[Jakesmom1978]

Our 7 month old GSD a few months back snapped and bit one of our two italian greyhounds while playing in the backyard and we had to take him to the vet and he ended up needed stitches. Just yesterday he was acting territorial while my husband had him outside playing and when my husband started to play with our other italian greyhound, he ran up to the greyhound and bit his side and cut him open.

Just 2 weeks ago he received his good citizen certificate, he's been in training since he was 12 weeks old and he gets at least 2 hours of exercise a day. I understand it's a jealousy and territorial thing and he's constantely being corrected but the corrections don't seem to be helping. Just want some advice on what we can do next to help this situation. He is also constantely spinning around chasing his tail and won't even stop when you try to make him do a trick with a treat.

 

[carmspack]

gsd play rough . Italian greyhound probably is not the best of matches , especially for a rambunctious physical young gsd . The constant corrections on the gsd are distressing as he is being corrected for something that is basic to his
being . The episodes sound like stimulated prey drive , not jealousy and not being territorial . Play, the excitement of chase. The Italian greyhound are easy to injure .
Spinning and chasing could be a compulsive problem or an outlet to the gsd being stressed.

 

[VTGirlT]

Well I am not professional or anything but I will tell you my experiences and perhaps there is something in it you can take away with you.
My 7 month old GSD and her sister, a 1.5 year old german shepherd/golden retriever mix play VERY rough.
And they have GSD friends 80-100 pounds girls who play rough with one of them too.
Their play/rough-housing is: hanging off of each others necks, pulling, throwing each other on the ground, pinning each other, running around and then tripping the other one and pinning, etc. Mind you, they are having blast!! But I always watch them to be sure they never go too far. Because when they play there does tend to be a point when its too much and than it goes into a serious matter. But i can read their body languages before it goes into that and i seperate them and occupy them with something else to do.
Also my 7 month old has prey drive for our 5 cats in the house. You can imagine! I have her on a leash anytime a cat could be around. So all the time except when she is in my room. I've tried many things with her and have no luck and am trying a spray bottle i actually recently wrote a thread on it.
It sounds liek your guy needs someone to play with thats more his size. Also be sure he gets lots of exercise. Swimming is great because it tires them out and its easier on their bodies than that of running, which pups of all ages should not do too much of. Long walks because its stimulates them physicaly and mentally. I've heard people like to use "flirt poles" with their dogs. I am getting one to see if my pup would like that.

Good luck!

 

[Jakesmom1978]

He has a flirt pole and he loves it, he also has a jolly ball but I know people think we are killing him because he makes a lot of noise when he's playing with it. He is tired right now because he's been running around the house playing with one of the IG's so maybe we just need to take him on longer walks each night or maybe even take him jogging.

 

[Linda1270]

Hi and welcome to the German Shepherd Dog Forum. I hadn't read your post before I posted mine just now but I am having a similar problem with my 10 month old female GSD Tess and my little 5 month old female Cairn Terrier, Maisie.

These past few days, Tess has started playing overly rough with Maisie and it's really starting to freak me out. Two days ago, Tess grabbed Maisie by the side of the head and started to run around the yard with her. I corrected her for this behavior and have stopped letting them out in the yard together, for Maisie's safety. It's some sort of yard issue with Tess, they are fine in the house.

Your pups are a little bigger than my terrier, Maisie is about 7 lbs right now and Tess is 75 lbs or a bit more and I totally understand how scary it is to watch a powerful GSD go after a smaller one. Hopefully, we can both get some advice/help on our situations.

Good luck!
Linda

 

[Suesse]

I just brought our new 4mo. Female GS puppy home to live with a 9 yr Am. Bulldog and 9yr mini Scharzer. Chaos x10. Wondering what I was thinking! She lunges, barks, growls, and ruff stands on end whenever she sees the other dogs or our cat. Hard to control her during this time. Help! After one day I am tired of trying to keep the peace. She is crated in or bedroom between walks. Never expected this response from a 4mo. Old pup.