# 1.5 y/o GSD - aggressive towards other dogs



## x.WOLFiE.x (Sep 1, 2012)

Hello all -- 
I have read through a number of other posts but wanted to discuss my specific situation to see if anyone could help or offer some much needed advice.

My husband and I got our male GSD at about 10 weeks old, last year. He is now 1.5 years old. At a year old (maybe a little younger) he started barking his head off and/or growling at other dogs. Not all - just some. Sometimes they were big, sometimes small. Sometimes far away, sometimes only when they came up to him. Some of them he likes and all is fine. I've never allowed him off leash with another dog because truly, for as gentle as he is with us (as gentle as a young GSD can be) and for as good as he is with our house cats (chases but never aggressive) I don't trust him. Our vet says they can sense we are tense so we need to relax when around other dogs, but I don't know how to do that. I feel like it could go either way if we let him near the other dog and I just don't want to risk it. 

We tried socializing him a bit when he was younger -- walking up to other dogs and letting them smell one another, but he would always try to jump on them and for as big as he is, it was an issue. (There are really only small dogs in our neighborhood and none of our friends have large enough dogs where we have ever felt comfortable.) So we know some of this/all of this is our fault but we want to fix it. 

We have tried training (used BarkBusters which was absolutely awful and useless and a waste of $600), he was recently neutered, we try scolding him, introducing him to other animals slowly, etc. but nothing has really worked.

Our local shelter was full and so we recently took on a foster dog for a few weeks. She is only 40 lbs. (the GSD is 95) so I'm trying to introduce them very very slowly. He will go up to her crate and wag his tail and sniff and not bark at all but if they are both on leashes he goes bezerk. His hackles go up, he barks his head off, sometimes growls but all the while wagging his tail.

ANY insight would be helpful. What have you done to help such a situation? How can I tell if he will actually bite or is just sending off signals to the other dogs that let them know he is above them?:help::help::help::help::help:


----------



## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

Have you tried LAT training yet. I thought I would never get anywhere with Raina's DA but I've been doing the "Look at that" training and it has been working. It takes a while with an older dog - she is 5 years old now and I just started the LAT in the past year. Whoever told you that tension goes down the leash is right. Your dog can tell if you tense up and it thinks there is a reason to get tough. That was the hardest part for me-remembering not to tense up but treat the situation as a training tool. When I see another dog I put her in a sit and get her eye attention - when she is calm and in a sit she gets treats until the dog passes. I was really pleased a few days ago when all my hard work paid off - a stranger was in my yard letting their dog relieve themself and I put Raina in a sit on the corner. The man yelled at me to control my dog - she was not barking just sitting. I yelled back at the man and she stood up to see if she needed to protect me but she immediately calmed when I did. I told the man to move out of my yard so I could take my calm dog home. This takes a while and you have to remember to remain calm. There are others on this forum that have used this technique and could probably explain it better.


----------



## x.WOLFiE.x (Sep 1, 2012)

Thank you!! I will do some research. 
Anyone able to add any advice or answer my other questions?


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## angryrainbow (Jul 1, 2012)

Remember that it all starts with a look. your boy will get a look in his eye before he reacts, and that is your signal to get him out of whatever situation he is in. Every time he goes over threshold, it reinforces his behavior.

How does he respond to corrections with a prong or choke collar ?


----------



## mebully21 (Nov 18, 2011)

Some dogs once mature just dont like other dogs. Its probably genetic. Just teach him to ignore other dogs inpublic and stop forcing him to like other dogs. As far as the foster and him some dogs have leash aggression when leashed but are fine offleash. Keep them separate but able to see each other when foster iscrated and after a few weeks see how they do in the house and take it slow for introductions if it seems they are good let them meet inside no leashes.


Once you stop trying to intro him to the dogs round town/family dogs he should start to relax


----------



## PhoenixGuardian (Jul 10, 2013)

One thing with relaxing yourself (I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM!!!! Because they can completely read your reactions), I was just told this by a man who trains German shepherds as search and rescue dogs, and had never thought about it before, is keep your shoulder s low. He says that when your tense, your shoulders go up, and you get really stiff, especially on a leash because the dog can feel you tense up. 
I mean, even if you do that, your dog is still going to know that your nervous, but it is a step at calming yourself. 
Just take a deep breath, and coach yourself through it. I have the same problem; I stress myself out, and then my dog can feel it from there, but we have both gotten much better.
I don't know if this helped, its just what I heard from a man who does know, so i would assume (and it makes sense) that it is a good start. 
Good luck!!!!!!


----------



## Midnight12 (Jan 6, 2012)

A good group class might also help with him being around other dogs. All dogs are leashed. A good trainer in control and that might help you to relax.


----------



## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

angryrainbow said:


> Remember that it all starts with a look. your boy will get a look in his eye before he reacts, and that is your signal to get him out of whatever situation he is in. Every time he goes over threshold, it reinforces his behavior.
> 
> How does he respond to corrections with a prong or choke collar ?


Good point. That "look" is the key to knowing and reading your dog. It's hard to catch cause it usually only last a few seconds before reaction. Raina gets a hard look like that and I can recognize it. The key is being tuned into what triggers your dog and being ready.


----------

