# In need of help with my GSD



## aph2788 (Oct 14, 2014)

Hello all,

Long time lurker, first- time poster. Wonderful community this is.

I adopted my lovely 2 year old GSD Mia in February of 2014 and began training immediately. She is 100% dog aggressive (as in see dog, walk other way) but other than that, things have generally been going well. She no longer jumps on people, she sits, lays down, and stays on command, goes to and waits in an open crate and releases on command with no issues.

My problem is as follows...she becomes a completely different dog the instant she steps outside. She just seems anxious and generally aggressive..and in ways that seem a bit different from normal on-lead aggression. When I tell her to lay down and stay when outside, I can see she is often quite stressed and any little thing could set her off. When I tell her to sit when outside, she will almost always look behind over her should first and then sit very very slowly. One mind- boggling behavior that I have not been able to find other cases of online is this; 

Often times on walks, she exhibits aggressive behaviors (huffing and puffing, hair standing on back) with NO STIMULUS. She just sort of "walks angry." Almost as if she is anticipating danger or something that will make her upset.

I have tried pinch collars, slip collars, and gentle leader but none seem to get her to focus on me 100% when we are outside.

Has anyone else seen or experienced this? I imagine that the root of the problem is that the dog thinks she is responsible for her own safety when that is meant to be my job. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

A


----------



## aph2788 (Oct 14, 2014)

Here is my lovely Mia.


----------



## PoukieBear (Mar 25, 2014)

You just described my dog Lako to a T! 

It's fear and anxiety. Our guy is afraid of everything that moves too fast. The only way you're going to get her over this is training, training, training and more training.

We've been working with an amazing trainer and he's come SO FAR and we are really proud. however, he is still and will likely always be an anxious dog. We are sending him off for boarding this week to help him get over the last hump of his training.

However, that doesn't meat that he will be "cured". his reactions will be minimized, and we'll be able to handle him better, but he will alwasy be a scardy dog.


----------



## aph2788 (Oct 14, 2014)

I am not alone! haha I figured it was something along those lines. Thank you for your input.


----------



## Susan_GSD_mom (Jan 7, 2014)

I also suspect it's become a self-perpetuating thing. You know she's anxious, so you become nervous and anxious, which makes her even more so. As far as 'fixing' it, someone far more experienced than I will have to give you help. She doesn't have confidence in you when you are outside her comfort zone, so her confidence level overall is low. I do know it's going to be a gradual process building it up, but I'm hoping others will jump in here and give you the process for doing that! Sorry I can't be more help. I have always worked more or less instinctually with my dogs, and have never personally encountered this with any of my dogs, so can't give you specific advice. Okay, someone else step in here...

Susan


----------



## aph2788 (Oct 14, 2014)

Thank you, Susan. That makes sense. I try to remain as calm as possible and keep the leash loose, but to say I don't feel a bit anxious when outside with her would be a lie.


----------



## aph2788 (Oct 14, 2014)

Maybe I can record some video a little later.


----------



## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

I like Susan GSD Mom's response....I believe the anxiety/fear mentality does come into play and most certainly becomes enhanced as the human's "calm" is compromised by the dog's posturing and "aggressive" behavior. I currently have a GSD which used to be somewhat similar to how you describe yours.

PoukieBear's comment regarding "....training, training, training and more training" has merit. It was some of the course I took as well... along with a new mentality towards my pup.

This new mentality I took with my dog as we worked through this hurdle was spawned by an observation I had of how our dog acted differently depending on who was the handler. There was a marked difference in my dog's tendency to become defensive/posturing/aggressive when my wife would walk the dog and encountered situations...many times it was the difference that the dog would give a few serious barks just simply walking out the door ( nothing there at all ) with my wife...the dog did not do this with me...rare if ever. So, it got me thinking, why her and not me? I came to the conclusion it was rooted in leadership, command, control and perhaps the dog felt more the "leader" with my wife when I was not there.

Possibly, the biggest attitude adjustment I made was....never, ever and no faking allowed...when I was out and about with my dog, I displayed absolutely no trepidation/anxiety/fear/etc whatsoever....and as I said...no faking allowed...your dog will see right through it. I have a pact with my dog and she has come to finally understand this promise. I will walk my dog through the valley of doom and protect her 110%, she now knows she can rely on me because my mind and attitude reek of this to her. If the point in time comes when I need to rely on her, I feel rather confident she will protect me but the emphasis is on me leading her through all of her fears and I will not blink an eye.

As someone mentioned in another similar thread... " the road to correcting a DA/fearful/aggressive dog is a long one...." Yes, it is but it is the proper path to take and it requires your leadership to the nth degree. It also takes a stern hand at times as well as lots of patience. Patience and understanding of all the signals your dog gives you....and when you get the dog close to threshold it takes your smarts to train the dog properly.

I refused to accept the behavior my pup started to display and knew it was solely up to me to make the changes required. I am still on the "long road" but my girl is so much better than where we started. 

I believe you have a good understanding of the root of the problem and now need the remedy. I have a feeling that once you implement " training, training and more training" you will achieve more command and control over your dog and things will take a turn for the better.

Best of luck, your efforts will be so rewarding for you and your dog.


SuperG


----------



## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

aph2788 said:


> Hello all,
> 
> 
> 
> ...


One thought regarding this....there very well could be stimuli which your dog is picking up on but unbeknown to you...such as scent, sound or simply, familiarity with a specific area which the dog has deemed a zone to begin posturing due to previous experiences.

If you can identify any of these areas ( no visible stimulus exists) where your dog tends to display this behavior, take advantage of this. I used to bring a tennis ball ( she's rather fond of tennis balls ) along on our walks and I would start bouncing the ball shortly before approaching these "scary" zones and continue doing so until we past this area. This simple distraction would get her through these areas and if she lit up at all, I'd up the distraction. Seriously, if you get the jump on her before she gets close to her threshold and take control, you will make great advances. If you don't get the upper hand and she goes off, the distraction will have little if any effect....you probably already know this. Subtleties such as change in gait, a bit more stiff legged, ears turning forward, head slightly dropping, change in breathing ( the huff and puff you described) etc are usually great indicators that she is setting up to go off.

Oh...and every time you make it through these "zones" successfully...a bit of a "calm" party never hurts either. I'd let my girl have the tennis ball and carry it for a while...a bit of ownership for a while, kept her mind occupied.

SuperG


----------



## aph2788 (Oct 14, 2014)

SuperG,

Thank you so much for that insight. Your response is substantially more useful than the standard "just be the pack leader" responses I see online. I will begin to work on this.

As for the distraction method, I have done that in the past. I was actually advised by a dog trainer to not do it anymore as it distracts the dog rather than forces the dog to learn that she should not be acting out in those scenarios. Perhaps I will give it another shot. I will share my method with everyone here..it seems to work very well with my Mia =)

I take a standard water bottle and poke a small hole in the cap. It basically turns the water bottle into a squirt gun. It's a great distraction and fun for the dog.

Thanks again for the great advice!


----------



## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

aph2788 said:


> . I was actually advised by a dog trainer to not do it anymore as it distracts the dog rather than forces the dog to learn that she should not be acting out in those scenarios.


I'm certain the dog trainer has great reason to advise as such...if you are willing to make the appropriate corrections to curtail this acting out. I recall a bit of counterconditioning training while I was dealing with my DA shepherd...it seemed very counterintuitive ( imagine that ) to me...This much I have learned about using distraction in the situation you describe....there is no way possible that the dog has forgotten about what it is, you are distracting her from...yes, I know dogs live in the moment but I would wager the dog is fully aware of what you are distracting it from... The goal of course is getting the dog to key on you in spite of the trigger. Little by little, you get your dog to pay attention to you, looking for direction and you are on your way.

SuperG


----------



## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

You can't correct a dog for being scared and anxious. So I would ask my trainer to really explain his reasoning. 

Personally I would start focusing work,"watch me", away from all distractions. When it's solid, add it into low stimulus areas, the back yard, the drive way, then once solid move to bigger areas. Heck, load he up, find an empty school parking lot, and work on it there. 

Like I said, you can correct for the dog being nervous, but you can correct for the dog not following through with a known command. But the dog has to know and really understand the command.


----------

