I have a problem (dog?) - Page 1

We have a 2 year old male (Hannibal) GSD that is very "alpha."   We also have a 3 year old female (Gracie) "alpha" and a 1/12 year old submissive female (Ronnie).   They all got along great until recently.  All were aquired as puppies and have been raised together with no problem.  We did notice that Hannibal had been getting more aggressive toward the females in the last few months  and we keep him separate from the females a large part of the day.  When they are together, they play most of the time.  In fact, Hannibal will roll on his back and both the girls will gang up on him.  They seem to love this game!  Then when I bring one or both of the girls in the house, Hannibal will start growling and bites them on the neck to stop them from coming in, he gets his time in the house also so I didn't think that was it.  I started stepping outside the door to come between him and the dog I'm letting in and that seemed to help for a while, especially since I would stay outside and play with him for 10 or 15 mins. and when I go back in the house, I have to hold him by his collar to make him sit/stay.   He started growling at me as soon as I take hold of his collar and more recently, he's started growling at my husband also.  We both give the collar a jerk and say "NO" but this is not working anymore. 

My husband takes him for a walk when he get's home from work as I cannot handle him anymore (he weighs 100 lbs. easy!) when faced with other dogs who are loose and I take one of the females.  So it's not like he's not getting any quality exercise time and we both give all the dogs lots of affection.  He has been through basic obedience training but that's all.  I would train him further but cannot financially afford it and I believe he would do really well at trials since he has a tremendous drive to please.  This is why we spend more time with him than we do with Gracie and Ronnie.

I'm at the end of the rope as what to do!  I'm not getting rid of him because he's part of the family and he's a beautiful dog.  Any advice out there???

Donna 

Donna

Which one is it?  Does he have "tremendous drive to please" or is he pleasing himself?  Also, Taking a dog for a walk may not be "quality exercise time".  To you it may be a haul and exhausting, but to an energetic dog, this may be nothing.  I have seen dogs that pace their kennel throughout the day.  They probably do 20 miles on a good day.  These dogs could do this and come out and play fetch for hours.  Now, I don't know your dog or it's requirements, so I cannot say for sure, but a walk for most GSDs isn't very much.

Now onto Hannibal.  Did your parents or school teach you about the birds and the bees?  Your boy is becoming a man.  He is two years old and full of himself.  He is asserting himself and it sounds like he is losing respect for you and your husband.  You need to get the upper hand.  It is a shame that financially you cannot enroll him in an obedience class.  Aside from calling the Dog Whisperer, You have a few options.  Scrape together a few hundred dollars and get into a class.  It may be worth it in the long run.  Don't go to those 5 wk courses where you get a piece of toilet paper with Hannibal's name on it, in the end.  Find a reputable trainer that will let you attend the entire life of your dog.  Second option is to find a very nice sport club and ask for help.  Hopefully you can find a generous soul in your area.  Third, get rid of the dog.  Find someone who is experienced with this breed and dominant dogs.  Lastly, you can continue to let him be the boss and he will let you know what to do from here.

What area are you in?  Maybe someone on here can point you in the right direction or they can donate their time.

Good luck to you!

Don Corleone.......

I really thank you for the reply!   You are absolutely correct.  First, we will definitely will not get rid of him.  Second, yes....he is becoming a man!  Third, I really thought he's getting enough exercise through out the day because when I'm not spending time with him, he's on the constant move around the yard (we're only on an acre but it seems like enough room) chasing birds, playing toss & catch with his garbage pail lid, tug-o-war with the other two, etc..  I really thought the walk was just extra quality time!  Guess not!

Getting half way through your post, I realized that I would be able to go back to the place we had him trained at (the lifetime training you mentioned) and I called them.  I am now waiting for a call back from the owner of the facility as he is at lunch.  The girl I spoke to said the same thing you did about him "becoming a man!"  Said this might be something other than us coming for handling refresher  course  since he's growling, so I guess I'll wait for the call to find out for sure.

As for the sports clubs around here......big snobs!!  I've contacted them several times over the last two years and the people I talk to say they will have someone call me with the info I'm asking about and I never receive that call back.  It's not like we're in Beverly Hills or Malibu....we're in the High Desert for cryin' out loud and I don't see why they can't be a little more considerate!  Anyway, like I said, the "clubs" around here are no help, this is how I found this web site and I have been "trolling" around here for quite a while as I find a lot of useful info and help.  I sometimes feel that there's a few snobs here also but then I realize that there's more people who are passionate about the GSD breed and who are willing to offer help so I will keep coming back and continue to "Troll" the posts!!

Again, thanks.......

Donna

One thing to remember about exercise, is it not only helps physically, but mentally as well.  Your dog needs to be stimulated mentally.  Walks don't fully fulfill the mental requirements of a GSD or Border Collie.  They need to be challenged. 

Ahhhhh, now that's the Don we all know and love!  To thine own self be true! No one says it better, and I mean it from the bottom of my heart. I think you always give great advice, and your knowledge of working lines always translates as an expression of love for your preference in a GSD.  

grammashorty,

Don Corleone is absolutely right: a GSD "needs to be stimulated mentally".  I mean a real GSD, not extreme show type trotter. And long walks will never solve the problem you have now. Only well planned regular training. I have two working-line GSDs: Dosada ot Seryh Psov from Russia and Erko von der Zahnburg from the USA, and they take more of my time than my family+my work+reading/going to the theatre+so on taken together because working GSDs want to work and not just walk! (or run in circles)  We do protection weekly (with Erko it`s foundation of course - he has just turned 9 months), a little bit of obedience daily during the day (it doesn`t matter which exercises exactly - anything that`ll make my dogs think and try to figure out what I am going to do next will do), lots of fetch with two Gappay balls (the bigger ones, with the hole inside - my dogs like them best).

grammashorty, there`s one question I would really like to ask ( I don`t want to sound rude, really): every time you decide to buy your next dog what are you thinking about? At the moment you have this irresistable impulse aren`t you planning any work with your dogs at all?!!

Your dog is growing up and is feeling his oats in a way.

He needs some more training to know what is acceptable behavior and what is not. 

Exercise is very important and as someone else said, a walk and just bopping around your yard doesn't cut it.  Needs mental stimulation along with regular exercise. 

Biking is always good exercise once you get the pulling and nonsense behavior while out walking under control. 

My dogs train in Schutzhund one to two times per week and go sheep herding once a week to keep them happy.  And that's not counting the countless other little things I do with them at home. 

So, they are quite content.  However, if there's a week or two that goes by that I can't do that, they definitely start to get edgy and want to do something. 

They can easily run ten miles in an hour of sheep herding if not more.  That's HARD exercise both mentally and physically. 

Get a prong collar. This helps with the pulling.