Aggression Question

[krissybear1791]

I have an 11 month old male GSD/Rottie mix, he has been with me since he was about 2.5 weeks old. His mother stopped feeding him so the lady who had the litter brought him to me. A week after I got him, he got really sick, and I found out that he had parvo. I brought him through it and now he is healthy and thriving. He is very intelligent, and listens to me very well, but there is a problem. He has aggression towards men. When a man he doesnt know approaches him, he barks, growls, and has even lunged at them. He behaves when leashed, as long as the man stays a good distance away, if they come too close, he goes into a guard mode and puts himself in front of me. He loves children and doesnt have issues with women, only with men. He is crate trained, and when someone comes over he goes nuts in his crate, and chews everything near his crate. What is the most successful way to house him, which kind of crate should i buy? Also what is the best way to get him out of the aggression?

[krissybear1791]

The main problem he has is with my neighbor. He will bark at anyone walking down the street, but he wont even let my neighbor near the fence with me standing there.

[Debbieg]

Wonderful that you have been able to bring this dog to health after such a horrible start!
It is not uncommon for dogs to go through reactive stages, especially when they hit adolescence.

I would say find an experienced trainer who to work on his issues with men. A trainer will be able to determine if he is reacting our of fear or something else. I suggest ( as what told me when Benny was feeling his oats as an adolescent) to get his obedience really tight so he immediately obeys you in all circumstances. He needs to a solid "place" command when people come to the house . Train him like you were preparing for a trial.

A good trainer will have you work with him around the things that trigger his reactions at a distance where he doesn't react and gradually decrease the distance. Many dogs are territorial about their yard which may be why he barks at the neighbor . A trainer with the neighbors cooperation can help with this

For now don't have anything in the crate you don't want him to chew and if he is barking in the crate try putting a sheet over it.

Benny is 3 1/2 still not good with certain men, especially if they make direct eye contact with him. He will bark, get between me and them, but will down on command. I just tell these men to keep a distance as he is not friendly. Although like your boy Benny loves children, lets them all over him, kisses them

[Freestep]

When he starts acting aggressive, what do you do?

What kind of crate do you have now?

[krissybear1791]

His obedience is tight, he will follow any command that I give him and he has a place command. He knows that he is to go into his kennel upon coming into the house unless told otherwise. I worked with him this morning, we had a repair man over and I kept him at a distance and slowly got closer as he got more comfortable, after about half an hour the repair man was petting him.

Usually when he starts to show aggression I will block his view of whatever he is reacting too and give him the sit/stay command and tell him to leave it. He listens well to me and doesnt try to move around me or yank away from me. I have done all of his training myself, with the help of my neighbor that breeds pitbulls.

At the moment he is being housed in a wire crate, he only uses it when we leave the house, or when we have company. I give him things to chew on when he is in his crate, but when company comes over (specifically men) he shows aggression and will grab and bite anything near his kennel. He calms down when I approach his kennel and follows any commands i give him.

my boyfriend seems to believe that his diet is too high in protein and that is causing his aggression, but his aggression obviously isnt fear based as he does not run or cower, he stands confidently and all his hair on his back stands up. I feed him a normal dog food bought from a pet store, and give him bones and meat occassionally. He does get eggs in with his food because he sheds really bad and i find that the eggs help.

Any suggestions?

he is walked daily and fed at scheduled times, he is socialized regularly with other dogs, cats, and children.

also would it help with his aggression if i got him neutered? my vet said he wanted to wait till he was a year old to do it.

[Kyleigh]

I can't give you an answer regarding the diet ... I raw feed and Ky has eggs, and have never heard of diet causing aggression. The testosterone? Maybe, but not likely. I have always had females, so don't really have any personal experience there.

One question I do have ... what are YOU doing when the men are coming near? Are you tensing / getting ready for his aggressive behaviour? Are you "telling" him that you're nervous, so he's getting protective (over the top, I agree ...) but just an idea that popped in my head when I read your thread.

[Twyla]

Originally Posted by krissybear1791

my boyfriend seems to believe that his diet is too high in protein and that is causing his aggression, but his aggression obviously isnt fear based as he does not run or cower, he stands confidently and all his hair on his back stands up. I feed him a normal dog food bought from a pet store, and give him bones and meat occassionally. He does get eggs in with his food because he sheds really bad and i find that the eggs help.

Any suggestions?

he is walked daily and fed at scheduled times, he is socialized regularly with other dogs, cats, and children.

also would it help with his aggression if i got him neutered? my vet said he wanted to wait till he was a year old to do it.

Your bf may be on to something with the protein. That isn't saying the protein level is causing the aggression, but it may factor in to lowering his threshold. Woolf is FA and protein levels do play a part in how quick he is to react. The trainer suggested a food with a protein level at 24%. We have him on a food that he will eat that is at 25%. Before this we had him on a food that was in the 30% range. There was a difference made in his reaction time once the full switch was done.

As for altering, it may or may not make a difference in his behavior. You will still have a period of time afterwards while the hormones leave his system. It doesn't happen often, but Woolf's behavior worsened after neutering.

[krissybear1791]

His aggression is selective. He loves my boyfriend and adores my step father and brother in law, but they come around regularly. He did alright with the repair man, but he was leashed and I wasn't showing any fear, so i am guessing that that made him more comfortable. He is particularly aggressive with my neighbor, and has lunged at several of the neighborhood thugs. And anyone in uniform is an obvious target for him, but that is how most dogs are. He is on a dogfood with 21% protein plus he gets a raw egg, and he gets cow neck bones twice a week as a treat. Someone said it could be caused by lack of excercise but he is walked daily.

[David Taggart]

Have you tried keeping him in the same position, sitting or laying down while he's barking furiously? If you want your dog to ignore something, you should show your rear to the object of agression, staying, so to say, in between two adversaries - your dog and the man. Distract his attention, grant him with your attention, because he could be simply jealous.