Aggression Phase?

[Eric]

I have a one year old un-neutered gsd. Is there an agression phase that male GSD go through?

[zyppi]

describe what you're experiencing.

Are you perhaps confusing maturation for aggression?

They do grow up and sometimes try to get their hairy toes over the line, but if you've worked with him, he should be easily brought back in line.

[Eric]

We went to the dog park this morning and he got in a fight with a great dane (puppy 6month old weighing 89lbs). The dane didn't seem to provoke anything but Gunner ended up drawing blood. We took him out as soon as it happened and will be paying for the dane's vet bill. He has gotten in a couple of little fights with puppies before but never like this.

Ever since we got him at 8 weeks, we have done socialization and training with him. The first training was a puppy kindergarten to learn the basics and the second training was "family dog 2" which goes over reinforcing the basics, goes through the canine good citizen test and a really reliable recall.

At the dog day care center we bring him to he has never had any problems, even though he's with other dogs.

When he is on leash, I've never had a problem with him walking around. We can go to the pet store with other dogs without him getting excited.

Gunner is cut off from the dog park till we get him under control. I know some people are against dog parks. The only reason why we bring him to the park, besides the exercise, is for the socialization. My question then is, how can we keep him socialized with other dogs without going to the dog park?

[onyx'girl]

Why does he need to socialize? Find another dog that Gunner gets along with and let them play without the dogpark structure.
Intact males generally aren't social butterflies with other males. I'm surprised the daycare allows intact maturing dogs. Most of them don't.
My male is almost 3 and maturing, intact and I haven't let him play with other dogs(other than the two he lives with). He is fine with dogs, but I don't let them play ever.
As long as Gunner isn't reactive to others, then he is "socialized".
Play is different, IMO and the dogs need a relationship to keep it safe. Especially GSD's, their style of play is pretty rough/aggressive. Because he has relationships with the daycare dogs, you aren't seeing the spats. Though that may change as he matures.

[Eric]

From what we have read, socialization is a life long process. We want Gunner to be comfortable in every situation and with dogs of all shapes and sizes. If he doesn't have a lot of contact with certain breeds or size of dogs at this age, will that lead to issues when he's an adult?

I have no problem trying to find just a couple of dogs he plays well with and find a spot were they can play. I just don't want there to be developmental problems because we wont have as much contact with other dogs.

[doggiedad]

Gunner is 1 yrs old. you said he's gotten into fights
with puppies before. the Dane was big but only 6 months old.
Gunner probably senses the dogs are pups that he's fighting
with so he knows he can take advantage of them. how long have you been going to the dog park? find some dogs that Gunner knows
and plays well with and set up a play date. i'm not sure if i would
go back to the dog park. i'm not against dog parks. i used the dog
park as a training aid. i use to train in the parking lot moving
closer to the enclosure as my dog learned. then i use to train along the fence of the enclosure. once my dog responsed when we were along the fence i moved inside to train. i always went inside after each training
session as a reward for my dog.

[chelle]

I am pretty pro-dog park, but I don't think I'd go back in this case.

You mentioned "a couple little fights with puppies," -- also at the dog park? If so, I really would not go back. You don't want him to associate the dogpark with the OK Corral. With the "little fights," who was the instigator?

You can't force a dog to like other dogs, nor to want to play with them. They either do or they don't. I wouldn't go back to the park.

[Zahnburg]

Here is my opinion on this. The reason I have my dogs is for me to enjoy. Not other people and ceratinly not other dogs. I can not understand the obsession that people have in wanting and, indeed, forcing their dogs to interact with other people and dogs. If you have a proper relationship with your dog then YOU are their raison d'etre. There is no reason that they must interact or be friendly with anyone other than their master. Surely, they must tolerate other people and dogs within reason, but it is not necessary for them to be friends, in fact, there should be no greater joy for your dog than to interact and play with their owner.

[chelle]

Originally Posted by Zahnburg

Here is my opinion on this. The reason I have my dogs is for me to enjoy. Not other people and ceratinly not other dogs. I can not understand the obsession that people have in wanting and, indeed, forcing their dogs to interact with other people and dogs. If you have a proper relationship with your dog then YOU are their raison d'etre. There is no reason that they must interact or be friendly with anyone other than their master. Surely, they must tolerate other people and dogs within reason, but it is not necessary for them to be friends, in fact, there should be no greater joy for your dog than to interact and play with their owner.

I'm not obsessed. My dog really enjoys playing with other dogs. It really is that simple. He's not forced to do anything. Most the anti dog park folks say this sort of thing.

I AM his raison d'etre. I just know how much he enjoys playing with the other dogs. He absolutely loves it. Why deny that? It's not about me. It is not his sole source of exercise. It is an extra that he loves.

Not all dogs are dog park dogs. I've said that plenty of times. I'm growing quite sick of folks who are anti dog park saying that those of us who go are "obsessive" or "forcing" our dogs. That's just ridiculous. I have two other dogs who do NOT want to go to a dog park. They did years ago, but they didn't seem to enjoy it - they wanted to be left alone - so I didn't "force" it anymore. Those dogs want to just be with their humans. That's fine, too. Some dogs really like the dogpark, some don't. It really is just that simple.

[Zahnburg]

Originally Posted by chelle

My dog really enjoys playing with other dogs.

There is a severe fault in your relationship if your dog prefers playing with another dog over playing with you.