Trying to solve problem as soon as I can-Please help!

[raeb4]

My family and I have a German Shepherd who is just over a year old. He seems to view everyone in the household (except for a twelve-year-old) as masters. He is very obedient-he sits whenever it's asked of him, stays and will not move until we tell him to (even if the door is wide open and there's a group of dog across the street), and makes great eye contact with us. I have taken him to public places, like busy malls, on numerous occasions and he impresses me so much: He does not bark, listens to my commands, and is overall very calm and reacts well to people of all ages.

However, he can be very insecure, and I would like to nip such behavior in the bud, since he is young and to avoid the problem from growing. He becomes VERY insecure and territorial a. of the house, b. of the twelve-year-old, and c. when first meeting certain dogs. If people he doesn't know enter the house, he starts jumping and barking and basically announcing to the world, "This is my house-back off." And it's not okay. He stops listening and becomes hyper and frantic (the complete opposite of how he normally is.) The other day, we had kids over and a young child turned a corner, surprising my dog, who barked way to close to the baby's face, making the child cry. When this happens, we feel forced to lock him in a room for the sake of the visitors. While I don't feel avoiding the problem is going to help, I also don't want to place people, especially children, in a scary situation. When the twelve-year-old takes him on walks, he will be calm and okay until someone steps what the dog thinks is too close. Today, he felt threatened and nipped a stranger on the shoulder and now, I feel I must take more serious action. He also is not very good when he first meets dogs. He will show signs of dominance, such as placing his paw on the other dog and his fur sticks up. Eventually, he settles down and falls in love with the other dog, but his first impression is something I would really like to work on but don't know how.

We want him to be protective of the home from intruders but welcoming to strangers we invite over. We do not want him so protective of the twelve-year-old and obviously, do not want him nipping and barking at strangers both in our home and on the street. We also do not want him showing signs of dominance to other dogs when he first meets them. I want to train him on my own, but need some advice. He's such a wonderful, obedient dog, but needs work on his confidence. Any advice? Anything would be great! Thank you in advance so much!

[DharmasMom]

It sounds to me like it may be fear aggression but I am no expert. I would get a trainer involved right away. If you can find one that specializes in GSDs, that would be best. Your dog nipped someone, this is NOT good but I doubt I need to tell you that. Please, for your dogs sake, before someone gets really hurt, get professional help. ASAP.

[doggiedad]

stop letting your 12 yr old child walk him. when did you
get your dog? why do you want to train your dog without
professional help? find a trainer immediately.

[jocoyn]

Agree you definitely need someone who can physically see the dog and assess the situation. No more walks for the 12 year old until things are resolved.

[raeb4]

I agree-thanks for your input.