German Shepherd aggression towards other dogs.

[Kenny Cargill]

Took in a 10 month old German Shepherd 5 months ago so he's now 15 months.
He's great with people and kids but really aggressive towards other dogs
although until I got him he had been reared with 2 other dogs. If I try
taking him out on a lead all's OK until he sees another dog then he goes
nuts trying to attack them.
Last time I took him out was about a month ago and he's so strong he pulled
me to the ground hurting my arm and hand whilst trying to attack another
dog. Can't even think about taking him out at all now, I have arthritis and
don't have the strength to handle him when he's like this.
I did get him neutered thinking it might calm him down but it made no
difference.
I don't like keeping him closed in the yard all the time but cant take the
chance of walking him, even muzzled.
Any advice on how to deal with this behaviour? I can't afford a
professional dog trainer.

Kenny Cargill

[William Clodius]

As much of play is a form of play fighting, it is not unknown for owners
to mistake play behavior for agression. If you have any doubts about
your judgement it might be useful to have a more knowlegeble dog person
accompany you with your dog to verify that he is truly aggressive.
Still it is likely that he is aggrssive, and too big for you to handle
unless you become very good at training him

Puppies are almost invariably good with other dogs, but that often
changes on adolescence (7-8 months for most breeds), or adulthood 14-16
months for most breeds). There are some breeds where agression is rare,
but German Shepherds are not one of those breeds. Aggression tends to be
less common with males than with females, but it is far from unknown
with males

At this stage it is likely that the best thing for both of you would be
to turn him over to someone else. Keeping him in the yard is not a good
solution. If you are to keep him, both of you need training. He needs
to learn that you are the alpha male, and he needs to pay far more
attention to you than to other nearby dogs. You need to learn both how
to maintain that attitude, and how to read his behavior so you can
anticipate and prevent potential problems.

Best would be one on one training, by a knowledgeable dog person. You
have ruled out a professional, but I urge you to reconsider. A few
sessions with a professional would be a minor expense compared to the
years of food and health care you can anticipate for your dog. If you
still cannot afford a professional look for a local dog obedience club,
and ask them for advice on dealing with him. Five months ago I would
have suggested obediance classes preferably at a local obedience club.
But given his current strength and dog aggressiveness, starting off
training him around other dogs is problematic. There are training books
and videos that can also help, but they are not as good as one on one
training, and it will be difficult for many people to be confident that
the behavior they get in the house and yard will carry over to the
street in the presence of other dogs.

[Kenny Cargill]

Thanks for the reply.
It may come to the point where I have to consider rehoming him. It will be
a shame because he's a beautiful dog and apart from this thing with other
dogs has a lovely nature, I can easily take the food from his mouth and
things like that without him turning nasty.
It puzzles me where this behaviour comes from, in my experience most
aggression is the fault of the owner but that's not the case here, he's like
that since I've had him and I knew the previous owners and don't think it
came from them.

Kenny Cargill

"William Clodius" wrote in message
news:1l0728c.1jc6jg613wahvsN%wclo...@earthlink.net...

[William Clodius]

Kenny Cargill <m...@privacy.net> wrote:

> Thanks for the reply.
> It may come to the point where I have to consider rehoming him. It will be
> a shame because he's a beautiful dog and apart from this thing with other
> dogs has a lovely nature, I can easily take the food from his mouth and
> things like that without him turning nasty.
> It puzzles me where this behaviour comes from, in my experience most
> aggression is the fault of the owner but that's not the case here, he's like
> that since I've had him and I knew the previous owners and don't think it
> came from them.
>
> Kenny Cargill

> <snip>

While the wrong owner can make induce aggressionin almost any dog, if
they train the dog to fight dogs, and an unassertive owner can let an
alpha dog more easily get out of control, there are also dogs that would
challenge any owner. Your dog sounds like a difficult, but not
extremely difficult dog. An adult with reasonable health and strength
should be able to maintain control of this dog after a little
appropriate training. But in your case your age has made many of the
obvious methods of asserting dominance less practicable, and a bad fall
has brought fear into the interaction. It is difficult to be assertive
and confident while fearful. If a dog thinks you need protection, it
will tend to be more aggressive.

I also wanted to note that (aggressive) behavior is often very different
for in pack dogs (once the pecking order is established) versus out of
pack dogs, in home territory versus away from home territory, on lead
versus off lead, and age: puppy versus adolescent versus young adult
versus old adult. The differences in behavior with respect to the age in
particular can be difficult for humans to interpret and hence
anticipate: puppies and young adolescents can provoke adult dogs to
teach them manners using restrained versions of the behavior that is
genuinely aggressive with older adolescents or active adults. Very old
dogs are generally less assertive, and hence generally well tolerated by
other dogs.

[andal]

Kenny, please, get the book: Control Unleashed, Puppy program. by Leslie
McDevitt. Read it, the whole thing, then apply.
(please avoid all "alpha" dog stories, it's a myth)
Also search the net for "control unleashed" classes in your area and take
one if you find it.

Good luck

[kritte...@gmail.com]

I have a two year old female German Shepherd and a16 year old male Terrie type dog. My shepherd has known him since she was 4 weeks old. Now the Shepard wants to take the old dog out. I have to keep them completely separated because the Shepard tries to kill him every chance she gets. I am very close to both dogs. I also live alone.Is there anything I can do or am I going to have to get used to the way it is

[teresa...@thompsonschools.org]

Hi Kenny-
I have the same problem x 2. I have two rescue female shepherds who I love to walk. Unfortunately, they have taken me down twice nice trying to protect me from a small dog who charged them during our walk. I'm trying to find a dog trainer. Did you find a solution to your problem?

[swee...@gmail.com]

I know this thread is old, but training your dog is the only long-term solution, OP.

I love my dog so much but it constantly did the things that irked me most. It would chew on things that it shouldn’t or jump up and down out of the blue.

Whenever I put on the leash, it would pull on it. Whenever it was out of the house, it would continue digging on the ground - I wish I could tell what it was looking for down there. The same goes for all the nasty urine.

All the things it did left me feeling depressed as if I failed it monumentally.

But since I discovered Brain Training for Dogs and applied the system offered, it now behaves the way a beautiful dog I always expect of 🐶

Here's a link to their site: http://hiddendogintelligence.club/

Good luck!