# German Shepherd/Black Mouth Cur change in behavior towards people...



## raven414a (Feb 2, 2017)

Hi everyone! I've posted a couple of times here and always come back to these forums because everyone seems to offer great advice. Even though I don't have a purebred GSD, she definitely seems to have more of the GSD traits/personality and looks more like a GSD. 

Background...We adopted Bailey from our local shelter back in November, she was approximately 9 months old, she's now about 18 months old. One of the reasons we chose her was because she was SO friendly and playful with everyone at the shelter and she was that way when we visited with her. After adopting her, we made sure that we got her out of the house to meet as many people as she could. We took her to the pet stores, the vet just to get her nails trimmed, drive-thrus, etc. She has always loved people coming up to her, especially kids. The only 2 people she has had a problem with from the beginning were my brother when he came over, and my ex-husband when I would drop off our daughter. Bailey would go crazy like she was going to tear into them, but after a few minutes she would calm down and all of the sudden they would be her best friend. She still does this every time she sees one of them. I kind of chalked this up to just being protective and not because they were male because her vet is a male and she was fine with him.

I noticed about 3 or 4 months ago, we were at the pet store and this woman and her child came up to Bailey and asked me if they could pet her and I said yes (because she has never had a problem with women and children especially). Well, I noticed when they put their hands out Bailey put her head down and let out a soft growl. I thought that was odd, but I thought maybe there was something about them she just didn't like. Well, now she continues to do this to the majority of people who want to pet her. Now, I have to tell people that she's okay if SHE can come up to you, but not the other way around. Also, recently when we went to the vet for a check-up she was okay with the 2 vet assistants (they went ahead and put a muzzle on her because I told them how she had changed and I'm just not sure anymore how she would react), but when the vet popped his head in to let me know her test was negative, Bailey started growling. When I was explaining to the assistant how she has changed she said that maybe she is protective of us now.

Now, I am so scared to get her around people (although she still has no problem at the fast food drive-thrus!) Another thing, is I took her to the pet store yesterday at a time I knew they wouldn't be crowded. One of the workers came up to her to pet her, Bailey put her head down but this time didn't growl. We go to check out and the same lady checked us out, Bailey knows that they give out treats, well all of the sudden the lady was her best friend, Bailey was licking her and everything!

Could this be a protective thing, like she's starting to get settled in here and realizing that we are her family, or something else? How do I get her to not growl at most people that she meets, especially the vet now! Thank you for any help!


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

IMO as she moves out of puppy hood she's realizing that there's her family vs everyone else.Pretty common.She's no longer comfortable being approached by strangers and is communicating that to you and them.I would stop allowing strangers to touch her.I'm betting the growling will stop when she knows you will make sure the strangers stay a comfortable distance away.
An exception would be when Bailey is obviously happy to greet someone,like the lady at the pet store with treats.
It's ok to muzzle her at the vet's office.Keeps everyone more relaxed when they handle her.She's much more likely to snap and be upset when folks are nervous around her.


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## raven414a (Feb 2, 2017)

Thank you for the reply, dogma13! That does make sense. We took her to the pet store again today and this guy came up and asked if he could pet Bailey, before I could even explain anything he put his hand out to pet her! This time she actually put her nose out to smell him, she put her head down again, and this time didn't start growling until after he stopped petting her and he was talking to us. She then kept kind of pacing and then she let out the soft growl and then started barking. It was kind of like she was saying, "ok, that's enough now you need to go." I just wonder if I should be teaching her that there is an acceptable time to growl/bark at people and there are times when it is not acceptable. Thank you again for your reply!


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## thegooseman90 (Feb 24, 2017)

I used to raise and hunt with BMC a lot. And what I can tell you from my experience is some lines mature to be VERY unwelcoming/protective. The ones I have the most experience with are cow herding lines out of south Florida and you could tell a big change from a puppy til about 2 years old. They still loved everyone they considered family, the people they saw day in day out but strangers suddenly weren't very well tolerated.


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## konathegsd (Dec 3, 2016)

I noticed you said she puts her head down....possible cowering ? Sounds fear based to me.


From what I have read on here Meeting as many people possible isn't the best thing to do for socialization either.


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## raven414a (Feb 2, 2017)

thegooseman90 said:


> I used to raise and hunt with BMC a lot. And what I can tell you from my experience is some lines mature to be VERY unwelcoming/protective. The ones I have the most experience with are cow herding lines out of south Florida and you could tell a big change from a puppy til about 2 years old. They still loved everyone they considered family, the people they saw day in day out but strangers suddenly weren't very well tolerated.



Wow, that is interesting and good to know! I guess she has double the protective traits, lol!


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## raven414a (Feb 2, 2017)

konathegsd said:


> I noticed you said she puts her head down....possible cowering ? Sounds fear based to me.
> 
> 
> From what I have read on here Meeting as many people possible isn't the best thing to do for socialization either.



I have also thought about it being fear based the way she lowers her head and backs away. I don't know what would have caused her to react fearful all of the sudden though. The only bad experiences she has had since we've had her has been with other dogs that either growl or snap at her.


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## konathegsd (Dec 3, 2016)

My pup does the same lowering of the head thing. My pup lacks confidence and is nervious of people approaching her. She will happily approach them however.

Do some confidence building and don't force any socialization .


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