# Aggressive toward small animals



## Kaylaramore (Jul 28, 2013)

Someone said I should ask this question on the breeding board, as someone may know best. Here's the question I posted before 
"I have an almost 3 y/o female gsd who is fairly well behaved (depending on how much she wants to show off that day ?). She has been an "only fur baby" her entire life, we do have two boys (one age 8 the other is 5). When she was younger she played with some other dogs And even about a year ago she would play with a golden retriever who would slip in our yard a few times. We've recently tried to introduce her to another animal, but it didn't seem to go very well so we didn't get the new dog. I am currently watching a dog for my grandmother, the dog weighs about 4lbs, I let them sniff each other and we were all sitting on the couch together. Bitty (my gsd) was panting and drooling and the other dog was sitting on my lap staring at her. B tried to sniff the small dog and the small one growled at b. I instantly corrected the growling and we continued to sit. B sniffed the small dog again but then began "chattering" her teeth together. I'm not sure exactly what that would mean? I don't have them out together because I don't want to make it a game or anything. And this small dog won't be permanent. But if they can't seem to get along, does that mean that b will never get along with another dog? Has anyone else had or seen this behavior?"

My question on here is, does anyone think that this behavior will be the same if we breed her? We were thinking about doing that in the next year or so but I don't want her to be aggressive towards her pups. I'm not sure if she would be or not. 

Thanks!


----------



## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

My first question is, why are you looking to breed her? Sounds like you might need to do a bit more research on breeding and what you should be doing and looking for to have a successful breeding program. If you are looking to just get a litter out of her, or she's just so pretty you think it would be a shame to waste her genes, please reconsider, those terrible reasons to breed a dog. If, however, you are truly looking to breed with purpose. I think it would behoove you to get into contact with a couple good, reputable breeders and chat with them for a long while about their program and why they do what they do. Learn learn learn, and then make your decision. There is a thread on here about an unexpected litter of puppies that a woman is taking care of and she was totally unprepared and is very very difficult for her. Not trying to be rude or call you out, many jsut don't think of how much goes into actually breeding dogs, it's more than just getting two dogs together that are pretty and nice to everyone.


----------



## Kaylaramore (Jul 28, 2013)

I understand And I take no offense. She came from a long line of K-9 dogs and has great genes and she's very intelligent. We would like to get a pup out of her before she gets too old and can't. We haven't rushed into anything and we've been very cautious about it. We have experienced breeders in our area (who she actually came from) but I was curious about how she acts with dl small dogs if anyone thought she would be that way with her pups.


----------



## GypsyGhost (Dec 29, 2014)

If you like the breeder she came from, why not get another puppy from them instead of breeding your girl? So much can go wrong! Are you prepared to lose her? Because that could happen. What if she needs a c-section? Would you be prepared to feed the pups all day, every day if she is not able? What would you do if she became aggressive to her pups? Lots of GSDs have great genes with high intelligence... that doesn't mean every one of them should be bred. Have you done anything to test her working ability? Have you done anything to test her temperament? Has she had health testing done (hips, DM, eyes, etc.)?

Please seriously consider not breeding your girl. I'm not trying to be mean or rude. I have just seen too many puppies in rescue that came out of people who wanted their dog to "pass down their genes". It's not a good enough reason to put your girl through having a litter.

If you still decide to breed her, please take Whitney's advice and contact a reputable breeder and learn from them.


----------



## jschrest (Jun 16, 2015)

I'm not sure if I'm the lady Wyoung is referring to, but I have an unexpected litter of puppies. Long story, but its a rescue situation. I will speak not from professional experience, but personal experience. 

A litter is HARD work. Seriously more difficult with than raising children. You can't leave your home for any extended period of time, they need constant care. Your house will smell like puppy poop (times however many puppies she whelps) constantly. And I mean CONSTANTLY. I change their bedding daily, and do spot cleans in between, and my house ALWAYS smells like poop. It's not a pleasant smell. As soon as I change their bedding, it's poop time again. They fresher the bedding, the more they like to go. 

They whine and yip and make noise nonstop. I have one who is an escape artist and like to climb out of the pen, no matter what measures I have taken to prevent it. She gets out and cried, the other 5 pups howl up a storm because their sister got out and they are still stuck in puppy jail. This goes on ALL NIGHT LONG. Have you ever been sleep deprived from a newborn baby? Multiple that exhaustion times 5, and you have a litter of puppies exhaustion. 

They have to be taken out multiple times a day for play time. It isn't easy getting 5 puppies out, and keeping an eye on each of them. Trying to watch each go potty to make sure their stools are okay. Make sure no one is trying to eat a rock, or some random item they hone in on that I've seemed to miss, no matter how many times I rake. Then when playtime is over, I get to clean up poop outside from 6 (5 pups and the mom). Put them back into their pen with fresh bedding, bam, they poop again and cleanup starts all over again. 

I've had them two weeks and have spent well over 600.00 on them. Vet bills, formula, puppy food, bedding, toys for their puppy biting, and plenty more. 

Yes, I got them unexpected, and had nothing prepared for them, but even after 2 weeks, with everything they need, it's still stressful, it's still the most work I have ever done in my life, and its exhausting. I can't even tell you often enough how exhausting it is. I can tell you that I'm sooooo loooking forward to the bitch being spayed that I will probably throw a spay party for myself. I will do a thousand dances of happiness when the puppies go to their new homes. And I LOVE animals. But, if I don't see another puppy for a year, I'll be happy. 

So from my personal experiences, I urge you to listen to the other members and spay your female and purchase a puppy from the breeder you got her from.


----------



## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Kaylaramore said:


> Someone said I should ask this question on the breeding board, as someone may know best. Here's the question I posted before
> "I have an almost 3 y/o female gsd who is fairly well behaved (depending on how much she wants to show off that day ?). She has been an "only fur baby" her entire life, we do have two boys (one age 8 the other is 5). When she was younger she played with some other dogs And even about a year ago she would play with a golden retriever who would slip in our yard a few times. We've recently tried to introduce her to another animal, but it didn't seem to go very well so we didn't get the new dog. I am currently watching a dog for my grandmother, the dog weighs about 4lbs, I let them sniff each other and we were all sitting on the couch together. Bitty (my gsd) was panting and drooling and the other dog was sitting on my lap staring at her. B tried to sniff the small dog and the small one growled at b. I instantly corrected the growling and we continued to sit. B sniffed the small dog again but then began "chattering" her teeth together. I'm not sure exactly what that would mean? I don't have them out together because I don't want to make it a game or anything. And this small dog won't be permanent. But if they can't seem to get along, does that mean that b will never get along with another dog? Has anyone else had or seen this behavior?"
> 
> My question on here is, does anyone think that this behavior will be the same if we breed her? We were thinking about doing that in the next year or so but I don't want her to be aggressive towards her pups. I'm not sure if she would be or not.
> ...


1) Just keep them separate. The little dog displayed aggressive behavior towards your GSD in your GSD's home while sitting on your GSD's person. Staring at her and then growling at her? Poor behavior on the little dogs part from what you describe and poor introduction between the dogs on your part. Your dog was panting and drooling. Clear signs of stress. So is your girl aggressive? The fact that she only chattered her teeth and didn't try to eat the little dog for being an ass tells me no. My guess is she was stressed beyond belief. Or is your girl saying "oh **** no! you are in MY house.!" Who knows. We aren't there. So just keep them apart.

Your dog could be high prey drive. Could be aggressive to other animals. Could be low threshold, easily stressed. All are genetic traits and can be passed on. But the fact that you think aggression towards a strange animal would translate into aggression towards her pups leads me to 3)....

2) No, it does not mean she will never get along with other dogs. It means this small dog has poor behavior. It means the introduction was bad. I have dog aggressive dogs. My male integrated with them just fine. They allows 'the prince' to do whatever he wants. Things they would take another dogs face off for. It's amazing.

3) There are thousands of dogs out there with great genes. Unless you are prepared to prove your dog is breedworthy by working or titling her, prepared to do the proper health testing (which isn't cheap) and prepared to possibly end up with serious medical complications where your girl could be hurt...just don't do it. Let the breeders breed and the buyers buy.


----------



## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Jax08 said:


> 1) Just keep them separate. The little dog displayed aggressive behavior towards your GSD in your GSD's home while sitting on your GSD's person. Staring at her and then growling at her? Poor behavior on the little dogs part from what you describe and poor introduction between the dogs on your part. Your dog was panting and drooling. Clear signs of stress. So is your girl aggressive? The fact that she only chattered her teeth and didn't try to eat the little dog for being an ass tells me no. My guess is she was stressed beyond belief. Or is your girl saying "oh **** no! you are in MY house.!" Who knows. We aren't there. So just keep them apart.
> 
> Your dog could be high prey drive. Could be aggressive to other animals. Could be low threshold, easily stressed. All are genetic traits and can be passed on. But the fact that you think aggression towards a strange animal would translate into aggression towards her pups leads me to 3)....
> 
> ...


:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


----------



## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Lilie said:


> :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


Hmm so are well stated "thoughtful" "respectful" replies going to become a thing here???

That's putting a big burden on some of us...just saying.


----------



## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

Kaylaramore said:


> I understand And I take no offense. She came from a long line of K-9 dogs and has great genes and she's very intelligent. We would like to get a pup out of her before she gets too old and can't. We haven't rushed into anything and we've been very cautious about it. We have experienced breeders in our area (who she actually came from) but I was curious about how she acts with dl small dogs if anyone thought she would be that way with her pups.


Thanks for not taking offense, I have a hard time portraying a respectful tone here, lol. 

IMO, for what it's worth. I don't think it's a good idea for you to breed her, just based on that statement I quoted. I would, as someone else said, get another pup from the breeder, since you like your girl so much. Reasons being, honestly the inexperience, unless you plan to have help from other breeders to walk you through your first litter and help you with these questions and more that I am not thinking of (because I am not a breeder):

-What kind of K-9 dogs did she come from (because that says little, do you mean working? sport? show?)? 
-Do you have her pedigree and have you researched their health, hips, temperament, etc.? You must even do the research on the Sire you pick.. and not just what their parents were like but their lineage. 
-Are you going to score your girl's hips? What if she doesn't pass? Same with the Sire.
-are you going to Title or do any work with her to prove her temperament and worthy of breeding?

I just think there's too much inexperience, especially with you only wanting a pup because your girl is smart and you want one "before she is too old." And, again not being rude, not doing the research and talking to your breeder about this stuff, and whether this "aggression" you see will transfer to the pups, tells me you really haven't done enough research. This is how BYB start.. and you don't want to be one of them. 

Now if I am off the mark, I'm sorry, and maybe you have alreayd planned to research the heck out of this and planned to do it all the right ways and for the right reasons and maybe it's not portrayed right here.. since the breeding part wasn't the main question.. but it just doesn't sound like a good idea to me and I truly hope you think about what all have said here before/if you decide to take that step. 



jschrest said:


> I'm not sure if I'm the lady Wyoung is referring to, but I have an unexpected litter of puppies. Long story, but its a rescue situation. I will speak not from professional experience, but personal experience.


Yes, You were the I was referring to!  Should have posted a link to your thread.. here we are.. 

http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru.../564138-urgent-need-help-pups-mom-issues.html


----------



## Kaylaramore (Jul 28, 2013)

wyoung2153 said:


> Kaylaramore said:
> 
> 
> > I understand And I take no offense. She came from a long line of K-9 dogs and has great genes and she's very intelligent. We would like to get a pup out of her before she gets too old and can't. We haven't rushed into anything and we've been very cautious about it. We have experienced breeders in our area (who she actually came from) but I was curious about how she acts with dl small dogs if anyone thought she would be that way with her pups.
> ...



I do plan on researching it some more, I am very new at this and maybe I didn't portray it right as to why I want to breed her. She came from K-9 police dogs. She was training to be one, and we've had her hips and things already checked by a vet. Being as inexperienced as I am I would not take this on by myself, I would have help. The one we want to breed her with is also a K-9 police dog, who has been checked as well. This is not something that we will rush into, we've been very careful to make sure she hasn't accidentally had a litter. Thank you all for your words.


----------



## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

Kaylaramore said:


> I do plan on researching it some more, I am very new at this and maybe I didn't portray it right as to why I want to breed her. She came from K-9 police dogs. She was training to be one, and we've had her hips and things already checked by a vet. Being as inexperienced as I am I would not take this on by myself, I would have help. The one we want to breed her with is also a K-9 police dog, who has been checked as well. This is not something that we will rush into, we've been very careful to make sure she hasn't accidentally had a litter. Thank you all for your words.


Thank you for clarifying


----------

