Help needed with aggressive dog

[royallbinky]

I have a German shepherd mix that has an aggression problem. He is a rescue and he is usually pretty good with my wife (although she has to re-assert her dominance on a regular basis), and almost always with me, but he is very aggressive towards other people. The last straw was when he snarled at a niece and nephew of ours that are 3 and 1 ½. We have tried working with him, but I just don’t think we have the time to devote to him on a daily basis. I just can’t trust him and he ends up locked up whenever anyone comes over. If I were a hermit up in the hills this behavior would be fine, but with frequent visitors (mostly family) I can’t put up with it.

Anybody out there have any ideas / suggestions?

 

[redneck1861]

Other than obidence school, maybe try tro find someone to take him? If he is growling agressively towards little kids, that is not a good thing considering how big of a dog he is.

 

[HiredHand]

I have heard that locking a dog up when visitors come over teaches the dog not to like it when visitors come around.

 

[Razur]

Sounds like the dog may need more exposure to people. People with delicious treats that they want to give him.

How's the dog deal w other dogs? May try to socialize w other dogs too.

I've heard that exercise fixes most negative doggy behaviors. A tired dog is a happy dog, something like that.

 

[RETOKSQUID]

Has he been fixed yet? If not, have a vet cut his nuts off, that will usually help. Give your vet a call either way, they may have better ideas and resources available.

 

[dennishoddy]

The shepard breed is very protective of their handlers.
Its in their genetics. I'm thinking you need to get on line and find some training video's.

'
Be really carefull with the dog in public.
My neighbors, when living in town 20 years ago let their grand daughter out to play at the lake. She had a small stick in her hand, and was walking toward a van.

The dog saw this as a threat and killer her.........3 yrs old.

 

[BadgeBunny]

Other than obidence school, maybe try tro find someone to take him? If he is growling agressively towards little kids, that is not a good thing considering how big of a dog he is.

Obedience school is not gonna fix this problem. And why in the world would he pawn his problem off on someone else?? Are you aware that there is case law out there that has held a previous owner liable for medical expenses and damages for attacks of an animal they gave away to someone else when there was evidence of previous aggressive behavior??

And size doesn't have anything to do with the degree of danger with aggressive dogs. I know a woman who had to have 6 different surgerys to repair damage done to her face ... she was attacked by a Pekinese when she leaned over to pet it -- in my father's clinic. I was 9 at the time and saw it happen. I don't lean over to pet ANYBODY'S dog ... lol

Anyway, back to the OP ...

without knowing your dog's history it is hard to say what is triggering it's aggression but aggression is a fear-based emotion in dogs. And most of the other posters are correct ...

I am not a professional dog trainer but my dad was a DVM and I worked at a Holiday Inn (actually a couple of them) for years so take all this with a grain of salt ...

1. If he has not been neutered go ahead and have his nuts cut. It won't stop the behavior, but still, it is the responsible thing to do. It is an old wives tale that neutering a dog will help with aggression. Positive Discontent has a 100 pound German Shepherd that is unneutered. That dog adores EVERYBODY ... except people he doesn't know that try to come into his yard and is around a passel of kids 24/7. In fact, when the kids are gone the dang dog pouts and won't eat ...

2. If you really want to try and keep him, get a crate and a book on positive reinforcement training. I am a big fan of clicker training. It gives the dog an opportunity to think about what you want from him. German Shepherds are notorious for becoming bored if they don't get mental and physical stimulation on a regular basis. More often than not boredom causes them to get into all kinds of trouble.

3. Again, only you know the answer to this question, but if he has gotten to the point where you are really afraid someone is gonna get hurt and you know you can't devote an hour or so a day to exercise and work with him, please consider taking him to a REPUTABLE rescue.

I know Tulsa is a drive from you guys but you might try this place:

http://gsrtulsa.sunsetatsadies.com/

The breeder I have gotten all three of my GSDs from is affiliated with them, so I know your dog will get good training while in a foster home and a good home when he leaves there.

Good luck!

 

[saddlebum]

1. If he has not been neutered go ahead and have his nuts cut. It won't stop the behavior, but still, it is the responsible thing to do. It is an old wives tale that neutering a dog will help with aggression.

!

It worked on me

 

[royallbinky]

Thank you all for the advice and ideas. We had him neutered some time back and that seemed to mellow him for a little while, but he got over it!

We didn't always lock him up when people came over, but after he trapped a few people in their cars and went after our neighbor when he came over on his Gator, it became a necessity. He has even nipped at people after they have given him treats, and while wearing a muzzle! Our little neighbor girl was driven to tears when he got aggressive while she rode through on her bike.

BadgeBunny - Thank you for the solid points, I have no desire to pawn my problem off on someone else. I will only consider giving him to someone who has extensive experience with dogs his size and has dealt with behavioral issues.

 

[Cinaet]

I hate to be the one to say it, and I'm probably going to be hammered for this, but he may need to be put down. In any case, you need to get him away from kids and strangers. Permanently. At best he's a lawsuit waiting to happen. At worst he'll end up putting some kid in the hospital. You might as well have a loaded and cocked gun laying around in the open.