# Breeding an aggressive German Shepherd



## StickyJargon

My German shepherd is 2 years old and i want to breed her but she is quite dog agressive, mostly because she's scared of other dogs, any advice?


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN

Yes, spaying her would be the best thing you could do for her and the breed (and you - whew - not fun to produce more scared dogs!). ETA - will let others talk about the genetics of temperament and fear and how they are passed down, especially from the mom, who influences behavior as well. 

And have to add- good on you that you asked, instead of coming on here in a couple of months asking about body temperature or coat colors!


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## onyx'girl

Right on JeanKBBMMMAAN! Please spay her.


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## Twyla

Spay and do not breed. I have an aggressive dog as well. While I am totally head over heels with him, gorgeous dog, wonderful with me, I would not dream of passing his genes on to a litter of pups. It wouldn't be fair for the pups to grow up like this nor would it be fair for owners to deal with it when I can stop it now.


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## StickyJargon

Really wasn't hoping to hear this


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## Cassidy's Mom

StickyJargon said:


> Really wasn't hoping to hear this


Why? Love the dog you have, and if you want another dog, get another dog. You don't need to breed her, and if she's genetically fearful then you absolutely shouldn't.


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## DanielleOttoMom

Spay her asap!!


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## Zeeva

May I ask why you want to breed her? 

I agree with others about spaying. But is there an underlying reason you want to breed an aggressive dog? It isn't good for society...


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## qbchottu

Why do you want to breed an aggressive female? And according to your profile, you are 17? Are you financially stable enough to deal with possible repercussions that go along with breeding? Has your female had any health certs? Hips/elbows? Have you shown her? Have you worked her in any capacity? How many years of experience do you have with dogs and GSDs? What makes this female worthy enough to breed? Are you being mentored by anyone? What is her pedigree? What qualities does she have? 

Take a step back, educate yourself and don't even think about breeding until you get much more experience.


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## Jax08

Spay her. Unless she has some great qualities that would overcome genetically bad nerves and you know how to match up a pedigree to try to bring out the best qualities, spay her.


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## catz

I would never buy a puppy from a dam that is DA and I don't know anyone that would. Nervous mum = nervous pups.


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## jang

I was just at my local SPCA this week..ABSOLUTELY PITIFUL HOW MANY HOMELESS DOGS ARE THERE..WAITING TO DIE?? please don't add to the millions of homeless pets..


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## Jax08

catz said:


> I would never buy a puppy from a dam that is DA and I don't know anyone that would. Nervous mum = nervous pups.


It's not the dog aggressive that bothers me. It's the fact that it's based in FEAR aggression which indicates a weak nerved dog. I live with a FA dog...and it's a PITA.


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## Twyla

Jax08 said:


> It's not the dog aggressive that bothers me. It's the fact that it's based in FEAR aggression which indicates a weak nerved dog. I live with a FA dog...and it's a PITA.


Yes!! This^^^


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## e.rigby

The purpose of breeding is the better the breed as a whole. Just because you like your dog and want puppies doesn't mean she is a good example of the type of dog that should represent the breed. 

A nervous, insecure, dog aggressive GSD is not a dog that should be adding to the breed. 

If you want a puppy, look around for good breeders. You're going to have to pay a bit, but believe me, a puppy from a GOOD GSD breeder is going to be TEN TIMES more enjoyable than a puppy from your girl.

It'd be best to get her spayed.


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## CeCe

You can't breed a dog with a genetic weakness. If she were deformed in some way would it be fair to produce puppies that were sure to be deformed as well? It's the same thing with behavior problems. I know someone who bred their FA chihuahua and she ate some of her puppies because she was so nervous.
If you want to experience whelping perhaps you could volunteer at an animal shelter and work with a pregnant dog in need.


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## Nikitta

Guys Take it easy on this girl. She at 17, was smart enough to ask first. You are a very smart young lady. I'm very impressed. Please take their advise and don't breed her. I know puppies are cute and special but you have your whole life ahead of you and if you love this breed as much as the rest of us here, you, will in the future, get a great dog to breed. Just love the one you have and maybe share your love for puppies with getting another one, or if that is not possible, maybe volunteer at a pet rescue, human society type thing. So many dogs who were cute as puppies, but have fear issues end up in bad places. Thank you for being smart enough to ask.


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## Freestep

StickyJargon said:


> Really wasn't hoping to hear this


I know, but it's good you asked, and it's good you're listening.

The fact is, temperament is genetic, so if your female is fear-aggressive, her pups probably will be too. In fact, there are an awful lot of fear-aggressive GSDs out there, it's why the breed has gotten a bad name. If you breed your bitch, you will be perpetuating this.

GSDs are not an endangered species, so it's not necessary to breed ALL of them. You breed only the best to the best. Not saying your female is not a wonderful, loving pet. She certainly deserves the best of what you have to give. Spay her, and let her be a wonderful pet. 

If you think you want to get into breeding, there is a whole world of knowledge that you must have under your belt in order to do it right. This means lots of study and a mentor, going to shows, trials, and training. When you get to a point where you have a solid knowledge base (I'd say a minimum of five years of intense study), and you have a solid mentor, then you go about finding the right dogs for breeding.


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## doggiedad

is your dog a rescue and aggressive towards your father?


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## bjbryant73

Like others have said, do not breed your female, get her spayed. 

She's still young work with a trainer and work with her on her aggression issues.


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## wolfy dog

Believe us; even if it isn't genetic she will teach her pups. I had that same experience with a shelter dog whose litter I fostered. The mother was aggressive to visitors so I kept her away as soon as I expected people over so her pups wouldn't see her behavior. I kept one of the pups and had to have him euthanized due to aggression at 7 years old. It might have been genetic, I don't know but I worked so hard on this litter to keep them safe but couldn't evidently stand up against genes, just as you cannot stand up against the mother's behavior.
I am glad you asked advice here so you can prevent a lot of heartache for potential future owners.


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## KatsMuse

StickyJargon said:


> My German shepherd is 2 years old and i want to breed her but she is quite dog agressive, mostly because she's scared of other dogs, any advice?


IMO, DON'T! ...do you really want to pass that on?


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## Gharrissc

You can't people to tell you something you want to hear,even if it isn't right. I agree with all the others, get her spayed.




StickyJargon said:


> Really wasn't hoping to hear this


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## martemchik

Don't take offense to this but at least most people come on here asking about breeding because their dogs have normal temperaments, maybe not outstanding examples of the breed but they're good dogs. In your situation, you know enough to understand that she doesn't have a good temperament and are still asking. The only thing I can think of that's left is that you think she's beautiful, but remember the pups won't look like her, and I can find you 40000 people on this website that will tell you their dog is more beautiful than yours (although I'm sure yours is beautiful as well).

I noticed you're from England, with what your country did to the pit bull breed, why would you want to make aggressive shepherds and maybe risk that same thing happening to GSDs?


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## wolfy dog

martemchik said:


> I noticed you're from England, with what your country did to the pit bull breed, why would you want to make aggressive shepherds and maybe risk that same thing happening to GSDs?


???????????? Let's not start this please.:rolleyes2: It just isn't kind and it doesn't help the cause.
She just asked for advice about her GSD and it seems pretty clear what everybody has agreed on to help her.


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## martemchik

wolfy dog said:


> ???????????? Let's not start this please.:rolleyes2: It just isn't kind and it doesn't help the cause.
> She just asked for advice about her GSD and it seems pretty clear what everybody has agreed on to help her.


Start what? I'm not sure you quite understand what I'm talking about.


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## carmspack

I think the OP will affirm that when the British Dangerous Dog Act was enacted the atmosphere was near hysterical. Any dog , and this still stands, can be seized and euthanized if it is out of control and appearing to be dangerous. In the beginning in 1991 there were cases where dogs were seized because they gave a passing pedestrian "a fright" - looked the wrong way or knit his brows. We were all signing petitions like mad in Ontario when then Attorney General Michael Bryant enacted his specific anti breed legislation. There was no telling where something will end once allowed to be enacted. 
So bringing to attention the OPs British citizenship is not unkind or unfair. There are so many regulations , probably the most regulated country there is . 
Only the most ideal temperament should be bred.


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## carmspack

where are we getting so many "behaviourists" with this as advice, I mean cooky treating -- 
I know from my market contacts one lady took a correspondence course , no hands on experience other than the dogs she babysat during the day.


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## carmspack

disregard above -- WRONG THREAD --


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## selzer

StickyJargon said:


> My German shepherd is 2 years old and i want to breed her but she is quite dog agressive, mostly because she's scared of other dogs, any advice?


Please do not breed this dog. 

But try this on for a plan instead of breeding your dog:

You want puppies, you want to breed your bitch. But you can see there is a problem with this one. How about if you spend the next two years learning everything there is to know about breeding and raising dogs, the German shepherd dog breed, training dogs, grooming dogs, working dogs, herding dogs, nutrition. 

At the same time, work with your dog. Work to overcome her fear-aggressiveness/dog aggression. Go to lots of classes with her. Go slow, and introduce her to new things calmly and at a distance and only a few in a week's time. As the months go by increase this little by little. Train her to be awesome. Awesome in obedience, and maybe agility, and maybe herding if you can. None of this is wasted. In fact, learning how to train a dog, working with a dog with issues, training a dog in a variety of venues will help you to support your future customers. 

After two years, make a plan. Make a plan to step up your training with this dog, and to set yourself into a position where you can afford and house the breeding bitch of your dreams. Decide whether you want to go with one that is full grown, or if you want to gamble on a puppy from an excellent breeder and excellent producers. Learn pedigrees and the various lines of GSDs and decide what you like best. 

You have a bitch now. I would like to suggest you dedicate yourself to the bitch you have and ten years from now, you will be in a position to get your foundation bitch. Not everyone can wait that long. But, remember that having two bitches can be a royal pain, so you need to have a housing situation where you can keep the two 100% separated if necessary, and if you intend to breed then next one it WILL be necessary to separate them 100% of the time while she is pregnant and while she has puppies.


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## mssandslinger

spay! I did that with mine who i ADORE! but the puppies may never be like the parent, depending on who you breed with and how they are raised. DO whats best for her and the potential offspring that might never have a happy life because of issues like theese.


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## wolfspirit

carmspack said:


> I think the OP will affirm that when the British Dangerous Dog Act was enacted the atmosphere was near hysterical. Any dog , and this still stands, can be seized and euthanized if it is out of control and appearing to be dangerous. In the beginning in 1991 there were cases where dogs were seized because they gave a passing pedestrian "a fright" - looked the wrong way or knit his brows. We were all signing petitions like mad in Ontario when then Attorney General Michael Bryant enacted his specific anti breed legislation. There was no telling where something will end once allowed to be enacted.
> So bringing to attention the OPs British citizenship is not unkind or unfair. There are so many regulations , probably the most regulated country there is .
> Only the most ideal temperament should be bred.


Not sure I would agree with this, maybe in terms of Pit bulls as obviously they are a banned breed here, but I don't think the UK is overly regulated with regards to dogs. I am horrified by the amount of posts on this forum with people talking about leash laws and how there is nowhere for them to let their dogs run free.  We don't have that here, dogs are allowed offlead in pretty much any public area other than roads and pavements. They are allowed offlead on beaches, and parks, any footpath and field as long as they stay away from livestock etc.


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## Catu

wolfspirit said:


> I am horrified by the amount of posts on this forum with people talking about leash laws and how there is nowhere for them to let their dogs run free.


I hear you! Every time I get annoyed by a stray or unleashed dog I remember this forum and it reminds me that freedom is priceless and well worth the discomfort.


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## martemchik

In the United States as long as your dog can heel 100% of the time next to you, most people won't even notice you don't have a leash on if you choose to have it off. But...99% of dogs aren't trained that well and so they aren't trusted off leash. Very rarely would you run into people that would get mad at your dog being off leash unless it is bothering them, I take my dog off leash all the time in public parks and let him run, I've never had an issue with it. But other municipalities are different.

The reason dogs aren't "over regulated" in your opinion in the UK is that they have reduced the amounts of "dangerous dogs." There is no need to give the authorities any reason to step up their enforcement of this law by breeding a dog that you already know has aggression issues.


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## marshies

Think about it another way. What kind of homes do you want your puppies to go to? Obviously, you want homes that have done their research (breed traits, temperament, health, etc), and will commit to raising the dog to be a responsible and healthy canine citizen. But because these same homes have done their research, they also know what kind of dogs they DO NOT want - which is a puppy from a dam with nerve issues. So you'll be left trying to place your pups into less desirable homes. It'll probably a crappy feeling for you, and might not be the best life for them.


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## wolfspirit

martemchik said:


> In the United States as long as your dog can heel 100% of the time next to you, most people won't even notice you don't have a leash on if you choose to have it off. But...99% of dogs aren't trained that well and so they aren't trusted off leash. Very rarely would you run into people that would get mad at your dog being off leash unless it is bothering them, I take my dog off leash all the time in public parks and let him run, I've never had an issue with it. But other municipalities are different.
> 
> The reason dogs aren't "over regulated" in your opinion in the UK is that they have reduced the amounts of "dangerous dogs." There is no need to give the authorities any reason to step up their enforcement of this law by breeding a dog that you already know has aggression issues.


I totally agree with it being irresponsible to breed a dog that is has fear aggression. Totally. 

I just wanted to point out that the UK isn't really regimented with dogs as some people might think. And to me, if the dog is having to heel beside me then that's not the point of offlead. In the UK, dogs are allowed to run free in pretty much any open area, beach or park, so it sounds less strict that the US (was my point..) lol


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## JakodaCD OA

It looks like the OP has left the house


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## martemchik

wolfspirit said:


> I totally agree with it being irresponsible to breed a dog that is has fear aggression. Totally.
> 
> I just wanted to point out that the UK isn't really regimented with dogs as some people might think. And to me, if the dog is having to heel beside me then that's not the point of offlead. In the UK, dogs are allowed to run free in pretty much any open area, beach or park, so it sounds less strict that the US (was my point..) lol


Its just a different culture in the US. I think in Europe there is a lot more personal responsibility when it comes to dog ownership. When I was over there most dogs were trained much better and dogs are expected to have a certain level of training. In the US, there are just too many dogs that aren't trained, too many dogs that are purchased because they're cute, with no real reason or expectation for training.

Sadly I see the dogs being allowed to run free the reason why England needed a Dangerous Dog Act. The fact that people got too comfortable and thought, why not let my aggressive dog off leash? Everyone else is doing it! So the fact that the US is strict is what leads us to not completely ban dogs from places lol. You don't want to know how many times I've seen someone bring a DA dog into an area with other dogs. It's like they just don't care, and still want to force a normal life on their dogs. People here just don't have the same personal responsibility they have in Europe.

Also just the sheer numbers of dogs...there are more dogs in the US then there are people in the UK. So statistically there will be a lot more issues.


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