# Worried about my GSD's temperament change



## beckymann2401 (Sep 13, 2010)

I have a pure bred german shepherd puppy, he's 8 months old and 95lbs. He has always been a very good / smart dog, who i spend alot of time training and excersieing. He has always been really good with strangers and both of my girls who are only 3 and 5 years old, also very well socialized. The last 2 days I have noticed a very big change in his personality. Hes been craving constant attention as in while we are in bed he will stand over us with his face next to us and wont move just whines. Then he will move to the bottom of the bed and continue to whine he is acting as if he is very anxious, just burries his head in our bodies and whines and last night me and my b/f had my youngest daughter on the bed with us and he would stand with his face right by hers her and start grunting, or whining. Not in a normal way he was very serious. We would have to actually push him away and he would come right back. We took my daughter out of the room, cause it actually made us both really nervous. You know how you can just feel when something is wrong? He is 3 times the size of her and i dont feel comfrtable him being around either of them while he is acting like this. He did have parvo which he recovered from very quickly about 2 months ago. Im just not sure if we are over reacting or if there may be something wrong. And it cant be cause he doesnt get attention, he gets more then any dog i know. Just wondering if anyone has seen similar things w there dogs?


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## Good_Karma (Jun 28, 2009)

Sounds scary indeed! I think a vet visit is in order. Maybe other people will have suggestions as to what your vet should test for.

Keep us posted.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

is your dog asking for attention? are you
and the BF afraid of your dog? definitely
be carefull with the children around the dog
if you feel something is wrong.


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## Zoeys mom (Jan 23, 2010)

Did he have to potty, was he injured lately, or sick more recently than the parvo? Maybe he doesn't feel well.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

i agree that a vet visit is in order. and keep a very close eye on him around kids and really anyone else. This does sound very strange. Is he current on vaccinations and such, especially rabies? I dont want to freak you out but a friend back home had a dog who was bit by a raccoon who later tested positive for rabies. Their dog started acting strange, similar to how you describe your boy acting. Get him to the vet immediately. A sudden change in behavior usually indictates a medical issue.


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## GSD_man (Oct 6, 2007)

beckymann2401 said:


> ...while we are in bed he will stand over us with his face next to us and wont move just whines...


hmmm... 
To be honest, I never had a dog stand over me on my bed. It just wouldn't be fair to my 4 other dogs, then I'd have to let them all stand on the bed if a fight breaks out there'd be feathers flying all over the place 

But I do agree that this post may be better suited for the health section.

Wish you all the best.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Geez, he's a big guy!! Since he's crying and wanting attention and acting strange, I'd get him checked out by the vet too. If he gets an A+ on his physical, I'd crate him at night.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Do you practice NILIF? Agree with a vet visit, but if this is the only time he is acting this way, I would say he is resource guarding and didn't like your daughter in the bed with you. I would have removed HIM from the bed, not your daughter. 
95# for 8 months is huge! What are you feeding that boy??


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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

Have you tried taking him outside to potty when he does this? If mine have to go during the night they come over to me and whine. Sometimes it's because they are thirsty but most of the time it's to potty.


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## beckymann2401 (Sep 13, 2010)

Ya hes def not a small dog haha, Still growing... were thinking he will be 110 or more pounds. We love how big he is! I think we may have figured out what the problem is though. The only time he has ever acted like that is when he is on the bed. I remember reading about german shepherd who when ever he was on higher ground then his owners would instantley become more aggresive when normally he was a great dog. So i think that by us letting him on the bed he starts to feel like the alpha dog, and more protective. So we've been keeping him down and so far hes totally back to normal  thanks for all the advice, if it happens again ill be taking him to the vet!


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

I'd keep an eye on his health cause that's usually why a sudden personality change happens. They don't feel right and can't tell us what's wrong.

Otherwise, if it's a mental growth/maturity thing, keeping him off the bed will show an immediate improvement.


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