# Attacking me when I fell down???? Need HELP



## TankGrrl66 (Jun 29, 2010)

Ok. This was pretty embarassing for me...I am really unsure of what to think about it.

I was playing with one of my GSDs outside. He is 4 years old and neutered. He is the bossy type, but he listens to me. 

I practice NILIF. I control pretty much everything he does. He sits or down stays before having food. I can take anything away from him. He does not dare go up on the furniture except for the old couch in the spare room. He gets off of it whenever I ask him to. He is good on walks, he has to sit before going out doors, etc. He lets me brush him, will show me his belly no problem, etc. That sort of stuff. He looks to me for direction when out and about as well.

So...I was playing with him(he loves to be chased, all I have to do is "sneak" around and he loves it) and he came around a corner and stopped. Then, he bolted right for me...I thought he was going to do a drive by like he normally does, but he ran into me like a bowling ball. He hit me right in the knee. 

It hurt so bad I fell to the ground...he came up to me when I fell down, and I put my arm out because he was too close. Next thing I know, he jumps on me and bats me with his paws while snarling and growling and biting me on the back of my head, neck and shoulder. HE DREW NO BLOOD. I felt his teeth though. Was he just too amped up???? 
I take it he was playing or he was correcting me for something. If he meant business I would be talking about my stitches right now and I would hate him ... But I am elaning towards correcting me. Which he has no place doing. I am a mixture of confused and pissed off.
Anyway, after that I was just shocked. I had no idea what to do. I got up, and he was standing by the door to be let in. I go over and he growls at me. I stand my ground, and slowly stand by the door and move him out of my way. He stops growling, and tries to get back to the door. I walk in front of him and "claim my space".
I then tell him to sit, shake paw, down and bang! (he rolls over onto his back and elts me touch his chest/belly)...so WTF. I go inside and calm down a little, then take him for a walk, making him pay attention to me and giving him different commands to do.

Now he is fine. Acting completely normal. How do I re-restablish control? Because I apparently do not have enough for him to dare do that to me. I am just so offended...I mean, I feel punk'd by my own dog!!!!!!

If he is going to be like this, I can never trust him again. Especially around ANY and ALL children.


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## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

I have a 3 yo male GSD and he actually acts very similar to yours if I get down on the floor with him. he starts getting all ramped up and trys jumping on me and "biting" (mouthing, not biting down but certainly can feel his teeth - sort of like he says "you are on the floor - now you are mine!". Our behaviorist indicated that he was just trying to assert himself and I should just correct him and if he continues simple get up and put him in the crate for a "cool down".

I used to worry about it but don't any more.

BTW, if I get on the floor and have a bully stick with me when I do - then he will just lay down and chew the stick and like always i can take it from him and he will just look at me and "ask" - "can I have it back can I?"

This behavior scared the heck out of my wife one night when she saw us playing like this - she said that he was getting way too rough etc.

Unless he actually grabbed you with a "real bite" I wouldn't worry about it. I suspect that your dog was just playing at least in his own mind.


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## WarrantsWifey (Dec 18, 2010)

I agree with Codmaster. I think your pup was playing, but a little on the rough side. I'd spend more time on the ground and treat the good behavior when he is calm. So he knows how to behave. 

In my house, if your on the floor, your fair game. I'm just evil like that though, unless somebody is hurt. But usually he picks up on that and goes to kiss and help. Not rough play. But if your on the floor, your in for kisses of your life and some play mouthing and sometimes he will get too rough and play stops immediately.... I'd just work with him, spend some "quality time" on the floor with him.... 

They are never to old to learn a new trick. Maybe you can teach him a stand still command with something like HELP. Kinda like what a service dog would do for balance. So you could use him to help you up, give him a job when he hears that word. It should also stop him dead in his tracks when he hears the word and know your not playing. You actually need HELP.

And on that last paragraph, I'm no training expert, so I'd have no clue how to train him into doing that. Just something I think I'D do.... My mom has a service dog and that is one of his commands.... But it's, Help me up, for him....


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Keep an eye on him. I would avoid roughhousing with him at all. If he continues to act aggressively, out of the norm, I would have him checked out at the vet, blood tests, etc. 

If at ANY time he does something like this, I would say NO, stand up straight, and end any game, any playing, I might tell him to GO LAY DOWN! And totally ignore the dog for at least an hour, maybe longer. He needs to know, if he is playing, and the growling makes me think he is doing a little more than play here, that it is not ok, and that all good things will end when he does this. 

I almost think that he moved into his play/prey drive and got carried away. And no, I would not trust him to play with children at this point.


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## dOg (Jan 23, 2006)

Sounds playful, though rough to me. Agree with others, and would simply proceed with caution, but _*not*_ fear. After a while, I wouldn't avoid kids, but introduce to as many as possible, but not let any playing occur until you are very confident this was just exuberance and puppy foolishness still trapped inside.


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## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

Are there games that you can play that do not place you on the same level as he is? I don't mean physical level either. It has never occurred to me to play with mine in such a manner that I am physically the center of the play. Will he chase a toy? Play tug?


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## PupperLove (Apr 10, 2010)

It sounds like he's treating you like he should be treating/playing with another dog. Is he allowed to nip at you or mouth you otherwise at all? It sounds like he was playing to me, but maybe he doesn't know that he's not allowed to mouth at you during play? I teach both of our dogs that they are never allowed to mouth us at all because when they get riled up sometimes they can forget how hard they bite, and it can get out of hand....so it's all around not allowed. I'm not sure if that's the real problem, but it sounds like he got carried away and is using dog to dog behavior on you! Biting, batting, growling...


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## AgileGSD (Jan 17, 2006)

I agree that he was likely playing and see no reason to think he was "correcting" you. I would suggest playing "Wild Dog/Calm Dog" with him, starting with less stimulation and moving up to more. To start this game have your dog sit, then release him while you get him a bit excited (jump around, push at him whatever starts to get him playful), then return to being calm and have him sit again. As he gets better and better at going from calmness to arousal to calmness, you get get him more and more wound up before becoming calm and asking him to sit. Eventually, you can work up to being on his level getting him wound up, then asking for a sit. It will teach him to have better self control and be able to realize when play has stopped and you need him to follow a command.


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

Wow! that is scary. We had a male beagle when I was a child that bit my mother on the upper lip after she slipped and fell when they were together. We just thought the fall scared the dog. She had one or two stitches, the scar looked like one of her vertical wrinkle lines. As far as being around children, that is hard. Generally because we live in such a litigious society, we try to avoid them.


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## pache11 (Dec 20, 2010)

Playing stalking games with my shepherd have always gotten them amped up pretty well. I play with them and work at the same time on getting them to control their excitement. I work with teaching a calm command and using it with increasing levels of exitement. It is funny sometimes when they are really excited and I will tell them to calm down and they shake their heads as if to reset. It sound like he was really excited and then confused when you fell.


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## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

It sounds like play to me, as well. You fell to the ground and your pup was like, "SWEET! My owner's gonna play wrestle games with me! Woo hoo!!"

The key is to have an "off" switch and to only allow play when you invite/initiate it. I don't buy into a lot of the "dominance theory" methods and DO rough play on occasion with my dogs, but have taught all of them that ENOUGH means enough, stop right this moment. They also know they can only play roughouse with me when I initiate it... not just any old time. They also understand that other people are off limits... only mom and uncle (my brother) play roughhouse. They also all have excellent bite inhibition and never bite even hard enough to cause any pain, let alone break the skin.

It is best to leave off any rough play, however, unless you are certain it can be 100% controlled.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

I think most dogs love it when you get on the ground with them- my husband can hardly work on a car without lots of 'help'. He occasionally plays rough with Stosh but Stosh knows he's only allowed to play bite with my husband and no one else.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

Sounds like rough play to me too. He wanted to play with you and he got a little rough. It was probably out of excitement.

Sin likes to wrestle when I get down to his level.


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## plusdoegsd (Nov 15, 2010)

seems like he was excited and your falling might have prompted his prey drive to kick in for the kill just needs to install a shut off switch and recognize you are not prey at any time no matter where you lay


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## TankGrrl66 (Jun 29, 2010)

*surprised...*

I must say...I am pleasantly surprised by not only all of the replies, but how everybody chalks it up to play! This makes me feel a lot better. But still, I think he was trying to bully me somehow???

It was just really odd, because this dog is not allowed to mouth anybody. My other dog is, because I can control how excited and "into" the rough housing he gets with just a look or tone. 

Having him calm down when playing sounds like a pretty good idea. Regardless, this sort of thing falls into the "not havin it" category.


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## fgshepherd (Sep 1, 2010)

Sounds like play time to me, too. Rocky would LOVE to rough-house, but I don't let him because I don't want to get bitten or scratched, and it would be my own fault. If I run from him in the yard, he'll catch me and want to jump on me and keep me from moving, like he would another dog. So, I keep it pretty mellow when we play.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i could be wrong but i think you're
to dominating with your dog. what's he laying down
showing you his belly for? what are you doing to
make him so submissive?

when you fell he probably was playing rough
or maybe he was tried of you being so controlling
so he decided "ah, got my chance, let me show him
what it's like". :crazy:


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

doggiedad said:


> i could be wrong but i think you're
> to dominating with your dog. what's he laying down
> showing you his belly for? what are you doing to
> make him so submissive?
> ...


 
i have to agree. i agree he was playing and may have gotten a little too rough but i also agree that you do sound a bit more controlling than should probably be necessary.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

make a pact . You be the person , and he be the dog. 
I too would say it was because of the chase game , which is not a good idea. He got carried away with the excitement and the tables turned and he reacted as if you were another dog . This is one of the problems when kids are left alone with trusted family pets. The friends come over , everyone starts to run , play tag , the dog gets involved , gets all whipped up and excited , and then something happens and a child gets mauled. Not because it was a nasty dog . We had a tragic inicident where that happened (Stouffville) some years back. A mellow family pet . Kids play catch the doggy -- Unfortunately the child lost his life. 
You don't have to have a hyperactive or prey stimulated animal . 
Carmen
Carmspack Working German Shepherd Dogs


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## Minnieski (Jan 27, 2009)

Well, it's hard to say since I didn't see it, but what you're describing to me is play. I think he was really excited and that he was playing with you like he would another dog. Then, when he realized how mad you were, he ran to the door to go inside where it was safe. 

My guess is that he growled at you because he was afraid of you - he thought you were coming to correct him for being naughty when he was trying to play. A cornered dog is a cornered dog, and they will protect themselves if they feel threatened, and yes, they can feel threatened by their owners. I think it was good to diffuse the tension by having him do a few exercises like you did. 

IMO this isn't an attempt for dominance. He knocked you over, but that does happen (Tanner took out my dh at the knee a few weeks ago during a hyped-up game of fetch). In fact, my mom was actually knocked unconscious by her lab a few years ago, and he was the most submissive dog I've ever met. It happens.


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## erin_1977 (Mar 7, 2011)

He probably was just too excited in his play, and I think you are totaly right about watching him around kids.. They move fast and make high pitched noises which can excite dogs into chasing, biting.. 
I also would feel disrespected if my dogs did anything like that.. My guy won't even jump up on me, let alone put his mouth on me or the kids, and if he suddenly did I would be concerned as you are.. I have to say there would def had to been some type of punishment on that one..


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## DianaB (Jan 3, 2007)

Have you checked the dog's thyroid since this is not the normal behavior? Just a thought.


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## wrenny (Sep 20, 2007)

Mine also has the syndrome if I'm on the floor it's time to play rough. Never growls or anything but he gets more teethy but certainly no agression.


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## Zoeys mom (Jan 23, 2010)

You got punked by your dog, lmao So he was playing and got a little full of himself- it happens. Continue the NILIF and keep excited play to a minimum!!


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