Posted on 01/08/2005 5:49:18 PM PST by WHATNEXT?
My beautiful German Shepherd has become more agressive lately and the time to decide his future is upon us before something happens to us or someone else.
We got him from a breeder of Schuntzhund shepherds. We took him to some training until we decided he was to inclined to be aggressive and that Schuntzhund training was not what he needed. His breeder even told us she knew he would bite (saw it in him as a puppy -- but big money made her not mention it to us apparently--that was the last time we took him to Schuntzhund -- at least 8-9 months ago). We struggled with discipline and attempting to make sure he knew who the boss was.
We decided to neuter him in the slight hope that his aggression would modify. This took away any value of him in field trials or obviously breeding. We had not purchased him to train as a champion, only for a sense of security in a rural setting and after mourning our previous Shepherd for over 2 years, to seek another wonderful Shepherd.
Over the holidays we had company staying in our home that he growled at (he knew them), he growled at both my husband and myself, and he did slightly break my husband's skin on his arm. This morning I leaned over to pet his head and he growled, I strongly reprimanded him, he continued to growl, I demanded that he get out the front door, which he did but growling all the way. He has spent the day outside. He has always growled over his food (we swore we would never tolerate that behavior). We don't think we could ever trust himk with our little grandchildren
So, we have hit the end of our road with him. He is only 19 months old, beautiful, very intelligent and has does have many pleasing personality traits. Our choices: Shepherd rescue group (we will try but most needing rescue are under different circumstances), dog pound, training (we have tried and I'm no soft touch) or euthansia.
This is so depressing.
We didn't allow teeth on us either. But, he constantly came back with his nipping on our hands. It was like a "have to," greeting behavior. We even used the hand (the whole hand) down his throat, as a negative result from nipping. It did have some good results. But, he would just let you do it and then nip the next time.
Agreed.
I am interested in dog topics and discussion, obviously.. :~D
But I don't agree that training devices like those listed are never appropriate, or that positive reinforcement alone will save an aggressive dog. You don't always have ~time~ to wait for them to do the right thing. I don't think it wise to 'ban' tools from the outset without any allowance for proper use of any of them. They have a place.
And... I find Yahoo groups message interface to be particularly cumbersome. I'll save the link and give it a look sometime.
It is usually not a good idea with this dog to get down at his eye level. It gets him excited and pushy. I avoid playing on the floor at all times -- I've done it -- not worth it.
Because of my RA, I cannot have a dog that is not compliant or who is ever rough with me. If Tinker the Wonder Puppy is ever not compliant with me, then he will have to go. I gave him to Hub as a birthday present, but he is submissive to me as well. I think a good part of it is the attitude I have, whether I deeply love him or not, that he WILL behave every time, no exceptions. Of course, we're clear about what we want.
He was barely trained in Schuntzhund (stopped taking him at about 9 months). He was really to young most of the time to truly participate. He was bred from German Schuntzhund dogs.
This is very sad, but it is time to put him down.
It's the repetition that works. And hunger concentrates the mind (even of a dog) wonderfully.
The last time he was sleeping next to me on the couch I barely nudged him when repositioning myself and he woke up and bit almost through my hand. Blood spurting. We worried about friends and family coming over. We knew we couldn't give him to anyone because we knew he loved us and if he would bite us, he would bite anyone.
I would check with a professional dog trainer to see if he could be trained out of this behavior.
Do you think it was a dominance issue? What type of training did your dog have? Do you think you were firm with him?
My gosh, it is so disturbing... he loved you, but....why?
I raised German Shepherds and it sounds as though you have an Alpha dog. I spent 13 years with one. The one thing I know for certain is that he needs to know who the boss is. If he growls or snaps at you and you let him get away with it, you are making the situation much worse. You must demand repect from an Alpha or he will lead the pack! I do not think that kind of personality should be around any children!!! Sentencing him to death seems a little unfair. I had some terrible confrontations with mine, especially before he turned 2. Once we cleared the air as to who the boss was, he was a wonderful companion. He worked on hand commands better than the Police dogs in our county. The police were constantly bragging on him and wanting me to donate him....If his hips are good, I am sure the police would be thrilled to have such a dog.
Good luck to you!
Removing a dogs testicles will make him less agressive to other dogs, but has very little effect on his agression to humans.
you got that right!
"How many aggressive dogs have you successfully rehabilitated? "
I had the privilege to share my life with the toughest Alpha dog I ever saw. Speaking from my experience, you have to be stronger willed than they are.
In the wild the pack leader will not be gentle with the offender and that applies in training an Alpha dog. If the punishment is not memorable, they will be back to challenge again. When you tell them to do something, you must follow it through. He must know that you are the boss. This personality will NOT obey you consistently if he doesn't see you as the pack leader. He will constantly challenge you if you don't put a stop to it. As much as I loved mine, there were times when it had to get physical. I do not believe in shock collars for training as it is too easy to break a spirit and once it is broken, you can never repair it(IMO
I have seen a couple that had an Alpha shepherd that they couldn't control, that they gave to a junkyard, turn around and get a wirehair terrier that had the same personality. These people should NEVER have a dog and I pray they never had children. You can't let the inmates run the asylum. Spare the rod and spoil the child or dog!
Another little test to see if your dog is submissive to you is to suddenly flip him on his back and hold him there. Check his tail, if it is running up his belly, he is submissive to you. If it is not, he does not consider you to be his boss.
If you watch the behavior of dogs among other dogs, you will notice that once one has been forced to become submissive, that's the role they usually (not always) continue when the "master" dog comes around.
It's the nature of the beast for adolescent dogs to challenge their owners. It is going to happen when the dog is between the ages of 1 and 2, usually. Some dogs never growl at their owners during this time, and challenge simply by disobedience, while others act out by growling at their owners or worse.
Training with consistency and with intelligence doesn't mean hanging the dog, nor shocking the dog. It doesn't mean you let the dog have his way, and tolerate his aggression toward his owner, either.
Do they really call their company "Schuntzhund"? "Schutzhund" without the extra n would make sense (= guard dog).
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