Desperate for a Solution

I've posted before about my German Shepherd. When we picked her from the litter, she was the sweetest, most friendly and outgoing pup of them all, which was why we chose her over her more perfectly beautiful sister.

Immediately upon taking her home about a year ago (at 8 weeks), I found that she was skittish around strangers. They'd reach to pet her and she'd flinch and jump back, which is so different from they way she behaved at the breeder. Part of me thinks she was "imprinted" by the trauma of being taken from her mother by strangers? We made every effort to socialize--walks in town, parties at the house, puppy kindergarten, frequent trips to Gardeners Park, visits to friend's homes, trips to the wineries, local festivals where she was out of control and we had to leave, failed puppy playdates in which she would just relentlessly chase and bully other dogs, though she believed she was playing, etc. I even had my friend's kids come stay here for a week so she could get used to children, and we had an open-door policy with the neighbors' children to come visit the puppy. I had all summer off to give her lots of my attention.

Over time the flinching became barking, and the barking has turned into 3 mild "assaults" on guests in our home since Thanksgiving--2 where she jumped on the guest from behind (no biting, but her claws hurt) and once where my husband was trying to follow the trainer's instructions to put her on the leash and shake hands with a friend, and she aggressively nipped their handshake. The third instance was yesterday when a friend of mine came to meet us at the house to go out, and in the midst of the running around I didn't realize she was going into the backyard where the dog was. She jumped on her, cutting/bruising her back with her claws.

I know this is fear aggression and protectiveness that's natural to the breed, but I also know that shepherds are supposed to be a confident and aloof breed that is smart enough to tell the difference between a good stranger and a bad stranger. We have been so tenacious in trying to turn this around. We've spent over $1,000 on training, and her ability to follow commands has improved, but not when she is in a protective rage in response to a stranger. We have progressed from harness to collar to choke to martingale (cloth choke) to prong, and now we're considering the e-collar. I feel so terrible having to go this punishment route, but she HAS to change because when we're not seeing that stranger aggression, she is the SWEETEST most affectionate thing, even with guests once she realizes they're okay. We are smitten with this dog, and it breaks our hearts to struggle with this.

We have gotten the introduction process down pretty well. We would restrain her somehow, either on the leash or in her pen outside. When guests come in, she barks like a maniac, which we ignore or my husband will correct (on the leash) while we talk in syrupy happy voices, hug and kiss everyone. Once she chills out and everyone is seated, we give our guests some cookies and let her loose, at which point she sniffs a lot and gets snacks from them for being nice. My fears is that sometimes, something will slip (like yesterday) especially if we have kids (and their friends) running around, and I'm just worried about making my home a safe place with my dog in it. I need the stranger/fear aggression to go away completely.

I'm sorry for telling my whole life story, but it's been a long year with her. HELP!

Re: Desperate for a Solution

I have no advice at this moment but you are an amazingly responsible pet owner and I really needed to say this to you.. I am so sorry .. I am going to follow this post to see what is going on . and what others tell you.. Please keep updates on this ..

Re: Desperate for a Solution

She sounds alot like my dog. For us, I know his biggest issue is needing much more exercise than he is currently getting. Could that be an issue with your dog or no? I don't have too many suggestions b/c I struggle with this as well. We do have a child now and we just have to be careful when he is in crazy mode. DD loves him and he does pretty good with her now that she is getting taller and older. The reality is if other children came over, I would have to gate my dog in another room (which I dont want to do). When family comes over, they are fine since they know my family but despite what we have done to rectify things, my male dog just gets so excited around strangers (mostly in my home, he's pretty good in public) that he gets out of control.

We did use www.barkbusters.com and they did show us how to get him into control. It DOES work but unfortunately we aren't that consistent with it. Either way, we love him to bits and he's a great dog, and he isn't going anywhere despite his flaws. He is our baby still (even though we have a human baby now, he is still our baby). He is part of the family and we just accept that certain things don't go as smoothly as we would like (him going well with strangers, again mostly due to his excitement and love of people, that he gets OUT of control).

I really do understand, it's tough to figure out animals at times.

Message edited 5/31/2011 8:30:37 AM.

Re: Desperate for a Solution

Personally I do not think this has anything to do with the dog being removed from her mother. It sounds like you dog is shy (the animal behaviorist I used uses this term to describe fearful/skittish dogs). I do not have a quick fix but I have been working to correct this type of behavior with my dog since we rescued him (he was abused and terrified of men and many other things). We have been using positive reinforcement training. I live in the North East Bronx and take my dog to Port Chester Obedience Training Club for classes. I have also consulted with Bobbie from Divine K-9 who is amazing (http://www.divinek-9.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/).

Here are some books that were helpful:
-Help For Your Shy Dog - by Deborah Wood
-The Cautious Canine - by Patricia McConnell, Ph.D.
-How To Behave So Your Dog Behaves - by Sophia Yin
-The Other End of the Leash - by Patricia McConnell, Ph.D.
-The Power of Positive Dog Training - by Pat Miller

Re: Desperate for a Solution

go on cesar milans website. read his blog, watch his video's and read his books. even try and catch his show dog whisper on the national geo channel (cable ch 162)
he deals with this A LOT! there are so many different ways to handle it. a lot of the dogs behavior is reinforced by your behaviors, but we don't realize what we are doing.

good luck!

Re: Desperate for a Solution

thank you for the books and the websites! we have a meeting with our trainer, but i know this can't be obedience-trained away since clearly we will not always be right there to give the commands.

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Good Luck! It is a lot of work but it is worth it. I have found that positive reinforcement is the best approach for my dog.