# Attacking



## ST33L3R (Nov 17, 2010)

Our GSD attacks my 14 year old daughter. When ever she walks out of her bedroom or walks past him on her way to the kitchen the dog growls shows all his teeth barks loud and bites her, like she is a stranger to him. When she gets home from school the tail is wagging and he is excited to see her. She drops her books off in her room and goes and gets his leash and takes him for a walk around the yard. they stop and play fetch and have a wonderful time. I watch them from the kitchen window and think wow what a great dog but then, after play time she will go to her room to do her homework. When I call her out to dinner and she opens her door all **** breaks loose. The dog goes nuts and runs at her growling and barking and showing his teeth. She has always been so wonderful with him and has given him no reason to act like that. When he was eating his dinner and someone walked past his dinner bowl he would growl and show his teeth and has bitten me a few times before for just walking past him. So I try to get his attention by saying COME real loud just to snap him out of it. then I will pick up his bowl and make him eat from it while I am holding it and say good boy. When I place it back down on the floor again he will start the growling again. He gets a lot of attention and lots of play time. Why would he attack the people who take such great care of him? Both my daughter and I have become very afraid of him. We love him but we are sick of him hurting us. It feels like all we do is train this dog and play with him just to have the thing attack us... My husband always tells people " oh don't be afraid of him he won't bite you" I ask him to stop saying that to everyone because if he can bite the people who love him he will bite anyone. My husband had to take a job out of town and he can only come home once a month, so it's just my daughter and I left here to deal with this issue. It didn't start when my husband left, it's been going on for about 5 months. We have had him since he was 6 weeks old. He just turned a year old April 20th. How do we fix this problem?


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Have you taken this dog to any training classes?

I think you need a real live behaviorist/trainer now, if you do not want to put the dog down.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

I agree- get a trainer/behaviorist to come to the house so they can see the three of you together


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## BRITTani (Feb 10, 2011)

I'll say again, you need to see a trainer (or behaviorist) about this issue. This dog is confused and knows no boundaries.


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## WarrantsWifey (Dec 18, 2010)

You needed a behaviorist by the sound of it a few months ago. See if you can find one in your area, and soon.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

You have posted about these issues before. Have you contacted a behaviourist, talked to anyone else about this other than posting on the forum. 

This is VERY serious. I hate to say it, but this dog sounds dangerous. From the time you got him he has been pushing your buttons and you and your daughter have been living in fear of him. No one should be afraid in their own home. 

Please DO something. GET help! For your own sake, for your daughter's sake, and for your dog's sake. Such a confused dog cannot be happy. You can't be happy with this. You need a lot of help here. Management, a full behavioural evalualtion, and a very detailed plan on how to work with him, with the continuous support and help of a knowledgeable and experienced professional.


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## GSD MOM (Apr 21, 2010)

This problem on top of the thread you started a few days ago with his "other issues"... you need a professional to step in and help you get your dog under control.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Castlemaid said:


> You have posted about these issues before. Have you contacted a behaviourist, talked to anyone else about this other than posting on the forum.
> 
> This is VERY serious. I hate to say it, but this dog sounds dangerous. From the time you got him he has been pushing your buttons and you and your daughter have been living in fear of him. No one should be afraid in their own home.
> 
> Please DO something. GET help! For your own sake, for your daughter's sake, and for your dog's sake. Such a confused dog cannot be happy. You can't be happy with this. You need a lot of help here. Management, a full behavioural evalualtion, and a very detailed plan on how to work with him, with the continuous support and help of a knowledgeable and experienced professional.


I agree, you've started or stated in other threads how this dog is aggressive and has everyone afraid of him. Please take the advice given and get help!!!


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## Holmeshx2 (Apr 25, 2010)

I'm super torn on this one. Something just screams "troll" or just SUPER hard headed. I really don't mean to be mean or rude but for months there has been the same posts about some crazy unruly dog that has no rules or boundries and allowed to get away with murder and then excuses made. People EVERY SINGLE TIME say to get a professional yet nothing seems to be going on. People have asked for a location to help give advice on really good trainers in the area but yet all I see is some new thread started. 

The post the other day about the dog getting into everything people asked questions and tried to give recommendations on what to do and the next post was like no one said anything it was just saying more junk the dog did and got into. 
You have apologized TO the dog when he bit YOU and you said YOU forgave HIM because maybe you were wrong by getting in HIS space when hes in YOUR house. 

I really can't say anymore then anyone else. Get a trainer give this dog some consistant boundries and do NOT allow this behavior to continue one second longer.


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## BRITTani (Feb 10, 2011)

Offtopic but how in the world did Steeler get those demon eyes in every video =0


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## CassandGunnar (Jan 3, 2011)

Holmeshx2 said:


> I'm super torn on this one. Something just screams "troll" or just SUPER hard headed. I really don't mean to be mean or rude but for months there has been the same posts about some crazy unruly dog that has no rules or boundries and allowed to get away with murder and then excuses made. People EVERY SINGLE TIME say to get a professional yet nothing seems to be going on. People have asked for a location to help give advice on really good trainers in the area but yet all I see is some new thread started.
> 
> The post the other day about the dog getting into everything people asked questions and tried to give recommendations on what to do and the next post was like no one said anything it was just saying more junk the dog did and got into.
> You have apologized TO the dog when he bit YOU and you said YOU forgave HIM because maybe you were wrong by getting in HIS space when hes in YOUR house.
> ...


I totally agree with the "possible troll" diagnosis. It has always been the same type of problem and same type of advice given.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

Seems like your options are: get a professional or put the dog down.

Your dog is dangerous, in my opinion. It is a liability to the public, especially if your husband allows strangers to pet him. If he bites someone, he will most likely be euthanized.

If you want to be able to stop fearing your own dog, and if you want to have a dog to love, get a professional in there.


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

I have not read any of the OP's other threads but after reading the comments here I can't help but to wonder if perhaps the OP can't afford a professional dog trainer. She may love her dog, and keeps asking for help from this forum, hoping for some technique offered here to work for her dog. Just a thought. However, I must say that this dog has serious issue's, his behavior has been permitted to go on past his puppyhood, and now it will not be easy to correct. I would not even begin to suggest any techniques that I used to train my dog that had aggressions issue's when he was a puppy, because we dealt with them swiftly when he was still very young, and they would not be safe to suggest when dealing with a dog that is already a year old. My suggestion would be to either hire a trainer or tell your husband to take the dog along with him when he leaves for work for the month, and let him deal with it-since he doesn't believe there is any reason to fear the dog.


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## Good_Karma (Jun 28, 2009)

Please get help!!! No one should have to live in fear of an animal in your home. An hour long session with a behaviorist/trainer should cost about $75-$100. This will still be less expensive than a trip to the ER.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

Good_Karma said:


> Please get help!!! No one should have to live in fear of an animal in your home. An hour long session with a behaviorist/trainer should cost about $75-$100. This will still be less expensive than a trip to the ER.


Or a lawsuit after he bites someone.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

> Something just screams "troll".


No. Sorry. Not a troll. We really need to be a bit more careful on calling people trolls so they don't go away before getting hte advice they need.

To the OP, please get a behaviorist in as others have advised. YOu are heading for a very hard lesson if you don't. I understand your family's attachment to this dog as you, or your husband, has explained why and when you got him. However, it sounds like you have a poorly bred dog with bad nerves.

Second, I would never call your daughter out of her bedroom unless you have him on a leash or in a crate. Everytime he is allowed to reach her it reinforces that he is allowed to do that in his brain. 

I know you've been told about NILIF before. Have you been reinforcing that? IMO, he would never be given his food bowl if he starts growling as soon as you put it down. I would hand feed him until he is way past that.

Your husband needs to get on board with this. By not accepting that there is a problem, he is endangering you and your daughter. Your family has had enough grief and sadness.


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## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

Steeler,

Can you tell us what your expectations are from the board here as far the aggression issues? 

Aggression is something that really needs to be observed by an experienced person. The entire interaction of the family with the dog also. 

There is not really anything that we could responsibly suggest to do except to get that expert assistance in your area. 

One thing I can suggest is that if you know there are triggers that spark the dog, such as your daughter coming out of her room, then the dog should never be allowed to be loose when she is coming out of her room. I do feel okay about suggesting proper management on the board. It does not solve a problem but it keeps unwanted things from happening. If Steeler aggresses when he is loose and able to move about freely then he has lost that privilege for the sake of all involved. Utilize his crate and his leash when suspect interactions are likely to occur. Do not allow him free decision making.

It is important that you get someone to help you structure his life. Dogs with aggression can not live an unstructured life where they can act out at will. 

Beyond the strong suggestion that you gain assistance from a knowledgable dog person and that you manage the dog's privileges and "loose time" appropriately, is there something else that you think we could assist with?


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