# Help, need to rehome....



## Mavrick6512 (Jul 9, 2007)

We have a 1 year and 7 month old spayed female GSD, that has fear aggression problems. She has been really good up into today. She usually just keeps her distance from new people. But today something provoked her to bite a visitor at our house. It wasnt anything serious, he is ok. But it has pushed me far into reality that i need to do something about NOW. But i have weighed my options and my husband and I have decided to find a VERY responsible trainer who is looking to take in a troubled dog. I have talked to a few trainers I know very well. And we all agree this is the right thing for both of us. We are not a good pair. I am extremely, extremely heartbroken about this, she means everything to me. But i dont want to put her down, she needs someone who is right for her. 
I am looking for help to find her a great home where someone has time to work with her and knows what they are dealing with. I want her to have the best life she can. And with me, unfortunatly, she can't. 
Thank you everyone for you help.


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## VALIUM (Nov 15, 2007)

I'm so sorry to hear this. If this dog has fear issues, this dog isn't suitable for ANYONE. At this point, you tried a help from a trainer, but this isn't enough. You have to get professional help from an ANIMAL BEHAVIORIST not from a trainer IMO. Please try this before rehoming her, maybe with your effort and professional help, she will get better, and also to prevent these kind of incidents, you can simply crate her when you have visitors. For me, your excuse is not a strong indication to rehome this dog. Please try to get help from a good behaviorist, I'm sure she will get better, please try this. I just lost my dog due to a stupid syndrome, it is gonna be horrible for her to be rehomed, especially since she has fear issues. Don't do this to her immediately, please get a professional help from a behaviorist. Keep us posted. 

Musa


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## Phazewolf (May 16, 2007)

What triggers her to go off? I did not make any headway until I found what set Shadow off but once I did it made life so much better for both of us.


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

I almost gave away my aggressive bitch when she was 2. I had a baby due, an older male GSD and everyone kept telling me to 'get rid of that dog'. That dog is sitting behind me calm as can be at 7 years old. We've had company in and out for the holidays, she was lovely. The puppy, he was goofy bitey and obnoxious, he spent some time in the box.

She used her crate when we had certain company, until she was maybe 5, I didn't feel I could trust her with everyone. I kept giving her more and more chances with people who were dog friendly. If I wasn't sure the company wouldn't give her the hairy eyeball, I'd crate her. 

Don't give up on your dog if she truely means that much to you. Get a behaviorist if you need to. Use her crate. Use friends who are more dog friendly than others. You'll get through, I did.


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## fourdogsrule (May 10, 2007)

I have a fearful dog and would never think about getting rid of her. She is part of our family and I will always do what is best for her. I will crate her when company comes over if I know she and they are not comfortable around each other.
Please contact a Behavoirist immediately and pratice NILIF 100% of the time. She needs a chance to know what is expected of her and that you are there to protect her and love her.
Please keep us posted and have a great New Year.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I, too have a fear aggressive female. The age that yours is now is, probably the hardest phase to deal with...other than the puppy teeth shark stage.
Onyx has gotten better at two, with me as her manager and her maturity~but it is an ongoing lifelong issue that we will deal with. I agree with all above posts, deal with it if you can for her sake. To "re-home" her would mean just passing the problem on to someone else, and it would not benefit her at all. She will back pedal if not placed in the right situation. Many trainers don't properly deal with FA, so be sure the right "Behavoirist" is who you have to take on her problems. Think of her first, and what you can do to get her thru this stage. 
Take on the challenge~You can do it!!


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

This is a dog you've had since she was a pup, right? And she's had issues for a long time, right? And I seem to remember that you have another gsd and a couple of pits too?

I'm going to be very up front with you: there are very few new homes for fear aggressive dogs. In fact, most people do not have the knowlege to deal with them and most behaviorists don't "take in" dogs that have problems. It is also very difficult to responsibly rehome a dog that has bitten. 

I am speaking from direct experience. My Basu was fear aggressive and he also bit someone. I knew that he would be EUTHANIZED if we did not figure out how to work with him and get him over his issues. He was 4.5 years old. He came to us with these issues. We took him all the way through advanced obedience and worked with him every day. He was not really a good fit for my lifestyle b/c there were always people in and out of the house and my dogs did a lot of travelling with me. However, I was completely committed to him and worked with him so that he was safe around other people. Until I got him to that point I kept him on a leash or crated if necessary. He ended up earning his CGC which was a HUGE milestone for him but it was not something that happened overnight or something that he grew out of. His behavior improved because we worked with him consistently.

This dog is YOUR responsibility. Contacting an excellent behaviorist is a great idea and you should also find a good local positive reinforcement training class and take her to as many levels of classes as you can. Buy books on fearful dogs (there are some excellent ones on dogwise.com) and read them over and over again. Please do the right thing for this dog and work with her to overcome this issues.


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

Do me a favor and PM GSD07, she is also dealing with this in her 22 month old female Yana. She has been very successful using a behavioral and training combination approach.

If you do choose to re-home her with a very good trainer that knows alot aout dog behavior, and positive reinforcement and knows what they are getting into then you have my best wishes. This is not an easy thing to do especially if this is a poor match for you.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

I just wanted to say I'm sorry if my post sounded insensitive. I do not think Basu was a good match for my family or lifestyle at all. But the reality was that no one else would have taken him. There were many times when I was completely overwhelmed and had to have him attached to me almost 24 hours a day (and, actually Kai had many similar issues). I definitely got some grey hair and lost of a lot of sleep but I knew that we had to make it work with him or it would most likely cost him his life. Although I wished he were an easier dog, he wasn't, and I never thought about rehoming him because I knew someone had to commit to rehabing him.


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## bearlasmom (Sep 21, 2006)

hon, i know it is scarey having a fear aggressive dog of any kind no matter what size but when we take them into our lives, we face the fact that it will not always be easy. do you know what caused the fear aggression because knowing the cause or causes are half the battle. 

Rehoming her will not help, it will only make the situation worse and probably end up with her being put down. Bearla use to be a very fear aggressive dog. She would growl and bark at anyone she did not know. luckily she never bit anyone but i knew what the causes were and i contacted a behaviorist to come in and work with us. it took time and i still have to seperate her to a sepeate room or kennel her depending on who comes in. if we are bringing someone into the home for the first time we seperate bearla into a seperate room if she begins to growl and give her a time out so to speak. we ask the visitor not to pay any attention to her at all, because with her, if attention is brought to it but the visitor, she somehow thinks she is winning and growls and hackles. 
we bring her back in to the room about 5 minutes later, and then go through the process again, hoping that she will be calmer. depending on the type of visitor, she usually does not have to go into the other room more than once. our behaviorist suggested that we also have the visitor sit and eat cookies infront of the dogs while they are visiting. if there is no growling, then the dogs are slowly offered a cookie from the visitor. i dont know about most dogs but with bearla the way to her heart is through her tummy. you give her treats and she becomes your friend rather quickly. Misty on the other hand, will keep running from you for about an 1/2 hr. she will come back and forth and then hide behind her sister. if bearla decides that the visitor is ok, and that we have not been trying to trick her, then she calms down even faster.

ask your vet if they suggest a particular behaviorist one that they work with is preferable. the behavorist can go into your home and work with the two of you. dont give up on her mom. as they age, they become calmer. believe me. she will begin to calm down rather fast. another thing you should do is take her for walks and if you are afraid then you should loosed a muzzle. take her on road trips in your car with you during times that you can. 
good luck to you both and please dont give up on her, she will only become worse because she will believe taht she doesnt have to cahnge because no one loves her enough to stick by her anyway.


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## RebelGSD (Mar 20, 2008)

Unfortunately a fear aggressive dog is not a good match for anyone. Nobody is looking for a dog that has already bitten, people are looking for happy, easy pets, same as you.
I lived with a fear aggressive dog and she was not a good match for my lifestyle. I currently have a (forever) foster that is fear aggressive and a liability to place. These situations are not easy, but they can be managed.
Your best bet is to find a trainer/behaviorist and work on these issues. You may try to pass the problem on to somebody else, but it certainly won't be easy to rehome her. It is a big question whether it is fair (to the dog and to the other family).


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## Mavrick6512 (Jul 9, 2007)

Ok, i have done a lot of thinking... and... I can't let her go. I am stronger than that to give up. After reading everyones replies, gives me hope that I can do something... I guess I should have waited to post this, i re-read what i wrote and i think i was a little too worked up. She means WAYY to much to me than to just throw her away. So, thank you everyone for your help!! Honestly, i was a little affraid to post this, i thought maybe everyone would be mad and pound me under, but i was wrong, you guys have helped a TON! thank you very much, i will keep you posted....


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Please ask questions for anything you may have questions on during this critical time. Even if you don't agree with the opinion, it is worth the feedback. I was at a loss when Onyx went thru her flakey stage and wondered if we would get thru it. She was really a hard dog to read at 13 to 18 mos. I feared the worse for her. Now either I am better, or she is easier to read and we get thru life day to day, but she is a joyful goofball, I could never give up what we have! Being Winter, we don't socialize as much, so her reactions aren't being tested as in the warmer seasons.


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## Mary Jane (Mar 3, 2006)

I knew nothing about fear-aggression when we adopted Wolf-but when he bit a friendly neighbor, it became my job to learn. Perhaps you are very dog-savvy, but if not Brenda Aloff's Canine Body Language is a great guide to understand when your girl is telling you she is uncomfortable. There are Yahoo groups for shy dogs and for aggressive behavior in dogs that I have found very helpful. Of course, the experienced people here are wonderful.

My point is that if you are committed, there is a lot you can do.

Please don't get discouraged if you don't see immediate progress, just post and those experienced people here (I'm not in that group) can help.

MJ


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## Timber1 (May 19, 2007)

Your post was not insensitive, and if is nice to see someone that is direct.

From personal experience I think a fear aggressive dog can be rehabbed, and placed in a good home. The key in my situation with a rescue that constantly growled and lunged after people was to find the right trainer. This dog, was the first rescue I was ready to give on up. But withhelp the dog's change in behavior has been remarkable. I will add that I enlisted the help of a well known behavorist prior to that, and the result was a disaster.

As you mentioned, the fear aggressive dog does attach very closely to a human, but when it comes to strangers quite the opposite. 

I do feel that the behavior of the dog described by the OP can be changed.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

AshleynJustin, it's great that you are going to try to work with your pup and keep her.

But what are you actually going to do? What is your plan? Who are you working with. What help are you getting to be proactive and CHANGE your life to work with her?

Cause keeping a dog like this is 'work' for the owners. So important to have a plan in place that EVERYONE in the house works with and is aware of. Managing situations while also working with her to improve her life and situation. 

And if this is too much for you (as it would be for MOST of us) or if you don't have any idea what route to take to train, socialize, work with, help you girl thru this (as MOST of us would also not know where to start) ..... you'll have to consider that too.

Just keeping her isn't going to help. Things will get worse and someone is going to get hurt. Isolating her won't help. Keeping her away from people won't help. All of that will just compound her problem with fears and aggressions.

Finding the solutions is to be pro-active to change her life for the better. And your life to find ways to help her, challenge her, work with her, TEACH her that you are in charge and she can calm down, YOU are in control and she can step back. So she'll then be able to think and learn that the world and new people can be a good place or a neutral place, not just a scary place.

So I guess I'm asking, now that you are keeping her, what is your plan?


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## Mavrick6512 (Jul 9, 2007)

My plan is to take her as many places as I can to get her out around people as much as possible. (i took her to home depot the other day and it went pretty good.) I plan to find an animal behaviorist around my area. (still waiting on some phone calls back to find someone. 
I do NOT plan on keeping her in the house. ( i know she will get worse, thats why she is where she is)
I dont know very many people out her that can help me with her (posing as just a stranger). But when i get confortable enough with her again i will go back to having strangers giving her treats. 

As for at home (and everywhere) NILIF is going on everywhere you look. There is NOTHING she gets or does with out something from her end first. There is no more running outside like crazy dogs. I mean business now. ( yes, they still have some play time but it consists of training. learning new tricks..)


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## Mary Jane (Mar 3, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: AshleynJustin
> I do NOT plan on keeping her in the house. ( i know she will get worse, thats why she is where she is)


Since you have decided to work with her, why are you sure that she will get worse? It almost sounds like you are punishing her by keeping her outside when she can't help her fears. YOU can help her with that.

Please explain a little more,

Mary Jane


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## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

She WILL get worse if you do not bring her inside. Please, either bring her inside or rehome her. It's almost a sure bet that leaving her outside will make her behaviors either stay the same or deteriorate. Isolation is the best way to make sure a dog with issues never gets better.


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## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

I should expound on WHY it's so crucial that these dogs be inside. In daily life, there is so much to learn- being quiet and accepting when visitors are at the door (or at least taking cues from the owner), not jumping on people, being respectful of space and of people, sitting nicely for the leash, downing nicely for food, the basics of life. They also take comfort by being around their people. Any GSD not passed out from a hard day's work will often be within view of their owners or at least a bit concerned about them when they're not within range. Why? Because this is the breed. This is not an independent breed. Taking her inside will be rough at first but things will get better. You'll both learn more about each other as you work together. There will always be speed bumps, but things will be smoother if you both live together.


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

Yes she will get worse if she's isolated from people. There's no reason she can't go outside when you have company or be contained in a separate room. Don't make her an outside dog, it's not good for her or for you and when she's 3 and totally out of control, you won't be able to rehome her.

Think about it, inside and loved. Outside, cold and feeling unwanted. Which would you prefer.


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## Mavrick6512 (Jul 9, 2007)

No, no, no i didnt mean leave her our outside. i would NEVER do that. I meant i will not isolate her inside. I meant i will take her places. If my dogs are outside, i am outside with them.


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## Mavrick6512 (Jul 9, 2007)

thats the reason i am moving right now (after living at this place for almost 3 months) is because the woman that lives upstairs ( we are renting the daylight basement) seems to think that dogs are "happier" outside and she keeps saying "its better for them". and i dont agree with that AT ALL. She has a part of the yard that is fenced in of the back of the house and she leaves her dogs outside all day when she is at work ( unattended). then she comes home and lets them in to eat for a while and then on and off they stay outside till its time for bed and they get to stay inside for the night. And i am totally against that. ( and she wonders why they dont listen to her).


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## GSD07 (Feb 23, 2007)

I just saw this thread. The main thing is that if you are COMMITTED to work with your girl for years to come and manage her fears than you keep her and if not it's the best to rehome now. Very blantly put but that's the reality and I'm speaking from experience. 

Taking her out just to see people it's not enough without you having an understanding what are you going to accomplish. Forget about treats from strangers, right now it's all about you and her, developing your understanding of her body language, triggers, fears, and istablishing her trust in you as her ultimate protector.


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## Mavrick6512 (Jul 9, 2007)

she wants us to build a "pen" for them outside so they can stay outside like her dogs do. and i wont do it. so needless to say, we are getting out of there before i go crazy,


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## gsdlove212 (Feb 3, 2006)

I think the OP was saying she was not keeping her in the house as in never going out to visit and socialize. Outside meaning for trips, visits, socialization, and training. Not where the dog was to live outside versus inside.


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## Mavrick6512 (Jul 9, 2007)

i do understand her body language, i can read her like a book. what happened the other day was very STUPID on my part. i let her out thinking nothing would happen. Basically testing her to "see what happens", thinking she was just going to follow me past him. But that wont happen again. I used to be on top of things but i just kind of stopped, for no reason at all. i was just being lazy. But i have kicked myself in the butt this time and i am not letting down. i can't. i know some of the things that trigger her to be fearfull, but i am watching her like a hawk all the time to see if anything new has developed.


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## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

Glad to know that there was just a misunderstanding and your dog will be living inside and taken about for training and socializing! Good news! Boo to your upstairs neighbor, though. Just smile and nod if you end up in a conversation with her about keeping dogs outside.


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## Mavrick6512 (Jul 9, 2007)

yeah i have done very well about not opening my mouth when she takes about it. i just try to think of something i need to do and get out of there.


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## Mary Jane (Mar 3, 2006)

Sorry that I misunderstood. It sounds like you are on top of things, generally. 

Perhaps you're past this, but you can do a lot of desensitization to strangers just by letting your girl see them at a distance while she's still relaxed and treating like crazy-and then reducing the distance to the stranger until she ignores them. When the stranger is doing the treating you run the risk that your dog gets close to the person for the treat-and then reacts because she wanted to keep her distance.

Then again, if you can read her like a book, you just look at her to get your answers.

Mary Jane


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## GSD07 (Feb 23, 2007)

I still can't read Yana like a book, I keep observing and learning every day. Recently I've attended a seminar on dog body language and discovered quite a few new things. I watch for tiny signs, like a slight shift of body weight, moving of the tail base, change in breathing, head turn, and I learn why she is doing this and what is coming next. When the dog starts growling, hackling, freezes and goes for a bite it's way too late. I am still working on being proactive because I believe it's the key with fearful and aggressive dogs. Just sharing some thoughts.


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## dogs_dolls (Apr 27, 2001)

I would like to add something....it is not always a bad thing to isolate the dog when you have company. There are times when the activity and commotion will be totally over the dogs threshhold! Our female was much much better if she was isolated (in the bedroom) until the guests were in the house and settled. That intial confusion of strangers milling around, shedding coats, talking, laughing , doors opening and closing were simply too much for her. For everyone's safety this was the best thing to do. As an aside it also worked to keep her from practicing her fear aggressive reactions! Even now I would isolate her if we had guests with small active children. I am sure you are very aware of what triggers your dog. Just thought I would throw in my two cents worth.


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