My GSD is 8 months old, and showing weak nerves. Over the past few weeks, he has gone from lying down in the back of my Jeep to barking like a nut at every person, beast, or vehicle he sees. He sounds like he wants to kill everyone. He is good with people when we run across them on walks, and generally acts aloof when they greet him (no aggression), but when in or near the car, he's awful. I'm looking for a crate for the cars. He loves his crate at home, and maybe this will help keep him calm.
When we have people (mostly kids) over, he gets stressed, and has to be put away. It's hard for us, because our other dogs were very relaxed and social, and that's what we were hoping for. I stressed to our breeder (who was recommended by several members here) that our number one attribute in a dog was strong nerves. I take some of the blame because the first breeding we really were interested in didn't take, so we got on the list for the next one (same sire, different mother). I thought I asked the right questions about the mother, and only after we got our dog did I see the breeder fostering the mom out-and requesting home without small kids. Knowing what we wanted, and our family situation with kids, we got a dog from a weak nerved mother. I was expecting the breeder to be more useful to us in picking the right litter, and now it seems they cared more about selling dogs then taking the time or making the effort to properly place them.
What now? My dog has been taken out to busy public areas since he was 8 weeks old, exposed to kids, and dogs (he shows no dog aggression, but gets very nervous when there are more than a couple of dogs around him). Can a behaviorist help? He gets loads of exercise and attention, and is a pretty quick learner. We all love him, and he is loving to us, but we are a bit stressed by all this. We are a family used to taking the dog everywhere, and now we are sort of at a loss. Any recommendations, comments, or suggestions are welcome.
When we have people (mostly kids) over, he gets stressed, and has to be put away. It's hard for us, because our other dogs were very relaxed and social, and that's what we were hoping for. I stressed to our breeder (who was recommended by several members here) that our number one attribute in a dog was strong nerves. I take some of the blame because the first breeding we really were interested in didn't take, so we got on the list for the next one (same sire, different mother). I thought I asked the right questions about the mother, and only after we got our dog did I see the breeder fostering the mom out-and requesting home without small kids. Knowing what we wanted, and our family situation with kids, we got a dog from a weak nerved mother. I was expecting the breeder to be more useful to us in picking the right litter, and now it seems they cared more about selling dogs then taking the time or making the effort to properly place them.
What now? My dog has been taken out to busy public areas since he was 8 weeks old, exposed to kids, and dogs (he shows no dog aggression, but gets very nervous when there are more than a couple of dogs around him). Can a behaviorist help? He gets loads of exercise and attention, and is a pretty quick learner. We all love him, and he is loving to us, but we are a bit stressed by all this. We are a family used to taking the dog everywhere, and now we are sort of at a loss. Any recommendations, comments, or suggestions are welcome.