biting 15 month GSD

[bluesmum]

Hi everyone, Im new to this board and have enjoyed reading other posts, just wondering if someone has some help for me.
I have a 15month old GSD who has been castrated, his behaviour at the moment is apalling!! He has always been a "mouthy" pup and we never have been able to stop it, we have had lots of help from his breeder but to no avail, we have tried the yelping, turning our back, time out in his crate, training discs, gentle stopping, rough stopping, literally you name it we have tried it!!!
The biggest problem we have is, he just goes for me around the house, when I take him for a walk. My breeder recommended a Halti collar which I now use , but he can still attack me. Im sat here typing this covered in bruises and welts from the latest time.It was so bad this time I had to tie him to a garden bench while he calmed down, I managed a bit further then he started again so this time he got tied to a lampost but in the process of doing that I had to turn my back on him so he bit the top of my arm. My husband can control him a bit more but not much!!. He bites but not as hard as he bites me.
A bit of his background-we have had him since he was 8 weeks old, well socialised, took him to puppy school, then further training until he was 7 months old and then he needed spinal surgery which resulted in him being crate rested for a couple of months and no interaction with other dogs, he is very dominant and always has been, even at puppy school he was the one being the most boisterous!!
We dont allow him on the furniture or bed, he is fed after us, we do not spoil him but I really dont know what to do.
But I can no longer walk him, I make sure he has excersize in the garden but after about 5 minutes of throwing the ball he will go for me and I can not stop him, even if my husband grabs him he will still go for me.
He still has issues with his back and we can not walk him for too long anyway, we actually thought that may have been the problem originally, we thought he may have been sore and the only way to stop the walk was to attack me but it happens randomly, but a lot of the time it is triggered by me not allowing him to do what he wants to do. I feed him and he does not food guard, I can take his food/toys away no problem. He is pretty good with strangers although a bit guarded at times. ok with the vet, had hydrotherapy and was ok with her although the more he got to know her he got a little bit more mouthy.
Im sorry this is a very long post but as you can imagine I am very worried, it concerns me also that someone may see him attacking me and report him.
Thank you, Suzie

[debbiebrown]

Wow! you definitely have a predicament......

have you had him evaluated by a Trainer/behaviorist?

i think i would muzzel him and start all the training from square one. get him back into classes work with a trainer, etc.

What kind of spinal issues did he have?

when you walk him and he starts bitting what do you do? i would make him go into a down position, if he doesn't do it by himself, i would step on the leash and make him do it. the down position is a submissive position, and sort of a time out position when they aren't paying attention or they are not behaving. it sounds like he doesn't view you as a strong leader, so you may want to get some info on that.

debbie

[debbiebrown]

i also meant to add, that it sounds like he needs some mental stimulation where he has physical limitations and you cannot tire him out from physical exercise. he has made a game out of biting you, so you need to change his focus, you can play find games with him. he cannot do two things at once. so, if you distract him with something else that is fun for him. you may even want to get him into tracking which is less taxing on the dog physically and more mentally stimulating. so you are reprogramming him to focus on something else besides biting. i would definitely get some help from a qualified trainer to help you redirect his behavior. if you can't find a good trainer at a local training facility, you may be able to get some help from the local SchH club.

debbie

[MaggieRoseLee]

He just sounds like a normal bored GSD who's decided his favorite game is what most of our dogs love when left to their own devices.............BITE EVERYTHING!!!

It's exciting to watch the humans yelp yell and run. In the 'even negative attention is better than no attention' framework, the painful biting is reinforced for the dog.

I'd really try to find a better way to exercise your dog. Strengthening the muscles will stengthen the spine. And CLEARLY your dog generally feels fine if he's able to be so boisterous. So, while you don't want to reinjure him, long distance trotting, SWIMMING, and other exercise sounds possible.

I'd also figure out someway to mentally interact with him. Personally I'd suggest a 'game' you BOTH need to learn and while learning your dog is never wrong and always getting treats!

Clicker training! Best if you had classes somewhere in the area. But there's alot available on line. Since this works on killer whales and sea lions, we can't use the excuse it won't work with dogs!

http://www.clickertraining.com/whatis

http://www.clickandtreat.com/Clicker...clickstart.htm

http://www.clickersolutions.com/arti...ndex.htm#basic

http://www.clickertrainusa.com/learn...yschedules.htm

[Nadia]

Hey Suzie, I feel for you.

I have a similar situation with my dog. Boisterous dog, gives me bruises every day, attacks randomly...
Im getting him a muzzle and doing basic training with him again. I also recommend a dog behavourist, theyre expensive but if you dont get it sorted now then it will possibly get worse when the dog gets stronger.
I also agree with the above posts that using mental stimulation should calm him and keep him distracted. I just got my dog out of the kennel and the trainer stated that a good long session (spilt up with breaks inbetween) of training will tire a dog out more then an hours walk. Make sure you have tasty treats too!

I sent you a PM anyways

[middleofnowhere]

A true, full bore, NILIF will probably bring your dog around.
(start by ignoring him for a week except for feeding, watering and letting out. don't make eye contact. everyone in the house has to do this. He's being ostracized. then make him work for everything. Sit to go out, down for dinner, something to be petted, something to play a game of tug or fetch - the guy gets nothing without working for it.

[sunfluer]

Why did your young pup need spinal surgery?

Your situaiton sounds extremely difficult to me. We worked on our pups mouthing from day one by constantly giving him appropriate things to chew on like marrow bones, nylon bones for powerful chewers, etc. And, when Sirius would start to mouth our hands/arms/feet/legs, a very quick and firm "no bite" followed by immediately putting in his mouth the things he's allowed to bite accompanied with lots of praise. When he licks instead of bite, I reinforce with the word "kisses" and lots of praise. I can now tell Sirius kisses and he licks.

As some have suggested, I would find a trainer who's highly skilled with behavior issues. I wouldn't wait b/c your situation sounds dangerous to me. GSD our powerful and do you want your dog muzzled for the rest of his life?

I hope you can get your issue resolved. Please share with us what's developing with your GSD. Please be safe and find someone to help you work with your dog.

[debbiebrown]

i am sure the issue can be resolved with the right guidence and lots of time, work, and consistancy. its nice to get ideas from the folks on this board, but for you to get the right info, i highly suggest a professional for you to work with, someone who can eval your dog, see how you interact, pick up on some signals you might be giving to your dog while seeing you in person. all the suggestions are great, but we can't be there to see whats going on. if you pursue a professional training/behaviorist and follow through with the info, i have no doubt things can turn around, and as someone suggested, i wouldn't wait.

best of luck to you
debbie

debbie

[bluesmum]

Thanks everyone, he had spinal surgery due to a bulging disc ,apparently common in GSD, genetic rather than hereditary.
My next step is to see a behaviorist with vet backing (because of his back) and go from there. I totally agree he needs something else to focus/work on. Its just finding something that does the trick. Im prepared to work hard for him, I really am. I wanted to do agility with him for that very reason but obviously that had to be abandoned but he does like to track, its finding the right options for him, thanks for all your tips and advice, I will keep you posted.

[lixy]

The book Ruff Love by Susan Garrett goes through the steps of some pretty hardcore NILIF...this book (along with an animal behaviorist) would probably be helpful for your situation.