Need Advice & Guidance

[2manyqs]

Hello and thanks in advance. I've posted on the GSD boards a few times regarding some issues I've had with a 2 year old female rescue that I've had for almost 2 months. (Feel free to read them for more insight.)

I'm honestly starting to wonder if I need to find a more appropriate placement than my own home for her. Please read below and offer any guidance.

Essentially she's a wonderful companion, she's a GSD after all. However, she started showing leash aggression towards other dogs about 2-3 weeks into our time together. Since that time, she's shown that she can't be left unattended with a dog pal in a fenced in yard without barking non-stop and so that option has stopped. And our time together on nice evenings on my deck is bringing the barking to an increasingly common event despite all of my best training efforts.

I'm a single owner who lives in an apartment with no fenced in yard. During my 4 day work week, she gets 4 walks a day (even at lunch) and two of them are in the 45-60 minute range. During my 3 day weekends, we are together for a majority of the time and she gets a few trips to dog parks (where she's great with dogs) or to a local park for some off lease running and fun.

Needless to say, it is a lot of "Riley and me" time. With her barking on play dates and her leash behavior, her ability to socialize is becoming more and more restrictive.

I've taken her through private training (notes in another post), I'm working on the Alpha Leadership and I'm also training her throughout the day. However, it's exhausting and honestly doesn't seem to be working.

Even though I love her and do not want to put her through another separation (I adopted her from a kill shelter where her previous owner surrendered her two days before due to illness), I would give her to a multi-person family (especially with kids) who had a fenced in yard.

So...do I just keep doing the same thing (perhaps speak with a dog behaviorist, work with a trainer that specializes in GSD, etc) in hopes she'll grow out of this or be trained out of it ... or, do I try to find her a suitable home or take her to a local GSD Rescue Center where they could work with her to find the perfect home?

[sagelfn]

What is she barking at?

I would find a behaviorist. Dealing with these issues will take a lot of work, time, and patience. If you aren't able to do that then I would contact a GSD rescue and ask them to place her, you may have to foster her until they can find a home.

[2manyqs]

Thanks for your response.

She only barks at dogs. (Not squirrels, cats, loud cars, sirens, thunderstorms, etc. Just dogs.) Initially it was only when on leash and now it's whenever she sees/hears them when sitting on the deck.

I've located a Behaviorist here and town and have content her about the situation. Hopefully I can get some insight. And the fact that on tonight's walk she actually did sit/stay when dogs were a little closer, but started up when I said hello to the other dog owner kinda makes me nervous. If this is going from "I'm excited, I want to play with that dog." to "I'm protecting you mom" then that speaks of potential issues down the road with people in general.

[sit,stay]

If there is a behavior you don't want, such as barking at other dogs, you need to replace it with a behavior you do want. With most dogs, it isn't enough to just "get them to stop doing X, Y or Z". You need something else to fill that behavioral void left when they stop doing X,Y or Z.

Try reading "Control Unleashed" by Leslie Mcdivitt" and then finding a trainer in your area that uses that protocol in working with reactive dogs. I swear by it, since it has helped my reactive dog a great deal.
Sheilah

[sagelfn]

Great book!

[2manyqs]

For the record, in for the penny in for the pound. Looks like my girl is stuck with me. After thinking everything through and getting some advice from a local GSD Rescue Shelter I figured out that GSD are 1-person dogs (so she wouldn't need a multi-person family) and since we exercise soo much she really doesn't need a yard. And after reading "The Other End of the Leash" I figured out she's probably "leash frustrated" more than anything. So onward we go with sit/stay and other techniques to build the self-control.

Many folks have mentioned "Control Unleashed" so I'll check it out. And I think the loose leash walking is a key with her. We did a non-heel version tonight where I worked on the pulling (stopping when she did it) and she seemed more chill overall. We came across two dogs but she was much calmer and I was able to move her onward from the situation without the typical get riled up behavior that she would do when I had her in sit/stay and she started it up.

It's going to take time and patience (and more training and praise rewarding, etc) but the feeling that she could be in a better environment (my main reason for thinking of rehoming) is out the window.