O/T Dog training question

If he's an indoor all day dog, maybe he's bored. What's he have to do when you're not around?

When he's outside is it totally supervised? Or do you just let him out to do his thing and let him in some time later? Could he have had a confrontation with something that could have bitten him, giving him rabies? Rabies doesn't always appear all at once.

What about other things that he could get into where there might be chemicals or such things?

I think if he was just hungry he'd be getting in to the garbabe can all the time, not infrequently. I tend to lean more towards boredom and since it's a male, the dominance issue. The two together can be a big problem. Talk to your vet about his behavior as well and see what they say.

 

I've trained GSD's and chows. This is the proper response to a dominance challenge by a dog.

This is not cruel... you are simply acting as an alpha dog does and making sure your dog understands who is boss. This is also the best thing for your dog. You stop his behavior now before it becomes a problem for you and your kids.

 

Your dog

Is your dog scared or does not like thunder(gun shy),will do just about anything to get inside when its storming?A nervous dog can do strange things.If this dog literally tried to attack you,you will have serious problems with him down the road if you do not stop it now.As everyone else has said you must show this dog who the boss is and now.I would suggest that you never feed this dog table scraps and always feed him at the same time of day.Put him on a choker chain and walk him several times a day if possible.Im not saying be mean to him but walking with him teaching him to stay on your left always by just a quick jerk teaching him to heel,to come on when he's through with his buisness and anything else you want him to do,he knows you mean buisness w/that choker.If he disobeys or gets to far ahead of you or behind you just make it uncomfortable for him w/the leash and then relax it when he's in the right position.He is definitly territorial and you'll have to keep an eye on him for some time.When your out of your house he is probably good w/other people and doesnt pay them to much attention.Bring a dog in your house he has never seen and he might instantly try to kill it.I hope this is not the case.I wish you luck w/the dog,I love shepards and have had many.Whatever you do dont antagonize him at this age and be aware he can read your every facial expression.Good luck!!






A very old man told me the only way to break a dog of being gun shy was to get it drunk and tie it to a tree and walk all around him not looking at him and firing your gun(not at him of course)over and over.He said to do that on two different occasions and that would cure him.I dont know if that actually works,but you would have had to hear him tell it.It sounded like it would,coming from him.Keep us posted..............

 

Great response everybody....i really appreciate it... In response to a few of the questions...The only time he has gotten aggressive with me (teeth, growling and snapping) is when i try to take him away from the trash...i happened to have a bag up on the counter because i was doing dishes...the other time i had a bag from McD in the garage on the floor i was cleaning out car.

He has not been neutered....is 2 yrs too late to get that done
and will that help in future with aggressiveness?

I always make him sit/stay while i fix food or water for him.
then put it out and hold him...for 30-60 sec than release him to
"go get it"

He eats about 1/2 - 3/4 of his food when put out...then nibbles for the next 1hr.

his outside time, is usually unsupervised in a back yard about the size of a regular lot, secured by a 8ft chainlink fence.

He's up to date on all shots/vaccinations...about two months ago had a flee problem but the vet took care of that...

Dog has never, down/stayed unless using food treats...

finally....i suck as a corrector, learned that during obedience training, but i do praise ALOT. Dog is smarter than owner...

 

i use a training choke collar on him....when we do take walks,
he heels and always stays on my left side...no pulling no problems. other dogs he just try's to sniff them to death and wants to play..no aggressiveness...he does have a habit of wanting to chase squirells

 

The guys who told you to "alpha-roll" the dog are absoloutely correct. Your dog is maturing, and is showing civil drive when protecting his food. He is not respecting you as pack leader, and will continue to act in this manner until you re-establish dominance. As others said, flip him, pin him down, and hold him. You may need to muzzle him first. You should put your eye as close to his as possible. Take it a step further and bite his ear HARD...nope...not kidding, and it works. You'll need to hold him there until he submits. Warning: this could be messy. Often times the dog will express his anal glands at the submission point, and that reaks. If not, you will hear a deep sigh, and feel his chest collapse. When you let him up, go directly into a heel, and heel him about for a minute or two. I'm a PD K-9 trainer, FL certified K-9 team instructor, and have been through your exact situation with a previous K-9. I'm also helping a fellow handler with the same problem with his service dog now.

 

I am no dog expert but it sounds like he doesnt like what you are feeding him. Do you feed him hard food? was there some in the bowl while he was digging in the trash? if so he might have a toothache. an is protecting the soft food he is getting out of the trash.

 

Oh yeah...1 more thing...strike him on the nose with your hand while he is in defense/civil drive, and you are likely to draw back a nub....not recommended...ever.

 

this sounds about as good as it gets.
i have a male chocolate lab, the i did this to when he was young, before any problems even had a chance to arise.
i would just add that when you pin him, actually bite him in the throat(not actually bite, but hold him there while you use one hand to hold his head to the ground so you have complete control) and make aggresive growling noises at the same time. this replicates what a real pack alpha would do. when you get the sigh out of him, keep holding him there for another 30 seconds, then just start to let him up and give him another growl and repin him for 5 or 10 seconds. this will really show him you are in charge.

 

yeah, a 90 pound Shepard is nothing to wave your hand infront of when he's growling. make sure he has a collar on when you go after him too. if you control his head, his body will follow.

 

Thanks A-R...will neutering help in future? Duc..don't think its a teeth problem...i do serve hard food only...but he goes from that to chewing a rawhide.

 

cant be a teeth problem, otherwise he wouldnt want to eat at all. hell, that dog could probably chew thru a car door if he was bored enough.

 

heres a pic...hope it works

<a href="http://img141.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img141&image=ice26em.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img141.exs.cx/img141/8647/ice26em.th.jpg" border="0" alt="Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us" /></a>

 

First, give praise treats instead of food treats.

Second, your dog is challenging you as leader. Praise is good when he's doing good, if he growls or snaps you have to confront him immediately.
If he backs you down at all, he'll keep pushing you. If you go get gloves, he scared you and won that round. Grab him right away and don't hurt him but overpower him. If you don't have the strength to roll him, don't try. If you grab him by the neck and just control him you show dominance.
Your dog is not going to bite you unless you hurt him.
They can make you believe they will rip your throat out but your dog won't bite you for real unless you hurt him
If he nips you, it's a mistake.
Check out the Monks of New Skete books. Good stuff.

 

http://img46.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=ice23ui.jpg&cols=4

 

Neutering probably won't help. At his age (21months?), he's probably developed too far to go back. I've seen service dogs neutered that were 2yrs old that did not lose any of their drive. He's just growing up on ya. He's in those rebellious teenage years.

 

WRONG!! Your dog WILL bite you if he is in civil drive, and especially if he is challenging you for the alpha role. It will not be a mistake either. He may not thrash you, but he will let you know that it's time to put up or shut up. A dog in civil/defense drive can be a nasty, nasty animal. I've been bitten by my own dog, so I'm speaking from experience.

 

rebellious teenage years....wonderful, i wonder if taking his drivers liscence away will work, or his phone privilages...i will say i know he has to get bored, i'm the only one and i'm gone at least 10hrs a day...never had any problem with chewing things up or anything of the usual "bored dog syndrum"

 

time for some doggie wrestling

 

Question

With all the dog wrestling talk. What if the dog wins.....does this mean you have to sit on the floor an he gets the couch