9 month neutered male - showing agression - Page 1

Hi there, can you help me with some solid advice. I have a nine month old GSD male, just neutered.  He is a rehomed dog, and we have had him about 3 months. He is a wonderful dog, and great with the children.

He has had a problem with my Dad from day 1, always making a bit of a fuss when they visit, but settling down, my dog clearly doesn't trust him, and my Dad doesn't trust the dog either! Anyway, this behaviour has started manifesting in the street and on walks, growling and barking at men especially. 

Today, he growled a low tummy growl at 2 children, and barked at a young boy. I am training him, and he is in his right pack place, but i can not have this behaviour when out. He has to be trustworthy in crowds, and with kids - advice welcome. The lady who rehomed him with me is keen and able to have him e back, but we are all in love with this fabulous dog and don;t want to give him up.

He is my first GSD, but my husband has had one before.

1.  many people make the assumption that neutering will eliminate aggression - male or female.  it doesnot.  neutering removes the ability to reproduce.
2.  aggression is not unusual for a youngster of that age.  often just a part of their developing character.  see it as a stage and deal with it appropriately.
3.  if he cannot be trusted in public during this phase, use a muzzle to avoid liability and injuries.
4.  continue with his training, teach him the proper way to behave, be patient and give praise when he is correct.
5.  aggression is controlled thru obedience.  fuss thru a crowd, sitz and platz next to someone.  if he breaks, he should be corrected for his incorrectness rather than aggression.  any type of obedience is good practice in a social situation, but remember to correct for incorrectness/improper obedience, not for aggression.  once again, don't hesitate to use the muzzle if this cannot be accomplished safely without.
good luck.
pjp

You must correct him BEFORE he starts to bark and growl. When you see someone approaching, and see him start to focus on them, give a firm correction with the leash, and say NO!  LEAVE IT! If you have trouble controlling him while he's lunging, make him sit.

Another way of redirecting him is to teach him "Look at ME!" to get his attention off the approaching person. Practise this at home first, then with increasing amounts of distraction. Use treats to get him to focus on you, which is where his attention should be 90% of the time when you're walking him. Hold the treat in front of your face, and as soon as he looks at you, give him the treat.

Some dogs do this because they think they need to protect you. You must convince the dog that YOU are the alpha, and don't need to be protected, and that this behaviour is NOT acceptable!

i respectfully disagree.  correcting aggression only intensifies the problem.  i do, however, agree with the focus excercises.  once again, aggression is controlled thru obedience.  focusing is obedience.
pjp

The part thats missing is the first six months, thats a very important part.
I agree with much of what ziegenfarm has to say, but I would add you might want to try working with your father if he has the time and is willing to socialize your male with him.
Mutual de-sensitizing, they should get to know each other slowly in an easy fashion that is non-threatening to either of them.
Especially since they will be bumping into each other from time to time.
As far as the public and strange children, travel at your own risk.  This should have been done already and should still be a work in progress.
Going back to ziegenfarms suggestions.
For some reason there are children my dog takes a disliking too, while others she does not.   I never know and always use caution.  This is a dog I did not raise and I have no idea what happened to her before I got her.
That first six months is very important.
Obedience is a must, but common sense and caution on your part is too.

P.S.

Didn't mean to leave you out sunsilver, my post was slow.

i respectfully disagree. correcting aggression only intensifies the problem...

Just to clarify, the purpose of the correction is to interrupt the bad behaviour, and get the dog's attention off the person/dog it wants to show aggression towards, and back on the handler. "Hey, buddy, snap out of it, and get your attention back where it belongs!' It's an obedience exercise, and needs to be done the moment the dog notices the other animal or person, or even before, if the handler notices before the dog does. 

Sunsilver,
 
Cesar Milan would use his behind the back nudge with his foot contacting the dog between the lower belly and flank, to redirect the dog's attention, before the aggression totally takes hold. He also claims there is proper timing involved to make the correction effective.

And Deetee, whatever you do, don't show any sort of affection when he is in an alerted, aggressive state.

Another thought, does Dad have any ownership in this, like does he get into staring matches with your dog? I've known more than one (idiot?) who did this with a dog of ours when they thought we weren't looking, and then would turn around and say, "What's the matter with your dog, why is he so mean?"

Yes, beetree, that's the same general idea as what I said above. It must be done before the dog is in full aggession mode, or it won't be effective, so the timing is very important.