GSD Agresssion - Page 3

I agree with the letting the dog get settled, get bonded, get secure BEFORE challenging him with training.  I don't agree that a good dog would never do that.  I don't want to get nailed here, but again, if I had a good dog that seems ok with almost everyone and they alert or react to just one person, well, I would listen to what the dog is trying to say.  Something is not right there.  Over the decades I have learned to pay attention to my dogs and their instincts.  I won't say anymore than that.

This dog is still a puppy and that is to your advantage. As much as your son is scared of him you need to try talking to him about being calm and not stare at the dog. I just find it strange that he is ok with everyone in the house except for your son.

I agree with the last post.  Listen to what the dog is telling you.  A dog can easily sense fear and other issues.  One of my dogs growing up could sense anyone with mental disabilities or seizures.  he didn't like anyone with those issues even when he was a little fluff ball.  He had to be bribed with cheeseburgers than he was fine with them.  Freaked out a guy who came to buy pumpkins from us and asked if he could pet our dog.  I told him no due to his problem with seizures.  He was shocked that I knew and told him I could tell by the way my dog's behavior altered. 

Additionally my old german shepherd didn't like anyone who had criminal backgrounds.  He was fine with police officers.  A retired k-9 military and police officer said he was the best dog he ever met.  He was a dog that trained himself, family literally probably only spent 15 min training him. Everytime I see him, he tells me about my dog helping taking care of some touble makes. He had bed sores as 6 months old due to his lazyness (vet couldn't stop laughing over that one & never saw it before in a young dog) but came alive when it counted.  neighbors houses were broken in numerous times and we never had a problem. 

Hi, I would honestly recommand putting your dog on a leash. Once on a lead, tell your child to approche in a calm manner, and if your dog does not react then reward the behavior with a treat or something he enjoys playing with ex: ball,tug... If he reacts in a aggressive state, you can either correct that behavior with a quick snap on the leash or you can redirect the dog with food. Another way to solve this problem is by telling you child to not be afraid of your dog. The reason your dog always goes after your youngest child is because he in the dogs mind is out of the ordinary. What i mean by that is that the dog sees the rest of the family walking around normal ingnoring the dog and just being normal. On the other hand your child who is afraid is probably always weiry on where the dog is at all times. Always staring at the dog. The more he focuses on the dog the worse this problem will get. I sudjest you either try my advice or call a trainer in your area to maybe explain it better and possibily give you different techniques.

I hope all works out fine for you.

Thanks Chris

In a pack structure with any breed, or any line of breeds, there is always the structure that needs to be set into place. I'm not huge on mr millan, but he does make one good point that might be helpful...your youngest is fearful of dog, dog is new to pack, dog senses fear, dog reads it as weakness and all packs try to take out the weak...either by dominating or pushing out of the pack all together. I would talk to your son and ask if he is comfortable with a few training exercises to help the situation for all parties. Have your son feed the dog, but have him ask for a sit first, feed dog last...after the family (especially your son) has eaten. Do not let the dog go out the doors before you...let this pup know it is not in a leadership role. And body posture, who eats first, who goes out the door first, who gets the couch....all these things are signals to the dog of who is who in the pack structure. If your son cowers, is shy, gives the dogs treats so it'll like him ( without asking for a sit or down fist).... Then your son has taken the lowest position. This is why I think (based on only what I e read and not seen) your dog is doing this. I could be wrong. You need to put your son first. If he's not comfortable being close to the dog, or working with it to better the situation, then get rid of the dog. it will only get WORSE with continued pp training. Because in training you are building the confidence up in the dog and encouraging it to bite and show dominance and aggression. And in another 6 months, if you don't have this under control, either your son or dog will have to be kept separated from the rest of the family, because you won't be able to control a maturing god if you can't even control a puppy.

Read the whole thread, Chief and Harleyace, and you'll see that the son isn't a *child*-- he's an adult.  The dog is actually *wonderful* with the only child in the scenario, Ricky's baby granddaughter.  The dog isn't going anywhere.

You said your son was "afraid" of the dog... and what does a good protection dog do when he smells fear.... especially when no one else in the home seems to be exuding this emotion??

I agree with GSDloyalty... recipe for disaster.  How old is your son?  Is he old enough to participate in training with a trainer so that he/the dog can build a relationship?

Hexe...re- read my post...I said "son" NOT child or even *kid*. i did read the whole post....but I do retract my dominance idea...I think its just feeding off the fear and weakness/ weirdness of son. And i also second the recipe for disaster.

I may be wrong but did I read that you only had 3 days of training for the dog ? My shepherd was 5 mo. when I got to bring him home, He went to obedience class for 1 month and then to advanced ob. class right after that. Now he is being trained for SchH. 6 months long. We had some relatives at our house when my boy was inbetween classes, they brought a small 3-4 year old child, he would run thru our house like a mad man even after I had explained that there was NO RUNNIG IN THE HOUSE. Well my shepherd chased him and knocked him down, He was not hurt. I explained to the adult woman who was responsible for him that the dog has a prey drive and will chase things, Toys, and little kids when they run. I corrected my dog and now after much training he is better with little kids, I think that he still does not prefer them but he is ok with them. Just my .02  Mike

Hi there, thank you for all king comments and remarks, i am happy to tell you that the problem has been corrected with a lot of patience and training, our dog now finished his advance obedience and curently starting to do personal protection training, i am so proud to say that my son who is 19 years old (he was the one who was scared at the dog), is sometimes handling in-between training and currently developing a special bond betwen them.


Ricky