by NatalieMaynor

Question by : Dog behaviour issues – Help please?
Hi, we have a dog that we have adopted from a previous owner, a female 4 year old German Shepard dog and it has severe behavioural issues.

1) She attacks other dogs/cats/animals. First she will poke her head up and stare and then she will start barking and then (if let) she will attack them. The attacking part has happened when we have walked past a house and the people were moving so they left their door open, a small dog ran out of the door, through a bush and straight to our dog, because it was curious and our dog started attacking and biting the dog, clawing at the other dog. The other dog yelped in pain and i immediately withdrew her and tried to hold her back but still she went for it like mad but the little dog ran back inside. She would do this to any Dog/Cat/Animal/Bird and even a fox once.

2) She also barks at humans too but not as much. If we are walking at night and haven’t seen anyone for about 30 mins and then someone comes along, she will bark once but then if told to be quiet will stop barking but just stare.

3) She barks at most things that have wheels ( Apart from cars ). She barks at cyclists once and then when told to be quiet will either continue or just stare. She does the same with prams.

4) She barks at every single noise in the house. If someone knocks at the front door, she will bark tremendously and wont be settled for another 5mins. If someone opens the door next door, she will bark. She even barks sometimes at noises we cant hear.

5) She has seperation issues. If someone leaves the room, she will bark or follow them. If left in the house while we go to the shops, she will bark nonstop for about 5-10 mins.

6) She has defensive issues. If we are playing the Nintendo wii, she will think that we are attacking eachover and start attacking the guest (very rarely the owner) . Also, Person A ( No names Mentioned ) always winds the dog up by play fighting with people, thus the dog leaps to Person A’s defense which im sure does not help.

7) Sometimes, she seems like she does not want to go for walks. I try to put her collar on but she bites it and puts her paw up in protest.
When i throw a stick for her to fetch, she will run after the stick but then 8/10 will eat the stick and 2/10 hold it in her mouth. I let her hold it in her mouth and then it takes anywhere from 5-10 mins outside the front door, baiting her with a treat, to drop her stick before we get in.

On to nicer issues…

1) Her obedience is fine when she is not barking or being left alone. She will do sit/down/back/come here/drop.

Other problems ( More human Related ):

1) Person A always lets the dog have slack. Whenever she barks excessively, 7/10 he will just say “She is entitled to do it, she is just talking to other dogs” . Person A will let her walk miles in front of Person A while i keep her behind or beside me. And when Person A does discipline her, it is in a nice tone and a jokey tone.

My Behaviour Techniques…

1) When walking the dog, she must stay beside me or behind me.

2) When she barks at another dog, i immediately say “Pheonix, Be Quiet” and hold her tightly under the chin to control her barking.

3) When we are going out, she must stay on her bed until i call her, not circle around me and jump up, then when i call her she sits when i put the lead on and then she has to stay sitting until i say when the door is open, not just rush out of the door in a mad panic. She barks once ALWAYS when leaving the house, probably to say she has arrived. I quieten her and then tell her to stay as i pick up her stick. She then sits their wide-eyed, tail wagging. I throw the stick and she gets it and then begins ripping it apart with her feet to help, i tell her to get back to next to me and we start our walk.

4) Before she comes in, she must drop any stick she is holding. By that i tell her to drop many times for about 5-8 mins, baiting her with treats. When she does drop the stick, she immediately goes for it again, but i pull her back saying “stay”. Then she has to sit and give me her paw before she goes in and for all this (inc dropping stick, sitting, paw) she gets one treat. Then when i am taking the lead off, she must sit and be calm and then stay their before she is allowed into the main house.

What we think is wrong…

1) She has not been socialised with humans and dogs.

What we are trying to do about it…

1) We have considered buying a muzzle
2) We have always disciplined her but this does not always work.

Any help from you would be highly valued, thank you in advance.

Best answer:

Answer by Barefoottrimmer
This dog is now mature and she has no life skills. You need professional help immediately if you want to try to save her. She has not been properly trained or socialized and probably was not given adequate attention or a good home life. She is a dangerous dog. Be prepared to deal with it and keep her contained and get the proper help or her fate may already be doomed. NEVER punish or discipline this dog in a harsh and/or physical manner. You will teach her to retaliate in a violent manner and that is the last thing you want. These are highly intelligent, high energy working dogs and it sounds like the previous owner was clueless about this breed. How heartbreakingly sad for her and now for you. It is wonderful that you want to help her but the muzzle is a good idea until you can make some kind of improvement with her, just for general safety and the prevention of a law suit. You do not want, of course, any animal or human to be harmed OR HER and if she hurts someone or something, she will be quickly evaluated, deemed dangerous and she will be taken and destroyed and you will not be able to stop it. Pit bulls are number one the bad dog list, but statistically, the number one bitter is a GS. I so hope you are able to help this dog. Get a trainer if you can and please do not get one of those horrible cruel companies/individuals who use pain and pinch collars and choke chains and jerking and snatching. It is not necessary and this dog can be trained with positive reinforcement and related positive methods. My GS just turned 4 years in November but I have had her since she was 8 months and I have worked with her every day of her life. We have a lot of fenced acreage for her to run around and exercise and play but she is and will always be a challenging dog. I have trained her all of her life but I never stop giving her the proper attention. She weighs 102 pounds so she could be a formidable force so I know what you are dealing with. God bless you for trying to help this wonderful dog. I hope you have good luck with her. Take care.

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