Extremely territorial/aggressive gsd

[cal28]

What do I do about my extremely territorial gsd? Every time someone comes over even if we have her meet them outside once their inside she goes crazy and is extremely aggressive. How can we stop this besides putting her in the side yard every time someone comes over?

She's 8 months old by the way, turning 9 months in 2 weeks.

[Jax08]

Get a good trainer RIGHT NOW! Where are you located? Maybe someone can recommend a trainer in your area.

[PaddyD]

Crate her and have them give treats. That way they are safe and she gets good vibes. Make sure the treats are ones she REALLY likes. Gradually try to calm her down and try to make her think of guests as a good thing. When you think she is ready, let her out on a leash (safety first) and keep the treats coming until you think she is 'sure' that guests are a good thing then gradually diminish the treats and loosen the leash. This will probably take many visits.
You will have to work hard on this if you want her to change.... and be patient.
As Jax08 says, get a trainer who has dealt with this problem successfully.

[Jax08]

Looking back at your posts, you have been allowing this to happen for months now.

Hello!

She's doing great in her obedience classes so far and performs great on her tests in class. She loves to take the alpha role at my house, even testing the visitors to see if their afraid of her or not. She meets everyone outside the house just to see their okay in here and their allowed in here, but even then she loves to run up to people barking to see if they'll get scared of her or not.

The other week at training this dog was barking at her like crazy and she just sits there and stares it down till it went to go hide behind it's owner, it was hilarious! Of course she thought she had the best stare until she met another GSD that made her look tiny!

This is now a learned behavior that has to be changed rather than a new behavior that can be diverted. You can start with what PaddyD said but you will need to get a good trainer involved.

You are also letting her stare other dogs down? That is a challenge to them. If that continues, it's only a matter of time before another dog reacts strongly and you have a mess on your hands. If you allowed your dog to do that to my dog, there would be a dog fight in under 30 seconds.

[cal28]

Originally Posted by Jax08

Looking back at your posts, you have been allowing this to happen for months now.

Hello!



This is now a learned behavior that has to be changed rather than a new behavior that can be diverted. You can start with what PaddyD said but you will need to get a good trainer involved.

You are also letting her stare other dogs down? That is a challenge to them. If that continues, it's only a matter of time before another dog reacts strongly and you have a mess on your hands. If you allowed your dog to do that to my dog, there would be a dog fight in under 30 seconds.

Yeah I realize that mistake now, I feel pretty stupid too this is my first gsd and now looking back I haven't established my own dominance over her like I should've.

and thanks PaddyD I'll start doing that when people come over!

[Jax08]

It's not about establishing your own dominance. That whole dominance theory is over rated and outdated.

Your puppy was going through a fear period. Now, she is reacting because she thinks that is ok to do. You will need to counter condition her. And, IMO because it involves human aggression, you need to get a good trainer on board now before you are fighting for her life in court over a bite.

[BowWowMeow]

It's about clear, confident and consistent leadership. You need to step up to the plate, do some reading, get her into more classes, start NILIF and turn this around (in a positive way) before something more than her charging at people and barking at other dogs happens.

[Jax08]

Originally Posted by cal28

Yeah I realize that mistake now, I feel pretty stupid too this is my first gsd and now looking back I haven't established my own dominance over her like I should've.

I am sorry that nobody raised red flags in your hello post. If they had, they could have told you that letting her run and bark at people was a bad idea. We were all new to dogs at some point and everyone here has made dumb mistakes.

Look up the LAT game (look at that). It has done wonders for my dog and her reactivity to other dogs. Get a good trainer who will teach you progressive ways of managing this.

[msvette2u]

Don't ever let her stare at other dogs. Its not hilarious, its a prelude to a fight.
And as for the human issue...be a leader, not intimidator! Get a good trainer involved, not an "alpha roller "!

[missmyrexy29]

Originally Posted by Jax08

It's not about establishing your own dominance. That whole dominance theory is over rated and outdated.

Your puppy was going through a fear period. Now, she is reacting because she thinks that is ok to do. You will need to counter condition her. And, IMO because it involves human aggression, you need to get a good trainer on board now before you are fighting for her life in court over a bite.

please read my post,my rexy didn't like strangers either he had human aggression.and because we didn't get a stock gate fence and a dog behaviorist he bit someone in the neck almost killing her.please save your baby from this before it's to late.now our baby is ashes instead of being with us.the only diffrence was if we invited someone over he would be good and throw his stick at people to play,but as soon as they leave and are on the other side of the gate he would bark.i 100 percent agree with this post,please do everything for your baby im sure behaviorist are alot cheaper then if your paying a lawyer which is 2000 dollars for them to save your baby.