My 11 month old female GSD would probably either hide or lick any intruder. She loves strangers! Is being protective just not her nature or will she grow into it?
Also, she is super defiant! She does naughty things while looking straight at me! My hubby and I don't let her get away with it, but it doesn't stop her. She is constantly in trouble. We use positive enforcement, pop on the but with a newspaper, firm voices, etc. nothing works. Advice?
I've heard so much about loyal and protective GSDs and so far mine is super naughty and even runs off if I turn my back for a few minutes. Help!
Most GSDs don't mature until they are 18- 24 months old, which is when their protective side will start to develop, IF they have a protective side. Each dog is an individual and not all become protective. As the pack leader, they rely on you to keep them safe - that would be your job. Most of the time, just having a GSD by your side, or one that will bark at strangers at the door is a fantastic deterrent and all the protection most people need.
As for her behaviour issues - can't say for sure what is going on without actually seeing your dog and your interactions with her - for sure you will need to change the way you interact to get her to change her relationship with you. I think you need to learn how to gain her trust, develop a bond, and make her want to listen to you. If she is only 11 months and you have gone through several training philosophies, then she is confused with what you want. You have to understand that dogs are NOT naughty and defiant, but very smart and excellent students of human behaviour - she has found ways to get the attention she wants, even if it is negative attention. So you basically, without being aware of it, have trained her to do the things you don't want her to do.
I suggest training classes, for her and you! I was struggling a lot with my adopted shelter dog, she was the same as your girl - I tried to make her listen, force her to submit to my will - it was an exhausting battle. I finally enrolled us in classes, and I learned so much!!! I learned how to set her up for success and motivate her to want to listen to me. Classes were fun and rewarding, and I became a much better and more successful dog owner, and my relationship with my dog improved tremendously and we started to mesh together and became a team.
So ditch news paper and the discipline, put a line on her so she doesn't run-off, manage her environment so she has the opportunity to do good, and no opportunity to do bad, and get thee to a class!!
If she runs when you turn your back on her, you have a problem,that is not acceptable ever! Will she Sit/Stay and Down.
Popping her on the butt with a newspaper is clearly not working, quit doing it! It is easier to teach a dog to "do something" than to "not do something!"
If she is misbehaving in the house tell her "to go to bed" fun time is over! Does this dog have any discipline at all?
Your 11 month behaves like she is 5 months. This sort of "juvenility" could be a hormonal issue. I remember my school: some of our girls still looked like Lolitas ten years later, and some looked and talked like matrons when they were 12. On the other hand, every dog copies his owner, I don't know your age, but your dog might behave the way you behave.
Give this a look, not saying you need to do this but here's my thinking. Your job is to protect your dog from bad experiences, sometimes stuff happens but we do the best we can. That includes stress caused by strangers. She clearly is not people aggressive but it sounds like she has to pick or choose friend or foe?
How is she supposed to do that??
My dog learned to treat people as furniture, I taught him to ignore people, people became part of the landscape! He learned to accept the touch of strangers because I kept people out of his face (people aggressive GSD) he doesn't have to decide for himself, who is friendly and who's a threat.
He was taught what "normal' interaction with people looks like, he knows how a friendly stranger behaves, he knows how kids behave (to a degree don't have kids) and that's his base line.
Something happens outside of the norm, he looks to me, if I can't respond...he knows what to do! Normal every day people are non issues to him, he doesn't care about people but he knows how people should act under normal circumstances.
And my Boxer was a people happy,people loving, friendly dog and she to was scared of no one. But she to knew what normal interaction looked like.
Good ideas, thank you. We are enrolling in an obedience class next month so hopefully that will help. She sits, lays, shakes, high fives, plays dead, stays, leaves it, etc. We live near her sister and sometimes they "talk" so I'm pretty sure she tries to get to her. It only happened twice but I don't leave her alone now. If I'm with her outside she stays with me. For 11 months old she is probably doing pretty good. This is my first dog (husbands 3rd) so I'm learning right along with her.
Neither of mine are barkers, so when they do I pay attention. My female is now over 2 and she has shown her protective side once. She is never in a situation where she needs to and I'm okay with that. The one time she did show it, it was with my son. He came home from college and I had him come in the yard to wait for each dog to come out. It was dark, he had a hoodie on, and she wasn't expecting it to be him. She rounded the corner running at him barking, growling, and teeth bared. She didn't slow down or back down, she would have knocked him on his butt. He spoke to her real fast and she switched gears immediately when she knew it was him. It did scare him, we don't do it that way anymore.
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