# my GSD is a coward



## Kobe12

Today I finaly accepted that my dog kobe who i always tried to pose as a fearlest animal, alpha male, who barks in the face of danger is just a lazy coward. I love kobe very much but he just hasnt lived up to the courages reputation that other german shepherds have created. When an 80 dog hides behind you from a 10 lb ****zu its kinda embarassing
Hopefully he will grow out of it. Hes about to turn 1. Schutzhund training just flew out the window


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## Emoore

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger.


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## GSDGunner

You've accepted that he's a "lazy coward"? He won't "outgrow" anything with that attitude. _You_ need to work on him.
That's a shame. It seems like you've given up and "accepted" his problems when you should be working to help him.
So what have you been doing throughout his first year?


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## vat

I would agree with GSDGunner, don't give up on him. And do not give up on the Sch, it may be exactly what he needs. While I have never done Sch I did do some agility with a dog of mine that was fearful. She gained so much confidence from it, you could see the smile on her face!


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## Germanshepherdlova

Kobe12 said:


> Today I finaly accepted that my dog kobe who i always tried to pose as a fearlest animal, alpha male, who barks in the face of danger is just a lazy coward. I love kobe very much but he just hasnt lived up to the courages reputation that other german shepherds have created. When an 80 dog hides behind you from a 10 lb ****zu its kinda embarassing
> Hopefully he will grow out of it. Hes about to turn 1. Schutzhund training just flew out the window


Don't give up on your dog! He is still after all technically a puppy. When my GSD was about 11 months old this little dog attacked him and he just stood there and sniffed him while the little dog attacked his leg, and then when the owner came to get his dog my dog ran over to this complete stranger and excitedly greeted him. I was embarrassed that my dog didn't even growl or bark or make any attempt to defend himself against the other dog.
At about 18 months old, my GSD matured quite a bit and he changed. When he see's this particular little dog while we are out on a walk he immediately sends a growl in his direction and the little dogs owner runs and grabs his dog. He doesn't put up with any nonsense from other dogs either. And as far as strangers are concerned...he is not friendly to them at all, unless I give him the ok, if we are out on a late night walk and someone gives me the creeps believe me he makes sure that they don't get too close to us. Build up your dogs confidence, he is after all a GSD, it's in his blood to be brave!


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## Franksmom

Like the others said don't give up, when Frank was about 8months he went through a stage of barking at strangers while backing way from them and going behind me, 
We worked hard on socializing him, and today at almost a year old he walks easily through stores and strange places not showing any of the fear he had before, and is a very confident pup.


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## wilbanks17

Don't feel bad, My EDD dog is scared to death of my sisters Maltipoo. She has fought off many suspects but is afraid of a 5lb dog.... Go figure!


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## Stosh

He's still very young. He may look like a big fierce gsd but he's got a long way to go


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## Ava

I looked back on your past posts...Dude, you let your pup get dominated for months by an aggressive Cocker Spaniel. You own at least part of this problem. Your GSD *maybe* soft to begin with or his confidence maybe shot because of your other dog. The CS certainly didn't help. Don't blame the dog or give up on him. At a year old he's really still a pup. 

There is soooo much info on this site you can find the answers to help your boy out. Proper, appropriate, controlled and abundant socialization is so important with our dogs to molding their personalities. Books can be written with all the information on this site. 

Please don't give up on your dog. Put in the time to read, learn and help your dog gain the CONFIDENCE HE NEEDS. Put your own ego second to your dog's happiness.


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## Ava

One more thing, try to keep your dog away from little dogs until he gains some confidence. Not to stereotype, but more often than not the little dogs will react with fear aggression when face to face with a much larger dog. 

Until he's ready to look at them like their stupid, don't let him interact with little dogs - other than pups.


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## RubyTuesday

> I was embarrassed that my dog didn't even growl or bark or make any attempt to defend himself against the other dog.


My big dogs have always largely ignored the bellicose little yappy snappys. IMO this is entirely appropriate & to their credit. They just give 'em a *look* that clearly says, 'You are soooo beneath my notice.' The few times they have responded the responses were limited, non-damaging & very, very clear. 

Spanky, the American Bulldog, that came to me when my ex passed, unfortunately is constitutionally incapable of ingnoring a challenge, any challenge, regardless of how inconsequential the actual 'threat' is. Due to this, I muzzle her when we're out, b/c I don't want to risk some tiny terror getting hurt whether s/he deserves it or not. I much prefer dogs that distinguish b/w real threats & noise makers. That's not cowardice. It's sound judgment.


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## Kobe12

Thanks for ur help and opinions... his first year i did basic obedience and thats where he got most of his socialization in a class of four . But doesnt do well when he meets new dogs. Great around new ppl though. When he was around 6 months he was alot more protective of me, he barked and grawled at every thing that looked threatning including ppl and large dogs such as rots or anything that moved at night... i dont kno what happened, but i dont have alot of time to spend with him like i used to rite now b/w skool n sports im pretty busy its my junior year nd finals are 3 weeks away, but he probly does need me more now then ever. I hope he will find his inner confidence, maybe ill try agillity this year he's pretty fast !!!


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## Emoore

6 or 8 weeks in a class of 4 other dogs isn't really socialization. How would you feel meeting new people if you spent a few months in preschool with 4 other kids, and then were locked in the house until the age you are now? Do you think meeting people you didn't know might scare you a little bit?

You need to start taking your dog out so that he can have positive experiences with friendly dogs. Not to dog parks with a bunch of dogs you don't know that are running around like maniacs, but classes, or trips to friends' houses if you know their dogs are friendly.


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## Kobe12

The cocker isnt a problem anymore kobe actually stood up to him a couple of months back nd he doesnt bully kobe anymore but the cocker probly did create this problem


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## ken k

Don't feel bad, my 100lb Max will be 6 years in may, who is the protector around here, shows no fear of anyone or anything, except when he sees the cat with a mouse, he runs and hides


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## codmaster

Kobe12 said:


> Today I finaly accepted that my dog kobe who i always tried to pose as a fearlest animal, alpha male, who barks in the face of danger is just a lazy coward. I love kobe very much but he just hasnt lived up to the courages reputation that other german shepherds have created. When an 80 dog hides behind you from a 10 lb ****zu its kinda embarassing
> Hopefully he will grow out of it. Hes about to turn 1. Schutzhund training just flew out the window


 
he is still a baby dog. If the little dog is a real adult that really could make a difference.

I had a male puppy GSD who was scared and backed up from a small mongrol on one walk around the house when he was about 6-7 months old. I had to get in front and chase the mongrol dog away. 

VERY different story a few months later when we were walking by the same house and the dog came rushing out at us again and Fritz **** near yanked my arm off in reponse to it. He WANTED that dog bad! And he was not DA usually with any other dogs. I still think that he remembered. And this was a dog who was the star of his ScH club at 13 mo.

Don't give up on your pup - work with him to teach him a proper response. Many big dogs will actually ignore a lot of very small dogs - like they don't even see them!


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## sitstay

Kobe12 said:


> When he was around 6 months he was alot more protective of me, he barked and grawled at every thing that looked threatning including ppl and large dogs such as rots or anything that moved at night... i dont kno what happened,


He wasn't being protective then, he was being fearful. Same behavior as now, just being manifested differently now.

Get him out! Find some fun classes and work with him.
Sheilah


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## JakodaCD OA

well I guess the alternative is, would you rather he had grabbed that little dog and shook him to death?


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## Franksmom

sit said:


> He wasn't being protective then, he was being fearful. Same behavior as now, just being manifested differently now.
> 
> Get him out! Find some fun classes and work with him.
> Sheilah


I was thinking the same thing


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## W.Oliver

Kobe12 said:


> Today I finaly accepted that my dog kobe........is a lazy coward......Schutzhund training just flew out the window


Kobe12,

I don't not have the experience of many who participate on these boards, but I have enough to know this.....

There are two key ingredients to success in SchH, not only a dog that is of appropriate nerve, but a handler/trainer that is more than willing to live the lifestyle. I am on my third GSD. The first was an American line that could be Kobe's sister. The second is a West German show line that is high defense, with poor foundation training. The third, my puppy, is an excellent working line....and in theory, her foundation training will be equally as excellent??!!!??!!:wild:

The point is this...if SchH is your goal, you must be of sufficient nerve to pursue the training. Work the dog you have and learn to train. There is sufficient challenge in obedience and tracking....and given you'll have to work harder to accomplish less with Kobe than other teams may.....you'll be a better trainer because of it....the experience builds character.

While you train, a precipitate of the effort will be a greater understanding of what SchH is about, and what you'll be looking for in a future puppy so you can pursue protection work.

Keep in mind, you'll have to be of solid nerve to pursue SchH training. There are bullies who will treat you as if you and your "Golden Retriever" should not take the field....stay on course if you're strong enough, while at the same time, you have to know your dog well enough to understand where the line between training and torture exists...you're in charge of that for your dog, and nobody else.

Wayne


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## MaggieRoseLee

Kobe12 said:


> Today I finaly accepted that my dog kobe who i always tried to pose as a fearlest animal, alpha male, who barks in the face of danger is just a lazy coward. I love kobe very much but he just hasnt lived up to the courages reputation that other german shepherds have created. When an 80 dog hides behind you from a 10 lb ****zu its kinda embarassing
> Hopefully he will grow out of it. Hes about to turn 1. Schutzhund training just flew out the window


He's a puppy.

And if you wanted to Schutzhund training you should have already joined a club and been working for MONTHS on getting him more confident and his play/toy drive.

Look at this video of my AGILITY puppy at just 9 months! I was shocked how well she did (and she's also back behind me at a 'scary' Chihuahua attacking her)


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## cayu

I have a GSD with lab mix he just turned 2 to give a little history I nursed him since he was 10 days old my neighbors dog had a litter of 9 pups but she got bitten by a spider 2 days after having the litter and the vet had to give her antibiotics. To make the story short she was unable to feed the pups. My neighbors tried to nurse the pups but they had no experience and the pups started to fade. I had some experience with nursing puppies and felt so bad that I told them I would take one to try to save it. So 2 years later I am the mommy to the lone survivor of that litter. My harry is a very sweet, gentle and playful boy. but he is also very shy and he gets scared of loud noises. I think I am partly to blame. He was so sick and under fed when I first got him that I kept him in my room and isolated from everything. he was only in contact with me and my family for the first 2 months until he could get his first 2 doses of shots. I started his shots at six weeks as the vet told me it would be best since he had gotten so very little of his mother's milk. my point is that he had no interaction with his litter mates. The only interaction with another dog was with my then three year old doberman Lab mix. But my doberman mix is very gentle and sweet tempered as well so that he learned from my three year old. But I don't know what to do about his shyness and being scared of pretty much everything loud. in side the house he is fine because we are a very peaceful household so loud noises aren't a problem inside but outside when other neighbors are having parties or they are outside talking loudly it is a mission to just get him to go outside to do his business he will literally bang paws against the glass door to try to get back inside the house. I feel bad that I have to stand infront of the glass door and tell him no that is not going In until he does his business,after a while he goes tail between his legs like he is being punished. I wish i knew what to do to help him overcome this, so he can enjoy our back yard always not just when their is no one around. If anyone can give me some tips or guidance I would appreciate it.


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## Cobe914

Barking and growling at everything sounds more like insecurity and fear then confidence. A confident dog is typically calm and quiet because they don't feel the need to try and scare everything away, since they don't feel threatened by everything going by. That's confidence.
Same with humans... The loudmouth that's in everyone's face is usually among the first to tuck tail and run if an actual physical confrontation breaks out


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