German Shepherd Aggression

6494 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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UF Girl

· #15 · Jun 12, 2012

Tofu_pup said:
An e-collar is not the answer to the problem. If anything, it'll make it worse. Sorry that's not what you want to hear.

Contact a behaviorist that uses positive methods. Until then, keep the two dogs separated.

It also sounds like the GSD has become a helper dog/bully. I've worked with numerous dogs that feel the need to help supervise the other dogs.

Forget the alpha mumbo jumbo. You've been given solid advice on the matter. The dog shouldn't even know that you're delivering the shock from a collar let alone viewing the remote holder as "alpha".

I agree. Tomorrow is our last session with a behaviorist for dog aggression issues. All sessions were done in house and we used our everyday collars. Things aren't entirely perfect but you can't expect miracles in a few months, but the situation is manageable and the more we work at it the better it gets.

I will add, the "pack leader" mentality was not used, but the "I am in charge, not you, I will control the situation and dogs" was. Basically my DA dog had to learn that I was going to take charge and she didn't need to worry about it.

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UF Girl

· #28 · Jun 12, 2012

callmedonna said:
Many people have their own opinions on what is the most effective method of training. That was not the reason for this post and it has gotten WAY off topic; not one person on here has directly answered the question that was asked. I do not care who is in favor of prong collars, e-collars, positive training methods, etc. and I put that disclaimer out there in my initial post. I asked for help with the e-collar, which I still haven't gotten. Thanks anyway.

People aren't going to give advice on something they know isn't the answer. It sounds to me like the GSD thinks you are unable to control the situation and he is taking charge instead. An e-collar won't help that.

I am not a trainer and those with experience on here may disagree with me. But like I said earlier I am currently working through a similar situation and with some training (without the use of prong and e collars) and working daily with the dogs All three of my dogs can be in the same room together supervised without incident. This is a huge improvement from when she would snarl and growl through a glass door.

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