in to the kennel. And no opportunity for eating until the next meal time. then the same thing. he can't lie on my feet or stand and watch out the doors( or any guarding behavior) But What Iam wondering is if he needs more information than just being put in the kennel? the previous training we have done is CKC ( were in Canada) obeidience we were in novice/ open level and he would have had his CD. Yes, this is my first GSD I have worked with various other dogs and animals all my life. this dog is very smart and sensitive, is that a bad thing?

Yes, this senario confused me as well. I am not a trainer and consider these other individuals to be the experts. I'll never blindly follow any experts again.

Additional, someother background info. Fristly, this was a dog who did dog demos. in the park and had kids hanging off his neck and he was content and happy to do this. We also visted old folks homes and he was happily lead around by the old guys while they taked about their jobs. We went to public beaches where he interacted with other dogs kids and people running up to him and hugging him.So tell me how can dog from that to one that loving and a clown to one that is lunging maniac. So maybe helping him is beyound your ability but I don't give up on animals that easy!!!

Thank-you for all the helpful information. What would you suggest about desensitizing him to other dogs? I am presently working on a solid "Watch Me" and a better recall( starting over and renameing it. My sense is to start the desensitizing with as much distance as he needs without any reaction and to reward this and keeping working on the watch me while increasing the distractions(dogs and other people). Any other suggestions? I do use a clicker and rewards.

Thanks for your interest. Do you know of any training facilities in this area? Regina, Saskatchewan.

My reply from 18:06 was intended for Wardawg

I have a dog that is very sociable to people and always has been a social butterfly. He has also been a very self confident dog. At roughly the time he turned 2 he developed an aggressive attitude to other male dogs. He decided to assert himself. This started with the staring at other males and if they got close, then growling. I did not correct this soon enough. Fortunately I started obedience with a highly qualified instructor. She uses a firm but fair approach and lots of play reward for getting it right, but firmness for deliberate disobedience. I found that he responded very well to this black and white training. She had a young male with her at one of the early lessons. My dog growled and lunged for the other dog. I had a pinch on him at the time and the leash was not long enough for him to reach the other dog, but I hauled him immediately back to my side with a strong "leave it!!" command, but he transferred the aggression to the other dog to me and went for my arm. My policy is that no dog I own will ever go onto me, so I flung him about on the pinch, growling and staring at him and basically made him see god. I had to use all my strength to do this as I am small and the dog is big. I had to make the point strong enough that he will not even think about this again. The rest of the lesson went perfect and his obedience had never been so good and attentive. And yet, it wasn't out of fear from the correction. It was about black and white. This you will be praised for and get immediate reward and fun, fun. And THIS will NEVER be tolerated, never, under any circumstances. It has not happened again.

Why should helping this dog be beyond anyones ability but yours? No one here can help this dog really just by reading an abstract description of what is going on with you and your dog. In order to really help, one needs to see the dog in person. You would not call your doctor either for just information on how to take your own appendix out, right? You need to take responsibilty. Even for choosing the wrong trainers. You need to want to achieve changes. You need to want to have a well behaved dog. Set a goal and work towards it. Babysteps. Setbacks are to be expected, but not of the kind that your dog is continually having biting incidents. See if you can find some large breed breeders in your area. A good source is www.dogsincanada.com. See who they train with. Breeders are often a better source than trainers and vets and the like. Don't have to be GSD breeders. But hey - how about the breeder of your dog, why is that person not helping you? Also have your dogs thyroid checked. Hypothyroid can manifest itself in sudden unexplained and unpredictable aggressive behaviour as a dog passes puberty. Sometimes even with tests showing normal thyroid function the supplementation with thyroid hormone can solve unexplained aggression problems. The keyword is can. If no behavioural changes are noticable within 3 months its most likely not it. Thyroid tests in dogs and people are inconclusive at best. Often tests show normal restults though there are many other symptoms hinting at an actual deficiency, which may not show up in tests until years later. Hard to find vets who are willing to try, but I have seen some actual positive results from this trial and error method, which in a few cases were life saving for the dog because the aggression problems had gone so out of hand that putting the dog to sleep was already on the owners mind. Its not a fix all, but worth checking into.