# will agression come



## allieg (Nov 4, 2008)

Hi
I'm new to GSD.I have a now 6 month old female that is for the most part a sweety.My question is she isn't very playful with humans,she plays tug of war with our 1yr old little mutt but she won't do anything like that with us.She does play ball with us but that is it.Will she grow into it or is she going to be a real gentle girl.I am wondering because we got her for a little added security at night but with the way she acts she won't do me any good if needed.
Thank you Allie


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

At 6 months she is a puppy. GSD's are naturally protective and that will develop over time. In addition just the appearance of a GSD is a deterrent.

Have you considered enrolling in an obedience class with her to help develop a good working bond with her? She sounds wonderful!!!


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## allieg (Nov 4, 2008)

I haven't done obedience yet because so far I've had good luck on my own. We have a very strong bond,she listens to me best and is always looking for me when I'm not in her sight. We also have a good friend who knows alot about GSD,his Dad is a K9 cop and has had alot of interaction with the breed. She is starting to bark and growl if things don't seem right in the neighborhood,or she just sits and takes it all in till the 'extras' leave her site.


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## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

Allie, you may be able to train her the basics just fine but an obedience class is way more than just that. Your dog will learn to behave under all sorts of distractions and your trainer will be able to help you out in things you had no idea were being done incorrectly. The bond will be strengthened more than you can believe. Good training classes delve much, much deeper than simply teaching a dog to sit, down, stay, and come.

If your dog barks and looks like a GSD, trust me, you won't have any concerns with average ne'er-do-wells. However, if someone willingly comes through a barking GSD, that person will not be stopped by any dog- they will probably end up killing the dog if not beating it until it runs away. Anyone who will come through a German shepherd that barks is going to need a gun to stop them and the police to clean up the mess. Socialize your dog with a ton of people, teach her that people are generally good, and teach her a reliable command to bark. You don't need a lawsuit and unfortunately GSDs do tend to draw lawsuits and news stories.







Make sure as many experiences with people as possible are neutral to positive. The best companion GSD is one that is politely aloof with strangers, a lovable goofball to close friends and family, and a controllable barking nightmare when YOU decide it is time.


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## allieg (Nov 4, 2008)

I understand there ways,that is why we chose a German Shepherd.We do everything possible to make her be a polite dog, which she is.She hasn't had any negative reaction to anyone she has met and we intend to keep it that way.She was socialized quit a bit from the time I got her at 8 weeks to the present day.She lets us know if someone is out of place on our road but is far from aggressive.If she were to ever be aggressive toward a person that was ok she would be enrolled in a class days after. Your last sentence sums up my Athena. If anyone tries to come through a barking GSD there an idiot...I also have my house posted to BEWARE OF DOG. (My Mutt may lick you to death and my GSD will follow her.)
Allie


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## aaron.whitney (Oct 7, 2007)

Allie,

What is your definition of protective? Do you mean alert barking, or are you wondering if you dog will develop a fight drive?


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## Timber1 (May 19, 2007)

Allie,

I asked the same question of my breeder almost two years ago when my dog, Timber, was about 10 months old. He seemed a bit wimpy. So we ended up getting enrolled in a SCH Class (to early), and Timber flunked the protection part. He would not play tug with the trainer and when the guy was aggressive with the dog, Timber just layed down, and I suspect was thinking what on God's earth am I doing here.

I was not happy, with my breeder or the trainer. But the breeder said don't worry, Timber will be just fine. And wow, was she right. 

Subsequently, I allowed the dog to much freedom, so now we are trying to find a middle ground. He has simply become to aggressive toward strangers, in certain situations. 

I also hired a very expensive behavior specialist to evaluate Timber. In most respects her advice was helpful. But she suggested I let Timber chase deer, rabbits and squirrel because it was part of his nature. Anyway,Timber does not seem to always know the difference between a human and a deer, especially at night. So I need to be very careful and her advice was wrong.

I added the last paragraph, because as your pup develops please be very firm with the dog. And my hunch is as she continues to bond with you, she will become very protective.

Good luck


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Wow, I think some dogs require a firm hand and others require a quiet calm hand. Some can be loved and loved and loved and spoiled rotten and never have a problem. 

One should not wait for a dog to have a problem or show aggression to be enrolled in obedience classes. I know that you can train your dog to do the basics, sit, down, stay, etc. People can and do train their dogs at home without classes. But classes give you outside people and dogs to train your dogs with. 

Socialization is really an excellent part of any training program. Dogs do not have to play with or even sniff eachother. But being there with the other people and dogs is a good thing. 

We all want our dogs to be playful and friendly with our friends and family members. We want our dogs to be manageable by groomers, trainers, and veterinarians, etc. We want our dogs to manage a child coming out of the blue and petting or hugging it. But we want our dogs to know a bad person and act like a maniac killer in the case of an attack. 

How exactly does a dog know when to protect and when to be a good citizen? The only answer I have is that if you provide your dog with an abundance of positive situations with people, your chances that your dog will make a bad decision and cost you a hike in homeowners insurance, a lawsuit, criminal negligence, and possibly the life of your pet, go way down. 

The dog is going to key off of you and off of the other people. Some people just do not like dogs or are afraid of dogs. These people approach a dog exhuding this negative feeling and the dog that is not well socialized immediately thinks "WARNING WILL ROBINSON!" the hackles go up, the dog draws back, the teeth start showing, a growl or bark or even a snap ensues. For dogs with ok temperaments, this will happen before any bite happens. Unfortunately the person that is afraid of or dislikes dogs gets this feeling reinforced. 

For the person who has good reason to be nervous about your dog, or in a situation where you are nervous because, the dog will take that all in and generally provide this type of response, barking, growling, hackels, teeth, etc. He may not bite the person, but for the majority of idiots, he will provide enough of a deterrent. This is with a dog that is well socialized and trained. 

A dog that is under socialized will be much more likely to read the signals wrong, is the person just fearful of dogs. Most well- socialized dogs after meeting some fearful people, can get over this and not give that original fearful reaction. They can be conditioned to ignore the fearful person and tolerate them. But if you are scared and the person is giving off the fear stink, the dogs WILL respond. 

I would not wait for your dog to show aggression to put it into classes. Too often these dogs end up euthenized in shelters because they are so much more difficult to work with by then, and the owners just cannot manage the liability. 

Good luck.


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## dreamofwrx (Sep 20, 2008)

the dog is a baby, plain and simple you cannot expect her to act protective at this point in her life, it should be the other way around. At around 1.5-2 years is average to become territorial for a breed like this. Then even at that point what do you consider protective? Bite if the bad guy comes inside? Maybe, depends on the dog. Most will not, unless trained to do so, (not effectively anyways) So count on an alert animal with an intimidating appreance for your protection. Do not count on a physical body guard. Just my 2 cents.


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## Timber1 (May 19, 2007)

Agree, thanks


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## FredSmi (Nov 20, 2008)

I've been wondering a similar question. Sophie (GSD) is 15 months, and only shows aggression when my little dog (Italian Greyhound/Terrier mix) barks which is normally only at the mailman when he drops the mail thru the door slot into the living room. If I am around, which I rarely am, I can shut this down, but my Nanny normally crates Sophie until the mail man leaves.

Sophie is gentle, sweet & submissive which is great with my 2 little girls (3 yrs and 11mths). I've never seen any aggression, but I’m wondering if that will change a little. So far her personality is like the breeder predicted, and I’m glad. I’m just wondering if she’ll grow to be a defender like GSD’s are famous for, and how much I should seek help teaching her to bark/be aggressive, or not, on command. 

I’ve never taken her to obedience class either.


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## allieg (Nov 4, 2008)

Athena is now almost 7 months old and is starting to show signs on her own to alert us to things.She barks when the door opens and once she sees who it is decides to continue or not. She has a little interest in tug of war with us but still only plays ruff with Lexi our little dog.I think she will turn out to be just what I wanted for a "guard dog".
Allie


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## GSDOwner2008 (Jan 19, 2008)

Barking at the door is not necessarily a bad thing, both my boys who adore people will bark at the door, but once we let whoever it is in, they stop, and they solicit attention! (Okay, so they could use better manners, but at least they are being nice and not jumping!)

Tug of war could be driven by prey/toy drive.


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## KristinEnn (Oct 2, 2008)

I think she is still to young to get the protective instict. Kahn didnt get this till after a year old. What was wierd is he used to be so quiet and lazy but then out of nowhere one day he let out this massive barking fit when we had people pull up in our drive way. Now he alerts us everytime anyone is at the door in near the house. He also barks when he hears me open the door at night.. i jiggle the door handle with my key and I can hear him inside but then he sees it me and the tail starts a wagging. I have to announce its me... and he stops and then I am like.. "but good boy watching over the house" 

It will come in time


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I agree, just the look and a bark is enough of deterrent with most people..

masi is 7 months old, and honestly I don't think right now she'd protect me from a rapist (and wouldn't expect her to at this age)) I have 4 dogs in my house, 2 aussie and 2 gsd's, my gsd's are the most "quiet", the aussies are alert barkers BIG TIME, even when they "alert",,the gsd's are there to "check it out" but aren't big mouths , possibly because they tend to be more 'confident' of the situation..as in,,"its' no big deal so why waste a bark?" LOL 

I also tend to see with my gsd's they access situations and then make a determination, the aussies just 'go off' and YAP )

I have had tons of workmen and strangers in and out of my house, and they are ALL more leery of my gsd's just because of the way they "look",,vs any noise coming out of them...Little do they know, the gsd's will 99% of the time, most likely do 'nothing',,while my yapping male aussie is the one to watch out for. 

This rather boggles my mind since no one seems to be cautious of my male aussie who can be VERY intimidating, barking and such, vs the quiet calm of the gsd's whom most are very leery of..

Ok done babbling
diane


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## scannergirl (Feb 17, 2008)

I think that no one knows what their dog will do "if" until they are put in that position. You certainly do not want to have an aggressive dog that snarls at everyone and may bite someone innappropriately, yet if a dog shows friendliness to people and an overall good nature we worry that they will not be "there" when needed. I think the risk is far greater to have a dog react innappropriately and bite someone that they will not defend you. As was said, their imposing presence is normally all that's needed.
What I have seen from my girl as she's grown is an amazing ability to cue off of me, and properly evaluate a situation. She started off barking at people in the yard, but quieting immediately when she got our attention. If any of these folks actually came in the house they were her new best friend.
One time I was at the beach and a man scared me. She was laying beside me, sat up, and barked once. I assured her all was OK and she was fine.
Just yesterday she was on her couch, looking out her window and the pizza guy pulled in. My son went out to meet him and Lucy never took her eyes off of them, but she DID NOT bark. I took that to be additional maturing and her ability to understand that this guy was NOT a threat and react accordingly. She knew we were aware he was there, nobody was stressed, and so neither was she. 
My gut tells me she'd intervene if one of her family was threatened. But I say that because of her ability to evaluate a situation, not because she shows aggression to every person she meets. She has NEVER been aggressive because she has never had any reason to, and I like it that way.


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## jmopaso (Nov 27, 2008)

None of our 5 GSD's have ever behaved aggressively towards anyone. Yes, they bark, they alert, they know if someone turns in our driveway, (our house is 1000 feet off the road). 
Our teenage daughters could never get away with 'sneaking out of our house", the dogs would not let them.

Several of our neignbors have been broken into over the years; we have never had any trouble. I think that this is because we are far off the road, there is only one way in or out and we always have big dogs.

These dogs are with me everywhere i am on this farm. If I needed them, I think they would be there for me.


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