# 3yr Old GSD has aggression with certain stranger behavior and random dogs



## 757wakeboarder (Nov 15, 2013)

Hello, I have a 3 year old GSD named Dexter. I got him from a police and military working dog training facility and he is an import from Mexico. I got him this past March and had him neutered and put through some obedience classes. He is a very dominant and hard headed dog and has taken quite a bit of work but I am extremely proud of the progress we've made, especially being a first time owner. Energy level is moderate, he's matured. He was taken out of training due to being heart worm positive and once he recovered from that the trainers at the facility complained he didn't have the stamina (I wouldn't either if I was put on bed rest for 3 months) and worked with the dogs that had more easily available potential. He was adopted out to me by the company. He's had some schutzhund and narcotics training. 

He's developed some issues with strangers that while understandable from his point of view are troublesome. First of all he does not appreciate them touching his feet, to the point where he becomes very vocal and I know if he was not leashed on a halti collar he would bite the person. He is fine with people he knows messing with them but as this is a requirement for the k9 good citizen test it is a problem in addition to it causing aggression. I've taught him to shake, handled his feet but the issue still occurs and he refuses to shake for a stranger. I am unsure of how to deal with it so advice would be appreciated. 

He also has issues with strangers staring at him, again understandable and expected but causes aggression as it is taken as a threat. Petting is okay, I instruct people on how to greet him properly but he can get aggressive with improper petting of his head (such as rubbing his ears with his head pressed to the leg) or accidently covering his eyes. All of this I can usually avoid because I am aware of this when he is receiving attention however it does take a little bit of fun out of taking him out places having to constantly worry about what people will do and I'm afraid eventually it will happen with the wrong person. Especially since (not to be boastful) he is an amazingly gorgeous dog and attracts quite a bit of attention when we are out. It is difficult to work with because obviously I can't be like "hey there stranger, my dog has some aggression issues will you help me?".

He also has some dog aggression that has developed within the last few months. He was exposed to many different dogs in obedience and had absolutely NO problems, not once. Some dogs he's fine with, others he wants to lunge at from across the street. There doesn't seem to be any relation between the dogs he's okay with and those he isn't. No connections with them being hyper vs passive or dominant vs submissive, larger or smaller. It doesn't matter if we're in the front yard or out on a walk.

The aggression issues from what I understand are somewhat common. Shepherds are supposed to be a little protective and reserved around strangers. However he's my best buddy, I want to be able to take him out to the pet store without worrying about if a stranger is going to act the wrong way and cause an issue. Because while for me it's common sense not to lean over on a strange dog and place your face right in his, that is not the case for many people. He is not a treat dog, toys work better (had to train him to let go of them, good lord he never wanted to give them up once he had it). Any tips?


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

For the feet thing and the petting thing, find the treat he will take. The one he absolutely loves. Can turn out to be people food, doesn't have to a an actual dog treat. And then start having people that he doesn't know play the paw/shake game with him and treating him. Do this a lot. A lot of dogs have issues with people touching their paws. I believe its a challenge...and when it comes to the back feet its the way shepherds herd so they believe that you're trying to herd them and don't like it. It's not as big of a deal IMO because not many people are going to HAVE to or WANT to touch your dog's paws.

The petting...you're actually not supposed to pet a dog on top of it's head. Many people don't know this, so a lot of people make sure their dogs can handle it, but still some dogs can't. It's a sign of dominance to a dog...and if the dog doesn't appreciate a stranger "showing" dominance, it might react. Again...treat for every pet on the head if this is very important to you. IMO this is a pretty big issue because the majority of people will try to pet your dog on the head, and unless you're hyper-vigilant and always tell them not to do it...he'll have issues with it. Plus...if you tell people they can't pet your dog in a certain way, they'll think he's not safe and probably not want to pet him at all. While I agree with you that people should not be sticking their face in your dog's face...those are very few and far between. You're much more likely to run into people that will pet your dog on the top of his head and end up touching his ears. That is a pretty normal thing. Test and see if your dog is fine being pet/scratched by strangers under his chin. If he has no issues with that, its definitely that he sees petting on his head as a dominance thing.

The dog aggression...start training him to ignore all other dogs. He should just focus on you when you're out and about and not worry about other dogs. This means lots of heeling work, treating for looking at you, and distracting with a toy when you see another dog coming. You should get him into play when you spot another dog (hopefully before he does) and that way he will be all about playing with you through the tug rather than watching for the other dog.

Just an FYI...the aggression issues are not common. Shepherds are not supposed to be reserved and protective around strangers. They should be aloof. Aloof means they do not show any reaction, be it friendly, or aggressive. They should just go on about their day like nothing has changed. Now...if said stranger poses a threat, the shepherd should react appropriately. The dog can watch the stranger and realize something has changed, but there shouldn't really be an outward change in demeanor.

Some of these issues might be from how your boy was raised. I'm almost assuming he was a kennel dog so he probably didn't get the most top notch of socialization with people and other dogs. More than likely...he didn't get any socialization with other dogs before you got him. The paw thing and petting on the head thing is usually not a problem because people are taught to teach their puppies that they are allowed to do whatever they want to them by doing all those things to a young pup before they can actually do any damage. You'll almost have to go back to step one and treat these issues as if you have an 8 week old pup but one that can hurt you.


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