# dog agression at alpha



## Tempestben (Jun 13, 2009)

Last night my wife and i were sitting in the living room, our 1.5yr gs with me,then all the sudden he gets up and started to growl and did a quick snap. I stood up and said what are you doing. he then laid his ears back and hunched and slinked to his cage. after a min. we went back to see him and he was happy to see my wife but when i said something he stopped breathing and just stared. i remember that my foot was laying on some of his toys and he was staring at them when first growled. is he challenging me? we are having him fixed on 6/15 cause he starting to mark his territory,will that help with this too.he has been a good dog and has always listened to our commands.i have been playing tugowar with him more and i think that has to stop too. any suggestions


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

You need to give much more information to get answers that will help. Have you had your dog in obedience classes? Health issues can affect the behavior, too. Thyroid levels, for example.
The marking can be stopped thru training, and neutering him may not stop the behavior once it has begun. What does he do for exercise and do you practice NILIF? Many people feel they have to dominate their dogs, and it will cause them to shut down or react after so much of it. Not saying this is the case, though. 
Welcome to the site, by the way-you found the right place for knowledgable GSD lovers to help you!


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## Zisso (Mar 20, 2009)

Welocme to the board! Yuo will get a lot pf good informationa and help here. The people are great!!


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## Riley's Mom (Jun 7, 2007)

Welcome Tempestben,

Growling and snapping at one's owner is not something that should be tolerated, period. If you're absolutely sure you didn't kick him by accident or maybe step on his tail or startle/hurt him in some way then ...

First I would have his health checked, particularly a thyroid test. I would have the blood sent to http://www.hemopet.org they're the best in the country and it's not expensive. There is some paperwork you & your vet need to fill out which is found on the site and there are also shipping instructions for your vet. I do urge you to read up on thyroid dysfunction and see if your dog is displaying any other symptoms you're not aware of and also because GSD's are on the list of dogs prone to thyroid disease, it's a good thing to know and to keep an eye out for. There's a 'sticky' on thyroid problems in the Aggression section and I think some more in the Health section. But you'll find lots of posts on it here, do a search on "thyroid" and plenty of info will pop up.

I don't know of other health issues that can be a cause of aggression (I figure there are some), others here would know but that is one that for me would be a absolute must.

He does not literally understand "what are you doing" but he should understand "NO!" if he's been taught that. Dogs learn and do better with one word very clear commands. Do not yell at him, just be very firm. You and your dog are literally speaking two different languages when you interact. Try to help him be a better dog and yourself to be a better owner with less problems by using one word commands and just because he does something if you use a command unfamiliar to him, doesn't mean he understand it - your body language may have prompted him to react which seemed like he was understanding you when he probably wasn't.

He should never be sent to his crate for punishment or you run the risk of him not like or wanting to be in his crate. His crate is is safe zone. I know you didn't send him in this instance, so this is just an FYI thing for future if you're not aware of it.

According to Cesar Millan, you standing on his toys (to him) meant that you were owning the toys and thus the dominant one. I don't think I'd take his reaction to that as a challenge but it's hard to say since I didn't see this happen. Staring at them may just be that he was trying to figure out how to get the toys, he might have been confused not knowing that you're standing on his toys was unintentionally keeping him from them. Could be a several things, I'm only throwing out possibilities.

The way I understand it, TOW can be played anytime YOU want to play it. It should not be on his terms, you start the play, you end the play "Game Over!" and take the game toy away. If you follow that routine, keeping yourself the "boss" then TOW causing aggression is not supposed to be a problem.


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## Tempestben (Jun 13, 2009)

he has not had any training but by family,and he have never been dominated,he has always seemed to be a obedient dog,loving to our son and both of us. we play with him everyday and he goes on walks,and he goes to our farm couple times a week. thanks for the tip on the thyroid problem.after reading about it,it makes sense. since he was about 6-8 months old he has chased his non stop,and it seems like it was out of nervousness,when we would sit down he would spin,start the lawn mower and spin. we tried sit commands with him before doing this and he would but as soon as we would release him spinning started. plus as of late my wife has noticed a lot of dandruff and he scratches a lot in the past month or so. on a 65 degree day laying on the floor he breaths as if he ran for 2 hours. and now this. he has always been a good dog and we are confused. im going to ask the vet monday when i take him in. thanks for the responses.


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## big_dog7777 (Apr 6, 2004)

Hopefully this is medical. The one thing I will caution heavily against is correcting for growling. The last thing you want to do is take the growl out of a dog. It is his only way to communicate (and the last method of communication prior to a bite) that he either feels threatened, or hurt or upset in some way. When you correct a dog for growling the end result in some is that they go straight to a bite, which is no good for anyone. You need to take a step back and work on the "why" as opposed to just being reactive yourself. Along with the vet check, an obedience class would be great. As would 100% NILF (do a search and read all of the "sticky's" in the behavioral and aggression sections) and exercise. You goal is to change his mindset resulting in a dog that is secure in his environment while following his family members. With some dogs this take work.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

A spinning, tail-chasing dog combined with a sudden change in behavior sounds neurological. Or you could have multiple health problems. 

I just read a study that linked tail chasing with high cholesterol in dogs: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/03/24/dog-tail-chasing.html

Be sure to take him to a really good vet. If you've got a vet school in your area that's where I'd be heading. This is definitely not normal behavior.


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## Riley's Mom (Jun 7, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: BowWowMeowBe sure to take him to a really good vet. If you've got a vet school in your area that's where I'd be heading. This is definitely not normal behavior.


This is a GREAT idea! 

I would like to add that on top of what sounds like probable medical issues, it does sound like he could use some very consistent obedience as well.


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## Timber1 (May 19, 2007)

Why does everyone tilt toward health problems. I doubt that is the issue and it is not unusual for a GSD to gravitate toward a single person.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

I have only quickly browsed the other responses, sorry if any of these are repeats:

tick diseases can cause aggression -- so rule those out along with the thyroid that was mentioned above --

neurological stuff can be helped by a chiropractor....

I would make sure that you are feeding a food with no corn and no sorghum.

Be careful not to really correct him for growling, as a dog that stops growling as warning, is a dog that will bite with no warning. You need to find the cause of the growling, rather than correct him for that, if that makes any sense.

And even if this is a medical issue, I would find a positive based trainer. A young GSD should have some training -- it's good for the family, but very healthy (physically and mentally) for the dog.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

> Originally Posted By: Timber1Why does everyone tilt toward health problems. I doubt that is the issue ...


Because it has been PROVEN - by Tufts Veterinary University - that thyroid imbalances CAN cause aggression issues.

It's a VERY simple thing to check.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

> Originally Posted By: Timber1Why does everyone tilt toward health problems. I doubt that is the issue and it is not unusual for a GSD to gravitate toward a single person.


My dogs gravitate more towards one of us than the other too - but they DON'T growl or snap at the other person. As Lauri said, it's a simple thing to check his thyroid function, so why NOT run some tests and rule it out? If there is an underlying medical condition at the root of his behavior, all the training in the world will not fix it. Any sudden behavior changes warrant a visit to the vet.


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## Amaruq (Aug 29, 2001)

> Originally Posted By: Timber1Why does everyone tilt toward health problems. I doubt that is the issue and it is not unusual for a GSD to gravitate toward a single person.


I think there are many here they wonder why you WOULDN'T rule out *PROVEN MEDICAL ISSUES* that can cause aggression.


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## Riley's Mom (Jun 7, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: Timber1Why does everyone tilt toward health problems. I doubt that is the issue and it is not unusual for a GSD to gravitate toward a single person.


There are a number of reasons, some already mentioned. As a good parent, do we not uncover every stone, hunt down every possible solution there is when we have a sick or problematic child? Why should our dogs be any different? Tufts is not the only veterinary center, vet or other resource that has *proved* thyroid and *other medical conditions* can cause or be at the root of aggression. Unfortunately for some dogs, their people never find out if their dog's aggressive behavior comes from a health issue and so they can never *truly* be helped. They either suffer forever or they are needlessly put to death because they've bitten someone because of something they have no control over. Somewhere in the middle there is an owner who's so scared or sick of the behavior that they tie them to trees, lock them in basements or crates, surrender them to a shelter or rescue or find some other inhumane way to deal with a dog they *think* is misbehaving and is just a problem dog.

I can now leave my dog outside in the fenced yard and vacuum my house without a baby monitor hanging around my neck or clipped onto my pocket listening for him to explode at the neighbors on the other side of the fence. All training and other methods of controlling this disgusting, frightening behavior had nooooo affect. I can tell you that *I* am more comfortable with my dog and more able to trust that he isn't going to lash out and hurt someone when his brain snaps the wrong direction (brought on by a valid medical condition) that someone is trying to hurt me just by moving toward me. I'm more able to trust that he's not going to attack every dog he sees.

You refuse to believe that *<span style="color: #FF0000">some</span> aggression <span style="color: #FF0000">is</span> brought on by a <span style="color: #FF0000">medical condition</span>* and that no matter how many links to articles you're given, how much proof is put before you, you choose to not even *seriously* consider it as a possibility. We can't force you to believe anything. It would be wonderful if you'd open the door to getting past this, for the sake of the dogs you take in and care for. I feel so bad for any dogs that you take in that may need medical attention and don't get it and not because it's a financial thing but because you doubt that's the problem so it gets dismissed. Apparently people like me who can provide first hand "it's for real we lived this" examples are not enough to prove it to you.

When someone first suggested I have him tested for thyroid problems *stupid "that can't be it" me* blew it off! If I had not finally taken them seriously and researched thyroid aggression, I would still be struggling, spending money on one training tool or another, zapping my dog w/an e-collar or jerking him around with one type of collar or another, being depressed, constantly weepy or actually crying, fretting, considering returning my dog to his rescue or worse. I have the confidence now to say that all this time *it really wasn't me* and how I handled him that was at the bottom of his issues.


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