# Super aggressive 1 y/o female



## RogueandTom (Feb 14, 2015)

I recently bought my GSD she's a one year old girl. She is super nice to people she knows and very playful, but when people come in the house that she doesn't know the hair on her back stands up and she starts growling/barking and lunging at them. I don't know how she was treated previously with her last owner to cause this aggression (or maybe just instinct),

I took her to the dog park today and didn't even get into the park before a cute little black lab ran up to her super playfully and she *DID NOT* like that, she lunged at the dog growling and barking like crazy. I felt bad for the other dog, even if people wander too close to her she lunges at them and growls etc. Have any of you other GSD owners had this problem? And how did you guys help the dog overcome this aggression? Thanks ahead of time!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Your pup is showing fear based agression. DON'T take her to dog parks and instead, work on earning her trust, building her confidence and showing her you are the one that controls her world, so she doesn't have to be "on" all the time.
Once she knows you have her back, she can relax and look to you for guidance. 

There are plenty of threads on fear aggression or reactivity. You can do a search with those key words and I'm sure many threads will be helpful reading with suggestions.
So many GSD's aren't real stable in their temperament, sadly it is too common...and usually appears around 10 months of age, if not sooner.
It is usually genetic, but can be managed. Been there, done that.


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

Yeah my younger bitch is a problem around other leashed dogs as well....been working on it. If instructing other people with dogs was the hard part of the process, I'd have the problem fixed. If you are actively trying to correct Newlie's behavior in this department....look at it this way...every time Newlie goes over threshold in this situation and your correction does not make a positive difference going forward....then you have just taken two steps backwards. Treat these people who insist on having a "meet and greet" as a variable which you can control more easily than your dog perhaps....I would make it plainly clear what you are in the process of...regarding the training of Newlie.


SuperG


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## DutchKarin (Nov 23, 2013)

If this is a new dog, you do not have a trust bond yet. Focus on building that bond in low stress environments. Then invest in a really good trainer who knows the protection breeds well. 

Just read Team Dog by Mike Ritland... good general book to orient you to training. It really sounds like this dog does not trust you and if you just got her, then it is for good reason.

Go slow, do not exceed her thresholds.


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

Please do yourself and everyone involved a favor and do not take this dog to a dog park! She most likely will instigate conflict or attract it. In any case a bad dog park encounter is only going to make everything worst!

This a good place to start reading/learning:

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/5296377-post8.html


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## newlie (Feb 12, 2013)

FYI, this is not Newlie, this is another dog. lol, Newlie is my male GSD.


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## RogueandTom (Feb 14, 2015)

*Normal park today*

Today I took her to a dog park just to play fetch (not a dog park, but a normal one) Not many people were there. Then.... a kid came and out of blue after I threw the ball in the complete opposite direction of him about 100-200 feet from him, she booked it after him! Just randomly, no barking, growling she just charged him, she wouldn't respond to my calls or anything, she ALWAYS responds to me inside but not as much out, for what? I don't know. I had to run to him to get to her before she got to him, was almost a bad situation.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

You set her up to fail, why?


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## RogueandTom (Feb 14, 2015)

What do you mean by that?


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## Augustine (Nov 22, 2014)

You got some really good advice above. By refusing to listen and continuing to take her to dog parks, you're making her problems worse.


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## GypsyGhost (Dec 29, 2014)

Dude, you need to find a good trainer/behaviorist. Also, no more parks, dog or otherwise. Your dog is not at a place where she can handle it. How long have you had her? Also, it sounds like she was off leash at the park? Yeah, she's lost that privilege...

Have you done any formal training with her yet? Also, you might consider doing a two week shut-down with this dog. This sounds like it could be a case of too much too soon. Give her time to bond with you and trust you!


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

Onyx girl gave you some good advice, you should search and read up on those threads, it will help you understand what your dealing with. Taking her out off lead is dangerous, you've seen twice now what her reaction is, you've been lucky, next time may not be. I would look at trainers too, preferably one familar with GSDs/fear aggression.


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

RogueandTom said:


> Today I took her to a dog park just to play fetch (not a dog park, but a normal one) Not many people were there. Then.... a kid came and out of blue after I threw the ball in the complete opposite direction of him about 100-200 feet from him, she booked it after him! Just randomly, no barking, growling she just charged him, she wouldn't respond to my calls or anything, she ALWAYS responds to me inside but not as much out, for what? I don't know. I had to run to him to get to her before she got to him, was almost a bad situation.




I have an Einstein of a backyard dog as well....and in many cases other places as well...but there are those times...as you describe. Proofing a dog in different settings is huge...this I have learned.


SuperG


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## Moriah (May 20, 2014)

Please do not let this dog off leash off your property. If there is a bad incident, you are legally libel and can be sued.

You've had two warning incidents already.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

To deal with the problem effectively, you need to purchase a stun gun. What you do is this, first test the stun gun to ensure that it is strong enough to be VERY memorable. 

Next, after each incident like the above, calmly take your dog home and put her in her crate. Go and get your stun gun. Take it to the back yard (basement or garage if you are afraid of disturbing the neighbors) and then nail yourself with it. 

After you come to, write an essay describing the incident, why that wasn't a good idea, and how you might prevent that from happening again. 

Good luck with your dog. If you take it off lead again in a public area and she does damage, I hope the police charge you with some form of criminal negligence.


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## Pax8 (Apr 8, 2014)

selzer said:


> To deal with the problem effectively, you need to purchase a stun gun. What you do is this, first test the stun gun to ensure that it is strong enough to be VERY memorable.
> 
> Next, after each incident like the above, calmly take your dog home and put her in her crate. Go and get your stun gun. Take it to the back yard (basement or garage if you are afraid of disturbing the neighbors) and then nail yourself with it.
> 
> ...


Best advice. 

In all seriousness though, she has shown she does not know how to behave in uncontrolled situations (off leash off your property). It is going to be entirely on you if she has an incident off leash after this - she has shown you the signs. At this point for me, this dog has clearly lost off leash privileges. Everything needs to be shut down. Complete NILIF. No off leash unless she is secured on your property. Give her distance from other people and dogs when she is on leash in public. And most importantly FIND A TRAINER ASAP. This is something that needs to be dealt with immediately with the help of someone who is knowledgeable. Do not give her anymore chances to hurt someone!


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## RogueandTom (Feb 14, 2015)

If you would read, you would see that I didn't take her to a dog park please before you start wrongly accusing me of doing stuff I have not done, read.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

You let the dog chase after someone, that was a big no-no. 
Please, keep your dog on a line and do obedience type exercises. NILIF, Two week shutdown, and Control Unleashed exercises will help her gain confidence in you and herself. You can google those key words for links in explanations of their meanings and how-to's.


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## Pax8 (Apr 8, 2014)

RogueandTom said:


> If you would read, you would see that I didn't take her to a dog park please before you start wrongly accusing me of doing stuff I have not done, read.


I think everyone is past the dog park. Whether it happened at a regular park, on a sidewalk, in a pet store. Doesn't matter where. The concerning behavior is that she has lunged, growling at a friendly dog that came up to her and she has charged a child. It doesn't matter where this behavior happened, but the behavior has happened. Now it is up to you to make sure she is not put in uncontrollable situations again (off leash anywhere but in your house/yard is uncontrolled) until you have connected with a trainer and successfully overcome her issues. Because if you put her in a situation again where a kid could stumble by, but you're not fast enough to catch her because she's off leash and that kid gets bit. Then you are liable and your dog could be put down. I'm just trying to impart that this situation can get nasty in the blink of an eye.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

RogueandTom said:


> If you would read, you would see that I didn't take her to a dog park please before you start wrongly accusing me of doing stuff I have not done, read.


Mostly everyone got it that this time you took her to an ordinary park and turned her loose, even though she dislikes strangers, puts her hair up and barks and lunges toward them. 

It is terribly irresponsible to let this dog off-lead anywhere other than a securely fenced yard where there are no dogs and no people other than yourself -- your yard if you have one. 

And do not leave _this _dog unattended in a fence yard, ever. 

Your dog is young. With proper training and building of her confidence in you, and confidence in herself, and careful socialization after she begins to build that trust in you, your dog may/probably will improve greatly as she matures and you continue to train and build that bond of trust.

But if you continue to put her in situations that can get ugly really fast, your dog is going to have a bite history. At that point things get much more complicated, because then there is no doubt that she will bite someone, and a second incident may take the course of her future out of your hands. If it is bad enough, a first incident could do that. Your dog needs from you the following:

#1, management. You need to manage her so that a bite does not happen. No off-lead, no areas that are densely populated with children or adults, no areas where dogs run loose and are likely to run up to her. No lack of supervision in the back yard, or in your house when strangers are there.

#2, training. You need to build the bond, and the way to do that is with training. As you train her to do certain behaviors, and she learns what to do, she gets praised, and she builds confidence. As you are consistent with praise, treats, corrections if appropriate, timing, she will be less confused and will trust you. 

#3, leadership. Your dog needs to look to you when she is uncertain or afraid. She needs to trust that you make everything safe and good. NILIF, will help her understand that you are the leader. Hopefully, this will provide many non-confrontational ways for her to understand that you are the one that makes the decisions, controls the resourses, etc.

#4, exercise. She is a youngster with lot of energy and she needs a release. Walks or runs on lead is what she needs now. A tired dog is a good dog and this will help with training and leadership. 

#5, socialization. She needs to see other people and dogs, from a distance at first, but that distance will need to decrease. You cannot make your dog safe by keeping her at home or rushing across the street whenever you see another person or dog. You can for a while, but eventually some kid is going to come right up and pet your dog. You need to make sure that when that happens, she will not freak out and take the kid's face off. The way to do this is by socializing her. First she needs to feel confidence in you, and then you can slowly introduce her to more individuls, and work her around more distractions, like other dogs.


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## HappyFurKid (May 31, 2014)

Awesome post, Selzer. Very well said. :thumbup:


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## Chip18 (Jan 11, 2014)

And yet again....

If you don't have rock solid recall of your dog or dogs they should never be allowed off leash...period!!!

Crap happens and the best defense is a well trained dog! You should have been able to recall your dog, failing that a simple "stay" should have been sufficient!

Your dog can't do either...you know that and yet..you put her out there anyway! That is how you set your dog up to fail! 

A dog that the owner has "zero" control of should "NEVER" be allowed off leash in public... period!

You and your dog are a lawsuit waiting for "A PLACE TO HAPPEN!" either at home (apparently) or out in public!

Pretty much a text book example of why "I" don't recommend a GSD to JQP! 

OK rant over! 

First understand that lots of us did not wind up with the perfect dog out of the Box! I though Rock was! We got him at 7 months old and for 7 months he was perfect! Then one day he decided he wanted to be top dog in my pack and oh yeah don't much care for company either!

I'm not a pro but I can learn from those that are! Job one don't put guest or the public in harms way! 

At home keep people out of the dogs face!!! If they won't stay out of the dogs face throw them( company) out! If you can't do that put the dog away and make sure company can't get to her!!! 

In the links I posted...which you apparently did not read?? In it is what "I did" with my people aggressive GSD!

Leerburgh "who Pets my puppy or Dog" I managed my dogs space no one got to him without my permission! I did the intros my dog went behind me and waited calmly while I spoke to people! He learned that was his space and that people were no big deal.

I used a fabric muzzle like this:
A Great Small And Lightweight Nylon Mesh Muzzle

While on walks out in public and at home with company for a while, during the training phase. He would sit in his bed at home with company present. And no one was allowed to screw with him period!!!

He already knew how to walk on a loose leash, that's job one! And he knew go to bed! For you I would start training the place command now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIGq_5r0DeE

I never had to do any additional work on dog re activity ( because Rocky understood loose leash) it sounds like you will because you blew that also.

So summing up either pay someone to train your dog , suck it up except and figure out how to do it yourself (while keeping everyone safe) or accept that you made a mistake and work on finding this dog a more capable owner!


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## Blitzkrieg1 (Jul 31, 2012)

This type of dog requires rock solid control before being allowed off leash. Even then the dog should be trained to an E Collar and never be without one when off leash. 

These types of dogs are always PITAs. Never can be trusted as the poor nerve will often resurface at bad times no matter how much masking and counter conditioning is done.
Genetics are genetics.


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