# getting more aggressive



## speedinpolaris (Nov 13, 2013)

My wife and I bought our male east german shepherd At just 7 weeks old around a year and a half ago, he is very smart and loyal to my wife and I he is pretty much glued to us travels with us every where follows us though the house and sleeps with us lol. At 4-15 months once a week we did personal protection classes at sit means sit with him (stopped because the trainer left) and now I am wondering if maybe that was a bad idea. He is very defensive of the house and fenced in yard but he listens to all my commands 99% of the time and once he knows the person he is not a threat he is fine and with some of our close friends and fam he whins which he does all the time in the house for no reason. Now the aggressive part, he has always been very good/passive with other dogs until recently. My good friend also has a unfixed male gsd that is a lot smaller than mine and they will play pretty rough for a little bit 30 min to a hour some times more but then when my dog diesel gets tired he suddenly just gets very very mean and will swat him to the ground then put his mouth around his throat and pin him to the ground and he has done this twice and I ripped him off and smack his butt. I am not sure what to do cause I love bringing him everywhere with me and when I am on walks unless someone walks up on us in a threating way he is lovable and my wife and I are having a baby in feb and that makes me a little nervous cause when my friend brought his baby over all diesel does is try to constantly lick the baby like its a snack or something lol. and he plays rough with little kids like he doesnt realize it he knocks them down a lot so idk what to do with him. Getting rid of him would never be a option he is our furry child!


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## Baillif (Jun 26, 2013)

You have to learn when to stop two dogs that are playing when one suddenly decides he doesn't want to play you need to stop the other dog that keeps pushing the issue otherwise the dog that is wanting to stop will do it in a way that can trigger a fight. That incident is pretty much on you.

Him protecting home turf from strangers is a gsd being a gsd and if you didn't want that I don't know why you'd do personal protection classes with him so I'm going to assume mission accomplished in that regard.

Congrats on the baby coming. Just manage the dog and baby. Don't allow the dog near the baby unless you are wanting it and he's under direct supervision. Use whatever tools you need to. Crates your fenced in yard etc. protect you baby from harm from the dog and when the baby is a bit older you will need to protect your dog from the rug rat too. It will all turn out fine if you set rules and limits and manage the dog. He's a gsd not a dingo he's not gonna snatch the baby outta your hand and run off down the street shaking the crap out of it. It will be fine.


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## Chris Wild (Dec 14, 2001)

I agree for the most part with Baillif.
Some additional thoughts...
You have a young adult male from bloodlines known for high defense, high suspicion of strangers and territoriality, and occasional dog aggression. IMO his behavior is pretty much in line with his genetics. I would assume this is the sort of dog you actually wanted since you purchased a DDR dog and then did personal protection with it. The protection training may have something to do with his current behavior, but I think it more likely that he is just growing up and acting like many dogs from his background do whether trained for it or not.

From the sounds of it, the only real issue is with the other dog. And frankly that is not uncommon. Two male dogs often will not get along, especially if they are intact which you said that the other one is (you didn't mention if yours is neutered or not). Again, this is probably maturity on his part. Young dogs are canine children and will often play in situations and with other dogs when youngsters, but once they mature that will often change. Especially in relation to members of the same gender where rank issues can arise.

I see no reason to worry about him with a baby, though of course he will probably need to learn manners around the baby and not to get excited or overly playful, and you'll need to supervise their interactions of course but that should happen with any baby and any dog. They should never be left alone together.


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## speedinpolaris (Nov 13, 2013)

My dog is not fixed. My wife and I did the protection classes with him because my wife likes to go on walks daily and I wanted her to be safe while she was walking and while I was deployed. I wanted to make sure he wasn't just an aggressive out of control dog and bite people when we don't want him to which he doesn't so i did the correct training with him. I know he is supposed to be protective of the house and thats what I want I was just explaining how he is so people get to know how he is so i could get an idea of why he would pin my friends dog down to the ground by its throat. Also wanted to make sure him loving to lick babys like crazy aint some weird k9 dominace thing. Thank you for input!


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## Chris Wild (Dec 14, 2001)

Loving to lick babies is normal and not a sign of anything to be concerned about.
If both males are intact then it's really perfectly natural for them to lose tolerance of each other, particularly at the adolescent age. I would keep them separated, or watch interactions VERY closely and prepare to intervene and end their play as soon as play starts getting any sort of edge to it. Never leave them alone unsupervised.


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