I need advice please

[Michaelamartin37]

4 mths ago i rescued a gsd from animalcontrol a day before euthanizing him.i was very surprised when i took him home (thunder)because he knew all commands,hand commands,he gets me when he has to go outside, he walks very well on the leash, and even without leash, he doesnt leave my side.He gets along great with my two chihuahuas, and doesnt care about any other dogs. Meaning when we went on our daily walk,a loose dog came up to him barking and he just went on, paying him no mind. Make a long story short, he is very well behaved and listens to everything and is very smart. BUT when someone is at the door he goes crazy and his hair is standing up. When he meets people outside he is good with them, people who cme to the house is another story. My question is how can i let someone in the house without fearing that he will bite them?when i have workers coming, i usually put him in the backyard. Any suggestions on how i can tell thunder its ok for people to come in the house when i am home?

[blehmannwa]

Maybe practice with friends. Have someone come to the door and make Thunder sit--take as long as you have to. Once he is sitting, you could open the door and have your friend give him a treat.

He is overexcited about his home. It's best if he realizes that people that you let in are friends and that you are in charge of making those decisions.

[Michaelamartin37]

I will try that. Thank you. He is between 2-3 years old with unknown background and i took a chance to take him in, and its the best thing i have ever done. Would he be too old to go to agility training or anything like that?

[pets4life]

no way hes not too old for agility just make sure you pay close attention to him and hes not sore or anything but if he has the energy and likes it hes not even close

i found my dogs highest energy level was at 3


strangers comming to the door and your dog barking/hackles etc.. is very normal dont worry about it soon he will get use to the idea of people comming over and read off your cue, most gsds are like this when new people come to the door they dont know, remember these are not labs people pick them as protection dogs for a reason

[JackandMattie]

Originally Posted by pets4life

strangers comming to the door and your dog barking/hackles etc.. is very normal dont worry about it soon he will get use to the idea of people comming over and read off your cue, most gsds are like this when new people come to the door they dont know, remember these are not labs people pick them as protection dogs for a reason

Ditto. It's their natural protective instinct. You have given him a forever home to protect and he's grateful, and just trying to do his job.

My 2-1/2yo rescue hackles up something fierce and barks when people come to the door, or even walk onto the property. I keep him close, reward for the alert, and then reward him for shutting up as soon as I acknowledge it.

He's my velcro dog so the progression went pretty easily, since he's always already underfoot. Each time he barked I reached down and petted and said good boy and then whispered "shut it" and he caught on really fast. The whispering works with him a lot like it does with children....they want to know hear you, so they get real quiet If he barked again, I would immediately put him behind the gate or into his crate until he earned the right to come back out and socialize politely.

That turned it from an annoyance to him doing his job of saying "Hey, there's someone strange here...Check it out, Ma!" I swear I can see him beaming with pride when I thank him.

Just my two cents about what worked for me and my rescue boy. There are some experience trainers on here who will likely give you more professional advice.

[AngelaA6]

We have lots of family and friends that come over and have since day one when Gunther was brought home. He never even got the chance to bark or growl because he was drowsy from his neutering when everyone was coming over. It kind of conditioned him to be okay with people coming over. He still gets overly excited and tried to jump on them though haha we're working on that.

[Michaelamartin37]

Fortunately thunder also is a velcrow dog and he doesnt jump on people. I just never know how to reply to someone coming to the door asking" does he bite"?

[pets4life]

say hes a new rescue and just is a typical shepherd a bit protective but has never bitten anyone. But that doesnt mean people should bend over and put their face in his. If your dog prefers to be left along and just kinda hang out around you and company rather than be pet just let people know he likes his space and prefers to keep to himself. Some shepherds only like being pet and cuddle and all that stuff with their owners. WHen a stranger pets them you can tell they really could care less and are just tolerating it but not enjoying it.