# help 2 year old female german shepherd



## borenson (Sep 7, 2013)

hi, I've adopted a 2 year old female German shepherd on wed and she was fine around strangers. Now she has become very aggressive to guest I have at my house and when I got my daughter this weekends.. Its starting to take 30 mins before she will let anyone touch her. The second day i had her she was fine with anyone just sweet as she could be even dropped her off at the groomers? If anyone could give me any advise it would be great.


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## NormanF (Apr 14, 2013)

Give your dog time to settle in. Don't expect a GSD to be welcoming of strangers. But do socialize your dog to be friendly towards family and friends.


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## borenson (Sep 7, 2013)

I'm just afraid she will end up biting someone.


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## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

How are you introducing her to strangers?


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## borenson (Sep 7, 2013)

I'll hold her, in a calm voice tell her its ok while on petting her.


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## brembo (Jun 30, 2009)

borenson said:


> I'll hold her, in a calm voice tell her its ok while on petting her.


Hey, lemme grab you, hold you and let strange people grope you. You cool with that?

Introduce dogs by letting them set their own pace, allow the dog free roam while the new folks are around and ask the new folks to not be the one to initiate contact. If the dog comes up to say hi or investigate, ask the new folks to offer a low hand to sniff and not move around to much or too quickly. GSDs are insanely curious and will eventually get the picture that guests are sources of good rubs and treats. Take it slow and take it easy.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Agree with Brembo.

Try a two week shut down
http://www.bigdogsbighearts.com/2_week_shutdown0001.pdf


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## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

borenson said:


> I'll hold her, in a calm voice tell her its ok while on petting her.


I know you think you are soothing. In reality you are promoting the anxiety, rewarding it. Dogs don't speak English, she doesn't know what you are saying. Non-chalant attitude, willing friends who have no problem ignoring her on entry, and a calm mannerism with short commands of "easy" or "calm" will work. No yelling, yanking, or soothing. Place her in the crate if you have to. Let the guest in and the atmosphere relax, then calmly, when she's quiet let her out. Reward the calm behavior with a "good calm" and a chew toy 


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

erfunhouse said:


> I know you think you are soothing. In reality you are promoting the anxiety, rewarding it.


New studies out say just the opposite. The studies say soothing your dog when they are scared helps.

However, I do agree with the rest of your post. Let the crate be her safe place and don't force people on her.


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## borenson (Sep 7, 2013)

thank you for all the advice, I really didn't think of it that way.


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## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

Jax08 said:


> New studies out say just the opposite. The studies say soothing your dog when they are scared helps.
> 
> However, I do agree with the rest of your post. Let the crate be her safe place and don't force people on her.


Can you link to it? I'm interested in reading that. Even the CU books I've been reading say to stop talking. A word here or there is fine, but constant soothing no. 


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## JackandMattie (Feb 4, 2013)

Oh! Ask everyone to ignore her. She needs some time to feel at home, and dogs do that by watching others 

Instead of holding her when people visit, crate her... outside the main stream of traffic, but somewhere she can still see and listen to everyone. Like, tucked safely on the edge of the activity, around a corner, under a table, it depends, as long as it's somewhere that's just hers . Think like a wolf outside the pack, studying the optimal point of entry... She needs time to process her new environment. 

Then, gradually start leaving the crate open after you lead her there, with a single guest at a time. Ask the guest to ignore her, but have a treat in hand, should she approach. When she does, extend the treat with their face turned away. Drop it, and let her pick it up with a calm, quiet "Good girl." Have a backup treat in case she's brave enough to ask for one 

It can take a few weeks for a fearful rescue to feel at home. And sometimes longer (months) to meet enough new people with the proper introduction to want to engage. But they *can* get there 


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

erfunhouse said:


> Can you link to it? I'm interested in reading that. Even the CU books I've been reading say to stop talking. A word here or there is fine, but constant soothing no.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I'll have to look for it. It was an article I read a few weeks ago.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

erfunhouse...

This isn't the article but possibly even better. 

Her blurb about the horse is interesting. I have a horse like that. He would kick, the lesson kids would stop, the previous owner would think he was hurting and he didn't have to work. Animals are much smarter than we give them credit for. 

Myth of reinforcing fear | Fearful Dogs

I think the part we, as humans, miss out on is the reinforcing the wanted behavior to help the animal build confidence and how we soothe them so they aren't feeding off of us. I watched a poodle at the vet immediately stop shaking when the owner handed her off to the vet tech. That tells me the poodle is feeding off of the person's emotion.


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## erfunhouse (Jun 8, 2013)

Jax08 said:


> erfunhouse...
> 
> This isn't the article but possibly even better.
> 
> ...


Thank you for posting that. The last part she hits what I was trying to say. Quiet reassurance by a calm owner (a pet on the head and a "it's ok spot. Just lightening") is OK, but continued petting and "it's ok spot. Don't worry spot. You're fine spot. Oh no spot, don't cry" will amp the dog up and cause it to think "oh, it's not ok! You're freaking out too!" And I think that's what the CU author was writing about also. 

The video lady was a great speaker!


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I agree. There is a different between "soothing" and "coddling" and dogs do feed of of us like the poodle at the vets office. That poor dog was shaking so bad. It was terrible to see. But as soon as she handed her off to the tech, she stopped shaking and was fine when she came back out from her test. That would imply, at least to me, that there is more than soothing going on.


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