[rockstar38]

Hello all this is my first post.

I have a 11 month old male. He is a great dog listens fairly well but he is a little hard headed. This is my first male all others have been females. He just started doing this but he now nips anyone that walks in the front door except for the few people that are at my house alot other than my family. My brother stopped over this weekend and just walked in and he bit his calf.

What is the best if anyway to get him to stop doing this?? He is a really sweet dog and I dont want to have to put him away when people come over. Once I have them come in and give him a treat he is their best friend but when they enter he nips. It is one thing to bark when people come in but I have to break him of this and I do no know how.

Thank you all in advance for your help


Here is a picture of him

 

[ThreeDogs]

Hi and Welcome to the forum!!

You said he was nipping, and then you said he bit your brother...Did the nipping escalate into the biting? did he draw blood?

Is he giving any warning? Growling or showing teeth?

Need more info please...lol

But without more info,and assuming it is a manners problem I would suggest having him on leash when people arrive, have him do a sit stay and have the visitor approach him with a treat. If he does try to nip I would give him a correction and a very firm "leave it" or "no"
If he does not try to nip I would treat and praise.

He is gorgeous.

 

[big_dog7777]

Read this other post... http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=670704&page=1#Post670704 . In addition, look at two or three of the most recent pages in the aggression and behavioral section, you will see multiple posts about this. Bottom line is you need to keep him under control, and on leash during these interactions and work on his training and rank in your home.

 

[rockstar38]

Well he has nipped another buddy the first time it happened as soon as I let him in, then this time with my brother coming in he yelled "hey I am here" so Rocco jumped up ran at him and bit him this time. Yes it did draw blood.

He is giving warning by barking if they knock but in my brothers case he just charged him.

I just really want to get this under control!!

Is this something that other have seen before and corrected??

 

[ThreeDogs]

Keep him on a short leash. Have everyone knock on the door, no walk ins. Answer the door with him on leash, have him sit and greet properly. Have people ignore him when they come over.

If he is looking to nip you need to give him a correction and a firm no or leave it.

For lack of better grammar he is running amuck because he has no boundaries, you need to teach him what is appropriate and what is not.

Having him on leash will make you able to control/correct his behavior. If and when he starts greeting properly you can use treats and praise as encouragement.

This is not a hard thing to fix, but you must be consistent.

 

[ThreeDogs]

I would also suggest getting a trainer. I am going to suggest a muzzle as well if he is lunging, but this alone will not fix the problem.

 

[rockstar38]

Is there boot camp or anything I can send him too that they can really work on this with him??

 

[Mary Jane]

Welcome Rockstar38-you have a handsome boy!

Others will answer in detail-but most people here would strongly suggest that you work with your dog on good manners. It's really a great bonding experience, something that build his confidence in you. Do read the links referred to.

The point is if you do the training-you learn a lot about your dog and he learns to trust you to make decisions.

 

[rockstar38]

Originally Posted By: MaryJaneWelcome Rockstar38-you have a handsome boy!

Others will answer in detail-but most people here would strongly suggest that you work with your dog on good manners. It's really a great bonding experience, something that build his confidence in you. Do read the links referred to.

The point is if you do the training-you learn a lot about your dog and he learns to trust you to make decisions.

That is a great point and thanks for the advice. I guess I will need to find a good trainer locally that can train me!!! Then I can train him.

Thanks for the advice

 

[Rosie]

I agree with MaryJane. My dog is fine with the trainer and at doggie daycare. She is also fine with me at home because I keep her onleash and under control. When I am not home she runs rampant if she gets loose and almost bit someone, so she is not allowed around anyone anymore without me. My mother is 88 so can't keep her on leash so no more meeting anyone. That is just setting her up for disaster and we won't do that.
I am guessing the same would apply to your dog. At the trainer he will be fine so YOU need to do the training at your OWN place.
I might add that my dog is fine away from home but wasn't at first so it is fixable. They just need to learn to control their emotions.

 

[MaggieRoseLee]

Welcome to the site! and the answer to your question

Quote:Is there boot camp or anything I can send him too that they can really work on this with him??

Is No!

Cause the problem actually isn't the dog, it's much more likely that YOU need to learn how to focus and teach him how to be more 'polite'.

It's not his job to bite anyone in the house that YOU have let in. Or that you aren't upset about being in the house. So however gradually he's been allowed to think it IS his job (not that you purposely promoted this, but you did not DISCOURAGE it properly) is what needs to be addressed. And addressed by you! Cause unless you really find a jewel of a trainer who takes your dog and trains it, then comes home and lives with you forever, you will othewise have the same problem with the dog when it comes back to the house.

Your dog is the perfect age for DOG CLASSES! And they aren't about just the perfect 'sit' or other behaviors you see. What they are is about teaching US what we need to do to be in the leadership role in our dogs eyes. So they look to us, learn from us, and do NOT just react.

All you need when someone comes in the house is for YOU to have a good 'sit' and 'stay' on your dog that you calmly give and control in the situation. But that is MUCH easier said than done, hence why dog class is what most of us do with our dogs! Why not use a professional to teach dog and human the best and fastest way?

Many times situations arise like you describe because we dog owners wanted a GSD for 'protection' and haven't discouraged growling/barking/bad behavior in the past because we mistakenly thought that our puppies were guarding our house. I WANT my dog to bark to keep the bad guys away!

What the above ACTUALLY does is put a puppy who is untrained and totally unprepared for 'real' protection in a leadership role, out in front, and they have zero skills and abilities to tell the mass murderer from uh, let me think............ um..... a friend?

Calm training, leadership, controling the dog when someone comes to the door by giving them a behavior we want and can reward (sit/stay/good dog) instead of letting the dog react and just bite (no control there).

If you get The ANimal Planet there is a great show called 'It's Me of the Dog' and there is an eposode with a white GSD that sounds alot like yours. Only the dog was older and more a problem cause they weren't as proactive as you to get help.

DOG CLASS!

 

[pupresq]

Quote:Is this something that other have seen before and corrected??

Definitely!

It's common and very fixable.

Quote: I guess I will need to find a good trainer locally that can train me!!! Then I can train him

Yep, that's how it works. And this is definitely a problem that needs to be tackled at home. Even if you find a send-away bootcamp that offers to fix this for you, run screaming. Too many of those places ruin good dogs through misguided methods.

When looking for a trainer try to find someone experienced with large dogs (and goofy adolescent males) who uses positive based methods. There's a huge fad for "showing the dog who is boss" and it can really cause problems in a dog like yours.

Really, he just needs to learn what's expected of him and that you've got the homeland security covered and he'll be fine. As he matures he'll come to understand what is a real threat and what is not and how to accept the people that you let in.