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Aggression Issues with 20 month old female

2K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  SuperG 
#1 ·
Hey everyone,
Let me preface by saying we have an appointment with an animal behaviorist and trainer in two weeks. However, I am concerned about a sudden bout of aggression our dog has started to show. We have had her since 7.5 weeks old and socialized her very well. She has been sweet and submissive to strangers until recently. Starting about 2 months ago, Ciri started barking at people while she was in the car, even if they were far off. A month ago she started being very territorial of our property. Now, she has started charging with her teeth my husband and his father when they correct her when she is doing something she isn't supposed to do. We had relatives come over late at night and she attacked their overnight bag even though we are there telling hee to relax and sit. We would have had a leash there but it was unexpected. Now while on walks she growls and will lunge at anyone who gets close to us. Any ideas on what is going on? It seems so sudden and progressed very quickly. Why would she be turning on my husband and father-in-law when corrected? Admittedly, both times it was a harsh correction because she stole food and then broke through the backyard fence the second time. She doesn't resource guard unless it is a very valuable treat or if she stole the food. Any tips or ideas would be appreciated, especially since we are having to wait 2 weeks before the behaviorist comes. At this rate of progression it has me nervous.

If it makes any difference she was fixed at 8 months old.
 
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#2 ·
Manage her differently so that the conflict does not arise. She steals food...from the table or counter? Make it so she does not have access to the kitchen anymore. Baby gate? Keep her on a leash when food is present? Better than allowing her to steal and then getting in a fight with her.

Sounds like you need to repair that fence pronto. A dog showing aggression to people must be properly contained. Potty and exercise her in the yard on a 30 ft long line while you repair the fence.

When you say she broke through the fence aND got a correction for it, does that mean you caught her and then punished her? If so that's not constructive at all, and just will teach her not to come back to you.
 
#4 ·
She stole the food once from the sofa when my husband was out of the room and when he came back she had it. He corrected her and she came at him making the weirdest racket and showing her teeth. The second time it happened on the counter when we both had our back turned forb5 seconds. My husband learned the first time not to correct harshly. He simply put her out. We have put the leash on her when inside now. She isn't allowed inside when the in-laws are home-- we sneak her in when they are gone. Thankfully my husband is a work from home developer so she is in during the day. We are staying with them as we are saving up for a down payment*sigh*.

The fence she broke was breaking into the backyard where my father-in-law was. She tips and cries if you're back there and wants to be with you. He ignored her and she tore down the fence to get in. He yelled at her to get out and the same thing happened again; she came at him making that weird racket and her teeth showing. He Spartan kicked her (he obviously does not understand German Shepherds). She calmed down only when my husband came out and calmly told her to sit and put a leash on her. We had a discussion with my father-in-law you don't greet aggression with aggression and yelling.

She has an electric invisible fence and that contains her well. She has gotten out a few times and neighbors have gotten her for us. She was incredibly sweet to them. One neighbor's 2.5 year old was riding her like a horse when we came to get her, and she was as happy as can be. Aggression at strangers seems to occur only when we are around her, but I definitely don't want to test that.
 
#6 ·
When my husband corrected her, he told her no, she put her ears sideways (she does this when she knows she isn't supposed to be doing something) and kept eating the food. My husband said no more loudly and approached and she came at him.

My father in law was having a bad day, so when she broke into the fence he told her no and to get out. She started acting like she was playing, very common when she is corrected, and this made my father in law mad. He raised his voice and started yelling and then Ciri came at him and my father in law pushed back and kicked her when she came for him. Like I said, he realized later this was not the best choice. This happened a couple of days after the first incident.
 
#7 · (Edited)
It seems like she is in control as a result of not enough leadership. That's why she is sweet with your neighbors, until she would live with them and they continue to treat her like that. Pack hierarchy behavior will kick in quickly and she might bite that kid when it tries to ride her. As you described, it has gotten worse progressively. This happens when they don't encounter boundaries. Take away all her initiatives and resources and make her more depended on you. Check out NILIF (earning privileges) Plenty of exercise and games to use her brain and no freedom until she is under control (leashing and crating).
In the car: crate her and if needed, cover the crate to block her view. Visitors: leash her before they come or have them wait at the door so you can leash her when they arrive unexpectedly. Feed her treats for not reacting. If she does, react, calmly put her in another room and ignore her. Once visitors are seated, leash her and take her with you. Reward good behavior on her way to the crate and crate her. If she does react, take her back to the time out room. Try again or not if you want to visit with your company. Good to set up mock visit for training.
You are probably better off with a good trainer who understands GSDs than with a spendy behaviorist. She sounds like a typical untrained GSD adolescent.
Teach her and avoid correcting her with NO or yelling. It doesn't teach her anything. Teach her WHAT you want her to do instead.
If you get the right tools and educate yourself both, this will be easy to fix. Keep us posted.
 
#8 ·
I like a lot of what wolfy dog mentioned. 20 month pushy domineering bitch.....testing boundaries.... your mention of "She doesn't resource guard unless it is a very valuable treat or if she stole the food."...speaks volumes......I wouldn't tolerate that at all....it will only get worse.....as well as wolfy dog's thought "Teach her WHAT you want her to do instead."....this breed is smart enough to figure out a positive outcome versus an appropriate negative outcome for an associated behavior.

SuperG
 
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