PLEASE HELP! behavior issues with white german shepherd/labrador mix - Page 1

I have a young (turned a year old january 21st) german shepherd and lab mix. before the breed nazis attack, i understand that the white german shepherds are inbred and are known for aggression. he was not planned to be bred and we bought him to save his life. That being said, my puppy, Toby, is for the most part a good boy, but he gets little spells where if you ask anything of him he bares his teeth and will snarl. I dont think he would ever bite a person, but i spoke with a german shepherd breeder near me and she said to tap him on the nose with a wooden spoon. this is the only negative reinforcement he has had, besides a firm no. he has continued to show this behavior. I have trained him to do almost anything asked of him, he has been to the vet to check for any underlying medical cause, and we live in an apartment but he goes with me on a bike ride every day (close to 3 miles, rain, snow, sleet, or hail) so he gets plenty of excercise. please give me advice. I am 16 and i really dont know what else to do.

pasted from my other post on seperate forum. 

how old is your pup?  sounds to me like he wants to take over.

he is a little over a year. 
when this happens, his hackles raise, he snarls, he raises his tail, and will bark if you dont back off.
i dont like the idea of ignoring him when he does this so i just keep asking him to do whatever i ws asking for, and this goes on for about 15-40 minutes until one of us gives up...

First off, your first sentence makes no sense, the blanket statement about white shepherds. Just throw that thought out the window.
 
Now, you have a serious problem on your hand, your dog should NOT be challenging you the way you describe. As you are young and most likely a caring person, there is a good possibility that you are unawares that you are rewarding this aggression and therefore reinforcing it. Comforting or rewarding with your attention, to a dog showing any aggression is a big NO, don't do it.  Please seek a professional to help you with your dog's aggression. You need more than internet advice, you need someone to evaluate what is going on in real life.

Do it today, before someone gets bit, and good luck.

i would have to agree with beetree , you need some professional help, if this was my dog  he would know right away who the boss, is and i would remove him from the place he is at, he thinks he is the boss and will do what he needs to show it , this is a very serious problem get help. if you dont get help it is going to get alot worst. never ever show fear when you go to him as this will impower him.
where are you located ?

I am in tyler texas. i have spoken with someone at tripl'h and she was the one who had told me to do what i am doing. lately i have a long dog lead attatched to him and its looped aroung something so if he does this, i pull him away from me. I dont exactly have the money to pay for a behaviorist (as i just spent a ton of money at the vet) and I dont understand why he is doing this. maybe nerves...

Yellowrose?  Is it you trying to help this poor girl? 

Beetree:

Good thing I jumped over here..MY name just pops up like CORN>>>> YEs, I told a lady I met eating in the Chinese Restaurant several months ago to come to the PDB and read... read   read.

I gave her my card... now WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT...I GAVE HER SOME POINTERS AND ONE WAS

SHE HAS TO BE ALPHA...NOW  the rest of  you can help her and give her some help..

   I HAVE 4 broken ribs, crack on my spinal fracture and multiple contusions and abrasions... and have been in the hospital and am recovering and cannot move nor do much at this point.

 I ALSO cannot get upset with trying to help someone that has a dog from a problem breeding as I get upset very easily and my blood pressure is way up from my injury...
I ask anyone interested to reinforce what I already told her.

I DO NOT  know the whole story but just give her some pointers. I told her to rebond...sit on floor and feed from hand every meal for the next 30 days...do not let this dog be alpha..but do not hit or use force to correct this dogs temperament..

NOW what I am afraid of , is, THIS DOG MAY NOT BE ABLE TO BE CHANGED> Genetics play a big part of this behaviour and also the fact that this dog may have been treated by other owners badly. She saved the pup..

I did not tell her the statement she made  at beginning of post..I told her the white gsd is not registered same and I do not accept them in any program and that they are from inbreeding and some are excellent pets and some are not..the STATEMENT  she made didnt come from me so do not assume it came from me!
You know she has talked to a lot of others and here she is   SO HELP HER please with no unkind words.
What I am trying to say nicely is, this is not my expertise. I trained , bred, workingline gsd so this is not a problem I can readily address, that is why I told her to come here. Surely out of the 3 million readers, you all so proudly brag we have here. some of them deal with mixed breeds and behavioural problems..
I have not spoken to her personally since that day . She came to you people as I suggested

WELCOME dear and some of these nice people will help you..the only ones here in Tyler are Petsmart and at this time I would not enlist them > The main lady I like is not there any longer..

YR 

Easy there YR, sorry about your ribs. Hope your recovery is swift.  I wasn't criticizing you, just making a connection!

Any way, Ericka hasn't returned to this thread. I hope she convinces her parents to help her get some professional help. I would just hate to see someone get hurt.

Of course there is always the possibility any dog has a genetic temperament problem, but it wouldn't be my first suspicion in a situation like this. But that's just me. There are way more qualified experts here than average ol' me!

BEE"

I have no clue, but I do not think PARENTS are involved here.. I ask her to call me if she needed but suggested SHE COME HERE>

MORE than I can handle.......I have 8 kids still here and 3 acres and sit here every day because I cannot lay down yet.. I can do little except wash kennels and point to the dogs to DO AS I SAY >>>>

I use a walker to keep them from jumping on me..I am healing with calcium supplements and vit c..I am in excellent healt except my blood pressure is spiking because of pain and upset. THis was a freak accident and I fall over dogs and have never broken anything...my body is padded...but this got me where my back has no padding on...lol

EricKa , I hope will just do lots of reading here on other threads and see that an older pup , young dog with that kind of temperament has to have every day jobs and since he is a mix...not too sure what the problem is.


The growling and showing of teeth in a young dog I never had...but I know what I would do to my own but not posting that on here..Put a choke collar on him and the minute he does the snarl , give him a quick hard snap of the collar and demand he sit..the snap may mean off the ground and getting his attention..Once he finds out you are in control...sit him and praise him for sitting with a food reward..THEN  call him to you..if he growls or doesnt obey,,,re state the command using the same words everytime...then snap his collar again and say SIT..if he doesnt sit him and then ....let him rest..try over and over only rewarding when he doesnt snarl and does what he is told ... Harsh correction is a must at this point..but do it with praise after he sits and then let him play and put him up in a crate to think about his new adventure..practice this for 30 days after you bond with him nightly., on the floor eating out of your hand..NO meal from a bowl for 30 days...eat out of your hand in front of you .,,petting him under the neck and letting him know you are the MASTER.

Ericka will just need to redo her way of obedience and get serious about obedience.. Kennel the kid and praise him with reward when he does what she asks.

I know who to send her to, here , but it costs MONEY..SHE needs some free advice.


YR