# Ohio - male GSD 4yrs - aggressive and may need rehoming



## Heckticismyboy (Jul 15, 2011)

Hello... I'm a 25 year old female from Ohio and made an account on the forum for my boy Hecktic which he is 4 years old and a Sable German Shepherd as you see his pic as my default picture. I've had him since he was a puppy and he was raised with my now 5 year old GS female (nightmare), which she is the total opposite of him... she is very playful and very hyper and obsessed with food lol. He is a big baby to whom ever he already knows and can be very loving. The only bad thing about him is, is that he can be very aggressive towards other dogs and doesn't like a lot of people. I never raised him to be a mean dog and it saddens me that he is this way. It saddens me even more to have to try and find him another home due to my current way of life. I was hoping to be able to find him a home in a police academy to where he can get the proper training he needs, but don't know how to go about doing this. I don't want to loose him, but it seems I may not have any choice. If anyone has any advice or any suggestions please reply to this post or send me a message. Thanks.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

What trainer are you working with? What have they recommended? You done any Schutzhund Training or other scent/tracking/obedience work to help prepare him for working with a police academy?

Bit confused about your female? She's well trained and socialize but just your male has problems?


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

MaggieRoseLee said:


> What trainer are you working with? What have they recommended? You done any Schutzhund Training or other scent/tracking/obedience work to help prepare him for working with a police academy?
> 
> Bit confused about your female? She's well trained and socialize but just your male has problems?


Ditto.

Police agencies need stable dogs and look for younger dogs. They are not going to take a 4yr old dog and invest thousands of dollars and hours into it since it will be retired in about 4 years. If your dog already has most of the training they would need to do then it may be an option but it sounds like he has some temperament issues.


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

No police department is going to be interested in your dog, so definitely wash that idea down the drain and seek out a professional behaviorist or trainer to determine what his actual temperament is (true aggression, or the more common and likely fear aggression). You won't be able to place a dog with issues unless someone is local and willing to meet him to evaluate him themselves or the word of a qualified professional trainer.

Pictures and bloodlines, if known, also help. I don't see a "default" picture


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## Heckticismyboy (Jul 15, 2011)

Thanks to everyone's advice. Sorry it took me this long to reply. Yea, I did put his picture on here... don't know why it's not showing up on the site. Yea, it makes no sense why my female is different but they were also raised in a different location so maybe that's why I don't know but she is friendly with people and he is not unless he has known him when he was a puppy.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

I was going to say, we almost donated our drivey dog to an academy when he was a pup, but we kept him. He outgrew and we managed his drive/hyperactivity. 
The cut off date was 18mos. of age.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

The picture you put up was posted to your profile. (So if you click on your name, you see it on your profile). I think on here, to have it show under your name, upload the pic as your avatar. Or you can upload pics to Photobucket and copy/paste the


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## gsdraven (Jul 8, 2009)

He's a handsome boy but his nails look really long in the second pic. Is he kept inside?


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## SusiQ (Jul 27, 2007)

Where in Ohio are you? If you are in the Cleveland area, I can recommend a trainer who could help you.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Have you spoken to your breeder about him? Do you have a contract that states they have first right of refusal? What is his breeding background?


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

Just a question, what did you mean by your current way of life? Most people on here are going to tell you that when you get a dog like that you have to change your way of life, and its going to look really bad that the reason you are getting rid of him is because he doesn't "fit" your life. You should do everything you can to make your life fit him. It is true that police work is completely out of the question, they don't want aggressive dogs, they don't need a dog that wants to bite every stranger they meet. A police dog meets a lot more friendly people than it does bad guys and they can't deal with a dog that doesn't like anyone new.

He is a beautiful boy, dark sables are going to hit a soft spot with many people on this forum, but you're going to have a really hard time rehoming a dog that has those kinds of issues. I suggest getting him into any kind of obedience training where he can work in small groups of dogs but probably one on one at first so that you can really figure out whats going on with him. Don't blame this on the location they were raised, it makes no difference, this is most likely a genetic thing or something that happened to him when he was younger that scarred him. This is probably going to take a lot of basic training, leading to training him in situations where he is reactive.


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## BMoore (Oct 18, 2011)

It sounds like this behavior has been going on for awhile, you also haven't mentioned once whether or not he's been to a professional trainer in his life. Honestly, it sounds like you haven't done anything to address the behavior, and instead are trying to rehome him. 

If this has been going on for awhile, it should have been addressed immediately. Please know that no shelter will even consider putting a dog with those issues out on an adoption floor, and his best bet is going to a trainer that has experience with aggressive dogs. 

We see a lot of these behaviors at the shelter in little dogs, because they're consistently allowed to get away with them.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, and give us more information on your boy. If he's been to a trainer, what age this behavior started, etc.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

I think that many people just don't know how to work with a dog the OP is describing. I'd second getting a professional trainer on board. 
Please don't pass along your problem dog to another person who may wind up letting him bite someone. The breed doesn't need another bad mark


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## marshies (May 18, 2011)

He is a gorgeous dog, and looks like a big softy! He may not be as "easy" as your female, but some training could improve how he is. You owe it to him to at least try.


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## Heckticismyboy (Jul 15, 2011)

gsdraven said:


> He's a handsome boy but his nails look really long in the second pic. Is he kept inside?


Yes he was an inside dog. I use to take him to the vet to have his nails clipped but it was kind of expensive and then I tried clipping them myself. So trust me I love my dogs. I would brush his teeth, brush his coat all the time and give him baths and flea treatments. Despite what people on the internet think I am not half as bad as everyone is making me out to be. I was young and stupid and got a dog that became huge.


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## Heckticismyboy (Jul 15, 2011)

BMoore said:


> It sounds like this behavior has been going on for awhile, you also haven't mentioned once whether or not he's been to a professional trainer in his life. Honestly, it sounds like you haven't done anything to address the behavior, and instead are trying to rehome him.
> 
> If this has been going on for awhile, it should have been addressed immediately. Please know that no shelter will even consider putting a dog with those issues out on an adoption floor, and his best bet is going to a trainer that has experience with aggressive dogs.
> 
> ...


No to answer your question he never had any professional training. I tried to when he was younger but it ended up either paying to get him trained or paying rent for my apartment. I guess I should of just paid for his training & then if i lost my apartment who cares right? but I truly love animals and didn't know what I was getting into when I got him but it didn't stop me from loving him. I put him on RescueMe.org and he was adopted in August 2012 out to a man who claims he trains German Shepherds for the K-9 unit in the police force. The day that he took him I seen a different side of Hecktic it was like their was no problems, nothing I had problems with anyway. He listened to what the guy was commanding him to do, and jumped in that guys car like it was no big deal. I was truely mesmerized that day of how wonderful everything worked out. The guy kept me updated and said he was doing good then come to find out his stomach "supposedly" flipped so he "supposedly" paid $5,000 to have the surgery done, and then later on the guy tells me he died because he went blind and had a tumor and was going crazy because he couldn't see. Maybe the guy is telling the truth, but I don't believe it. I think the guy was afraid I wanted him back so he just said he was dead. If he said he was put down then their would be no reason to give me anymore updates right? well thats what I believe anyway. I believe he is still alive and doing well.


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## Heckticismyboy (Jul 15, 2011)

martemchik said:


> Just a question, what did you mean by your current way of life? Most people on here are going to tell you that when you get a dog like that you have to change your way of life, and its going to look really bad that the reason you are getting rid of him is because he doesn't "fit" your life. You should do everything you can to make your life fit him. It is true that police work is completely out of the question, they don't want aggressive dogs, they don't need a dog that wants to bite every stranger they meet. A police dog meets a lot more friendly people than it does bad guys and they can't deal with a dog that doesn't like anyone new.
> 
> He is a beautiful boy, dark sables are going to hit a soft spot with many people on this forum, but you're going to have a really hard time rehoming a dog that has those kinds of issues. I suggest getting him into any kind of obedience training where he can work in small groups of dogs but probably one on one at first so that you can really figure out whats going on with him. Don't blame this on the location they were raised, it makes no difference, this is most likely a genetic thing or something that happened to him when he was younger that scarred him. This is probably going to take a lot of basic training, leading to training him in situations where he is reactive.


My dogs and I was living with my mom at the time and she was forcing me to find another home for him. So it's not that he didn't "fit my way of life" so my bad I have bad ways of explaining things. Once I get a dog I like to keep that commitment of keeping them, loving them, etc. Yes, he should of had training but I didn't have a lot of funds, especially when I was the only person working when I had my own place. I ended up loosing my place and had to move in with my parents and that is why we had to go live there. But I put him on RescueMe.Org and he was adopted by a man who claims he trains dogs for the K-9 unit in the police force. He said he was too tall to be a K-9 dog which I never herd of such a thing, but he wanted to train him and keep him. All I wanted was updates on him to know that his training was going well and that he was doing good.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

Was this man's first name Tim by any chance?


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