Udate On Help With a Shy GSD. New Issue! - Page 1

I just got a 11mth old male gsd that has had very little Socialization. He is not Aggressive in any way, my kids can pet him and he even hides behind them for safety. he is getting a bit better but still scared and pees when he get really scared. Any ideas on how to help it get more relaxed and his confidence?


Now the Update:

Remember the Shy dog I was talking about? Well, now he is a big bully! When ever I’m working on tracking and heading with my female he runs up and pins her down with teeth out and everything. It has gotten to the point now that if he comes near my female her hair sticks up and she tries to get away from him! He does the same with my new pup! Any ideas on how to correct him with out him losing his new found confidence? My female was here before him.

First of all, keep him away from your new puppy! Bullying still comes from unsecureness and can form into aggression. You still have to correct that behavior, dont allow him to bully your female or your puppy. Third....get him a job! Agility usual does wonders with the shy guys, and they are usual so tired (mentally) they dont think about bothering other dogs.

His "new" aggression is just another face of fear. It is NOT confidence. (I'm not surprised as unstable dogs eventually start to show this type of aggression.) Fear-based aggression (e.g. fear-biting) is just another way of saying "leave me alone!" This is definitely an unstable dog and you are going to have to deal with him accordingly. Unless this dog was abused or otherwise traumatized, it is probably mostly genetic. Nothing is either all experience or all genetics. Most people unknowingly reinforce bad behaviors so that problems with temperament can either get better or worse depending on reinforcement. 

You have to give him an outlet for his energy without making his fear-based aggression worse. To keep other people/dogs safe, do some kind of neutral activity that won't generate more aggression. You can't do confidence-building exercises with a dog that is using aggression out of fear as it will just reinforce his acting-out. If you did, you mistakenly started this problem. And you need to be careful not to correct him in a way that you also aggravate his aggression (yelling, hitting, etc.)

If his behavior gets worse, I would recommend you get him put down. He is a GSD, not a Yorkie. If you don't want to do that, consult with a licensed behaviorist for the sake of the dog or anyone else that he might bite later. 

The worst kind of dog is not one that is aggressive because of it's confidence, but one that is unstable. It is difficult to know how it might react so it is a lawsuit waiting to happen. It can go from being shy to attacking for almost no apparent reason. The dog can be provoked by behaviors that are not unusual so that a child playing nearby might get attacked with almost no provocation. Only the dog knows but since you can't see inside his head, you may not know enough to avoid unfortunate incidents. If something does happen, you can't stand there and pretend that it was a surprise. Once something gets on the internet, it will be a feast for anyone who might sue you because of a dog bite. 

It's unfortunate that someone sold you this type of animal. How much did you pay for him? (It was probably too much, judging the result.)

I will try the Agility with him. I have been telling him with a firm NO when he acts out and it seems to be working. I think he just does not know what to do with himself and this new found power. I just need to redirect his actions. He is not unstable as it can be controlled with just a firm no. Today I have had him out and he has not been bugging my girl like he was. She even seems to be ok as no hair sticking up. He is from a good blood line and I have his full sister (the pup) and she is fine. The breeder told me he was at the bottom of the pack at the kennel he came from. He had his full brother and sister there that are his age and from his litter and they were fine. I do not know what might have happened to him before I got him. He just needs redirecting in the right way and I think he will turn around. He shows NO aggression toward people at all, he really likes people and will go up to a complete stranger and lick and wants to be petted. I think he is just tiring to establish his place in my small little pack but not sure how to and is going the wrong way about it.

It's a gorgeous day here in CT. Most normal people would be oputdoors with their dogs. I'm outta here!

I will try the Agility with him. I have been telling him with a firm NO when he acts out and it seems to be working. I think he just does not know what to do with himself and this new found power. I just need to redirect his actions. He is not unstable as it can be controlled with just a firm no. Today I have had him out and he has not been bugging my girl like he was. She even seems to be ok as no hair sticking up. He is from a good blood line and I have his full sister (the pup) and she is fine. The breeder told me he was at the bottom of the pack at the kennel he came from. He had his full brother and sister there that are his age and from his litter and they were fine. I do not know what might have happened to him before I got him. He just needs redirecting in the right way and I think he will turn around. He shows NO aggression toward people at all, he really likes people and will go up to a complete stranger and lick and wants to be petted. I think he is just tiring to establish his place in my small little pack but not sure how to and is going the wrong way about it.

It's a gorgeous day here in CT. Most normal people would be oputdoors with their dogs. I'm outta here!

I read your reply before I shut my computer down. Let me explain again.

He has NOt found POWER.

His fear reaction is out of weakness.

Maybe you described his behavior in a more extreme way because you were worried about him. If a firm "no" stops him, then I don't know why you thought his behavior was even a problem. If it was a simple issue of confidence, then letting him occasionally "win" and doing OB exercises that he already excels at - and reinforcing him would be simple enough.

If you are worried about future liability, it may already be too late. You need to be careful what you post because when you hit "send", it's too late. Even the Soviets, who were experts at revising history, could not make reality disappear. The original stuff that you post is usually the version of the story that lawyers will take as fact. It's a little too late to backpeddle once the light has been put on your situation.

You can't un-ring a bell.

Good luck with your dog.

 

Wise guy-

I never said his aggression is toward people. I said he had issues with my other dogs