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Need advice please !!

2K views 12 replies 5 participants last post by  Michelelee44 
#1 ·
Hi all ! Haven't been on here in a long time. I have a 1 1/2 yr old female who is extremely dominate over everything !!! I have a 4 yr old golden retriever female and she can never play unless I put Misha away. I've tried to break this behavior or at least tame it down a bit but have not succeeded. So as of 2 days ago we have a new member of the family. An 8 week old male pup. Misha is mean to him and I don't know what to do. I correct her when she bites at him aggressively. My husband doesn't correct her and says " That's the way German Shepherds are " I'm worried that she's going to ruin him. Should I continue to correct her ? If so, what's the best way ? I appreciate any help and advice. Thank you :help:
 
#2 ·
German Shepherds do play rough, so I'm not sure if your GSD is being dominant or just being a GSD. What makes you think its dominance?
 
#5 ·
My four - year old shepherd did this with my shepherd puppy when I brought him home at eight weeks. She would "ground" him every two minutes. He could simply be trying to walk across the room and she'd run and tackle him and pin him on the ground growling, every time. I always corrected her, and it helped the frequency of it. If I noticed her about to, I would correct her before she even started. I never left them unsupervised and watched her body language to stop her BEFORE she did it. She is also VERY dominant, and I would assume she was trying to make an imprint on him now that she is the head dog in the house. She tends to do this to every dog she meets (INSIDE my home only! Outside she is perfectly fine). However, the difference is mine only lasted a week or so. So it's possible yours is doing the same?

I've noticed the older he got and the more I corrected her, she left him alone (unless he bothered her, which he did often as she *looked* like a good playmate for some odd reason). Now, at six months, she only grounds him when he does something unacceptable. For example, if he doesn't listen to me say "down" when I'm coming home and jumps on me, she pushes him to the ground and then releases him. It's actually a very hand tool, because he no longer jumps on me and I hardly had to do anything !

However, mine never tried to bite him, it was always just a push down until he settled and then shed let him back up. So that is where I'm stumped!

I hope I helped somehow :(




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#7 ·
My 17 month old intact male GSD plays very roughly with my older neutered male. There is a lot of "viscous" growling involved, as well as bearing teeth. Despite how it sounds, he is just a puppy playing. They are actually great with each other.
 
#8 ·
Oh wow llombardo ! Your poor golden haha ! That's how my golden ( Ginger) and GSD (Misha) play sometimes but Misha doesn't want us petting Ginger or any other dog at all. She doesn't bite Ginger as much but will get in front of her and push her out of the way. She is hardly ever relaxed and I'm just concerned the pup won't learn anything and become a sissy dog because of her. She scares him and he cowers down. It's sad. I will try to catch some stuff on video this weekend for you guys :)
 
#9 ·
To be honest with you, I don't even think Misha knows what playing with another dog is. And she doesn't seem interested at all. Her goal is to win at everything. She's very competitive and really has a bad attitude about everything. Yet she is extremely loving to people and will play ball all day long. Very good with people just not so good with other dogs. Maybe it's something I'm going to have to accept ? I don't know.
 
#10 ·
Why would you get another dog when according to you, your shepherd's making your other dog miserable? Not trying to be mean, just trying to understand your view point, or reasoning.

Here is a rambunctious video of my two for reference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFWHLzqCeUo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Try googling german shepherd behavior. See if what they say matches what you see.

Metro 10/2005-5/2013
Sabo 3/2013-now
Kia 1/2014- now
 
#11 ·
Ginger is a golden retriever and gets lots of love...trust me...she's not miserable although I feel that her life would be better without Misha because she'd finally be able to play and retrieve things without them being snatched out of her mouth. I got the pup thinking things would be different and Misha might enjoy playing with a puppy but so far I don't see that. It has only been 2 days so really too soon to tell. I can handle the situation just wanted some advice on how. Ginger loves the pup a lot and wants to play so maybe just put Misha away while Ginger and the pup play ? Haven't figured out a name for him yet.
 
#12 ·
I don't doubt you love your dogs, or else you wouldn't be here asking for help. Your female shepherd needs obedience. Stay with the basics.

While the new pup is there, Misha belongs on a lead at all times. It's a pain in the butt, I know this because my dog had to be on a lead when we got our new rescue.

Having her attached to you offers several things (a) the pup will learn to trust you because you can make the "bully" stop when she's mean (b) ginger will be happier knowing Misha is controlled and (c) by controlling situations yourself Misha will be relieved of being in charge.

Misha needs her own OB time. It too is a pain. I'm trying to do it with my two, and Sabo had extreme seperation anxiety when removed from Kia, so I'm dealing with that too. Everyone needs their own time with you.

Walks can be done in tandem with Misha and ginger. This let's them learn to be quiet and together. My two do very well on walks, Sabos dog reactivity is GONE when he's with Kia.

Seperation right now its smart, but do you really want to live like that for the next 10 or more years? Teach now for peace later.

Metro 10/2005-5/2013
Sabo 3/2013-now
Kia 1/2014- now
 
#13 ·
That was the best thing I heard all day !!! Thank you for that. I kind of had the same ideas but wasn't positive. Misha used to be in Schutzhund but lost interest all of a sudden last summer and we still don't know why. Change of harness, her feeling my anger, who knows but she didn't make the cut. So as far as obedience she's awesome. Just a little rusty because I got lazy. Shame on me ! As far as her being so neurotic, well they kind of encourage that in Schutzhund so we will have to work on that. But I believe she's still young enough that I can make an impression hopefully.
 
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