# 18 month gsd please help .



## jimmy and susan (Jun 6, 2009)

please help us..... 18 month male gsd rescued at 11months. he is a wonderful dog indoors,but when out doors he can be a complete nightmare ,when we are head on with other dogs, my gsd [gunner] will not focus on us or anything else ,food ,toys ,etc. he makes a bee line for the dogs ,rabbits,birds ,etc. when on the leed he will pull until you loose control ,...................not good. he is not aggressive with other dogs , in his younger life he lived with three staffordshire bull terriers.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Welcome and thanks for rescuing. When I adopted Basu he pulled so hard that I thought I was going to need shoulder surgery. It took 3 levels of OB classes, daily practice and a lot of exercise to get it so I could walk him without hanging on for dear life. 

What kind of training classes have you done? Are you practicing Nothing in Life is Free? What kind of leash are you using? What kind of collar?


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## jimmy and susan (Jun 6, 2009)

we practice every day ,he attends gsd training once a week ,he has a normal collar and a halty,with a three foot leash.[he only pulls when another dog is coming toward us.


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## lcht2 (Jan 8, 2008)

ill take him if you dont want him. sounds to me that he is full of prey drive and or just loves to socialize. seems he's got the potential to be a good dog with the right trainer/owners. how is his ball drive??


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## jimmy and susan (Jun 6, 2009)

he will be a perfect dog , we will endevour to correct any problems we have with him ,which means you have no chance in getting my dog .thanks for your input .


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## doggonefool (Apr 15, 2004)

I have a fearful agressive GSD that I adopted. We have worked a lot with her to get her to feel secure. We still have problems when some people are at the house, she is determined to get a taste of them.

I worked with a trainer who gave me some handling tips. When walking, hold the leash near the hookup of the halti. When the dog goes into what I call the 'ignore me mode' I turn in front of him, tighten up my hold to force him to look at me and tell him whatever I need to tell him (leave it, no bark, whatever) and when he focuses on me again, we continue the walk.

River doesn't like the head collar, and neither do I, but it gives me great control when she may go to nip at someone.

and we installed a tie down where she can be in with the group but is in her place.

Good luck


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## sitstay (Jan 20, 2003)

> Quote:
> I worked with a trainer who gave me some handling tips. When walking, hold the leash near the hookup of the halti. When the dog goes into what I call the 'ignore me mode' I turn in front of him, tighten up my hold to force him to look at me and tell him whatever I need to tell him (leave it, no bark, whatever) and when he focuses on me again, we continue the walk.
> 
> River doesn't like the head collar, and neither do I, but it gives me great control when she may go to nip at someone.


I have a 2.5 year old neutered male that is fearfully aggressive with other dogs. I have had good success in teaching him to "look at me" as a way to focus him before he starts to get worried about what another dog is going to do.
However I just wanted to share what my experience was when I tried to restrain him during a reactive moment: he bit me. He became frustrated at the restraint and redirected the aggression to my leg with two or three painful bites.
So much of working with this type of behavior is about the timing. When the handler times the commands and the rewards, and how easily they pick up on what the dog is telling them. I waited a fraction of a second too long to redirect my dog and I paid for it. Thankfully I recognized my own mistake and responsibility and my dog didn't end up paying for it.
After my own experience the last thing I want to do is restrain my dog even further when he is feeling fearful or anxious. These days I retreat with him to a safer distance and start all over again with obedience commands that he finds soothing and familiar. And one of those is the "watch me" command on a loose leash that we have practiced and practiced until it is automatic.
I would recommend the book "Control Unleashed" by Leslie McDevitt (I am not sure that I spelled her last name correctly). There is a whole network of professional trainers out there that can guide you and your dog through training with the "Control Unleashed" concept. It really helped my dog and it has certainly made me a better owner/handler.
Good luck!
Sheilah


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

> Originally Posted By: gunnerandsmudgemy gsd [gunner] will not focus on us or anything else ,food ,toys ,etc. he makes a bee line for the dogs ,rabbits,birds ,etc. when on the leed he will pull until you loose control


So what happens if he gets loose from you? Does he attack the other dog? Does he run up and try to play with them?

How does he interact with other dogs now? Does he live with other dogs or have dog friends to play with?


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

From your post he is not agressive with other dogs, he is just pulling you around.

A couple of things:
learn to be a post. You just plant yourself until he does look at you, move back toward you or something like that. Then you move forward. Any time he succeeds (by you being pulled where he wants to go) he has destroyed your other efforts and set you back a couple of weeks of "post" work.

Walk when there is less going on. I often walk late at night. You still need to be vigilant never to reward pulling but there's less to watch at night.

Make a point of not "meeting other dogs head on" - really hard to win that one. In your "I am a post" training, you need to be a certain distance from the stimulous to start with and slowly build closer.

Part of this is that he's at a "difficult" age. But You'll get there.


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## jimmy and susan (Jun 6, 2009)

he runs up to other dogs and plays ,he is not aggressive ................unless he is attacked. he chased a rabbit this morning ,court it brought it back to me .i told him to drop it he did ..............the rabbit ran off lol.


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## GSD07 (Feb 23, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: sit,stay
> These days I retreat with him to a safer distance and start all over again with obedience commands that he finds soothing and familiar. And one of those is the "watch me" command on a loose leash that we have practiced and practiced until it is automatic.


That's my approach too. If the dog reacts (pulls, barks) it's too late to do anything so I just turn around and make a large circle without a word of my displeasure (actually, with a command 'turn around') and consider it my mistake that I didn't anticipate the situation and didn't handle it in a proper manner. I do not ask Yana to watch me anymore because it makes her stressed to divert her eyes from a dog/person who stresses her. If she doesn't react and doesn't shut down and can hear me then I'm happy.

If my dogs just pull on walks then 'turn around' and then continue on a loose leash or 'turn around' again. It's a slow approach but works for me.


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## jimmy and susan (Jun 6, 2009)

he runs up and plays unless they attack him then he fights back but he dosnt bite. if they play so does he. we dont have anymore dogs just a parrot which he is great with. he used to live with 3 staffys, there is 2 staffys that live behind us and he fights with them at the fence. i keep making the excuse that hes still a puppy but i dont want him to turn aggressive.


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## jimmy and susan (Jun 6, 2009)

thanx for all your input we will try it. something has got to work . he has been a little better today there where 3 dogs walking behind us i kept him interested in his frizzby which worked its only when we have to walk past dogs that head on with us when he reacts that way.


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## Timber1 (May 19, 2007)

From a fellow rescue who has passed retirement age. It is tough to act as a post when a dog stronger then you is pulling. Try a small pronged collar tight up on the neck. When the dog starts to pull there is no reason to tighten the lease. The dog will feel the prongs as it pulls and hopefully back off.


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