Question about mild aggression - Page 1

My question concerns my friends dog. This dog has recently turned two years old and has always had a very good temperament. In the last couple of weeks he has become a little aggressive toward everyone he encounters. I've been around the dog since he was 8-9 months old , but now all of a sudden he acts aggressive toward me when I visit my friend. He's not what I would call a well socialized dog, doesn't meet anyone unless they are on his turf. What do you make of this and what should be done to curtail it. The dog is from highly driven working lines and the aggression seemed to materialize shortly after he went in for ofa xrays and microchip, is this a possible cause?

It sounds like the dog is maturing and needs firm leadership, but I cannot evaluate a dog based on words written on a page.

Sounds like they should find an experienced trainer that understands GSD and working dogs, evaluate the situation and go from there. It is hard to say what should be done without meeting the dog and owners and especially in an agression issue.

Sorry I could not be of more help.

Melissa

The dog may have just had a realization that people can hurt him, or that he could be put in a possition where he was no longer in control.

It would be a good idea to take him out on a walk and bond with him a little with treats, so that he is not on edge around you. I would think that he wants his owner to back him up, so when the owner is there and she/he gets upset by the dog's aggression - it could be sending mixed signals.

I don't feel like maturity has anything to do with sudden aggression. My mature dogs, from all diffrent lines, don't suddently start acting aggressive to any of my company. They either where a strong personality ( like my Angel) and its to be expected, or they are softies and don't show aggression even to a chew toy. Trama/Drama may cause a dog to change its personaltiy and have it acting self protective, which sounds like whats going on.

Whisper

I think a young dog, especially a male, can and will attempt to assert himself upon maturing. I don't think the microchip itself has anything to do with your dog's "mild aggression".  If something else happened to stress the dog while getting the chip, then maybe he could act out. I agree with melba, if you need help with your leadership of the dog, a good trainer should help. 

Generally, you have to let your dog know that aggression towards people will not be tolerated and you need to act with timing and authority. My2cents.

Uh Oh. Not good. Im not sure what the plans are for your friends to have an unsocialized dog that is now beginning to get his way,  but it could mean disaster. I dont understand why owners think that if the dog isnt well socialized then they will somehow be better protected. It sounds to me that the dynamics in the home have changed and the dog is forgetting where his position is. Maybe the dog growled at the vet and got a favorable response. Now he thinks he will try it out on someone else YOU.
 
On the other hand maybe the dog is sick or the vet did something to the hips when he was rotating them and the dog is actually sore. Did they put the dog out? If so, anesthesia takes time to leave the body and the dog may have had a mild reaction. I would take the "wait and see" approach and if the dog isn't better then I would be looking for other issues that may be causing the dog to show outward aggression. In the mean time, tell the friend to start socializing the dog. Many dogs are dumped at the shelter because an owner didnt do the right things when the dog was young and couldnt handle the dog when they got older. Nobody wants an aggressive dog. Too much of a liability. 

I already stated I can not properly evaluate a situation that is not directly in front of me.

As someone who has seen my fair share of agressive dogs, and having owned more then a handful, maturing can absolutely cause a dog to start asserting himself almost overnight. That may or may not be what is going on, which is why I specifically stated they need to find an experienced trainer very soon.

Melissa

He's two years old, this is normal.
This would be a good time for his owner to go back over all the rules, not to discourage him but to re-affirm who's in charge.
Not very well socialized may come back to bite someone one day, this is a mistake many people make in my opinion.

He is self aware and feeling his own power, it needs to be properly channeled the first time he uses his new found awareness, and he needs more than ever to know the rules.

To me it's a benchmark when they reach this point.  

The owner shouldn't treat it as any other day.
Time for a little effort on his part, the dog's ready.

Nature is the cause of this new attitude.

It is definitely a maturing problem. And it is now time for your friend to take control. Or he can hire a trainer with experience in dominant behavior. Whisper that is a bunch of wus

LOL...at wus.