New aggression toward household dogs

[Blue]

Hey folks,

First post! I'm glad I found your forum, and it seems like you all have a really great community of GSD lovers.

Obviously a lot of people end up on forums like this as a result of some weird dog problem/s; I am one of those. Sorry if this post is long; long story and I'm a bit longwinded.

The situation: I've got a 7.5 year old female GSD. She's a rescue, but she came to me when she was 8 months old, so she's not "new" to me. I live in a house with two other people. One has a rescue dog, a foster kitten, and a cat. The other (who owns the place) has two rescue dogs. All of the other dogs are small (under 20 lbs). So that's 3 dogs and 2 cats. All of the little critters and their people moved in a few months ago. The GSD has been completely cool with them until we came back from a week-long vacation about a week ago...and now chaos.

My dog is "pretty well" trained. I used NILIF to teach her good behavior, but have admittedly fallen off the wagon with official training for a while as she has been pretty solid for a long, long time. Since we got back, my GSD has been pretty aggressive with the other dogs, particularly when they're around people, but in the yard as well. Last night, she pinned one and I had to break them up--little guy has bruises but is otherwise all right. The person who witnessed the start said the little guy went after her first, but she's the big'un, so she's the one I worry about doing serious damage...

The other dogs in the house have no discipline. They're friendly little beasts, but have zero formal training. One owner uses the "yell at the dog" training approach. The other house-people pretty much ignore my dog because she's pretty unobtrusive and doesn't demand attention. I have zero control or influence on their owner or them, so I'm kind of S.O.L. there. But if my dog hurts one of them, I will 1) never forgive myself, and 2) probably not have my beloved dog anymore because she'll get murdered.

I know that the obvious solution is to get out of here. Which I would do, if I weren't completely, horrifically broke. Eatin' a can of beans a day kind of broke. (Recession + student loans + the only job I could get post-graduation was in retail, and is not full-time = crappy situation.)

Right now I've put us (GSD and me) back in full-training-mode. No furniture access and NILIF again. Daily walks are going to be longer. I'm keeping her separated from the household by keeping her in my room. After the holiday, I plan to look into muzzles for when she has to be around the other dogs...but I would love to know if you all have any suggestions.

[1sttimeforgsd]

Hello and Welcome, sorry that you are having problems with your girl. Since I am not experienced enough with those type of problems I will let someone who is more knowledgeable give you some suggestions.

[sashadog]

Having been in your position, my best advice is to remember that you can only control your dog. If this situation is short term and hopefully you can get out soon, I think you're doing the right thing by keeping her separated when possible. It's not worth risking her hurting one of the other dogs, regardless of who started it. It is very hard, in my experience, to have several different "packs" coexist without working somehow to mesh them together. If your roommates aren't willing to help with this, I would control the situation the best you can and not allow your dog to ever be with the other dogs without you. If your housemates are willing to take walks with you, start some obedience with their dogs, and enforce some "house rules" for ALL the dogs, wonderful! If not, protect you and your dog.

[Blue]

Thanks, Sashadog. I know that the only thing I can control in this situation is my dog, until I can change the situation by moving.

I'm going to try and get her in for thyroid testing next week, as well (haha, I eat beans and the dog eats a Blue Buffalo/Innova combination and has better health care than I do!). The sudden change is just too weird and I wonder if it might be medical. She's been tested in the past (thought she had hypothyroid, as she was gaining weight and had really dry skin), but everything came up normal. That said, things change.

[sashadog]

Your very welcome and I can relate for sure. My boyfriend and I have had several roommate in the past and have had to juggle a couple different combinations of dogs. It's never easy. Definitely a good idea to get the full check-up done but I wouldn't underestimate what stress can do to such a sensitive dog. I know both my GSD and my Cattle dog mix, while well behaved, are very sensitive to their surroundings and also to "unstable"dogs (i.e., out of control dogs ). Good luck at the vet and I hope everything works out well!! Home stress is never fun

[Gwenhwyfair]

Geez, first I'm just so sorry to read of your situation. I hate it that is happening to so many people. I hope your situation improves for you (and your dog) soon!

I agree with Sashadog.

It sounds like you are on top of the situation as well as can be expected given the circumstances!

The only thing I would add....

You mentioned that the dynamics changed after you came back from a week long vacation.

Sometimes the balance among the critter residents is delicate. Owners go away and in dog world that sometimes means re-arranging who gets to be in charge. If there's already been some grumbling and minor scuffling it's ten times worse when their routines are upset and the 'leaders' are gone (as good or bad as those leaders maybe)... WWIII can break out. I've witnessed it a couple of times, not fun. I no longer allow my clients to 'mix' packs like that, it's just not worth it.

Originally Posted by Blue

Thanks, Sashadog. I know that the only thing I can control in this situation is my dog, until I can change the situation by moving.

I'm going to try and get her in for thyroid testing next week, as well (haha, I eat beans and the dog eats a Blue Buffalo/Innova combination and has better health care than I do!). The sudden change is just too weird and I wonder if it might be medical. She's been tested in the past (thought she had hypothyroid, as she was gaining weight and had really dry skin), but everything came up normal. That said, things change.