# Aggression or over excitement????



## LovemyEli (Dec 28, 2010)

I have an un-neutered male and he is 1 1/2 years old. (He will be getting neutered soon, originally he was going to be a stud for my trainer but he developed health issues)

I have had him since 2 months and he has been been in training since I got him. Obedience, scent trailing, and protection. He is fantastic with the people and dogs at our training class. Outside of training he is very wary of dogs, and I am assuming because of all the lose dogs that run up to us while we are in public. I am so hesitant to take him to parks etc. 

About 4 months ago he was diagnosed with EPI, so we pulled him out of training until he was healthy. He was stabilized quickly but then he developed a limping problem due to very soft paw pads. I have been treating them but the ground at training is very rocky asphalt so he cant quite handle it yet. 

In these last 4 months there are 2 aspects that have gotten bad for us

One is, I give him his injections/apply his creams while he eats so he is distracted. Now when he is eating and I touch him, he growls at me. I can put my hand in the food take the bowl sit next to him, nothing it is only when I touch him. 
Could he be associating being messed with while eating and growl because of that? I would think if it was pure food aggression he would be doing if i touched the food, took the bowl or even got close to him. I have a hard time with injections (terrified of needles) so I prefer to do it while he is eating so he does not move. He did growl at my other dog today when she approached the bowl interested, he has never done that before. I have tried correcting him with his pinch when he growls at me but then he starts growling/whining even more

The other issue is when people come in the door. When it is someone he knows he is fine he just gets excited barks for a second then runs around like crazy. When it is someone he does not know, he runs up to them barking like crazy. He has barked so close to peoples legs/hands I thought he might nip them whether on accident or on purpose although he never has. It will be bark bark bark with hair up in their business for about a minute or 2, then it is lets be best friends I am going to bring you my balls. Most people know him and are not scared of him so they dont mind it but I do have an aunt that is terrified of dogs and when she comes over this does not help her get over it. Her and my cousin came over the last 3 nights in a row and he did the same I dont know you reaction every night. 

I tried restraining/not restraining him and the only thing I noticed is restrained he goes crazier. Barking and whining as if someone took out a protection sleeve, it can be intimidating and I cant quite tell what he is thinking and if it is in fact aggression or excited losing his marbles. I know when the mail man comes he barks through the door hair up, he is not fond of the solicitors either.

Also recently I had him in the back seat of my car and I went to pick up my friend to go to the park with us, as she approached the car I could tell he was getting worked up. Not sure in which way

When she got in the car he was barking barking but then as soon as her head was in reach he started licking/barking in her ear 

I stopped doing protection because I have a hard time controlling him, he loses his marbles. My trainer suggested seeing if he will mature a bit before continuing. Not sure if that ties into this

I have spoken to my trainer about this and he is suppose to be coming over to see this behavior, but he is a good friend of mine who doesnt charge much so I know its more of a i'll come as soon as I get a chance, which I know he will.

Just looking for advice in the mean time


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## GSD Fan (Sep 20, 2010)

Has the trainer came over yet?


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## sashadog (Sep 2, 2011)

What kind of exercise is he getting? Have you backed off all training or just the protection training? 

Honestly, without seeing him, it sounds like a very young, very amped up dog that started training with a lot of enthusiasm (you said it was hard to control him) and all of a sudden it all stopped. You got him excited, introduced him to a job that he loved to do, and now you are expecting him to just sit back and be a house-pet. 

I hope that doesn't sound bad because I don't mean it condescendingly but it sounds like he needs training, exercise, and a serious outlet. 

And yes. My guess would be he's growling over his food now because he's sick of being poked and prodded while he's eating.


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## LovemyEli (Dec 28, 2010)

The trainer said he would come over today but I couldnt get anyone staged to come through the door at the last minute, we are aiming for next week. I want to have a few people that can come through that arent scared of him

Sashadog, I agree with what you are saying. This past week I started taking him out to grassy areas so it doesn't bother his feet but he can still get out a little bit. We did a little bit of obedience and when he did well I threw a stick around for him to go get. No one has come over though to see if that has been helping so it is a work in progress!


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