# Attacking Strangers



## Jessie&Christopher (Dec 12, 2016)

I adopted Christopher, a five year-old GSD who was given up by his family because of a divorce. He was fixed last year and has apparently never gotten along with other dogs. 

I've owned him for about 4 months and I walk him three times per day in the same areas near my home. This past month he has begun attacking strangers during our walks. He lunged at a jogger, and ripped two passerbyers jackets. In addition, he lunged at a homeless man who was lurking near my doorway while trying to lite a cigarette. There is usually no warning for me or the people when these attacks occur and the majority have occurred within a few block of my home or when I'm unlocking the front door (it's a downtown town home, so the entrance is at street level.)

I've read to "keep him on a loose leash" but at this point I'm afraid of the liability associated with not keeping him on a tight tether. 

He's normally a very good dog and is friendly to my boyfriend, family and visitors who come to the house. He previous owner claims he never displayed these types of behaviors before when I've contacted him.

I'm at a loss because I can't stop walking him, and I am totally baffled at this sudden change in behavior.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks!


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## sheep (Dec 2, 2011)

Before you're able to analyse the cause of this behavior I would suggest getting a muzzle, so that you can keep him from biting other people. You never know when someone might file a complaint and sometimes get your dog put down.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

"I walk him three times per day in the same areas near my home"

Change up the routine so that he doesn't become territorial and think that your walk is going on patrol .

Get some disciplined training exercises incorporated into that walk . Don't let him zone out - and do not zone out yourself. Be in the moment . No texting or cell calls . 
There is warning just you weren't paying attention or recognize what the warning behaviour was.

He would have keyed in to these people. The joggers would have stimulated his prey drive . Long before he lunged he would have prepared by focusing on them , getting his timing ready to lunge as they passed by.
Ripping jackets ? -- lucky it wasn't more than that .

You need to be ready to prevent such action .
If your timing is off and you have to give a correction - do so . Meaningful . 
Do not reassure or cluck to the dog that it's okay .

It's not !

Watch the dog - he probably stares at oncoming traffic as it goes by . Prey stimulation.

Loose lead does not mean simply attached to a lead. 

It does mean that the dog isn't held tight -- which isn't good either as it brings out the opposition reflex and prepares the dog for an aggressive response. This is held in agitation work to ramp the dog up -- resistance and frustration.

Loose lead means that the dog is close to you , paying attention to your movement and speed and being accommodating . It doesn't mean a precise competition style of heeling.

You do have liability .

The dog is in your care. You are responsible. 

Do I believe or trust the previous owner totally? 
No.
His statement is based on his experience and he may have never taken the dog for a walk .
The dog may never had as much exposure to a wider public as you gave him in these 4 months that you have had him.

Ask him what training the dog did have .

Enroll in a training class and get some control over the dog . 

You have to be the leader not just a facilitator , not a concierge .


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## labX (Dec 7, 2016)

Get a gentle leader .It will give u better control of the dog outside during walks. Also the it will prevent the lunging as it will turn the dog away from the direction of lung. Also the halter acts like a muzzle .

I will sign up for a training class asap. Gives u that place to face new people and dogs but with a trainer. Tell the trainer ur worry's so you have help available .

This will let you get an idea what it is.

Gigi has jumped on joggers to say hello .All I did was carry some treats and this increased focus and by giving high value treats when people walking by and giving the leave it command .She excepts treats as people passing by in heel. Once there I just spaces the treats and then now no treats.

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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

Work on engagement so you are his primary focus. Use a tug or ball on a rope and randomly engage him as you walk, though you need to be careful with timing as you don't want to accidently reward the lunging or any precursors. Be animated with the tug sessions and don't worry if you look like a goof, lol

He may have never played tug so you might have to build his value for the game, short sessions and put the toy away. You can do this at home first and incorporate it into your walks. Your goal should be to have his focus on you and all the other "going on's" become background noise.


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

Also want to add, work with a trainer well versed with working breeds. They should be able to help you identify his behavoir leading up to the lunging.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I wouldn't use a gentle leader. If your dog attacks someone he can be ordered to be put down. He needs a muzzle in public. Gentle leaders and head collars like the Halti, can come off, and then you have zero control and your dog is dangerous. 

You need a trainer immediately. Work with someone who understands working breeds, no, that has experience and a good track record with working dogs. 

Be careful of the advice you get for free from perfect strangers. 

Your dog is over his honey-moon period, relaxing in his new life, and, well, you might be finding out now why he was dumped in the first place. This doesn't mean he is a hopeless case. It means the first owners did not bother to address his problems, possibly caused them, and most likely, he has been guilty of serious infractions they didn't bother to discuss. 

I am sorry you are going through this. You are probably going to have to change your leadership style, management style, training style, and exercise routine. And yes all of those are different. 

I am going to just throw this out there. This dog may be too much dog for your situation. It is highly possible that the former owners of this dog seriously punished him for any signs of aggression, and therefore he is giving no warnings. I don't know, but that is when the dog becomes very dangerous, a ticking timebomb. We get a pet because pets add wonderful things to our lives. They lower our blood pressure, give us company on walks, and make our houses homes. We do not get dogs so that we have to purchase special insurance because of what might happen, we have to walk around with the dog muzzled, in a constant state of apprehension and apology. I don't think anyone should hold you at fault if you returned this dog to the rescue or pound, and let them know that the dog needs to be evaluated and rehabilitated if possible before he is adopted again.

I am not going to suggest you put the dog down, yet. It is possible that this dog is a strong, hard dog, and if you are a rather weak, permissive or seemingly weak individual, the dog might be making choices because he does not trust you to protect him. With a more experienced owner, he might not have these issues. More likely, he has a screw or two loose, and may NEVER be trustworthy around people. 

In either case, you have to have a lot of committment to change how you interact with the dog totally, how you manage and train him, how you manage his environment, to keep everyone safe.

This isn't a dog for a beginner. But then, even if you have had the breed before, the first time with a serious dog, or a seriously flawed dog is something else. 

If you persevere and manage this dog for the rest of his life, you will be a veteran, and your next dog will probably be a piece of cake to raise, train, and manage. 

You have some tough questions to answer. I am sorry you are going through this.


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## Julian G (Apr 4, 2016)

To be honest, the joggers is understandable because they were a fast moving object. I used to have a dog that would lunge at joggers too, but never people walking by. When she was younger she would lunge at cars as well because they were loud, fast moving objects. Now I didn't want her to get run over by a car so I used collar corrections using a prong collar. When she lunged at cars I would snap her collar, she quickly learned that it wasn't worth it to lunge at cars. Now to fix the joggers lunging I did something more risky and maybe stupid, but I would sit at a park bench on a weekend early afternoon and we waited for joggers to pass by. Whenever she lunged I did the same collar correction, it didn't take very long at all to curb this behavior. 
The homeless guy thing, eh, he was a suspicious strange guy lurking by your front door. Your dog did the right thing. Put one of those beware of dog signs on your front door.


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

labX said:


> Get a gentle leader .It will give u better control of the dog outside during walks. Also the it will prevent the lunging as it will turn the dog away from the direction of lung. Also the halter acts like a muzzle .


head halters shouldnt be used on lunging dogs. they can cause permanent muscle injury by whipping the head around. Dogs aren't horses.


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## labX (Dec 7, 2016)

Dainerra said:


> head halters shouldnt be used on lunging dogs. they can cause permanent muscle injury by whipping the head around. Dogs aren't horses.


I have personally used one but was adviced by a friend .I will delete that statement if I can .

How about ... Get help from a professional .

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