Puppy aggression - Page 3

Re baba 's post,
Careful placing the pup with other dogs. Even other very very social dogs in your household / or outside your house , may for a while reprimand this pup , but the caution I give comes in a little bit of time[ if not the present] , POSSIBLY, : If this pup at some point doesn't submit to the other dog's or their signals , POSSIBLY ,POSSIBLY , they will KILL him !!

Indeed ..placing a puppy of four months with adult dogs of the same or opposite sex is not so dangerous but by the time they are 8 months and get their hormones all that will change thus the reason to do it sooner not later. The trainer dogs must be adult and strong minded with no fear or anxiety problems. My toughest and strongest male is and was excellent with male puppies that thought they were bad asses. There was no fighting back for a four month old against him and he was not a bully about it. The adult male just postured and if necessary exhibited that he was the boss. When you have trouble is usually with a male puppy 6-8 months who wants to dominate a female adult dog .. she is the one that will kill. It is often a good idea to put a puppy with a male and female pair of adults for "finishing school". A weak adult that is not confident is dangerous as a "nanny dog" as they will unleash their pent up aggression on a weaker young dog or puppy. A supremely confident and dominant adult dog that is strong minded and strongly bonded to his handler and other dogs in the family circle makes the best "nanny dog" and puppy tutor.

But leaving pup with my other dogs wouldn't make it doggy ? I don't want the pup to form a bond with my dogs. At least that's what I always been told and it's always been a no no

Shawnicus, the answer to your question is multi-fauceted and is entirely up to YOU. I would not LEAVE your pups with other dogs - but I would allow them SUPERVISED socialization. Are you going to kennel your dogs together 24/7 so they can live a life of best buddies ole pals? (I don't believe that is your meaning) - In that case they may very well be be doggy, as well as inheriting a variety of other negative behaviors. Or - are you going to SUPERVISE their PLANNED socialization together, which can be anything from sleeping on the living room floor to actively engaging in a simultaneous bite on a decoy - in that case - no they won't be doggy.

My husband's dog is sharp/civil but he understands that uncontrolled aggression to people and other dogs isn't tolerated. You need to train the dog to stand for exam at the vet's or what are you going to do when the dog is ill? Sedation isn't always an option, particularly if the dog is in respiratory distress. I suggest taking him to a good behavioural modification trainer who understands aggression in GSDs. Otherwise, all you have is a liability that you can't take anywhere and is a hassle to own. From experience, ten months old is a really tough age so I'd start now at four months.

Laura.

Bubba good elaborating post

Shawnicus .. ?... a puppy is doggie . Meaning dogs are and should understand 'how to be dogs'. What i think you are referencing is the your relationship with the pup as fart as you are concerned. Slaux gives the correct reply. Your relationship with any dog as well as the pup is entirely up to you . the comment in the plural is: Either you can be inside the pack looking out with them or you can be outside the pack looking in at them . The comment in the singular is no different than with people. We all have a relationship with one another. The factor is how we structure and develop [ or fail to ] the relationship in many / all aspects. We can have 5 children and a relationship with each and everyone of them singularly and collectively at the same time. no different with dogs. Besides other dogs teach + and - to other dogs. And having had pack for 30 + years I can share with you when i teach a puppy I purposely have all the other dogs around simply to get the notion across to the puppy : i don't care if everybody is present our interaction supercedes everything else. Our relationship comes first and the pack relationship is subrogated to that.

Laura - best advice to many people that aren't experienced 'Find a good canine behaviorist' - best post and comment on this thread .

I'm sorry but that does not sound like a stable dog to me.

You are raising a liability, not a working dog. The standard is very clear about the Character and Temperament. This has nothing to do with "civil or hard" dogs. A 4 month old puppy should be happy to meet people. If in a fear phase maybe a bit hesitant, but never have I seen a good 4 month old pup show teeth and/or growl at people. With all due respect, This is NOT what a German Shepherd ever should be. 


 

Character

The German Shepherd Dog must be well-balanced (with strong nerves) in terms of character, self-assured, absolutely natural and (except for a stimulated situation) good-natured as well as attentive and willing to please. He must possess instinctive behavior, resilience and self-assurance in order to be suitable as a companion, guard, protection, service and herding dog.

"except for a stimulated situation"

 

I don't think Von Stephanitz EVER used the words "naturally aggressive" to describe the German Shepherd Dog, when promoting the first Standard. Something owners like Mithuna ought to think very seriously about, when they claim it is just fine for their dogs to be shouting and raving at anyone who walks into sight that they don't like the look of, or, worse, tries to offer Veterinary treatment. I frankly don't care which GSD 18 generations ago was responsible for bringing this behaviour into the breed; a dog trained to be a working dog has no business being 'naturally' (genetically or otherwise) downright nasty. They are NOT the same thing. Maybe those who set such store by having dogs that act this way should switch to a different Breed rather than trying to make hay out of the pedigree of every out-of-order pup that the Board throws up ?

They should never even be considered as Patrol Dogs. Last thing anyone needs is a liability and that's exactly what these type of dogs are.