What should I do? puppy agression?

[brandongill1]

well the last time this happened, odin somehow managed to get out of our house and started jumping on a person who was walking in front our house,

it happens sometimes when people come over, either he'll just bark at them, or jump up and bark at them, I tell them to either ignore him, or I hand them treats which calm him down right away, its a huge ordeal when people come over, and I am just exhausted

[Blanketback]

It is a giant pain in the butt, I know. That's why you have to do something to train him not to do it, either by crating him or leashing him or gating him - something to let him know that the jumping (and the barking to go with it) is unacceptable and has to stop. If he's able to calm right down and focus on the treats, then IMO the problem isn't as bad as other people think it is. Can you seek another opinion, someone who has experience with GSDs?

[martemchik]

Originally Posted by brandongill1

We have seen a behaviourist, one that was recommended by our vet, what she told us was that odin had a very low threshold for anxiety, and the smallest thing could set him off in a frenzy, she recommended prozac so we could train him to focus more on us, but she said it wasn't a guarantee it would work I am just so confused , I thought our socialization was great, and started training early as well, but this anxiety thing just popped out of no where, and its just been slowly getting worse and worse. I do love him and want to manage this, but I am always worried that something out of the blue will set him off.. and he'll be in get into a lot more trouble then just jumping on strangers

It's genetic...there are dogs where no amount of socialization will get them to be normal.

Think of it this way...a very well bred dog doesn't need much socialization. They can be locked in a kennel for months, come out, and be model citizens. There are also those dogs that can be socialized in every setting possible and still be fearful and not friendly in public. And there is everything in between.

[StephenV]

brandongill1, your worry is well founded, as the responsible owner of your dog, you have to face the fact. Follow your vets advice, train with the best trainer and behaviorist you can find, and do your best. It can be an all-consuming task to get in your dogs head and unravel all the knots. In the meantime you absolutely have to keep him crated/on a lead and/or in a muzzle around strangers and avoid social situations where he would fail.

[Jag]

Originally Posted by brandongill1

well the last time this happened, odin somehow managed to get out of our house and started jumping on a person who was walking in front our house,

it happens sometimes when people come over, either he'll just bark at them, or jump up and bark at them, I tell them to either ignore him, or I hand them treats which calm him down right away, its a huge ordeal when people come over, and I am just exhausted

This does not sound like your first post at all. Is he being obnoxious, or is he being aggressive? Taking treats from strangers and calming right down does NOT sound like he needs to be medicated or that he's a threat. (Other than knocking people down) My bitch NEVER took treats from strangers. She'd by-pass that attempt to try to eat the PERSON. (but only when the mood would strike her, it was a Tuesday, it was sunny, it was cloudy, etc. etc.) Are the people you're seeing familiar with GSD's? Do you have a working line? Is the dog bored? What reactions are leading you to think it's fear or anxiety based? I'm more confused than ever at this point- not that it's hard to get me there.

[brandongill1]

Originally Posted by Jag

This does not sound like your first post at all. Is he being obnoxious, or is he being aggressive? Taking treats from strangers and calming right down does NOT sound like he needs to be medicated or that he's a threat. (Other than knocking people down) My bitch NEVER took treats from strangers. She'd by-pass that attempt to try to eat the PERSON. (but only when the mood would strike her, it was a Tuesday, it was sunny, it was cloudy, etc. etc.) Are the people you're seeing familiar with GSD's? Do you have a working line? Is the dog bored? What reactions are leading you to think it's fear or anxiety based? I'm more confused than ever at this point- not that it's hard to get me there.

I really think its a little of both, when he runs and starts barking and jumping on people it "seems" very aggressive, the guy was just walking on the sidewalk when odin got out of the house, his hackles were up, he was growling, when people come to the house he is the same way, but if they feed him a treat he'll take it, and be listen to whatever they tell him to do, but he's always on guard with them and will bark at them if they make any type of sudden movement

I have posted about this problem before, and I tried everything that was recommended by this board, and the behaviorist ( who has worked with several GSDs), but it just doesnt seem to be getting through to him, when he gets into that mode, he doesnt listen, he ignores all commands, He is a great dog with the family, and our close family that visits often, never once will he growl or bark at us, he'll do as he's told, but can be rather cheeky about it,

but the concern most of my family and me have, is that he is getting braver and braver as he gets older ( in a bad way) before he would avoid strangers or things that would scare him, now he meets them head on in a fight or flight situation, but for him it's mostly fight, I have heard the term liability thrown in the post a lot, and the last thing I want my dog to do is cross that line and seriously hurt someone which it seems to me is where he's heading.. I'm just so frustrated, I don't know where I went wrong, and how he got to be like this,

[Nigel]

He doesn't sound as bad in your last few posts as I thought reading the initial op. I don't have advice, but it sounds fixable. Hopefully some of those who posted earlier with experience will re-read the thread.

[Cassidy's Mom]

Originally Posted by brandongill1

well the last time this happened, odin somehow managed to get out of our house and started jumping on a person who was walking in front our house,

it happens sometimes when people come over, either he'll just bark at them, or jump up and bark at them, I tell them to either ignore him, or I hand them treats which calm him down right away, its a huge ordeal when people come over, and I am just exhausted

Right now, I think the most important thing is to make sure that you manage his environment so he's not able to practice this behavior. He cannot be allowed to get out of your house and terrorize people walking by - everyone in your household needs to understand this, and you need to have a plan in place to make sure it NEVER happens again.

He should either be on a leash when people come over, or crated in another room. My dogs get very excited when we have guests because it doesn't happen that often, and they'd jump all over everyone if I let them. So I don't, we keep them on leash until they calm down and can greet people calmly. It's kind of a pain, but I know their obnoxious behavior is only going to last 5 or 10 minutes, so rather than putting them away for the duration, we leash them temporarily.

For a dog that wouldn't settle down within a reasonable amount of time, or who was showing outright aggression towards your guests, or fearful behavior towards people, then I don't see any reason to keep exposing him to them - he would be better off crated out of sight. It would be less stressful for you and your guests, AND your dog.

[shepherdmom]

Originally Posted by Cassidy's Mom

Right now, I think the most important thing is to make sure that you manage his environment so he's not able to practice this behavior. He cannot be allowed to get out of your house and terrorize people walking by - everyone in your household needs to understand this, and you need to have a plan in place to make sure it NEVER happens again.

He should either be on a leash when people come over, or crated in another room. My dogs get very excited when we have guests because it doesn't happen that often, and they'd jump all over everyone if I let them. So I don't, we keep them on leash until they calm down and can greet people calmly. It's kind of a pain, but I know their obnoxious behavior is only going to last 5 or 10 minutes, so rather than putting them away for the duration, we leash them temporarily.

For a dog that wouldn't settle down within a reasonable amount of time, or who was showing outright aggression towards your guests, or fearful behavior towards people, then I don't see any reason to keep exposing him to them - he would be better off crated out of sight. It would be less stressful for you and your guests, AND your dog.

Some dogs will never be social. I had an Aussie Shepherd mix who hated people other than us and kids. Anytime adults came over she had to be locked up. We did this for 12 years until she passed.

[brandongill1]

update:

the guy odin jumped and barked at, has called animal control, and they have told us that we need to call them back, not sure why, and will have to wait until tomorrow to find out, we also contacted our breeder who came in and looked at the dog, and she said that the problems he was exhibiting could be fixable, she told us that if it was too much to handle, she wanted to give Odin to a breeder/trainer in Montreal, who would use him as a show dog,

on the other hand I also had one of my uncles contact me as well, saying that he would take odin if we wanted to give him to him, and he has had german shepherds since he was a kid,

I definitely feel that all thats happened so far, that me and my family are in over our heads, and that I feel he should be given to someone a lot more experienced then we are, and who can train him and put in the time, I love my dog and that's why I feel that this would be the best move for him

wondering what your guys thoughts were as I'm not sure where would be the best place for him to be