Skittish/Aggressive with other dogs and strangers - HELP!

[Moncheesy]

Aside from hiring a trainer, wanted to see if anyone has any training advice with dealing with a very skittish/aggressive GSD? I'm looking into finding a trainer, but hoping I don't have to take that route!

Our 3yr old female GSD, Maya, has always been very skittish with strangers and other dogs - regardless of their size. When strangers ring the doorbell she jumps and barks loudly thru the screen door. She is only comfortable and friendly with my parents and family she grew up with, but with other friends (even those she has seen a dozen times) she is very shy and runs away from them. Usually she will bark upon seeing them at first, and when they enter or if they call her name she will run behind us or across the room. If they try to pet her she tries to snap at them, otherwise she just retreats to the back of the room. Frequently she will try to sniff them very nervously while slouching down, but if they make sudden movements she will run away or snap at them if they turn to her. She hasn't "bitten" anyone, but she snaps frequently which makes us very nervous that she might one day when we aren't watching her. We have to put her in the backyard or in our room when guests come over.

We can't even take her to the groomers anymore! She used to go to the same groomer (who she had to warm up to after several visits using a muzzle), but since he went out of business we have not been able to find anyone that will take her because she scares them. Even just taking a first look at her wearing a muzzle sets them off!

We have a male Shih Tzu, Bam-Bam, who we got about 2 years into owning her. She gets along great with him but we can't EVER take him to the dog park with her because she constantly tries to "protect" him from other dogs that come near him. She is so suspicious about other dogs and their owners at the park that we never let her off the leash. She NEVER lets strangers pet her. My husband and I get so embarrassed because some people have even asked us if she is or has been abused (we would NEVER!!!) because of her behavior! Thus, we have refrained from going to the dog park. Such a bummer because our Shih Tzu LOVES the park! He's the complete opposite of Maya - he's so friendly and loves to be pet, but we feel badly leaving Maya alone at home when Bam-Bam is having all the fun outdoors. We really want her to be able to enjoy playing with other dogs because she LOVES running, chasing, fetching, anything that has to do with playing outdoors! I can live with her not ever fully being comfortable with strangers because we can at least keep her at home and in the backyard where she has plenty of space when guests come over, but it pains me that she cannot get along and play with other dogs because I know how happy it would make her! She is very sweet, gentle, obedient, and calm at home with us...all around the perfect dog...if it wasn't for her fear of strangers! PLEASE if anyone has any great advice I would greatly appreciate it!

[Good_Karma]

Pssst... hire a trainer. Sorry, not what you wanted to hear. You need a lot of help.

[Moncheesy]

I thought it might be a good idea to share a little more of Maya's backstory. Sorry if it's a bit long, but figure the more I share the more you guys might understand and be able to share some input with me. I got her from local breeders 3 years ago when she was about 3-4 months old. She was playful and not at all skittish in her original home. I met both her parents, neither of which was skittish nor aggressive, didn't even bark at me. The owners kept the mom on a leash when I stopped by just because she was protective of her pups, but away from them she was just fine with me.

When I brought her home at the time I lived with my parents and they already had 2 female chihuahuas. At first she was fearful of the dogs even though she was already twice their size! I didn't think anything of it since I knew she would be nervous in a new home. As she got older she became the dominant leader of the pack. She never harmed the other dogs and was always playful with the smaller chihuahua, while the other was fearful of her. She never feared my parents and was friendly with any family and friends that came over. It wasn't until she was about 6-7 months old that she began showing her protective nature. She began barking at strangers that would come over, but would always run away from them if they tried to pet her. I tried to socialize her by frequently taking her on walks, dog parks and even to the pet store when I needed to pickup something (always on a leash). I would always take her to the same dog park where she would see the same dogs/owners frequently, but she never played with them, nor would let the people I had frequent conversations with pet her. If I sat at a bench she would stay by my side (unleashed), and if I tried to play catch with her or run around she would usually go off and do her own thing, but never went near other dogs. I enrolled her in puppy training school. She was GREAT with commands and very obedient (the best in her class at that even), but she was ALWAYS very skittish with the other dogs, owners and even with the trainer...it took her to the very last class to even accept a treat from the trainer's hand! But she never let her or anyone else pet her. At home we tried not to make a big deal of strangers so she would see that we were in control and not fearful and she shouldn't be either. We even gave her treats when strangers approached so she could remain calm. Nothing helped. The only people she was friendly to were friends/family she saw constantly, but even with them it still took several visits for her to be comfortable with. The only one she was able to warm up to quickly was my husband and when he and I were just dating. When he came over to the house the 1st time he would not even acknowledge her in order to prevent her from getting scared. Much to our surprise, it was only after visit #3 that she took a treat from his hand and was completely comfortable with him everyday thereafter! I thought she was getting better, but then realized she had actually just developed a rather instant special connection with him since that was something she never did again with anyone else and was still scared when others approached her.

Well, when my husband and I moved in together in a new home she came with us, obviously. Soon after we got our other dog, Bam-Bam. He was a very friendly stray and decided to keep him after several weeks of not being able to find his parents. Though Maya wasn't ever violent with other dogs we were extra cautious upon introducing them. We used a leash and muzzle on Maya and let the little guy explore our house while going about our business, as to not make a big deal and prevent Maya from getting jealous and overprotective. She occassionally nipped at him the first day out of curosity, but after Day 2 she fully accepted him. I think this was just made easier because we didn't make a big deal of him at first and the fact that he was just a very passive and calm dog was a major help. They are now best buddies and like I mentioned, she's even protective of him. But when it comes to other dogs, she still won't open up.

[JakodaCD OA]

Here are a couple of threads going, that might interest you
Not so friendly to strangers

If I grabbed YOUR face, what would you do?

[sagelfn]

Find a behaviorist. Keep doing what you're doing to protect her and guests.

She will never be a dog park dog. Most GSDs are not good dog park dogs. Most GSDs are happy playing with their pack not strangers.

[PaddyD]

Originally Posted by Good_Karma

Pssst... hire a trainer. Sorry, not what you wanted to hear. You need a lot of help.

Amen.. Find a canine behaviorist if possible. Go to the library and get as many books as you can. Patricia B. McConnell is excellent.
Good luck
Sorry Sage but I disagree. My dog was shy at the dog park for over a year but with time she came around and is playing with other
dogs and even being occasionally obnoxious trying to get them to play with her. But it did take over a year, some people don't have
that kind of patience/persistence. I didn't push her, I just kept bringing her and letting her hang by me until she was 'ready'.

[sagelfn]

I said "most"

A dog lacking confidence is much different than a fearful reactive dog. A dog with temperament issues like the OP's dog should never be in a dog park situation. One bad experience can set you back months of progress. Too much risk IMO.

[debbiebrown]

agree, get a professional private trainer for help...there is alot you need to address here and need the right guidence.......

[Tihannah]

Everyone here is correct. At this stage and age, the best thing you can do is find a behavorist to help you and your dog learn how to deal with this. I have a fear reactive GSD as well. She's fine with people, but new surroundings and even more so, strange dogs will completely unnerve her. We have learned to deal with it through many different trainers, a behaviorist, research, and reading some books.

What I can tell you is that this is most likely genetic. Even though you met the parents, and they seemed okay, that doesn't mean there wasn't a reactive dog bred somewhere in her direct lineage. My dog's mother was reactive, but I didn't know any better at the time, and thought it was all how you raised your dog. From what I have personally learned is that this is not something you can simply TRAIN out of your dog-which is why you need a behaviorist. You have to learn what it is exactly that sets your dog off, and then find the appropriate methods to deal with it, as well as teach her how to deal with these situations that make her uneasy, fearful, or reactive.

For me, there was no ONE trainer that had the correct method (I went through 4!) What I had to do was take a little bit from each lesson learned and combine what worked for my dog. And that is what you will have to do as well.

For instance, I combined the clicker, the "Look at That" technique (from the book "Control Unleashed", a prong collar, and reward (treat or praise). I started training basic OB with Kaiya as a puppy with the clicker and treats, so she associated the clicker as a marker for good behavior or what I wanted her to do. However, her reactivity would get so out of control, that the clicker and treats were useless when she got all riled up. This is when I was introduced to the prong collar. So we would work on this everyday.

At the end of my street is a house with 2 fence reactive dogs, that would charge the fence and bark at us whenever we passed. This would send Kaiya into a frenzy. So we started slowly. We would walk to about 30 yards of the fence. When she started to react, I would correct her with the prong, saying "Ahhh!" at the same time. As soon as she stopped reacting, I would click and offer either a treat or verbal praise. If I couldn't get the reacting under control, we would move farther away, until I could get her into a sit. Once she was in a sit, I would say, "Look at that!" towards the dogs. She would observe them and I was showing her that she was okay and safe. I kept this up until eventually we were able to walk past the fence without her reacting. The first time I knew we made progress was when we got past the fence without her reacting and she looked back at me and wagged her tail as if to say, "Look what i did, Ma!"

The first thing you have to understand though is that this is a long slow process. It doesn't happen overnight, but if you are consistent with whatever method works for you and her, you WILL begin to see improvement. Kaiya is 18 months old now, and even though she will never be completely at ease around strange dogs and in new situations, she and I have both learned to control it. I can't just walk up and introduce her to new dogs, but I can keep her from acting out and scaring the bejeezus outta people and their dogs.

But like everyone here has stated, you need SOMEONE to help you that understands what's going on in her head and how you can best deal with it. Even if its only for one session. They can teach you how to read her body signals and what she's trying to tell you, and you will learn to catch these behaviors before she has time to react. Understanding her behavior is the FIRST step. Good Luck and I hope you find someone to help you with this!

[codmaster]

Great advice!!!!!!!!!!