# 10 mo. Fear Aggression



## Konozis1 (Jun 17, 2010)

When we first got Kono, we socialized him a LOT (we were in a college community with lots of walking and lots of people) and he did great. We moved out of that area when he was around 4 months old to my parents house, where he played with their golden retriever and went on a lot of walks, but didn't encounter too many people. He would bark at the doorbell and be very wary of strangers in the house with a bark or two, but not much more. He never tried to bite anyone, he just seemed wary.

We are again in an area where there are a lot of people, but Kono is suddenly, at 10 months, VERY fear aggressive. Anyone who comes into the apartment who he doesn't know, he barks like mad - his hackles up and everything. Recently, we had a stranger in the home to do maintenance in the room where Kono's crate is. We kept him in the crate, and after one or two barks, he seemed fine. Then (don't ask me why we did this, I have no idea ) we let him out of the crate - maybe to socialize him, especially because he was calm. The instant he got out, he was going nuts. The stranger - luckily - likes dogs and actually got on the floor and pet Kono for 10 minutes and Kono was perfect. Then once he got up to leave, Kono was at it again. Also, any time he hears or sees a person outside, he starts barking. He also barks and has hackles up at young children - and it really makes me sad that I can't let young kids pet my puppy.

Its usually only really bad inside the house. If we encounter people or other dogs on walks, hes pretty good. Other than the fear aggression, he is a pretty perfect dog - much calmer than he used to be as a new pup, very obedient, and loving - only toward us and people he knows.

How can I fix this? I've read up on some posts and have found a lot of information that a lot of times contradicts itself (some people say pinch collars, some people say praise and reward for good behavior, some say just avoid social situations all together), and I just feel stuck. I want to nip this in the bud before anything serious happens. 

I've also heard that this could be just a phase in their growth? Would he ever outgrow this fear/protective agression instinct?


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## LauraHolder (Jul 14, 2010)

Sounds like typical adolescent behavior. My boy, Oscar, who is now 15 months old started acting like this around the same age as Kono. 

There is a lot of great ways to deal with this stage in Kono's life....DO NOT USE a pinch collar. Fear reactivity almost always gets worse when you use force. There are much, much, much better ways to get through this. Start implementing NILIF (Nothing In Life Is Free) - google it if you are not familiar. Start using the LAT (Look at That!) game that is discussed in a book called, "Control Unleashed."

Here are a couple articles worth a read when you have time. 

Flying Dog Press - Suzanne Clothier - Leadership Basics

K9 Station Dog Training & AuxArcs Australian Shepherds

Adolescent Dog Training (18 weeks - 2 years) | Dog Star Daily

I've actually purchase the Manners Minder remote training system (about $80 from Amazon) to work through this phase with Oscar as he started barking at visitors coming into our house. So far we are in week 2 of the training and are just starting to introduce distractions (us quiety knocking on the door/ringing the door bell) into the training. 

Don't dispair, there are A LOT of people and dogs that have gone through this phase of bringing up puppy. The good thing is that you are looking for help and are willing to help your dog through this time.


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## LauraHolder (Jul 14, 2010)

p.s. Through your training, a big, big, big thing to keep in mind is that you need to keep your dog below threshold. It may take a bit of work to develop what his threshold level is at, but in the case of the visitor over at your house...I would have let the visitor toss treats into the kennel b/c Kono was comfortable in there and not barking...therefore Kono was able to think. When dogs go over threshold (growling, barking, lunging, etc.) they loose their ability to think and get very stressed...a lot of times refusing food, toys, praise, etc.


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## burkett43 (Feb 3, 2011)

Your dog does not view you as his "pack leader" you need to take more control of him in the house. The reason why he's fine on walks is because your controlling the walks i.e. I'm assuming you have him either beside you or behind you, and you're in control of where he's walking. Basically all he needs more discipline in the house. Because as if now, he is in control. Then he will trust you more and his fear will subside because he knows nothing will happen to him. 

You need to make sure you have control of everything he does. You always walk through doors first, when he comes out of his crate (even though the door maybe open) he doesn't come out till you say. etc. (i would start googling pack leader mentality obedience training). 

German shepherds are dominate dogs, so if you treat them like "humans" and do not take the role as their pack leader they will take it. And with Shepherds that always leads to aggression. 

I rescued a German Shepherd on death row for his aggression and applied this training. Within a week he was cured and has no problems for 5 years  Hope this helps


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

burkett43 said:


> German shepherds are dominate dogs, so if you treat them like "humans" and do not take the role as their pack leader they will take it. And with Shepherds that always leads to aggression.


Sorry..that is not true.


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## gsdraven (Jul 8, 2009)

Jax08 said:


> Sorry..that is not true.


Completely agree with Jax.

I don't think I would say ALL GSDs are dominant dogs but I also hate how willy nilly that word (and the "pack leader" stuff) is thrown around since it means different things to different people.

My GSD is treated like a human.. she is allowed on furniture, walks in front of me on walks, goes through door ways first and eats first and she doesn't have an ounce of inappropriate aggression. She knows who the fair leader is and does what I tell her. In fact, I was once telling the cat to get off the bed and she jumped down and went to lay on the floor.


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## Konozis1 (Jun 17, 2010)

Thank you so much for your quick responses. Laura, I forgot to put it in my post, but that's exactly what its like when he starts barking: "he lost his ability to think" - its all instinct at that point. It is really comforting to know that this is a fairly normal behavior deviation around his age. I will do some research with the sources you listed and post the results. We have tried NILIF before, but have slacked off a bit since he was a younger puppy. It's definitely time to get back into that rhythm. Thank you very much!!


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## Konozis1 (Jun 17, 2010)

I agree as well - Kono is not a dominant dog. And I let him go ahead of me on the leash without any problems. When its just us, he listens, lets us go through doors first and doesn't even touch his food unless we say its okay for him to eat - basically appropriately submissive and obedient. Its just this whole problem with strangers in the home that he goes crazy.



gsdraven said:


> Completely agree with Jax.
> 
> I don't think I would say ALL GSDs are dominant dogs but I also hate how willy nilly that word (and the "pack leader" stuff) is thrown around since it means different things to different people.
> 
> My GSD is treated like a human.. she is allowed on furniture, walks in front of me on walks, goes through door ways first and eats first and she doesn't have an ounce of inappropriate aggression. She knows who the fair leader is and does what I tell her. In fact, I was once telling the cat to get off the bed and she jumped down and went to lay on the floor.


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## gsdraven (Jul 8, 2009)

Konozis1 said:


> Its just this whole problem with strangers in the home that he goes crazy.


My thoughts - it sounds like he may be getting territorial. Did the maintenance guy get on the ground with him while Kono was acting up? Do your friends usually pay attention to him when he is acting crazy? I am wondering if somewhere along the line he learned that he gets attention for acting like that.

I know what you mean about the lost all ability to think. Raven is the same way when people come into my home only she gets super excited and just cannot calm herself down.


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## Konozis1 (Jun 17, 2010)

Hmm....the maintenance guy was trying tell him "it's ok, it's ok" and letting Kono smell him (to no avail) and eventually in the middle of it got down and started petting him....that makes sense though, that he may be learning that this behaviour gets him petting and love. What is the alternative? Should I leave him in the crate or just let him out and ignore him? I am worried to let the behavior go on without doing anything because it might escalate or something. What do you think?


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## gsdraven (Jul 8, 2009)

Konozis1 said:


> Hmm....the maintenance guy was trying tell him "it's ok, it's ok" and letting Kono smell him (to no avail) and eventually in the middle of it got down and started petting him....that makes sense though, that he may be learning that this behaviour gets him petting and love. What is the alternative? Should I leave him in the crate or just let him out and ignore him? I am worried to let the behavior go on without doing anything because it might escalate or something. What do you think?


YOU shouldn't ignore him but guests should. You should be proactive about introducing him to guests and use each time someone comes over as a training opportunity.

If it were me, I'd probably step up the in house socialization. Invite lots of people over and keep Kono on leash when they come in the house - maybe have him in a sit stay or teach him "place" and have him stay there - but make sure I have complete control. Guests would ignore him if he isn't quiet and I would be feeding him yummy treats (guest = high value treat). I would let him check them out (if he is calm) on his own time but still have complete control.

Those are just my thoughts but I'm not a professional trainer or behaviorist. Has he been to classes with you? If not, it would be a great confidence builder for him if it is fear. Do you have a trainer that you can discuss this with and who could maybe come observe his behavior and help you develop a plan of action?


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## LauraHolder (Jul 14, 2010)

gsdraven said:


> I am wondering if somewhere along the line he learned that he gets attention for acting like that.QUOTE]
> 
> This is pretty much what I think happened with Oscar. :headbang:
> 
> Now I get the fun of cleaning up the "mess" that I should have been on top of preventing in the first place. Oh well, that's how we learn!


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## Konozis1 (Jun 17, 2010)

Raven, unfortunately, I don't have a trainer. We went to a few classes - again, when he was a perfect little puppy - and haven't been since. Aside from the wariness around people at my parent's house, this fear aggression behavior has been somewhat sudden. I agree, I think we are going to have to try something like that. Basically inviting people over and gaining control of Kono in a different room (with treats  ) and letting him come out on a leash to say hi only when he is calm. Thank you so much for the advice. I really appreciate your help!


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## LauraHolder (Jul 14, 2010)

Keep us posted...not only do we have to train our dogs and ourselves, we have to train our human friends too!


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## Pleopard (Aug 21, 2010)

I have a 10 month old GSD who started this same type behavior about a month ago. We socialized a lot from the beginning and one day he decided he doesnt like strangers. We can go to an off leash dog park and he's fine with dogs and people. But if we are anywhere else on or off leash he gets very aggressive when anyone approaches. We are still trying to work this issue out right now but there is so many conflicting theories out there it's quite frustrating. We have been taking him for obedience and rally training since we got him as a pup. But I think we need someone who knows and specializes in this sort of thing. Any one here can recommend someone in Georgia for this type thing or know of a good resource for finding a trainer to help?


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## hullbert (Feb 2, 2011)

Hi Pleopard!

I've been taking Heidi (my fear/aggressive pup) to the behavior service department of the vet school at the University of Georgia in Athens. The initial consultation is not cheap, but the follow up training is not too bad in price. They work with all sorts of fear/anxiety/aggression issues.

We are very slowly making progress--but hey, it is progress! I can now walk Heidi past other dogs (provided that those other dogs are confined), and she doesn't go absolutely crazy. A few months ago, that wouldn't have been possible. I know she'll probably never be a "kumbaya, let me hug you" kinda dog...but I do hope one day that she will be relatively non-reactive to other dogs.


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

there is a fine line between fearful and just plain teaching appropriate behavior with people........first getting the dog evaluated by a professional and getting together with a private trainer so they can see dog and handler together to see what is really going on....

i have a young male that is fearful of people/strangers..........i started a counter conditioning program about a year or so ago.......i would watch his body lauguage around new people if he showed any signs of being uncomfortable i took him away from the situation......added more distance between him and the people then would repeat from distance moving in.........telling people to ignore him., no eye contact, etc........this rule does not apply to all dogs, because after all that time spent using the threshold method it did not work.....i had to step back and think about why it was not working.......i realized that by me taking him away from the person he thought something was wrong with them.........i finally decided to work on approaching people, i started walking right up to people onleash making him sit right away, i still watched his body lauguage and instructed the people not to make eye contact........he had also learned to growl at people because that usually had the result he wanted.........with my new approach i decided that growling was unwanted behavior and needed to be corrected, even though alot of training guides and trainers say not to correct a growl because they will bite with no warning in his case it was learned behavior that needed to be addressed........so, if i walked up to people and he growled i now correct him teaching him that growling is not allowed............so, sometimes its a matter of teaching approapriate behavior, i still believe in training within the threshold not pushing things when working with approaches but also believe in correcting unwanted behavior and rewarding good behavior......they are all individuals and it takes time to learn what works best........by me just approaching and taking the lead i am making the decision not him........thats what its all about the handler making the decision for them.........not putting them in situations where they are reacting with no direction......


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