Help: Aggression. - Page 2

You appear to be in a very difficult situation where you have to make a decission for the good of yourself and your family. It seems you have done what you could do already. Taking your word as absolute truth, you have only two choices left. Put up with the everyday challange, or PTS. I think you already know what it wil be.

No one here can give you the ultimate advise that will fix your situation as this would involve observation and personal interaction with the dog and you. This is the only way to find a possible cause of the problem, and a way to correct it. Evidentely there have been mistakes made. Yet, that no trainer or behaviorist could go to the root of it and help you, makes me wonder if indeed the dogs screws are loose.

If you want to tuff it out, you will have to fight it out with him, this will be ugly. Right know he is taking over as the head of the house. If he is not fixed, you can try fixing him. You can try medicating him, there are antidepressants avaiable for problem behavior, talk to your Vet. For me it probably would be PTS, no dog of mine bites the hand that provides the food.

You can try seperating him completely from the other dogs, so that you become his single source of entertainment. You need to walk with him, instead of playing ball, and I mean a hard on walk - no sniffing, no going potty, no anything but on your side. Or if your heart is with that dog, you could contact Cesar Millan, and no, I do not mean that as a joke. Wish you the best.

It is interesting that this subject came up.   A Friend of mine was asking for " Quotes "  for his Website.    And one of my Quotes that I use all the time with my clients is : 

BEING ALPHA ISN'T ALWAYS EASY !

As others have said, without being there it is really hard to give appropriate advise.  That being said, there are many reasons why your  YOUNG, ADOLESTANT, HORMONAL  Male is doing this. 

I have to go now, but I will check back later,  or Pm you.  work is calling.

I think I am going to take him to the vet for a thorough health check.
I cant understand this. He has always been so sweet and affecionate towards me, and now he hates my very existence.
I honestly am not sure whether it's a health issue or not.....as he has always been aggressive towards people. I really hope it's something we can deal with.

As for the attacking, I guess I should clear that up.
In all but 2 situations he has given me good warning to back off(growling). I think if he was truly "out to get me" he wouldn't give me the option to back down. He has not landed a bite, but has come close. Each time he jumped at me I was able to grab him (often by the cheeks/side of face) rather forcefully and hold on to him while he thrashed. My hands are cut up from knocking into things and even though Im biteless, he scratched me up pretty good. All in all though, I dont think he was trying to kill me as he would have at least landed a bite. It did scare the crap out of me, I have never had my own dog try to bite me before.
 

I am having a hard time believing he is a lost cause, like I said before, he has NEVER been aggressive in the slightest way to his pack. He has never even growled at me before and now, all of a sudden he hates me. It's such an extreme change in character and so fast too.

When I take him into the vets, are there any specific tests that should be run?

He is registered but not on the database. He is neither working, nor showline.....no titles in the pedigree, no health testing in pedigree.

About the training, I have asked many people to work with me (just looking through the phone book) but upon seeing him they immediately refused. That was until I was reffered by a friend to this woman who supposedly had alot of experience with the breed. She was ok, but didnt DO anything. I felt kind of ripped off. One thing she did say was, we spoil him WAY too much. I have to agree. As of yesterday, all of the toys have been picked up, as well as the bones.  I also have been making them do commands for there kibble as opposed to just giving it to them. This is all as of yesterday however and I fear it may be too late.


I live outside of Prince Albert, SK As far as I know, not many trainers are around here.
I had to drive 3 hours to get to that one lady.


I plan on revamping my pack and having a very structured enviorment until things settle down. Im hoping it will work.
Any tips as to things I can do to help deal with his dominance?

I have very slow internet so if it takes me a while to reply, please do not think I am avoiding you, I really need some help here and I appreciate all of your advice. Feel free to ask questions, I will answer to the best of my ability.
 

The average sport trainer at a ScH or GSD club is not going to know what to do with a dog like this much more than the dipstick at Petsmart or "behaviorist" at the shelter. Working breed or not, they do NOT specialize in aggression. A treadmill is not going to solve your problems, either.  I wondered about the tumor theory as well, but you did say that the dog has always been a nut outside.

Without seeing first hand what it takes to back this dog down I cannot tell you how you need to go about this.  What you need to do is keep him on leash at all times right now, even in your house. Go buy a muzzle, and start acclimating him to it by feeding him treats or peanut butter out of it so you can get it on his face without getting nailed.  Then call around every vet, groomer, shelter, rescue group and get referrals for a REAL dog trainer who has a reputation for success with aggression.  A good trainer will have a good reputation in the "dog community". 

I understand you love your dog, but think of your older dogs who have given you so much. Think of yourself. Think of the people and dogs in your community. If you cannot work this through with him, being PTS may be the best choice for him. It would be unethical to give that problem to someone else. SO then what are your options? He rots the rest of his life in a no-kill shelter as unadoptable? He rots as a lot (essentially, junkyard) dog?  You are already terrified of him, that much is clear from your post. Once the owner is scared and the dog knows it, there is very little even an excellent trainer can do for you.

I am so sorry for you, it's a shitty situation.  If you're hell bent on keeping him, the first thing you have to do is have him castrated... now!

Please think long and hard about it, if he's always been people agrressive, there's little chance of that changing but he could do someone some real damage if you get it wrong!

I fear for your safety.  August 25, 2004 I was attacked by my then 3 year old male, I was 6 months pregnant.  He was in the yard and barking excessively, I went to the bark yard, told him to be quiet.  He had always obeyed, well not this time, he came at me, I shut the door to the house and he hit it hard. He quickly calmed down about 15 minutes later, I went outside again and he followed me to the shed where he had been crated every evening, I told him to crate up which he appeared to do happily until I laid my hand on his hindend as a good boy gesture, he flipped out of his crate and attacked me, over 70 punctures I was able to get away and to the house.  I called a friend who came and took me to the hospital and i was cleaned, bandaged and made sure the baby was ok, as he had grabbed my stomach twice, but the baby was fine and is now 4 years old.  Well I had made the decision to have his PTS which was for everyones safety, I had him since he was 8 weeks old and never had any trouble from him.  He was PTS that same afternoon, and an necropsy confirmed a tumor at the base of his skull. He didn't hurt me because I know he loved me, but he was in severe pain and he lashed out in pain.  I never have felt guilty for having him PTS as it was for his and my own safety.  Please have your dog immediately checked by a vet  for tumors or other medical conditions and regardless of what you find or dont find, don't feel guilt or shame if you decide for your safety and others to have him PTS .

My heart aches for you.

K9 in Montana

I know you dont want to put maybe rehome,were he can be put to work.That might correct the agression ,if he is not sick .But you cant keep getting in the middle of 2 GSD fighting, the female or you are going to get hurt badly.He is not safe to have around you or anyone else who comes to your home,and is too big for you to control, when he is out of control.My heart breaks for you,as I know your confussed and It hurts you feelings.Have him fixed ,but dont you be the one to take or pick him up,so he doesnt have more reason for aggression towards you,then hope for the best, but dont trust him for a long while,keep him in kennel unless your boyfriend is home.Your male is head of pack now and it is going to take someone bigger and stronger to correct him and put him back in his place. Best to you and becareful

this is a printout i give to people when they have dominance issues. hope it helps. 

• In games of strength (eg. Tug-o-war) ensure you win more than you lose. This sends a signal that you are the stronger member of the pack.
• When you play possession and chase games, use a set of toys that you can remove from your dog at the end of the game. Your dog can associate possession of privileged items with higher ranking. Taking the toys from your dog at the end of the game sends a clear signal that they do not own the items.
• During play sessions, teach your dog to release toys at your request. Thus reinforcing the earlier point that you are the owner of the toy and can request it back at anytime.
• Stop playing and remove the toy immediately if your dog touches your hand with its teeth or begins to growl aggressively or get over excited.
• Dominant dogs always have the best sleeping places, usually higher up than the rest of the pack. Reinforce your status and don't let your dog sleep on your bed or furniture.
• Doorways represent entering new territory. Don't allow your dog to walk through doors ahead of you.
• 

  by snajper69 on 30 December 2008 - 15:12

  Oki one thing that I see that your doing wrong that intensify this situation is this "he growls at me gives me a worning" he is the alpha now don't you see it? He rules you! If my dog acted like that towards me he gets choke out like there is no tomorrow, the time he would act towards me that way would be very close to him meating GOD. If a trainer told you that he is spoiled, that's what it is, later spoiled = to no control over your dog. It's like a chain reaction. What it sounds like you have a dominant dog (I don't know if he is a nerve bag, or actually dominant for sure, I am not there so it is hard to say) don't run to a VET run to a trainer and the best one you have in the area. Any one knows of someone in that area with a good rep?