Aggressive or Not

koda girl · 01-28-2011, 01:40 AM

Help. I have a 15 month old female GSD. She has never been afriad of anything and still has no fear. We have been going to the dog park since she was a puppy every day. She has always played very rough with the other dogs. Now that she is really big she is playing really rough. The first thing she does when she sees a dog is the hackles go up and she runs up and puts the dogs neck in her mouth. I do believe she is playing. But she really scares the other dogs and their owners. She is growling while doing this, she has always been very vocal while playing. I would like to stop this rough play if I can. At night when I go to the dog park she plays with the only other dogs that go at night and the 3 of them all play very rough. Sometimes though she provokes a fight because she is too rough. She also has issues if she sees a dog from the window at home or while in my van, she goes into attack mode. Her parents are both from Germany and trained in Shutzhund, I wonder if this is what makes her so high strung? Any advice anyone can give me would be very helpful.

Thank you,

**Cassidy's Mom** · 01-28-2011, 02:19 AM

Sounds like she's a bully. Even if it's play, the other dogs are probably not having much fun, and she should not be allowed to continue practicing this behavior. Not all dogs are great candidates for dog parks, and if she were my dog I would stop taking her. It's just not fair to the other dogs to let her pick on them. Rough play between consenting dogs is fine, but bullying is not, and you aren't able to control her if she's off leash.

My dogs play very rough with each other - they bite each other's necks, they slam into each other, they hump each other, they bark and growl and sound like they're killing each other, but they do not play that way with other dogs at the park. If they had tried, I would have stepped in immediately and put a stop to it.

At 15 months old this has been going on a long time and she's not going to stop unless you take her out of that environment so she's no longer able to bully other dogs. Has she been to any obedience classes?

**MaggieRoseLee** · 01-28-2011, 11:43 AM

I agree with Cassidy's Mom, your pup is becoming a big scary bully to the other dogs in the dog park. Best if you'd step in immediately to get in between the 2 dogs (facing YOUR dog) so she takes a chill. No interaction with the other dogs until she calms and lowers her energy.

If you have any problem with her immiately backing off and down from the other dog when you try to split the dogs up (and I'm betting you will be ignored by your dog

) I'm thinking going to some formal dog classes will really really help with the balance in the relationship between you and your adolesent pup. It's not about you being a big scary Alpha dominant thing... more about the calm leadership role we ALL need with our dogs and sometimes struggle with.

You need to stop with the dog parks though, unless the blocking thing works 100% right away or there's a good chance there will be a dog fight with all the issues and dramas that involves. No one likes when the bully shows up in the playground, and that's what's now happening with your dog.

PaddyD · 01-28-2011, 12:11 PM

What THEY said. Please don't continue to be one of THOSE dog owners who aren't sensitive of others. "My dog is just playing!" Nonsense.

ayoitzrimz · 01-28-2011, 04:23 PM

I'm in the same boat as you currently. My 11 month old GSD male has been getting a little too rough with other dogs. He's especially keen on squaring off with other unfixed males. The best advice I can give you (as I'm currently looking at alternatives myself) is to either:
1. Stop taking him to the dog park - some dogs are just not dog park dogs. My dog for example doesn't like it when other dogs get in his face without a proper "doggie" introduction.
2. Go at off-hours. If I go at 7am / 11am-4pm / 9pm or later I usually find the park much quieter
3. Take her to a small area in the dog park and keep her on a long line

I know it seems dramatic but the truth is GSD's (especially working lines - which you mentioned yours is from) are "hard", alert, confident, and can be - well - reactive and therefore may not always be suited for dog parks. It also doesn't help that every single dog owner freezes as soon as we walk into the park. I'm sure the dogs sense it and sometimes it can feel like walking into a war zone...

It would also be helpful for you to see the thread I started on this very same issue -
Dog aggression at the dog park
There are some great ideas in that thread for people like us.
Hope this helps!

missmychance · 01-28-2011, 09:09 PM

I'd also suggest going at odd hours. I take Frodo to neighborhood park at night and on rainy days when I know no one will be there. He used to be fine at the city dog park til the day a few bully dogs picked a fight, Frodo was scared and didn't know how to react. After a few more visits, he was charging dogs coming in, that would frighten the other dogs and sometimes cause fights. I decided it wasn't worth the risk and stopped taking him. My advice to you would find some dogs that she gets along with and schedule playdates.

King&Skylar · 01-28-2011, 09:14 PM

i agree with everyone else! My girl plays really rough, but she's not aggressive- we don't go to off leash parks. We just make play dates and play in our fenced yard with dogs that like to play rough. If we're around other dogs that we don't know, She's on a leash at all times, and she isn't aloud to interact with them, because she's rough and big.

koda girl · 01-29-2011, 01:32 AM

Well thank you all for your advice. I was really hoping for a way to stop this behaviour, but you are all suggesting I stop allowing her to play with other dogs which is the time she is most happy, she loves to run and play with other dogs. But I do understand the bully thing, no one likes a bully. But I don't think I am ready to give up on the dog park yet. She is still young and I believe she can change. Thanks everyone.

Lucy Dog · 01-29-2011, 05:00 AM

To be honest, and I'm not saying this to put you down because I know you just want your dog to have fun be a dog, but people like you and the dogs you bring in are the reason I stopped going to the dog park.

This type of behavior with unknown dogs are fights waiting to happen. Not all dogs take a stange dog running at them and grabbing them by the neck as much of an invitation to play. Actually, it's the complete opposite.

This may be "just play", but "just play" very quickly becomes a fight that needs to be broken up and some serious dog injuries. I've seen and experienced this more than enough times.

Just as some members mentioned in earlier threads, some dogs are just not meant for dog parks. If you ask me, you're dog is one of those dogs, but that doesn't mean your dog shouldn't be allowed to play with other dogs off leash either.

Are you open to setting up doggie play dates with some of the other owners who bring their dogs at the park and know get along with your dog? This is not only fair to the random dogs your dog is trying to bully, but to your dog as well. This type of behavior might also mean that he isn't as comfortable around strange dogs as you may think he is.

codmaster · 01-29-2011, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by koda girl

Well thank you all for your advice. I was really hoping for a way to stop this behaviour, but you are all suggesting I stop allowing her to play with other dogs which is the time she is most happy, she loves to run and play with other dogs. But I do understand the bully thing, no one likes a bully. But I don't think I am ready to give up on the dog park yet. She is still young and I believe she can change. Thanks everyone.

Wonder what it will take you to realize what others have stated - some dogs are not well suited to dog park play with strange dogs?

For example, if your dog ran up to mine and tried to bully him or play too rough - I suspect that you would have a dead dog or at least a very injured dog. He never took to that type of play with a stranger dog even as a puppy he would defend himself. That is one reason that we did not take him to dog parks even as a puppy.

01-28-2011, 01:40 AM	#1 (permalink)
koda girl Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Ontario Posts: 157	Aggressive or Not Help. I have a 15 month old female GSD. She has never been afriad of anything and still has no fear. We have been going to the dog park since she was a puppy every day. She has always played very rough with the other dogs. Now that she is really big she is playing really rough. The first thing she does when she sees a dog is the hackles go up and she runs up and puts the dogs neck in her mouth. I do believe she is playing. But she really scares the other dogs and their owners. She is growling while doing this, she has always been very vocal while playing. I would like to stop this rough play if I can. At night when I go to the dog park she plays with the only other dogs that go at night and the 3 of them all play very rough. Sometimes though she provokes a fight because she is too rough. She also has issues if she sees a dog from the window at home or while in my van, she goes into attack mode. Her parents are both from Germany and trained in Shutzhund, I wonder if this is what makes her so high strung? Any advice anyone can give me would be very helpful. Thank you,

01-28-2011, 02:19 AM	#2 (permalink)
Cassidy's Mom No Stinkin' Leashes Moderator Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 24,942	Sounds like she's a bully. Even if it's play, the other dogs are probably not having much fun, and she should not be allowed to continue practicing this behavior. Not all dogs are great candidates for dog parks, and if she were my dog I would stop taking her. It's just not fair to the other dogs to let her pick on them. Rough play between consenting dogs is fine, but bullying is not, and you aren't able to control her if she's off leash. My dogs play very rough with each other - they bite each other's necks, they slam into each other, they hump each other, they bark and growl and sound like they're killing each other, but they do not play that way with other dogs at the park. If they had tried, I would have stepped in immediately and put a stop to it. At 15 months old this has been going on a long time and she's not going to stop unless you take her out of that environment so she's no longer able to bully other dogs. Has she been to any obedience classes? __________________ -Debbie- Dena 9/12/04-10/4/08 Forever would have been too short Keefer 8/25/05 Halo 11/9/08 Cassidy 6/8/00-10/4/04

01-28-2011, 11:43 AM	#3 (permalink)
MaggieRoseLee The Agility Rocks! Moderator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Bushkill, PA (The Poconos!) Posts: 22,198	I agree with Cassidy's Mom, your pup is becoming a big scary bully to the other dogs in the dog park. Best if you'd step in immediately to get in between the 2 dogs (facing YOUR dog) so she takes a chill. No interaction with the other dogs until she calms and lowers her energy. If you have any problem with her immiately backing off and down from the other dog when you try to split the dogs up (and I'm betting you will be ignored by your dog ) I'm thinking going to some formal dog classes will really really help with the balance in the relationship between you and your adolesent pup. It's not about you being a big scary Alpha dominant thing... more about the calm leadership role we ALL need with our dogs and sometimes struggle with. You need to stop with the dog parks though, unless the blocking thing works 100% right away or there's a good chance there will be a dog fight with all the issues and dramas that involves. No one likes when the bully shows up in the playground, and that's what's now happening with your dog. __________________ MACH2 Bretta Lee Wildhaus CGC TC TQX Glory B Wildhaus NA, NJ, NF + LOL (still) "*Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much." - Oscar Wilde*

01-28-2011, 09:09 PM	#6 (permalink)
missmychance Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Fort Bragg, NC Posts: 250	I'd also suggest going at odd hours. I take Frodo to neighborhood park at night and on rainy days when I know no one will be there. He used to be fine at the city dog park til the day a few bully dogs picked a fight, Frodo was scared and didn't know how to react. After a few more visits, he was charging dogs coming in, that would frighten the other dogs and sometimes cause fights. I decided it wasn't worth the risk and stopped taking him. My advice to you would find some dogs that she gets along with and schedule playdates. __________________ Frodo - GSD, DOB 12/13/2007, Diagnosed EPI 10/21/2011 Waiting at the Bridge - Chance

01-29-2011, 05:00 AM	#9 (permalink)
Lucy Dog Crowned Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Connecticut Posts: 5,177	To be honest, and I'm not saying this to put you down because I know you just want your dog to have fun be a dog, but people like you and the dogs you bring in are the reason I stopped going to the dog park. This type of behavior with unknown dogs are fights waiting to happen. Not all dogs take a stange dog running at them and grabbing them by the neck as much of an invitation to play. Actually, it's the complete opposite. This may be "just play", but "just play" very quickly becomes a fight that needs to be broken up and some serious dog injuries. I've seen and experienced this more than enough times. Just as some members mentioned in earlier threads, some dogs are just not meant for dog parks. If you ask me, you're dog is one of those dogs, but that doesn't mean your dog shouldn't be allowed to play with other dogs off leash either. Are you open to setting up doggie play dates with some of the other owners who bring their dogs at the park and know get along with your dog? This is not only fair to the random dogs your dog is trying to bully, but to your dog as well. This type of behavior might also mean that he isn't as comfortable around strange dogs as you may think he is. __________________ Paul

01-28-2011, 12:11 PM	#4 (permalink)
PaddyD Banned Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: MassaCHEWsetts Posts: 5,222	What THEY said. Please don't continue to be one of THOSE dog owners who aren't sensitive of others. "My dog is just playing!" Nonsense.

01-28-2011, 04:23 PM	#5 (permalink)
ayoitzrimz Master Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: New York, NY Posts: 503	I'm in the same boat as you currently. My 11 month old GSD male has been getting a little too rough with other dogs. He's especially keen on squaring off with other unfixed males. The best advice I can give you (as I'm currently looking at alternatives myself) is to either: 1. Stop taking him to the dog park - some dogs are just not dog park dogs. My dog for example doesn't like it when other dogs get in his face without a proper "doggie" introduction. 2. Go at off-hours. If I go at 7am / 11am-4pm / 9pm or later I usually find the park much quieter 3. Take her to a small area in the dog park and keep her on a long line I know it seems dramatic but the truth is GSD's (especially working lines - which you mentioned yours is from) are "hard", alert, confident, and can be - well - reactive and therefore may not always be suited for dog parks. It also doesn't help that every single dog owner freezes as soon as we walk into the park. I'm sure the dogs sense it and sometimes it can feel like walking into a war zone... It would also be helpful for you to see the thread I started on this very same issue - Dog aggression at the dog park There are some great ideas in that thread for people like us. Hope this helps!

01-28-2011, 09:14 PM	#7 (permalink)
King&Skylar Master Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 513	i agree with everyone else! My girl plays really rough, but she's not aggressive- we don't go to off leash parks. We just make play dates and play in our fenced yard with dogs that like to play rough. If we're around other dogs that we don't know, She's on a leash at all times, and she isn't aloud to interact with them, because she's rough and big.

01-29-2011, 01:32 AM	#8 (permalink)
koda girl Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Ontario Posts: 157	Well thank you all for your advice. I was really hoping for a way to stop this behaviour, but you are all suggesting I stop allowing her to play with other dogs which is the time she is most happy, she loves to run and play with other dogs. But I do understand the bully thing, no one likes a bully. But I don't think I am ready to give up on the dog park yet. She is still young and I believe she can change. Thanks everyone.

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