5 yr. old always had "fear aggression"

[cindamae41]

This is the story of my german shepherd, Maverick. When we got him, he was one of a litter of 10 pups. While the parents walked around us calmly, we held him and a few of the other pups. The parents were very gentle and non-aggressive. We took Maverick to his first obedience class and he was aggressive towards all the other puppies. He graduated the class without any incidences but continued to be "fear aggressive" for the rest of his life.

I took him with me in the car, introduced him to other dogs (my moms chihuahua and poodle), etc. He is tolerant of the chihuahua and poodle but will not tolerate either of my neighbor's dogs (beagle and a ****zhu). I would not allow him around our grandson as he would lunge viciously at him. Over time, we began to leash him when company came over. He was not trustworthy around them until we decided to have them sit and toss dogfood (one piece at a time) to him. (while we held him on leash).

After doing so, Maverick lightened up and after several visits, he is now able to be in the same area with family and not be aggressive. When we got Maverick as a pup, we already had a 5 yr. old yellow lab in the home who was good with him but also barked at other dogs and people, although was not vicious. I wondered if her behavior is what made Maverick "fear aggressive". She passed away 8 months ago and Maverick seemed to go through a bout of depression.

Knowing his "dog aggressive" personality, we were unsure about bringing another pet into his life, but after talking with our vet, decided to at least try it. We got a female Corgi. Maverick was horrible at first!! He would lunge at her in her crate and we could not have her out around him. We were considering taking her back but stuck it out. We showered Maverick with attention, always gave him affection, food, walks, etc. first before the new puppy and after TWO months (!)..... he finally lightened up and would take a toy over to her crate. Eventually, they were able to be out together under very careful supervision and today they are inseperable. I still put the puppy in her crate when I'm not in the house, but my fear of Maverick hurting her is gone. I just wanted to tell my story as hope for anyone who has an aggressive dog and is considering getting a companion for him or her. I know all stories don't end this well but we are proof that some do!

[PaddyD]

Glad for you that your patience and persistence brought about a happy ending. Hope it remains that way. Good luck. ;-)

[arnebchgrl]

How inspirational! How did you help Maverick to mellow out when guests came over? We have that issue with our 2 year old adopted shepherd. She is usually always on a leash for control but she still barks, jumps, lunges when people move suddenly or get up to walk around, etc.