3 months old white GSD afraid of the outside and occasionally "aggressive"

bratta · 05-15-2008, 09:58 PM

Hey all,

My first post in this forum, but have been reading a lot and I really like it

I am a first time dog owner, but I do take the responsability very serious and have been reading absolutely everything I can find and I think it's all going pretty good. He has only been with us for a month but is (most of the time) behaving good.

I have a couple of things I would like some "human" response on though as where I live there aren't many trainers and I wouldn't trust them in any case;

1. The first time I took him for a walk a few weeks back he loved it, but we had an unfortunate accident passing by a yard with some barking dogs and he got so scared he literally dragged me home (well not really but I kind of had to follow as I was afraid he would choke himself if not). Anyway, after that I can't even get him to walk half a block. He is just so afraid it's almost silly. I do carry him places but as soon as I drop him he will strain the leach in direccion home, I tried toys, treats, praise etc nothing seems to help. I also took him to the countryside and he was equally scared. I do fortunately have a decent backyard so he does get some excersise but I would love to give him more.

2. Once in a while when I tell him off he gets really pissed off and barks, growls and shows teeth straight to me. There's a lot of information out there about training methods and I think most of us agree physical punishment is out but I am at a loss at how to handle the situation, I have started carrying him to the backyard when he does that and leave him for 5-10 minutes, it seems to work because when I let him back in he is a lot calmer. I am not sure that's a great solution though and it's not excatly easy to get him outside when he is in that mood.

I think it's just puppy silliness but my girlfriend is really scared that he will keep doing this when he gets too big to handle..

Thanks for reading and any tips are appriciated.

Cheers,

-Thomas-

TooneyDogs · 05-15-2008, 10:22 PM

1. OK, his confidence/trust in you took a hit..no big deal...it's only been a month. Don't try to go so far next time...go one house down and back...then two, etc. Take it slow but, you have to get back out. In the meantime, you're building a relationship and that just takes time.
2. Telling him off doesn't work as you're finding out. All the dog sees or understands is you're threatening him...he doesn't know why but, will defend himself. You need to solve the problem...not yell about it.
Why are you carrying him? Is that what you want to teach? That's the lesson the dog will learn...you will come and carry him outside...and, he will grow to expect it....remember, he is at a very impressionable/learning stage of life and will accept that this is the way it's done.

RRM_Mom08 · 05-15-2008, 10:58 PM

I have to agree with what Tooney posted above

Xeph · 05-16-2008, 12:10 AM

I would wager that your dog isn't "pissed off" at you and being aggressive, but is being a normal GSD puppy and disagreeing with what you're telling him to do.

It's a Shepherd thing.

Seriously.

My own GSD does it to me still, and he's 4 years old! It's mostly when I tell him to lay down. He doesn't do it nearly as much as he used to, and his drop on recall is silent 80% of the time now...but 20% he'll still bark at me, especially when he's in drive.

The barking is the dog's way of saying "Hey! I disagree! I don't wanna!" For my own training purposes, I don't care if they bark and disagree, I just care if they comply. My motto is "You don't have to like it, you just have to do it."

Personally I wouldn't tell your puppy "off" unless you're REALLy sure he knows what it means, which I would guess he doesn't. Instead, just stand there, cross your arms...and wait. When four hit the floor (sitting OR standing, as long as all four feet are down) give him a cookie. He'll figure out right quick that he gets more attention when he's got his paws on the floor than when he's jumping.

Once he connects that, start saying "off" as he falls back down, and praise and reward immediately. The "off" should be in a low, calm, matter-of-fact tone of voice. You don't want any "growly" feedback as it were, and you don't want to yell. It is simply "No, off." Use the same tone of voice when he barks at you. Very quiet and calm with a straight face. "No, quiet," and reward when he has stopped barking.

Does your dog look anything like this when he's "pissed off":

bratta · 05-16-2008, 12:40 AM

Man are you guys quick

Re "carrying him places": I did that to try and get him to go at least half a block. So I carry him there and we walk back home.. But ok I see the point.

When I say telling him off I just mean "No don't rip my clothes to pieces". So yes, I do need to solve the problem, but how. Hm, ok bad example, I know he is going to destroy anything he can get his mouth on, more importantly not chewing the power cables etc.

Most of the time I say no then try and diverse his attention and get him to sit and praise him/give him a treat. But sometimes he just couldn't care less that I am trying to get his attention and will just keep up doing what he is doing.. what do I do, I can't just let him do it either.

Xeph: Fortunately he doesn't look quite that angry no. Attached is a picture of how he looks when he wakes up because I am taking pictures

(the green eyes are from the flash btw)

Btw, when he get's like that he doesn't jump on me, he stays on all four with the frontpart down trying to look all scary barking like a mad dog.. Good to hear it's normal though

Thanks a lot for the feedback!

Xeph · 05-16-2008, 12:56 AM

Sounds to me like he's playbowing and inviting you to play :-)

And yeah, that "angry dog" up there is my GSD, Strauss ^_^ He's not angry at all actually. Those are stills I pulled from a video I made while playing with him, and he's in the middle of a bark! LOL!