# Sister returns to face a aggresive dog! URGENT HELP REQUIRED SO WORRIED



## Amrit (Jun 12, 2011)

Guys im back with a problem!
Just to make it all understandable:
sister 1 = sister who got married when jager was 8months
sister2= had to move away for work
all lived in same house with my mum and dad when jager came to our house at 8weeks old
this story is about sister2.
she saw jager last 6weeks ago. he was perfectly fine!
she returned today night with my mum and dad who went to go pick her.
as usual i let jager out when either sister comes home and he runs up to them for his cuddles.
this time he ran up to her and during his strokes a real (not puppy) growl came out. several growls after than but i got a hold of him and moved him back after the first one.
she didnt back off or show fear she was confused and was being silly saying it was nothing he just remembering but i knew it wasnt right. he was barking at her and growling then i put him in his area and opened the garden door and shut the door.

i told her to go have a shower to get any scent off her.
i got her to sit down in her usual spot on the sofa. and i bought him in and he was quiet. something was odd...he wouldnt look at her when she called his name or anything. under a firm grip and control i got him to snifff her slightly. he was quiet still. after about30mins of just saying his name and talking to sister2 infront of him i asked her to stroke him while i had a hold of him.
he growled aggresivly and wanted her to get away from him!

i have straight away put him in his area and made it smaller for him to just lie in.

i am so scared! 
he ddint do this to me when i was away for longer while at university or sister1 who was away for much longer since she lives with her husban. he went to her with open arms as usual. no growl and listens always!

i dont know what to do! I need advice from you guys so badly and urgently.
i thought it was a heirachy problem and hes placed her at the bottom so i pretended i shared my food with her. he was whining etc

i beg for help.

I got his yearly injection done 2 days ago so i was with the vet and he was doing his usual growling but calmed down once he got used to the vet (except when the vet shoved a thermometer up his bum...he didnt like that)
jager is friendly after 2 sessions with a stranger. hes prefectly fine aslong as u dont go running towards him or he will warn u to stay the **** away from him or anyone in the family. 

he barks at the doorbell being run

and he warns neighbours when they are in their garden and he sees them. its just a bark never growl at them and same with a doorbell.

he only barks at dogs if they bark at him else he whines and whimpers to go play with them.

oh he is now 15months old and is on orijen and again got his jab 2 days ago from the vet.


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## Amrit (Jun 12, 2011)

Very sorry about the poor grammer and typos. I am on my phone and as I was correcting it all and submitted it, the 10mins was over and it didnt let me.

Here is a photo of the vaccination:


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## Blitzkrieg1 (Jul 31, 2012)

Based on my own experience with a reactive dog:

Id say have your sister completely ignore him dont tuch him, look at him or talk to him. Have her sit down and ignore him completely give her some treats to hold in her closed hand. Keep him on a lead and sit next to your sister. He will go over and sniff her maybe even lick her hand. DONT PET HIM. He will be all over her hands just have her slowly open her hand and let him pick up a treat. Even if he takes it and acts all friendly she should in no way speak, talk or touch him. Its ok for you to praise him and you should when he does this. Continue this process for about 10 minutes or so. 
This is the important part when she stands up or moves im betting he will growl again. So before she moves have him come to you and sit or down. Then have her stand up and turn her back on on him at that point you can release him but with the lead on and you should both walk around talking ignoring the dog. Its ok if she slips him treats from her hands as this will increase the posative association. 

Repeat this entire process every time she comes over. Correct every growl with a NO or Leave it. If growling persists a leash correction and having the dog sit/stay for a time. When the dog does relax you NOT your sister rewards with praise and treats. 
In my case I found in a couple of reactive/fearful dogs having the people the dog is reactive to taking her for a calm assertive walk also works. Again the rule its fairly simple. Have your sister stand next to you have her take the leash from you and simply begin walking. Ensure the dog does not have to much leash and quite simply the act of following the person they are reacting to creates a change of perception. Again your sister doesnt talk, touch or give eye contact to the dog. The only interaction is through the leash.

This will take some work but I think you will see improvement as I did. 

Good Luck.


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## Amrit (Jun 12, 2011)

Blitzkrieg1 said:


> Based on my own experience with a reactive dog:
> 
> Id say have your sister completely ignore him dont tuch him, look at him or talk to him. Have her sit down and ignore him completely give her some treats to hold in her closed hand. Keep him on a lead and sit next to your sister. He will go over and sniff her maybe even lick her hand. DONT PET HIM. He will be all over her hands just have her slowly open her hand and let him pick up a treat. Even if he takes it and acts all friendly she should in no way speak, talk or touch him. Its ok for you to praise him and you should when he does this. Continue this process for about 10 minutes or so.
> This is the important part when she stands up or moves im betting he will growl again. So before she moves have him come to you and sit or down. Then have her stand up and turn her back on on him at that point you can release him but with the lead on and you should both walk around talking ignoring the dog. Its ok if she slips him treats from her hands as this will increase the posative association.
> ...


Im so happy to receive an experienced answer from someone straight away. At the moment everyone asleep since its 1am in the UK (cant sleep cos of this and been hitting F5 hehe  )
Hes in his crate area still with a reduced space. In the morning ill get right onto this situation. He was all over her 6 weeks ago I dont get whats changed! So out of the ordinary. 
He is not neutered by the way.

Got a batch of minced chicken breast...would you recommend me using this high reward food during this program to increase the chances of result?
He goes head over heels for pure meat.


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## Blitzkrieg1 (Jul 31, 2012)

Amrit said:


> Im so happy to receive an experienced answer from someone straight away. At the moment everyone asleep since its 1am in the UK (cant sleep cos of this and been hitting F5 hehe  )
> Hes in his crate area still with a reduced space. In the morning ill get right onto this situation. He was all over her 6 weeks ago I dont get whats changed! So out of the ordinary.
> He is not neutered by the way.
> 
> ...


 
Yes the higher value the better, just give them out over a period of time during the exercise. I should also mention you need to be practicing NILF and doing basic groundwork in establishing your place as the leader in the home in tandem with this exposure training.


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## Amrit (Jun 12, 2011)

Ok so this morning he was fine, but still bit different. He didnt growl and played fetch with her. This was before I could tell her to do your exercise program.

But he knows he did wrong and listening more.

I again got her to sit down and do what u said with some chicken. I praised him as soon as he finished it. He didnt growl or anything when she got up to wash her hands and come back...so so far so good.

I really want to know what caused him in the first place to react like he did. Because im just guessing its a hierarchy thing but im not experienced enough to know how the pack hierarchy actually works.


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## Danielle609 (Jun 18, 2011)

No advice, but I think your vet's office computers are a bit ahead...we are still in August  LOL


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## angryrainbow (Jul 1, 2012)

Danielle609 said:


> No advice, but I think your vet's office computers are a bit ahead...we are still in August  LOL


UK's date format is day/month/year. So it reads the ninth of august. 


Honestly, time might be one of those things that will help this.. It'll probably take up to two weeks for him to fully feel confident around her.. so don't rush it. Keep their interaction short, and increase it a little each day to ensure success. I know it'll probably feel like forever, and all you'll be able to do is think about it (been there done that), but you can do it.  Hang in there and best of luck!


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## Blitzkrieg1 (Jul 31, 2012)

Not pack hierarchy most likely just his natural wariness of strangers. Some GSDs accept strangers more quickly then others. Its a normal trait for the breed. The more he respects you the quicker the transition will be though. As far as he is concerned only the people in the house with him are pack, not your sister, mother or anyone else.


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## Mrs.K (Jul 14, 2009)

Also, do NOT tense up or fear that he bites. He will feed off of your energy. Especially when you hold him back with a firm grip in combination with a fear of bite is bad "juju".

Just your body language alone can turn him more into being a reactive dog.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

It is always possible that he had a vaccine reaction as well. It sounds like you are very careful with him, even around family. I would definitely keep your eyes open to any other things that seem odd. 

Aggression in dogs is often a signal that something is off. If you think something is off, it probably is. But if he was better today, it is possible that it was a vaccine reaction, and it is already subsiding somewhat. 

There is just no way to be for sure about that.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

So he hadn't seen your sister for about 6 weeks?

It's possible he simply didn't recognize or remember her. She may have smelled different, looked different, sounded different to him.

I haven't heard of a vaccine reaction causing aggression. I have seen some dogs get a little droopy afterward, especially puppies, but have never seen a huge behavior change. Since he is doing better, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Just a thought--some dogs can sense when there is something abnormal with a person, even a person they know, and they might respond by barking or growling. Does your sister have any health problems like epilepsy, diabeties, cancer?

Had your sister been drinking when she first came in? The only reason I ask is that some dogs do NOT like drunk people. I once had neighbors who were alcoholics. One night the girl came home from the bar after a fight with her boyfriend, and had lost her keys. I had to help her break in through her window. Her dog, who was maybe a year old at the time, barked at growled at her the whole time, even though he knew it was her. She kept talking to him, trying to calm him down, and he just kept growling at her even after she got inside.

Everything returned to normal the following day.


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## RebelGSD (Mar 20, 2008)

Is it possible that your sister teased, pestered the dog at some point before she left? That can cause a reaction like this, dogs remember.


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## Amrit (Jun 12, 2011)

Jager is fine with her now. Still not quite the same though...

Blitzkrieg1, when jager was bought home the only person not living with us was my third sister whos married and living with her husband (Iv got too many sisters LOL!)
The sister who he was aggressive towards only left 2 months ago for work but came back to visit on weekends (and he was all over her happy) and her last visit before the event was 5 or 6 weeks before.....didnt expect him to forget her especially because he didnt forget sister2 who recently got married and moved in with her husband 4 or 5 months ago. She visted with bigger gaps and he is still happy with her.

I asked her if she did anything when she left and she was like no she just said goodbye. Shes not a person to do anything bad can guarantee that.

She wasn't drunk or anything hehe noone drinks randomly unless we are going out to party or at a wedding.
She has the annoying habbit of talking to him as if he was a baby, its in a high pitched voice...it annoys me like mad HA! But the petting and hugging was something normal to his life.

She doesn't have a medical condition....but after you saying that its made me think maybe she needs to get a checkup since iv read one woman who had breast cancer was diagnosed by her dog! He kept sniffing the cancerous area! So will definitely tell her to get get a checkup just in case.

What should I do for future reference when im worried he could possibly bite? I defin do tense up and I always think maybe im making it worse by doing that but I cant risk causing harm to anyone including him.


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## Danielle609 (Jun 18, 2011)

angryrainbow said:


> UK's date format is day/month/year. So it reads the ninth of august.


Haha...I guess that would make more sense.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

OH YES -- dogs can have vaccination reactions --
here is just one of many discussions , this one in Dogs Naturally magazine - Dogs Naturally Magazine Why Vets Don?t Recognize Vaccine Reactions

this from *Dr. Michael Dym, DVM:* "Over the past 40 years and 17 generations of dogs and, cats we are seeing tremendous increases in chronic ill health in our pets that was rare back in the early 1960's. Most of these illnesses revolve around breakdown in our pets' immune systems, and include chronic skin/ear allergies, digestive upset, thyroid/adrenal/pancreatic disorders, seizures, gum/ teeth problems, degenerative arthritis, kidney/liver failure, and cancer across all ages and breeds.We are also seeing a record number of behavioral and emotional disorders including alarming and unexplained fears/aggression, as well as difficulty (entire Vaccines)

Dr Jean Dodds even addresses it .

Carmen
CARMSPACK.com


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## Blitzkrieg1 (Jul 31, 2012)

Sorry was away for a bit. Its tough dealing with a reactive dog because yes your fear of a bite can escelate the situation. My best advice is wait until your calm for any interactions. If you are tense or worried he will know and it will not help. You and your sister take him for a walk before you engage in play like fetch etc. This adds structure to the interaction and we all know that dogs love structure. I would definitely hold off on your sister hugging or talking in a high pitched voice. Both are a bad idea with any dog that is not yours imo. Good Luck.


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