# Jealous 2 year old GSD



## Neville (Nov 12, 2011)

Hello,

I'm new to the board and have been running some searches, reading some old threads that have some bearing on our problem.

Our nearly 2-year-old male GSD has recently shown some troubling jealousy behavior. He is and always has been great with people, including strangers. Completely docile. His trouble is with other dogs. He has recently become very jealous of any other dog, male or female that comes within a radius of us. Our male hound-mix, with whom he was raised he will no longer tolerate in the same yard. Our elderly female GSD is the only one who is exempt. They have some understanding. A 1-year old GSD female owned by my folks was met with some pretty strong aggression when we tried to hike with them both recently. I feel things would've escalated to a vet visit on these occasions had we not intervened. 

My question is, what training regimens have been successful in dealing with this kind of jealousy. I hear good things about the NILIF program, but have not heard first-hand accounts of it moderating this kind of behavior. We are no strangers to training basic obedience and have had GSD's for nearly 20 years. Our boy is otherwise a very good dog. We're just looking for a bit of advice about nudging him in a better direction before he gets any worse. 

Any help appreciated. And good to meet you all!


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

maybe it's more of a "i don't like other dogs' vs 'jealousy'. 

Have you tried contacting a canine behaviorist for an evaluation?? that would be my first step..


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## EllieMae<3 (Oct 3, 2011)

It sounds to me like it could be a dominance issue. Especially if he won't let other dogs around his owners. Or like it was stated before, maybe he just doesn't like other dogs. 

I've learned from my trainer that certain other aspects could be a sign of dominance. Such as, being the first to be on the bed or up and down the stairs. Showing aggression with his toys is another sign she told me. 

She also told me that the first step is to train them. The simple command of "stay" helps in any situation. If he goes after other dogs yet knows "stay" will save his life and the other dogs'. 

I'm no expert, but this is just what my trainer told me. Hope it helps in any way!


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## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

You mention he's always been good around strangers, humans... but has he always been dog-friendly PRIOR to now?


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## Neville (Nov 12, 2011)

chelle said:


> You mention he's always been good around strangers, humans... but has he always been dog-friendly PRIOR to now?


Largely so. He got along quite well with our hound-mix until recently. Seemed a little skittish around strange dogs at times but always warmed up to them. We took pains to socialize him in lots of circumstances with both people and animals.

Thanks for all the responses/suggestions!

I do feel it is a jealousy issue, mostly because he seems mostly ok with other dogs if he meets them one-on-one. If we approach or another dog approaches us when we are with him, he becomes aggressive. If he is in the front yard and we are in the house, he will be fine with another dog until it approaches the door. In addition, he will try to get between us and another dog. This is true of either of us, but more intense with my wife who he is strongly bonded with. 

I should say, we would never give up any of our animals over a behavior issue, rather find a way around it. We have the space to comfortably physically separate him if necessary, but would much rather modify the behavior. 

A behaviorist would be a good idea, but we live in a very rural area. Will have to check on the location of one and obviously the cost.


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## EllieMae<3 (Oct 3, 2011)

Neville said:


> I should say, we would never give up any of our animals over a behavior issue, rather find a way around it. We have the space to comfortably physically separate him if necessary, but would much rather modify the behavior.
> 
> A behaviorist would be a good idea, but we live in a very rural area. Will have to check on the location of one and obviously the cost.


It's good to hear others say this too! All dog owners should be like that, unfortunately there aren't many out there who think that way.

I wish you luck in finding a behaviorist.


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

Jealousy is a human emotion, not a dog emotion. Dog aggression is a dog thing and your GSD has now matured at the age of 2. This is the age when he would be more likely to become dog aggressive toward your same sex hound mix.

Even if you can only manage a few sessions with a behaviorist, it would be well worth the time and cost. A good behaviorist will be able to evaluate your dog, pin point the problem and offer advice.


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## Twyla (Sep 18, 2011)

Could this be Resource Guarding instead of jealousy? This behavior from the ops description seems to center around the owners.

Correct me if I'm wrong...


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

Twyla said:


> Could this be Resource Guarding instead of jealousy? This behavior from the ops description seems to center around the owners.
> 
> Correct me if I'm wrong...


Could be. Since we can't see the behavior, I still think an evaluation from a good behaviorist would be the best move.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

I'm thinking resource guarding too. With the hound mix, he is becoming alpha over him, but still defers to the older female. I think at 2 years old, he is maturing and trying to establish his place in the pack. 

How is he with other dogs on neutral territory without you or your wife? If he is okay with them, but not when you are around, as you describe, then it is resource guarding. He feels that you and your wife are his property, that he owns you, and is guarding you from other dogs. Many people misread this as protectiveness (or jealousy). But it shows an unbalance in pack dynamics. You are not something your dog owns, but the other way around, and this needs to be made clear to him. NILIF works great for this. 

If this is resource guarding, then this is behaviour you need to correct, but if it is fear of other dogs, then correcting it can make it worse. So getting someone in to observe actually what is happening, and observing how you and your wife interact daily with him will help pinpoint the cause of the behaviour, and get you started on the right path to fix it.


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## RebelGSD (Mar 20, 2008)

This sounds like resource guarding ( which many trainers label as dominance). There is a lot of information on resource guarding on this board, try to use the search feature.


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## Neville (Nov 12, 2011)

RebelGSD said:


> This sounds like resource guarding ( which many trainers label as dominance). There is a lot of information on resource guarding on this board, try to use the search feature.


Thanks to all for the advice. Implementing NILIF as of yesterday. Scouting for a behaviorist. 

Will certainly search the board for more info on resource guarding, now that I'm familiar with the term. 

It certainly seems like this could be the trouble.


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