sudden aggression - Page 1

I have a 17 month old intact male shepherd. I have socialized him with all types of people and dogs since he was 9 weeks old. I have also brought him to the dog park nearly every day also. Never a problem until today. He went after an old lab that had shown zero aggression to him and he growled and bit him around the neck. We broke it up and when the lab started going towards his owner he went after him again. We immediately went home. He did not break any skin or hurt the lab. (We stayed long enough to leave our phone number and to make sure the lab was okay.) We are completely surprised by his behavior and are concerned.   Opinions please.

yes,
stay away from dog parks..
You should still be training, this would have been a good moment had you been in control able to make a correction.

There's plenty of places beside a dog park.
Personally I think they are unclean, unhealthy, and at times dangerous.
A place for dogs to learn all the wrong things.

This could have been any number of things, a scent, something you wouldn't notice or call aggression.
I let my dogs run free with a few dogs they know, but to let them run loose with strange dogs would be a disaster

1. Yup, what Moons said.

2. 17 months old is the right age for an adolescent to start asserting himself.

3. The only thing I use dog parks for is distraction training, from the outside.

Melissa

Thanks to both Two Moons and Melissa for answering so quickly. I was so upset at his behavior I mistakenly put this post in conformation instead of german shepherd forum. I am starting to believe that the dog park is not a place for him. He looked so forward to it every day that I tended to ignore the negatives that are inherent in them. I agree with you both. I am trying to keep him intact until he is closer to two years old. I had no problems until today. Is being intact also a contributing factor?   Daryl

Since people like to humanize dogs its very simple-

1) most do not speak the dog language haha. So most people do not see the root cause of any act of aggression and or do not fully understand the events that led up to the finale.
Therefore IMO one cant give sound advice to whether or not there is an issue or not and or the appropriate way to fix it if there is an issue without seeing the incident itself. Or trying to recreate said incident in safe manor to watch your dogs reactions.

2) do you like every person you meet? Why should your dog? So why would you try to make your dog like everyone by taking them and throwing them in an environment with a bunch of unknown, untrained dogs with no boundaries?  We as people are simply made to tolerate the presence of those we do not like. No more should be expected of a dog.

3)Neutering is not an answer for solving aggression.There is no substitute for training and im glad you are waiting for sexual maturity before neutering at least.



Socialization means much more than just exposing them to things such as a dog park. It is showing them how to appropriately interact.  It requires understanding your dog and those around it. So consult someone on the appropriate manor in which to socialize your dog as this is a crucial time for you both. This could be a very pivotal moment (depending on the dog )so do not take it lightly but no not let it scare you either.

Is being intact a contributing factor, no I don't believe so.
Not at this age, not going on how you describe the incident.
Possibly asserting himself as melba suggests.

They look forward to going with you, doesn't matter where, they crave the activity.
Training would be as much fun or more than a romp in the park for them.

Generally when I am approached by a loose dog I put mine at a sit stay, we go to public parks sometimes where dogs are running free.
Other animals are considered distractions to be ignored as part of good training.




 

Samael28, Thanks for your feedback. As a matter of fact it did frighten me. I did not see that coming at all. At the dog park no dogs are allowed in intact after six months old. He has been allowed in because of his temperment. He has such a sweet, playful personality that no one ever objected to him being there. He is my fifth shepherd, my first from a working dog background.  I will work with him, we both need it.

Looked at the pic you posted, a handsome animal.

Unique face.

You have gotten excellent advice. Stay away from dog parks. Train your dog.  Could his maturing sexually have contributed to the situation? Maybe but neutering is not the answer. Training is the answer.

Two things to add to the Excellent advice above.  1) have read some place that n'd males tend to be more likely to be on the aggressive side.  Need to check out this thought.  2) just read an article that since GMO is in corn and maybe orther grains it is causing more aggression in the humans and dogs who eat it.  And the lists of ingredients do not show it being there.  Just another thought.  Do not get aggressive with me over these thoughts.