GSD Aggression With Puppy - Page 1

This is Mrs. Circuited.

My husband has a 4 year old male GSD.  I say my husband does because he trains the dog and that is who the dog is attached to but the dog lives in the house with us.  I had gotten a 10 week old GSD male puppy late last year and they got along fine.  I lost that puppy when he was 9 months from a Brain Malformation.  Three weeks ago I got another GSD puppy a male who is now 11 weeks.  The 4 year old male is so bad with this puppy I don't know what to do and need help.  The four year old gives the puppy a look and then attacks him.  There are times he will just go after him and I have no idea why.  Today he went at the puppy and when my husband pulled him away the dog turned around and went at the puppy again.  The puppy was so upset he let his anal glands go.  The puppy has not been hurt with open wounds or anything but I believe the older one would if he got the chance.  The older dog is fine with the puppy for the most part when my husband is at work.  My husband has been told by his Schutzhund Club that his dog does not listen to him and that is a fact.  What can we do to correct this dog with the puppy?  The puppy is my dog and I will be working with him when my husband shows attention to puppy his dog just waits and then goes at puppy.  Help me please !!!!!!

Keep them seperated or the adult is going to physically and mentally hurt the pup. If he hasn't mentally already. Your hubby needs to get some control over his dog and not give the pup attention in front of him for the time being. It sounds like this is setting him off. You may never be able to keep them together. One thing "may" help and that is to neuter the older male.

Agree with Trailrider except personally I do not see neutering as helping.  This is a bad combination you have and I doubt that it would ever work out completely.  The pup can become dog aggressive from this and over all there isn't much good that can come out of this.  I would expect to come to the understanding that the two will need to be seperated when alone always.  Maybe others have some different experiences or insights on this, but for my money I would expect the worst, and hope for the best.  You can always try socializing and conditioning.  You can socialize and do some activities whereby the older dog is rewarded with something like a walk when he first lays eyes on the pup each day, thus begins to see the pup in a different light.   Anything you can do to help the older dog associate the pup with something good, the better, but I would never ever give him the room to do harm.  Good luck

Do you crate your puppy?  It would be a good idea for several weeks if not months to crate the puppy for extended period of time when the older dog is around.  Keep them separated and give them both individual attention.  Allow the older dog to sniff and be around the crate and reprimand any aggression towards the puppy when crated.  Hopefully this gradual introduction which is safer for the puppy will improve.

If you do consider nuetering, I would rather the puppy than the older dog be chosen.  It is unlikely that the older dog would change its temperament or behaviour.

I am of a mind that any adult dog who violently attackas a baby puppy is not quite right in the head.

It sounds as your husband needs to work with his dog.  

Yup, Trigger takes after his owner. (Not right in the head.)

I think this is jealousy/misplaced guarding instinct. I've seen it before, and it happened because the owner didn't correct his dog firmly enough for doing it. Actually, I think he thought it was funny.

Not so funny when his dog ripped another for 15 stitches! 

It's one thing when two dogs go at it. It's another thing when a dog gives a sharp warning to an obnoxious puppy. An adult dog wanting to seriously harm a very young puppy is completely different from those things.