# 5 Month German Shepherd Puppy Barks and Raises Hackles but is Perfectly Friendly



## tapsley (Sep 14, 2013)

I have searched high and low to find an explanation for my 5 month puppy's behavior and I still have yet to find one. 

He is a very friendly guy, loves other dogs and people, and has never showed aggression besides being a typical bossy male gsd, which was quickly nipped in the bud within the first few weeks of having him. 

However, every time we are on a walk if he sees another dog his hackles go up and he barks and lunges at the end of the leash (he is trained to walk on a loose leash), and the same is true whenever we are in the yard taking a potty break. He is roam trained and I live in a quiet neighborhood so I take him outside to potty off leash. He will bark at runners, walkers, neighbors, etc. but won't leave the yard. But when he sees a dog, he bolts into the street towards them same as on the leash, barking and hackles raised. This has only happened two or three times. He looks and sounds awfully mean but as soon as he gets there he's Mr. Friendly, ears down and relaxed, tail wagging, wiggly body; trying to give kisses to both the dog and its owner. He should be in between fear aggression stages, is not an extremely aggressive or territorial dog, and has never had a bad previous experience with another human or dog. 

I have scoured the internet and books for explanation for his behavior and have found nothing. I'm taking him out on a long line from now on, but I want to stop this as soon as possible. To me fixing and overcoming his behavior is much better than just simply stopping him from doing it. Plus, I'd hate to be on the other end of this ordeal, he looks and sounds so scary, and is only going to get bigger, therefore louder and meaner looking! Also it'd be horrible if one of these days he darts into the street while a car is coming. 

Help, explanations, similar experiences, solutions, please!


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

1 >>>>> bolting in the street is not "roam trained". keep your dog leashed
untill he has more training and socializing.

2 >>>>> train and socialize everyday. think about finding a trainer.



tapsley said:


> I have searched high and low to find an explanation for my 5 month puppy's behavior and I still have yet to find one.
> 
> He is a very friendly guy, loves other dogs and people, and has never showed aggression besides being a typical bossy male gsd, which was quickly nipped in the bud within the first few weeks of having him.
> 
> ...


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## Chantald (Jul 23, 2013)

This actually sounds a lot like my pup, also 5 months old, minus the bolting because I don't trust him off leash outside the house. 

But yeah the barking and hackles at other dogs on walks, and the barking at everything when we're in the yard (he's on a 30 foot tie up because our yard isn't fenced). And very friendly once he actually meets these dogs. And amazing around people, we spent our last walk meeting kids as they were getting out of school.

I've been working on continuing the socialization and have been seeing successes. Just try and keep his focus on you, figure out what his thresholds are and work within them to the best of your abilities, and praise/treat heavily when he does well. 

When we have a situation where we turn a corner on the walking path and come across a dog, I will often make Thor sit and let the other dog pass, try and keep his focus on me by being as exciting as possible, and then praise/treat heavily if he remains calm. 

We do always have a tough time when we walk by the fence of one home though, where they have two pugs that go insane whenever we try to walk by, causing him to go insane as well. I often times have to cross the street just to make that part of the walk less stressful. 

We're still actively working on it, but he is getting better and better everyday!


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## Blitzkrieg1 (Jul 31, 2012)

Iv noticed my current pup is sharper on our property as well, barks and hackles at strangers etc. However, off the property isnt sharp towards people at all. 
I have noticed she is growing less sharp on our property as of late. Starting to do the marker training and ragwork outside where her drive overcomes the sillyness. 

Also, when she is carrying something in her mouth (rag or stick), she is less mouthy towards strangers and other dogs so thats something that may work well too. 

JMO I think all the developing drives and hormones at play are somewhat responsible for the behavior you are describing at this age.


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## Chantald (Jul 23, 2013)

Blitzkrieg1 said:


> Also, when she is carrying something in her mouth (rag or stick), she is less mouthy towards strangers and other dogs so thats something that may work well too.


I forgot to mention this, often times I'll bring Thors squeaky Wubba Kong along with us, as the noise is good for distraction and it gives him something to carry. He also does really well off property with people, he loooooves people! We have issues primarily with other dogs, and on occasion inanimate objects he's unaccustomed to. He went all squirley over a balloon today which was interesting LOL




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## Redrider469 (Jul 19, 2013)

My 6 month puppy does this as well. I don't let her off of the leash outside of our yard/dog park. Once she meets the other dog, she's fine but her initial reaction is to bark. I still can't find a way to get her to focus on anything other than the other dog. Hope you find the answer!


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## Springbrz (Aug 13, 2013)

My 6mo. old has been doing the same thing for a month. It's getting better, slowly. 
For what it's worth our trainer said (in our case) it's not true dog aggression because she's not totally uncontrollable at the end of the leash pulling like a maniac trying to eat the other dog. He said it's more a case of "hey I wanna play but I'm not sure you are as friendly as I want you to be, so I'm gonna make myself look all scary and tough until you let me sniff you". It's playfulness mixed with apprehension and confusion as to "how to act".
All I know is yesterday on our evening walk she hackled up and barked at the same dog twice. Then one lady actually picked her small dog up and walked way around us and gave me a look that said "you should take the unruly beast home".  I was so embarrassed 
I hope this stage ends soon.


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## lalachka (Aug 13, 2013)

Unruly beast, huh. She must've been talking about herself. 

I know how you feel, I'm always embarrassed when my dog does it but that's only if the people are not mean about it.


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## Apple (Jun 21, 2013)

River does this, but when she gets up close she's still unsure of what to do. We have recently worked on it with a trainer, and it is not true aggression. It's a puppy who is unsure or her/his self and not sure how to act. Curious enough to pay attention, but unsure of the other dog involved. My trainer has taught me to let River acknowledge the trigger (other dog). At first glance she barked and lunged. I stopped moving, River stopped barking and sat. Then we watched for a stress warning sign (lip lick, yawn, look away) and as soon as she did that, we marked it and led her away cheering and making a big deal out of her. We slowly got closer to the other dog and5 minutes later we were 2 meters away from the other dog, river in pouty mode because she wanted so bad to sniff but couldn't. But she was completely calm, laying down, sniffing the ground around her, trying to walk somewhere else to have a look at something. By marking the stress signal, River has learned that she can tell me she is uncomfortable without having to look big and scary to the other dog. It's basically recognising the dog is stressed BEFORE they reach or go over threshold 


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## Chantald (Jul 23, 2013)

Apple said:


> River does this, but when she gets up close she's still unsure of what to do. We have recently worked on it with a trainer, and it is not true aggression. It's a puppy who is unsure or her/his self and not sure how to act. Curious enough to pay attention, but unsure of the other dog involved. My trainer has taught me to let River acknowledge the trigger (other dog). At first glance she barked and lunged. I stopped moving, River stopped barking and sat. Then we watched for a stress warning sign (lip lick, yawn, look away) and as soon as she did that, we marked it and led her away cheering and making a big deal out of her. We slowly got closer to the other dog and5 minutes later we were 2 meters away from the other dog, river in pouty mode because she wanted so bad to sniff but couldn't. But she was completely calm, laying down, sniffing the ground around her, trying to walk somewhere else to have a look at something. By marking the stress signal, River has learned that she can tell me she is uncomfortable without having to look big and scary to the other dog. It's basically recognising the dog is stressed BEFORE they reach or go over threshold
> 
> 
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This reminds me of a video clip I watched on B.A.T. And I had plans to explore it a bit further. I am a little unclear on what you mean by lip licks, yawns, etc.. being stress warning signs though, and how exactly you're marking the stress signal, but I would loooove to know more about this approach if you have any additional resources. 



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

Blitzkrieg1 said:


> JMO I think all the developing drives and hormones at play are somewhat responsible for the behavior you are describing at this age.


I think so too. Maybe not 100%, but that's very likely at least a factor. Halo went through a spooky phase where she barked at perfectly benign things, but I continued taking her out and working with her in a variety of environments, and eventually she was fine. I think continued exposure, along with giving her something to do by working on training in those new and/or distracting environments had a lot to do with getting through the phase, but I also think that maturity had a significant role as well. 



tapsley said:


> To me fixing and overcoming his behavior is much better than just simply stopping him from doing it.


Absolutely, and I totally get your concern. But sometimes stopping him from doing something is how you fix and overcome it! The more he's allowed to practice behavior you don't like, the more ingrained it will become, and the harder to get rid of. If you can manage him so he's not able to practice that behavior while you continue working on his training, it should improve. Rarely (although sometimes) is management a substitute for training, but often it can further your efforts if you do both. An example would be if your dog jumps all over guests. Keeping him on leash when people come over is management - he can't jump on them if you're holding the leash. But you'd also work on an alternate behavior, such as teaching him to sit to greet people. Sitting is an incompatible behavior to jumping because a dog can't do both at the same time. But while you're training this new incompatible behavior you need to have a way to control him and prevent him from practicing the bad greeting behavior that you're trying to get rid of.



Chantald said:


> I am a little unclear on what you mean by lip licks, yawns, etc.. being stress warning signs though, and how exactly you're marking the stress signal, but I would loooove to know more about this approach if you have any additional resources.


Those are "calming signals", a term coined by Turid Rugaas. She has a book and video, but here's a brief explanation of what calming signals are and how dogs use them: Positive Dog Parenting


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## skier16 (Feb 21, 2013)

mine raises her hackles whenever we enter the dog park because she is so excited to play. she even does it when no other dogs are there lol.


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## Chantald (Jul 23, 2013)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> Those are "calming signals", a term coined by Turid Rugaas. She has a book and video, but here's a brief explanation of what calming signals are and how dogs use them: Positive Dog Parenting


Okay that makes waaay more sense to me! I understood the general idea of that post but got caught up in some of the wording. 



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## Apple (Jun 21, 2013)

Heh sorry I wrote that at a strange time for me. This is B.A.T. Marking the signal is just using her marker word "yes" in an excited voice. If you use a clicker you would click these behaviours and lead the dog away whilst making a fuss, basically turning it into a game. It teaches the poochy a different approach to her feeling uncomfortable instead of just straight up fight or flight.  


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## Arlene/Archer (Mar 7, 2013)

tapsley said:


> He is *roam trained* and I live in a quiet neighborhood so I take him outside to potty off leash. He will bark at runners, walkers, neighbors, etc. but won't leave the yard. But when he sees a dog, he bolts into the street towards them same as on the leash, barking and hackles raised. This has *only* happened *two or three* times. He *looks and sounds* awfully mean but as soon as he gets there he's Mr. Friendly, ears down and relaxed, tail wagging, wiggly body; trying to give kisses to both the dog and its owner. He should be in between fear aggression stages, is not an extremely aggressive or territorial dog, and has never had a bad previous experience with another human or dog.




This is really asking for trouble. I don't know what 'roam' trained is supposed to mean, but from what you write you have an untrained insecure young dog acting in an aggressive manner and you need to be in control of your animal. 
I can tell you, as a GSD owner, I would not all appreciate an out of control dog charging at me when I'm going about my business, and neither would my dog, whom I have trained long and hard not to be leash reactive.
As Cassidy's Mom said, the longer you allow this behaviour the more ingrained it will become until that is the single response.
Get a trainer, control your animal so that he and everyone else around him is safe.


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## Chantald (Jul 23, 2013)

Apple said:


> Heh sorry I wrote that at a strange time for me. This is B.A.T. Marking the signal is just using her marker word "yes" in an excited voice. If you use a clicker you would click these behaviours and lead the dog away whilst making a fuss, basically turning it into a game. It teaches the poochy a different approach to her feeling uncomfortable instead of just straight up fight or flight.


I tried the B.A.T. Technique on our walk today after doing some more research, and really saw some further improvement! It helped for going by that house I mentioned earlier with the two pugs, because now even when they aren't in the yard, he barks at their house. They weren't in the yard today and, we managed to make it by with just one tiny bark. 

I am finding it harder though to prevent him from barking when the other dogs are reactive as well. Much like those pugs who go crazy every time we walk by, or there's another dog who barks alot when we pass his home. I find it far more difficult to keep him under threshold when the other dogs are just as reactive as he can be. More work I guess 




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## Baillif (Jun 26, 2013)

Could try giving this a shot. It is a phase in a lot of dogs, it might pass on its own but you sound like you're more or less on the right track.


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## Chantald (Jul 23, 2013)

Bailiff, that video clip was excellent! Thanks for sharing! 

It's always nice to find out that this is a bit of a normal developmental stage for dogs, and that it just requires some work and socialization to get through to the other side. I have gotten so much great advice from people here on the forum and it is so appreciated! 


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## Mts678 (Jun 23, 2013)

Mine does this as well so I started giving her treats while around other people and dogs and now she'll look at me wanting the great when she would normally act like we're all describing here. So that's working for us right now


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## Apple (Jun 21, 2013)

Chantald said:


> I tried the B.A.T. Technique on our walk today after doing some more research, and really saw some further improvement! It helped for going by that house I mentioned earlier with the two pugs, because now even when they aren't in the yard, he barks at their house. They weren't in the yard today and, we managed to make it by with just one tiny bark.
> 
> I am finding it harder though to prevent him from barking when the other dogs are reactive as well. Much like those pugs who go crazy every time we walk by, or there's another dog who barks alot when we pass his home. I find it far more difficult to keep him under threshold when the other dogs are just as reactive as he can be. More work I guess
> 
> ...


I'm so happy things are working for you!! 


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## David Taggart (Nov 25, 2012)

Nothing to worry about, that is the gangly age, which will end in two years. Lesser exercise they get - more noisy and agressive they become. His eyes must be fixed on the ball in your hand, not on the running strangers.


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