German Shepherd Aggression

6495 Views 41 Replies 17 Participants Last post by Precious Puppy, Jun 20, 2012

callmedonna

Discussion Starter · Jun 12, 2012

Siberian husky Mammal Vertebrate Dog Canidae

Hello! I am new to the forum and am in desperate need of advice. First, a little background: I have two dogs, a 5 year old Husky and a 2 year old German Shepherd. About a year ago, I moved in with my boyfriend. He has a 5 year old Bull Mastiff. All three of the dogs live together in the same house. All dogs are male. My two are neutered; my boyfriend's is not.

Over time, problems started brewing between the GSD and mastiff. The mastiff would occassionally hump the GSD, which would spark aggression in the GSD. He would growl or snap at the mastiff to get him to stop. The humping has stopped, but the aggression on the part of the GSD has worsened. He has attacked the mastiff many times, leaving puncture wounds on his face and neck. It is an awful, high stress living situation that is not fair to the mastiff. I am fully aware of this.

I have taken the GSD for a one week "boot camp" at the facility near our house that trains police K9s. They trained him with a prong collar. While his obedience improved, the aggression towards the mastiff remains. Last night the GSD attacked the mastiff just because I told the mastiff, "NO" for something he was doing. He left a large hole in his ear. This was the worst attack yet.

I am now exploring the option of using an e-collar to further train and curb the GSD's aggression. I would love some advice on how to use the e-collar to ensure that I do not inadvertently worsen the aggression with the use of the collar.

Please, I do not want this to be a discussion of why not to use e-collars. I also do not want people telling me to rehome my GSD. I want to correct this issue and do everything I can do myself before looking into any other options. I would really appreciate any feedback anyone could give me on using e-collars with aggressive dogs. Thank you so much for your help!

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HollowHeaven

· #10 · Jun 12, 2012

callmedonna said:
I'm hoping that using the e-collar will reestablish me as pack leader and that will, in turn, help with the dominance issues as well, if they are indeed a result of lack of respect for me (hopefully that makes sense).

Ah, there it is.

With the e-collar, what you'll basically be doing is electrocuting your dog whenever he jumps the mastiff, and in his mind it's not going to 'I'm in pain because of what I'm doing, I should stop', it's going to be 'I'm in pain because of this dog, I should fight harder.' and when you finally get that fight broken up, -if you do- then you're going to add more stress on your dog and make him even more suspicious and resentful towards the mastiff.

Dominance techniques will only create a fearful dog. Your dog will end up being afraid to act rather than knowing the difference between right and wrong. and when one day he can't take it anymore, that'll be the worst yet. let that theory fly out the window.

What I see has happened here is the mastiff was allowed to be a bully, and now the GSD expects to be dominated by him, so he lashes out first.

bgmacaw said:
Overall, I think that finding ways to reduce stress in the home will be the key to improvement. You can use positive methods to help the two dogs get along better, once the stress level is lowered. I'm greeting the impression that things are tense right now. The dogs will pick up on that and act accordingly.

I suppose having the mastiff fixed is off the table as well?

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HollowHeaven

· #40 · Jun 13, 2012

It is astonishing the amount of people that come to just this forum alone and ask for advice, then get mad when they get it.

You're being advised on how to help your dog in a way that will benefit him, not just you. When you get that e-collar, put it around your neck and press the buzzer. Then, if you still feel it will help, put it on your dog. Maybe he'll be curled in the corner in no time, Lol.

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