# Sudden aggression towards other dogs - HELP!



## England13 (Nov 26, 2017)

Hi guys, we have a 16 month old male GSD. He's from a fantastic pedigree breeder and has always been wonderful. He's very intelligent, fun and loving. However, in the past month or so, he has suddenly started being aggressive to other dogs. It started with him growling at a one or two dogs that he met for no apparent reason. We noticed that if he was happily playing with another dog, then the other dog started to run away, he would chase it and become very aggressive. We told him off each time, making him sit, looking him in the eyes and firmly saying "No!". But this clearly hasn't worked, as on the last two or three walks we've taken him on, he's tried to attack every single dog he's come across by growling at them and trying to bite them. We bought a muzzle for him yesterday to see if making him wear that for a while would get him to calm down, but he still tries to attack every dog he meets while wearing it. We just don't understand why this has suddenly happened - he's always loved other dogs and has run around happily playing with them, so a sudden inexplicable change like this just doesn't make any sense to us. He's still extremely friendly to his family and other humans, it's just other dogs that he suddenly hates. Does anyone have any idea why this has happened and, more importantly, how we can stop it? Is it just a moody adolescent phase? Any help would be hugely appreciated.


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## Kyrielle (Jun 28, 2016)

Please describe in detail what happened and what you think is aggressive behavior. What were both of the dogs doing before, during, and after the interaction? What else did your dog do other than growl? Was there biting? If so, where? Was any blood drawn? Was he on a leash? Is he neutered? Did the other dog get hurt, cry, yelp, and/or run away in terror?

I ask all of these questions, because Jack went through a similar phase. He'd get in scuffles with other dogs he already knew and try dominating them. He'd growl, bite at the other dog's neck (never hard and only ever leaving slobber), push, shove, try to mount. It's like he suddenly had a bone to pick with them.

Now, he's 20 months, and the scuffles are dying down considerably. It actually started to die down once we let him get into a full scuffle with another dog (growling, wrestling, body slamming, mounting, shoving--no blood, just lots and lots of noise and both dogs followed the rules of engagement), finish it (both got tired), and then move on to play and wrestle with that same dog. After that, he's also learned how to appease a dog that tries to bully him, and will actively attempt to get a dog that dominated him to wrestle and play fight.

Now he likes to growl when he's playing, and it can sound very scary to a lot of people. But other dogs don't mind at all, and when things get out of hand, he's learned how to stop playing and calm down for a bit before resuming.


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## Findlay (Jan 8, 2015)

I don’t think the aggression is a phase or that your dog will suddenly grow out of the behavior. 

I’m thinking too that a muzzle isn’t the answer to your problem because it doesn’t send your dog the message that his behavior isn’t okay. 

Have you thought about consulting a trainer who understands GSDs? Maybe enroll in a group obedience class. That way your dog can be in close contact with other dogs in a supervised setting. 
The trainer will likely fit your dog with a prong collar and teach you to make on-leash corrections and your dog will learn what Behaviors are not okay.
With the help of a good trainer and a lot of practice he’ll learn to walk with you without incident. 
Good luck.


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## England13 (Nov 26, 2017)

Thanks for your reply. I'll answer all your questions in the order you raised them. On the first two or three occasions, my dog was off his lead on a walk and playing with the other dog. It was when that dog ran away from him while playing that my dog started growling and running after them, snapping his jaws as though he was trying to bite them. It was clearly aggressive and not playful. Now, whenever I walk him, I have him on a lead and with a muzzle, but when a dog is nearby, he growls aggressively, pulls on the lead and tries to bite the other dog. I have always stopped him by grabbing his harness before any dog got harmed, but I'm sure there would be blood drawn if I did not. He's not neutered, though I think I will get that done now. The other dogs do run away in fear and yelp. What you're describing that your dog does sounds a lot more innocent and less vicious than what my dog is doing.


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

My male is 2 1/2 and intact, and he has had a few blips with other dogs, particularly males, males that stare at him, ect. He is not dog aggressive and has never been in a fight or altercation of any kind because I don't allow that stuff to happen.

He does not greet strange dogs on or off leash. I don't know what they will do, and I am not interested in finding out at his expense. He does not play with unknown dogs. He has played with probably half a dozen dogs outside my household dogs, but they were all picked by me after seeing them interact with other dogs before him, and when he is loose with them I make sure he adheres to some rules. Out of control chasing isn't allowed. Back of the neck takedowns are not allowed. Humping is discouraged. He played with an Aussie who had a tendency to get growly and I knew it was normal play for the aussie but I wasn't sure my dog would take it that way so I always made them time out when it got noisy. He has played with a few males, females, and at least one intact male. I wanted him to know how to play with another dog--my other dog besides him is old and does not really play anymore. I wanted him to have a clue about dog body language. So I have tried to give him some experiences so he has that, but I don't want him so "doggy" that he can't focus on me because he wants to go check out another dog.

My experience is that a lot of the interaction is colored by how it starts---so one of my requirements of him is that he has to come in with the right signals or it's a no go. If he comes in tall and staring and ready to pounce, it's not happening. He has to relax, give some nicer signals to the other dog, come in on a slack leash, or there is no chance I let them make contact.

I believe I have heard it said by a trainer who really knows his stuff in this area that letting a dog muzzle fight builds the frustration/aggression, so muzzling your dog and then letting it have contact with other dogs may be making your problem worse. He is basically practicing the fight with the added frustration of the muzzle so once it is off, it will be game on big time

I'd stop letting this dog have any contact with other dogs--work on the reactivity first, then consider trying to reintroduce him to a calm, known dog at some point later, maybe with the help of a trainer. If he hasn't bitten and done damage he may not need the muzzle anyway-- dogs who fight without damaging the other dog usually continue to do so unless the owners are allowing the situation to escalate---your goals need to be slack leash, calm signals from your dog at whatever distance from the other dog necessary to achieve calmness: soft eye, looking away from other dog, moving eyes vs target lock, sniffing the ground, praise those responses.

Shepherds in my experience have some play habits that can become dysfunctional if they are allowed--- the chasing that becomes kind of predatory, the back of neck takedown, the too much staring when first meeting, ect.....


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