# Dr. Jeky[l and Mr. Hyde



## dynahd06 (Mar 12, 2020)

My German Shepard [shelby] goes from the sweetest to the meanest as soon as someone comes near her or me. She is 3 years old.I got her at 10 weeks old When im alone with her she is preety well behaved. I walk her in a large field and she will come on command no leash required,even when another dog and or person come to the field,I call her when i see someone and leash her.{she loves to run} When she becomes aggressive she hears nothing that i say, She is so focused on what/who she is aggressive toward she listens to nothing..I dont know what to do..she is so aggressive no one i know will come by her even with a muzzle on.please help


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## ksotto333 (Aug 3, 2011)

Well, I would certainly stop any off leash activity. What would happen if she decides not to come back(if she hears nothing you say). You wouldn't want to be responsible for fights or biting. Have you ever taken her to obedience classes?


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## dynahd06 (Mar 12, 2020)

Thanks for the reply...she has been to two different trainers.. The field i walk her in is about 4 blocks long and i can see if someone is coming at a long distance she is not aggressive then. only when someone is very close. I am very careful when she is off the leash.I do not want her to bite anyone,or another dog. she will be friendly with some dogs that do not bark at her, but very apprehensive.i have had 5 other dogs in my in my life and i have never seen this type of aggression..could this be fear aggression? and where do i start cause i have to try a different route then the past dogs i have had..


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

How does she act when there are lots of people around such as during a leashed walk through a strip mall or a crowded park?


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

How does she act off leash when meeting dogs and people?


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## dynahd06 (Mar 12, 2020)

off leash she looks for direction, finds a stick to play fetch be keeps close attention..meeting dogs is going to depend on the other dogs reaction,if the dog shows aggression,she will not hesitate.but i put her on a leash before i let her close.no off leash contact..And for alot of people park or mall, I am afraid to put her in that situation with people, she dont know. family parties is kinda one on one per person when eveyone is around her she is nervous, but does show some aggression if someone new comes over..some people she is just quickly aggressive toward and i never know till her fur is up.


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

This is fear aggression. IMO you need a good trainer that has experience training GSDs and fear aggression. Check references before you trust someone with your dog.


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

I'd be more interested in how you handled the first situation like this at X months old vs 3 years.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

OP, she is hyperfocusing on the people and other dogs when it is just you and them. It actually is quite common in dogs. If you took her somewhere that has more distractions, she wouldn't be able to hyperfocus on just one person and their dog and would be less likely to react. I have little doubt that if you took her to a park with more distractions, she would react less.

Dave Winners gave you the best solution. Find a balanced trainer that is familiar with breed. In the meantime, there are a few things you can start doing.

Kudos to you for muzzle training your dog to ensure public safety. If her recall is as good as you say, then you have done a pretty good job with her. I would not start leashing her now at the field as you might find that the problem will escalate. Leashes can foster and create a lot of bad behaviors. The last thing you want to do is to encourage or permit her to practice bad behavior. 

First thing I would do is get a fixed picture in your mind as to how you want her to respond in these various circumstances. I would start taking her to parks that have activity but that aren't too busy. Keep her leashed for now, this is training time, not exercise time. At first, just set off to the side and watch the activity. Muzzle her if that makes you comfortable. Don't sit too close or allow others to interact with her. Start off slow, maybe a few minutes. What you want to do is get her to feel comfortable with her new surroundings before you start moving her through distractions. Take it slow. Start at a distance. Overtime, move her closer to the activity. Let her determine when it is time to move closer, stay longer, or what activities she feels comfortable with. She may not like someone skateboarding nearby but might not have as much of a problem with people playing tennis nearby. Keep it positive. When she feels stressed, pay attention and dial things back. Look for the behaviors that you want to see and reward her when she performs them. Overtime, as both of you get comfortable, you can start exposing her to quieter, less busy areas like your field with less reactions from her.

Like I said earlier, you actually have her in a good spot. Just that you are stuck and are uncertain of what to do now.


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## dynahd06 (Mar 12, 2020)

MineAreWorkingline said:


> OP, she is hyperfocusing on the people and other dogs when it is just you and them. It actually is quite common in dogs. If you took her somewhere that has more distractions, she wouldn't be able to hyperfocus on just one person and their dog and would be less likely to react. I have little doubt that if you took her to a park with more distractions, she would react less.
> 
> Dave Winners gave you the best solution. Find a balanced trainer that is familiar with breed. In the meantime, there are a few things you can start doing.
> 
> ...


I did not want to write a book but,she was for the most part preety good until she was about 6 months old,we were at the field and a very large great dane broke his collar and charged her, knocked me over and was on top of shelby. his owner when he got to us i was trying to manage his dog,and his owner started hitting his dog trying to control him.i was yelling at him to stop hitting his dog. this changed shelby.she was not hurt but frightened [she was a puppy} Over the next few months after that is when i noticed she was getting aggressive, mostly when some one would talk and move there hands at the same time.Thats when i took her to the first trainer,who was highly recomended by the breeder i got the dog from,and was willing to work with me and shelby, The first time she met the trainer, shelby scared her,so before i could take her back i had to teach her to wear a muzzle, took about two days.after about 4 or 5 sessions she did not need the the muzzle with the trainer. the trainer would bring very calm dogs to meet her,at first she wasnt having any of that but later came around,but would not go by them..had to stop going to this trainer, she moved too far the second trainer could not manage her at all after 3 sessions,so i had been working on what the first trainer taught us,and she was doing ok for about a year,then i had a motorcycle wreck broke my leg in 4 places, I could not walk her for 9 months...i do have two sons who would walk her,not as much as i did,wasnt till march that i was able to walk her again. {i was happy}but she was so protective now it is worse then before,i am 58 years old and have had 5 other dogs who all lived very long happy lives and all of them were taught by me no leashs needed. of all the dogs she had been the smartest and easiest to train....just want to help make her happy around anyone,or any dog...​


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

Sorry to hear about your accident. Glad you are recovered now. Nobody can say for sure if she will be tolerant around other people and dogs, but you sound committed and she sounds like there is room for improvement over time. Work on some of the stuff suggested for a while and then come back and let us know how she is progressing. 

Meanwhile, there is a lot of good stuff to read on this forum. Stick around and give us your thoughts.


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## dynahd06 (Mar 12, 2020)

MineAreWorkingline said:


> Sorry to hear about your accident. Glad you are recovered now. Nobody can say for sure if she will be tolerant around other people and dogs, but you sound committed and she sounds like there is room for improvement over time. Work on some of the stuff suggested for a while and then come back and let us know how she is progressing.
> 
> Meanwhile, there is a lot of good stuff to read on this forum. Stick around and give us your thoughts.


thank you very much. I am very committed she is a good dog,and i want her to be happy not afraid or angry.


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## dynahd06 (Mar 12, 2020)

MineAreWorkingline said:


> OP, she is hyperfocusing on the people and other dogs when it is just you and them. It actually is quite common in dogs. If you took her somewhere that has more distractions, she wouldn't be able to hyperfocus on just one person and their dog and would be less likely to react. I have little doubt that if you took her to a park with more distractions, she would react less.
> 
> Dave Winners gave you the best solution. Find a balanced trainer that is familiar with breed. In the meantime, there are a few things you can start doing.
> 
> ...


Thankyou very much this has been the best advice i have heard from anyone...she is a little better not really where i want her to be,baby steps.we had a block party over summer and i had asked some of the people if it would be ok if i brought her out small croud of about 15 people..i explained the situation. i tried to walk her through the croud,she had her muzzle on..yeah she wasnt having it.then i sat down about 20 or so feet away and made her stay right next to me, this was the first try at something like this.took about tweenty minutes before she started to calm down.but it was a new start for her.....thank you again...


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## dynahd06 (Mar 12, 2020)

hi to all who commented or read on shelby, sorry about a long update response. shelby is in a much better place then before, but not a dog that i can walk up to a stranger and let them pet her. But i can walk up to someone and talk to them and keep her in heel..training your dog to come with one word with any type of distraction is most important, It can save your dogs life or keep her/him from harming someone or some other dog.. i would like to thank everyone who posted on her. we have just rescued a cat blossom with one eye and shelby is been very good with her the cat is about 5 months old and blossom is more leary of shelby they will become friends, the cat is been in a shelter most of its life but is very people friendly...thank you all.. i will keep reading on here as i have been


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## herojig (Apr 3, 2013)

Congrats on getting Shelby to heal with strangers. Celebrate success, I always say. Getting a cat is a great idea. I think they teach dogs humility... I know our cat Mimo has put three dogs so far into their place (literally) and they are much better behaved in the house because of Cat... they are always looking for her and are a bit afraid of where she will pop up spitting, and hence more looking to me for instructions while inside. Love it!


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## dynahd06 (Mar 12, 2020)

herojig said:


> Congrats on getting Shelby to heal with strangers. Celebrate success, I always say. Getting a cat is a great idea. I think they teach dogs humility... I know our cat Mimo has put three dogs so far into their place (literally) and they are much better behaved in the house because of Cat... they are always looking for her and are a bit afraid of where she will pop up spitting, and hence more looking to me for instructions while inside. Love it!


i have to agree on the humility thing. had cats and dogs at the same time before and they had became each others protector. a year ago if you told me that a cat could be had in my house with shelby i would have laughed that off not going to happen. its been a long road for us but all is well..thanks


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## dynahd06 (Mar 12, 2020)

that was good 


MineAreWorkingline said:


> OP, she is hyperfocusing on the people and other dogs when it is just you and them. It actually is quite common in dogs. If you took her somewhere that has more distractions, she wouldn't be able to hyperfocus on just one person and their dog and would be less likely to react. I have little doubt that if you took her to a park with more distractions, she would react less.
> 
> Dave Winners gave you the best solution. Find a balanced trainer that is familiar with breed. In the meantime, there are a few things you can start doing.
> 
> ...


 That was good sound advise. that i did not use right away because of my fear of what may happen. but in recent months i have been taking her to local grocery stores and just hanging out. she is a big scary dog 92 lbs. So just to start getting used to seeing people [baby steps] so she now is ok with people 4 foot away but i can tell when shes building, and quickly put out the fire..i must of read some of these posts 50 times trying to find one answer. there is no one answer its all of it .so anyone trying to get one quick answer there is not one.I was a big part of it my fear was her courage and still is if i let it. thanks again


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## dynahd06 (Mar 12, 2020)

ksotto333 said:


> Well, I would certainly stop any off leash activity. What would happen if she decides not to come back(if she hears nothing you say). You wouldn't want to be responsible for fights or biting. Have you ever taken her to obedience classes?


 I never stopped off leashing her cause nothing 20 or 30 feet away was not a threat, and when she sees some one at a distance she would and still does look at me, with every dog i have had the first and i believe is the most important command is come. everything else can be had later and she response very well, to her first line of training as a small pup. thankyou for the comment.


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## dynahd06 (Mar 12, 2020)

WNGD said:


> I'd be more interested in how you handled the first situation like this at X months old vs 3 years.


great question . wish i could remember that i'm getting old cause i may have been able to stop it sooner but never had any experience with any of my dogs like this. So if i could say i'm guessing i scolded her more than likely. oh yeah she wags her tail when shes angry. dont think any of my past dogs did that,I all ways though they wagged when they were happy. thanks


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