# long read but please help!



## sammie9110 (Aug 12, 2017)

Hi! I need some help because I am just beside myself right now. Sorry this is really long but I figured every little detail helps.
My GSD, Jax, just turned 1 about a month ago. He was neutered at about 5 months old. He has always been extremely friendly with everyone and we have done our best to socialize him with strangers and other dogs. (This was a lot easier when he was a cute little puppy and everyone wanted to love all over him, but now that he is bigger and looks a lot more intimidating people tend to just keep strolling by.) But we still take him out with us whenever we can. 

Anyways, the other day I had planned to take Jax and my 7yo son to the park for the day and made a stop at my work so my coworkers could see him and he was very standoffish towards them (no tail wagging, very cautious) and he snapped at one of my friends when she tried to pet him. Normally I would say maybe there were too many people around and he was overwhelmed but he has been around large groups of unknown people and he wanted everyone to pay attention to him. I was really caught off guard by this but I still thought maybe we should go about the rest of our day normally. I figured we would go to the dog park so he could burn off some energy before heading to the children's playground.

Once we got to the dog park he was on high alert with sniffing every inch of the grass, he refused to take treats or play fetch and despite the hot weather and his tongue hanging to the ground he refused to drink. I was very skeptical about letting him off the leash around the other dogs and only let him off for about 10 minutes. He didn't mind the other dogs, he just sniffed them but didn't want to play like he normally would. He then began backing away, hair standing up and barking at all of the men in the park. women he was cautious of but wasnt as aggressive. Needless to say, I wasnt taking any chances and left. 

Then I found a playground with no other people so my son could play, eventually a dad showed up with his 2 kids and he not only barked at the dad but the kids too. I was so embarrassed and felt terrible to have to tell the kids that they could not pet the dog because he wasnt being his normal friendly self.

This is my first GSD but I have had many dogs growing up and I did my research before choosing this breed. I wanted a family dog that I knew that would protect us. I have pretty bad anxiety, so protection was an important factor.

Most of the time when we are outside at home I let him run off leash and he listens well and stays in the yard, but now I am kind of afraid to. He also seems to be trying to test his boundaries and I have just been chalking that up to his age and him trying to assert dominance over me and I try to stand my ground. Even though he does listen to my fiancé better than me, unfortunately he has the more dominant voice and appearance than me. 

I am not sure if he was just being over protective while we were out the other day since my fiancé was not with us, or if his age is now playing a part or if he is just turning into an aggressive dog now. I would love to hire a trainer but unfortunately the cost is not practical at this time because I have recently reduced my full time hours to part to go to nursing school. so this literally couldn't have happened at a worse time. If that is what I have to do I will try to figure something out but it would have to be a last resort. But if anyone has any advice or anything at all that they think would be beneficial for me I would appreciate it more than anything! My dog is my baby and I honestly love him to death and it would kill me if something terrible happened. If you took the time to read this and can help, Thank you so much!!


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

I think you're just seeing what his general temperament is. A lot of the time these seem like big changes because you may have missed some of the earlier signs. Its easier to see the puppy-goofy stuff for the most part, then how some things may have bothered him, like strangers or groups of people wanting to pet him. If he was intact, I'd say there'd be some effects from testosterone at different ages, but with him, he's probably just on the unsure side, some insecurities that probably won't go away, but you can help him deal with them.

Be careful about which situations you put him in. Don't try to force things on him, but keep him out in the world at a safe distance for him to figure out he's not going to be bothered by the other kids or parents. Don't assume he knows something because he's done it before. Be calm and consistent, nothing is a big deal, good and bad. Don't think in terms of dominance or protective. Its more likely confusion and insecurity.


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

It's pretty normal for Gsds as they mature to begin being leery of strangers.If it were me,I would correct the barking and show him what I want him to do instead.If we're walking it would be "Heel,watch me!" and if we're sitting in a park it's "Come,Down,Stay!"It's a relief and a comfort for a dog to know an alternative behavior for when he's feeling anxious.And no more petting or reaching toward your dog by strangers!If Jax decides to approach and be friendly,great!Let him decide.


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## ksotto333 (Aug 3, 2011)

I agree he's growing, and maturing. I would be cautious for now at home leaving him off leash unless your home sets in an isolated area with little to distract him. Keep up your training, and watch out for warning signs if you meet up with others. I'll also say dog parks are really an iffy place to go. Situations can go bad in a heartbeat. Good luck, German Shepherds can be such great family dogs.


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## Dunkirk (May 7, 2015)

Your dog can pick up on your anxiety before you even realize you are feeling anxious. Monitor how you yourself are feeling before taking him into a situation. When working with my dog at home we do lots of quick and fun training sessions, just to practice the habit of obedience. My dog loves playing frisbee, even if we're just playing, I get him to 'look at me' or 'touch' or 'sit' before throwing it. It doesn't interrupt the flow of fun, but it does reinforce the habit of obedience.


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

You have some great advice here. When you go out and about it needs to be all about you and him and your little team. Other people and dogs should be ignored. Distance is your best tool right now. And watch for signs of stress like yawning, lip licking and "whale eyes". That might tell you that your dog has had enough socializing and it would be good to let him have a private space where he can watch without being touched and talked to. A dog can do well in a crowd and still get iffy if they think someone is giving them too much individual attention. If my dogs are getting tired, I tell people "sorry but my dog is not a petting dog right now". Most people respect that. 

Also there are some good online trainers...of course their advice is all over the place, some good, some bad. some ideas will work for you and some won't but it might be good to take a look.


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## Heartandsoul (Jan 5, 2012)

Learning you boys body signals will help you tremendously in keeping both of you safe. I can't count the number of times Knowing his language gave me the time needed to act before he reacted. A lot of signals are easy to recognize but also you will learn the subtle signals once you start observing. 

It is actually really cool because the better you get at it, the more connected you feel with your dog. That's how I feel about mine.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

" (This was a lot easier when he was a cute little puppy and everyone wanted to love all over him, but now that he is bigger and looks a lot more intimidating people tend to just keep strolling by.)"

one of the problems with this kind of socialization , covered in http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...0-rethinking-popular-early-socialization.html is that you have in essence lied to the dog , setting him to expect something as a norm, which can not be sustained.

every one and their brother loves the cutesy puppy wuppy -- but GSD grow and quickly and have a reputation which precede them and the attention and indulgences change, 

then the dog is confused and frustrated, an erosion of trust.

sometimes those expression of extremely friendly as a pup , in this breed , is actually insecurity . 

OP "Once we got to the dog park he was on high alert with sniffing every inch of the grass, he refused to take treats or play fetch and despite the hot weather and his tongue hanging to the ground he refused to drink. I was very skeptical about letting him off the leash around the other dogs and only let him off for about 10 minutes"

but the dog surprised you at your workplace when he snapped at one of your work mates !
and you saw signs that the dog was distressed and you were skeptical , (did you mean hesitant?) to let the
dog off leash but you DID .

that was an error in judgment . Glad that nothing happened or that your dog wasn't throwing signals which would bring the other dogs into some sort of gang up onto your dog.

I think what Steve Strom said might be the case.

There is quite a bit of clinical evidence that early spay and neuter can have adverse affects on behaviour.

"fear of storms
separation anxiety
fear of noises
timidity
excitability
aggression
hyperactivity
fear biting.
Another study found neutered dogs were more:

aggressive
fearful
excitable
less trainable than intact dogs
(Parvene Farhoody @ M. Christine Zink, Behavioral and Physical Effects of Spaying and Neutering Domestic Dogs, May 2010)

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blo...vior-changes-when-dogs-are-spayed-or-neutered

https://healthyandhappydog.wordpress.com/behavioral-effects-of-neuter/

Neutering and Behavior | Angry Vet

Neutering Male Dogs - the Behavioural Effects of Castration | Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors

Discovering the Effects of Testosterone on Dog Behavior - Daily Dog Discoveries

DONE . 

Now you have to deal with it .

Along with management, training, re-socializing to something real and sustainable , you may want to address
the dogs endocrine system and actually provide his body with testosterone !

About Dogosterone Therapy 

https://healthyandhappydog.wordpress.com/countering-the-effects-of-neuter/

the dog was neutered at 5 months of age --- growth plates not closed --- take pro-active action to prevent orthopedic problems 

early neuter also increases the chance for cancers ---take proactive action to feed the dog in such a way that stops this - including anti oxidants --- 

what is done is done and I do believe with the very best of your intentions --- you will have to "work" on the undoing part of it - behaviour , feeding for long trouble free life, and prevention.

I would go back to the Vet and I would "educate" them . The information is NOT NEW https://drjeandoddspethealthresource.tumblr.com/post/125096705031/spay-neuter-dog-cat


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## Steve Strom (Oct 26, 2013)

car2ner said:


> Distance is your best tool right now.


I think so too. This will be the most help to you. It's what will give you both the chance to relax. Right now that distance may be pretty large, later on it may not need to be more then 3'. Its a matter of changing his perception of things, and giving you some confidence in handling him. There's no set time frame or distance. Take your time and plan for how you're going to do it. Random, unpredictable surprises set you back. Predictable, consistent training will give you the chance to enjoy him and not stress either one of you so I'd treat every walk as a training time for now.


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## sammie9110 (Aug 12, 2017)

Thank you everyone for your input! I realize that I have my work cut out for me but I am willing to do whatever it takes. Jax is such an important part of our family and even though we have obviously made some mistakes training him as a pup I will do what I can to correct it.

We had a few friends over last night for a bon fire and one of my friends brought a new person around he was not fond of her and she also admitted that she was fearful of bigger dogs. Instead of letting him hang out in the yard with us as he normally would, we put him on the back deck where he could keep an eye on things and after a spending a small time whining for us he laid down and went to sleep. 

I also wanted to clarify our reasoning of getting him neutered so early. We were planning on waiting until after he was 6 months old because we had no intentions to breed and he was constantly trying to mount my son, but I ended up having to have my appendix removed and it made sense to us to have him fixed around the same time because I was off work and able to keep an eye on him and neither of us were allowed to do anything strenuous.


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

The back porch was a very good idea. Sit and Watch can be a good help.


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