New fearful-aggressive dog nipped guest - Page 1

Hi,
I posted here a couple of weeks ago re. our very shy, fearful new dog, Jessie, wondering if she would ever become a good watchdog. Since that time, she has turned into a good watchdog, though she is still very fearful. She barks at anyone nearing our gate, knocking on the door, or at strange noises.
We had a houseguest here for a few days. She was gone most days, sightseeing, so Jessie never got used to her, and at one point, when left alone with her for a moment, nipped her. The bite wasn't serious--only a skin abrasion--but we were quite concerned and made sure that Jessie and the guest were not left alone, and crated Jessie at night.
My question: can Jessie be rehabilitated? She is 3 years old, hasn't had obedience training and has not been socialized, but she is sensitive, responsive and has already formed a close bond with me. From what I have read on these boards, training and socialization would make a world of difference. She is still  very, very fearful with strangers. Is she too much of a liability to keep? 
I hope as she becomes settled here, she will gain confidence and become more stable. 

It's hard to give an evaluation of your dog with out seeing her. I strongly suggest you get in touch with a reputable trainer / behaviorist. A untrain & socialized dog would become fearful / fear aggressive in most cases.
Begin training her right away for a solid attention, sit, leave it, & loose leash walking. This way you'll have more control of her when you start taking her out to get socialized with a trainer.

Always start at a far enough distance that your dog remains relax with other people / dogs / traffic, reward with praise & treats. If she is motivated with toys then also play with her. You'll gradually move closer to people, but don't rush it. Only go as far as your dog is comfortable. If she reacts with signs of stress or fear that you can't work through with her toy, then you moved too fast & close. Stay focus on your dog having fun & working on her obedience. Even if you think she is not paying attention to the the people far away she knows they are there. You should not do this alone but with a trainer. 

By not doing behavior modification correctly could make the issue worse. Example if you rush the dog into a high traffic area close to people, she will shut down by stress so will not learn, or you'll provide praise / rewards thinking to help calm her, but you'll only re-enforce the behavior. Also you don't want to consistently give corrections for barking, due from fear because you might teach her to stop barking but have not cured the reason why she barked in the first place. When this happens next time she is in the same type of situation which causes her fear you'll have no warning from her barking, since you taught her not to bark, she may just bite.

If she has a genetically sound temperament she'll recover with socialization, training, & behavior modification. Then continue her socialization & training while booster her confidence with a fun group classes, such as; agility, nose work, fly ball, or herding. She'll blossom into a wonderful complete dog eventually. May not ever be 100%, but she'll be happier for not living in a life filled with uncertainty & fear from the out side world.
This may take a lot of work for while, but it'll be worth it.

No, I don't think you should give the dog up. The odds of her getting adopted again would be slim, if you love her make it work. If  in the end her temperament is unsound genetically & she becomes a liability, then she should be humanly put down with the person she loves & trust by her side. 

Good Luck

Thanks for your reply, cphudson. We have already bonded with Jessie, and she is eager to please and seems very intelligent, so I am hoping for a good outcome if we do proper training and behaviour modification. The steps you outlined seem to be a logical approach to training. BTW, our older GSD was somewhat like Jessie when we first got her, and she has turned out to be a wonderful companion and watch dog with training and time.
Jessie is OK approaching strangers,  when I take her out for a walk, as long as there is no interaction, but she is very territorial at home. We do want her to bark when someone comes onto our property, but she has to learn to be accepting of guests. My sister will be visiting with her little toddler in a couple of weeks, so I am thinking of boarding Jessie with her breeder during this time. The stress would be too much for everyone, and could seriously worsen Jessie's problems, as you suggest.
Will look for a trainer and begin clicker training ASAP.

Susnelda,

The dog is a fear biter with bad nerves by your own admission. It's going to be pretty hard to change what you have since it's most likely genetic. The dog is always going to be fearful to some degree and if she has already bit one person chances are she'll do it again. I would cut my loses and euthanize this dog.

Thanks for your reply, Felloffher. I do have the option to return Jessie to her breeder--I would hate to have to put her down without giving her a chance. Jessie was a breeding dog (1 litter) and also a one-time showdog champion. The breeder doesn't want to continue breeding her because one of her puppies had a congenital liver condition. At her breeder's, it would be highly unlikely that she would hurt anyone, since she wouldn't be given the chance to interact with company. If we return her within the 30-day period from the date we bought her (which will be expiring soon), we would get a refund of the price paid. When I spoke to the breeder, she said that she never thought that Jessie would bite. When we saw Jessie before buying her (we visited three times), we didn't get that impression, either. She seemed quite aloof and a bit shy, but not aggressive at all. She probably felt secure and protected by the breeder, whom she was very bonded to, and also by the other dogs (she was lowest in rank). I think being rehomed has been very  traumatic/ unsettling for her, increasing her fear and her territorial tendency.
Our older dog, Greta, had similar problems after we got her at 10 months old. She bit a neighbour not long after we adopted her, but she had had a bad experience with a salesperson who came onto our property just a couple of days before this incident, and likely transferred her fear/aggression to the neighbour. Greta was highly territorial in the very beginning, and also nipped my sister when she first met her. In Greta's case, I also think insecurity from being re-homed caused her fear-aggression. As she became settled in our home, she never bit anyone again, and she is 12 yrs old now. She still barks at visitors/strangers showing up at our door, but settles down quickly, and is good with, and even enjoys, having company over--including the two people she bit! The experience with Greta gives me hope that Jessie's fear-aggression will diminish with time and training, so that she won't feel compelled to bite again. Jessie is older, though, and her issues are bigger than Greta's...

This dog was bred? Yikes! I do agree that over time things may change. My female GSd I presently have is a rescue and although she never showed any aggression, she did have fear issues when I got her- a lot of handler fear as she was clearly abused. She would drop to the ground if she saw a leash, rope, broom, mop or stick in my hand. A few trainers I talked to said it was genetic and she just had weak nerves. I refused to accept that and did a lot of motivational, postive reinforcement training with her and it helped tremendously. She is still a submissive dog, but overall she has changed dramatically. She now sees the leash as something positive and no longer cowers when I have a mop or broom in my hand. She a different dog today and is so much more confident. She is also certified therapy dog that brings a lot of happiness to many people.  Your situation is clearly different, but I guess my point is that changes can and do occur.

Hope has nothing to do with anything,
 
socializing and OBEDIENCE training DOES,

Do a TON of work at the last two mentioned items,
you will need to train her yourself with a reputable trainer, and you will have to join a local obedience club and be prepared to be consistant with the training.

I don't allow my dogs to bark continuously when someone knocks at my door, a couple barks, fine, then when you say OK, it's alright, that's when the dog should stop barking, and go lay down, or politely greet the stranger.

The GSD is already going to protect you, it's just a matter of how & when.

  Lots of luck to you and your girl, and please remember, no baby talk, or cuddling her, that makes them more insecure,
  work on confidence building

Susnelda,

I agree with cphudson, it is difficult, if not impossible to answer your question "can she be rehabilitated" without seeing her. I also agree that your best course of action is to enlist the help of a reputable trainer who can give you a fair evaluation of her potential. I would not give up on her until you have more information, and would certainly not euthanize her.

One important question you have to answer is what are you looking for out of this dog. If you are primarily looking for a watchdog then I think I would look elsewhere. It sounds like she can function as a good alarm system but given her nerves i would never be comfortable with what she would do if presented with a real threat. Would she stand her ground or turn and run. A dog with bad nerves could go either way.

I had a German Shepherd I rescued that had never been socialized. He was about to be put down so we agreed to take him. He was very aggressive at first, but after a while he turned out to be a big baby with the immediate family, myself, my wife, and our two teenagers. However, anyone else entering the house was at risk. We tried as hard as we could to socialize him but he bit two people without any provocation. The story had a happy ending. We found a rescue organization that despite his aggressive behavior took him, did some work with him, and placed him. He was taken by an older women who lived alone with very few guests coming to visit. It has worked out well. It goes to show you that if it doesn't work out in your home it doesn't mean there is not a situation out there where she would be a good fit.

Good luck