[scolwell]

We have an 8 month old spayed female GSD with terrible behavior. Completed three of six week dog obedience class...no real benefit. She won't come when called, runs away when we try to leash her, barks at everything and keeps my husband up all night wanting to go out. I am about to the point of saying we need to get rid of her.

I have poor hearing and my husband thought it would be nice to have a "watch dog" for me but she is too much. Lunges to the point I can not even take her for a walk...she is TOO powerful. Seventy seven pounds of raw energy. Any advice for us before she is put out to pasture???

 

[Samba]

Another home could be the best answer depending on your skills at dog rearing and training.

Otherwise, I suggest that she continues to have good training every day. She will need lots of exercise in play. Do you have toys and games you play with her outside?

How does a prong collar work to help you with the pulling and lunging?

A young German Shepherd is a lot of dog and can take dedicated rearing and "bringing along" to turn out to be the awesome companions they can be. Have you had German Shepherds in the past?

Does she have a crate to sleep in?

Mine often pester to go out and do things in the night if they have not expended their energy for the day in exercise and play. How much energy spending time does she get with you or others?

 

[Rerun]

A dog doesn't get trained in 3 weeks. You need to find a better training facility, work with your dog multiple times a DAY and stick with the training. Why didn't you complete the class?

 

[Rerun]

What is your general location? People may be able to suggest training facilities, or rescue options if you aren't willing to work with her.

 

[Whiteshepherds]

Seventy seven pounds of raw energy. Any advice for us before she is put out to pasture???

Is she getting enough exercise during the day? It's easy to underestimate how much exercise these dogs need especially when they're young.

 

[GSDBESTK9]

keeps my husband up all night wanting to go out.

I bet you guys run to get her out the minute she starts barking??? She has you guys trained good!! That needs to stop! IGNORE HER or this will go on forever. It will be tough the first few nights, maybe put her in the basement or somewhere that you can't hear her as loud. She is old enough to make it through the night without having to go out.

She won't come when called, runs away when we try to leash her...

Do you guys scoled her when you finally catch her? She has a negative association with coming to you and being leashed. Have tons of treats with you. Start giving her some, let her know that you have them. Then start calling her and when she comes praise her big time with treats. She needs to start associating coming to you with a good thing...treats. You need to be consistant with this, you will have to be a treat dispenser for a while.

Lunges to the point I can not even take her for a walk...she is TOO powerful. Seventy seven pounds of raw energy.

What type of collar do you walk her on? Use a prong collar, give her slack on the leash, if she starts pulling you in one direction, give her a pop (make sure you have slack on the leash first so it is not a pull of the leash but a pop) and walk the other direction. Again be consistant.

 

[ba1614]

How much daily training/exercise does she get with her humans? and have you been doing this since you brought her home?

Do you practice NILIF (Nothing In Life Is Free)with her?

Be patient, and remember she is entering her "adolescent" years, and they are every bit as challenging as a human through that period!

 

[scolwell]

Thanks for responding. Yes, Katie gets lots of exercise. She is walked at least two miles every day with a prong collar. I think we may not be engaging the collar appropriately. I think she believes she is the boss...she has toys and gets to play alot.

We have had two GSD in the past. (No, we don't have a crate but she is fully potty trained.) I wish there was someone locally that would work with her to give us a hand. We really can't afford any more training at this time.

 

[LaRen616]

We have an 8 month old spayed female GSD with terrible behavior. Completed three of six week dog obedience class...no real benefit. She won't come when called, runs away when we try to leash her, barks at everything and keeps my husband up all night wanting to go out. I am about to the point of saying we need to get rid of her.

I have poor hearing and my husband thought it would be nice to have a "watch dog" for me but she is too much. Lunges to the point I can not even take her for a walk...she is TOO powerful. Seventy seven pounds of raw energy. Any advice for us before she is put out to pasture???

Can you start giving her a treat when you call her and she comes to you?

You can have her sit and give her a treat and then put the leash on her.

Can you limit her water before bed? Maybe take the water away an hour or two before you go to bed so she doesn't wake you up all night having to go potty. But if she cant hold her bladder while you are sleeping maybe there is something wrong and you should take her to the vet?

Have you tried a Prong Collar? Both of my dogs pull on the leash, after getting them Prong Collars they do not pull at all, they walk perfectly next to my side and I dont have to make any corrections anymore.

Can you play fetch with her or take her swimming to burn off that energy?

Have you ever heard of the Everlasting Treat Ball? I have one for my boys and it tires them out mentaly.

 

[GSDBESTK9]

Where are you located?

 

[scolwell]

Where are you located?

Cullman, AL

 

[jakeandrenee]

Hi there from Huntsville.....I am going through some of the same things.....Jake has been in classes since he was 10 weeks old and lately his is "bratty", could part of it be the "teenage stage'?

 

[Denali Girl]

I'm no pro by any means but I will say that 3 weeks of training is nothing, training is a life long thing. I would also say to get a crate I feel like it will make a world of a difference. Also, everytime your dog wants something ( food, go outside to pee or poop, play, go for a walk....anything) make it do something first, I think this is called NILIF? It works so much that you will be amazed. Good luck

 

[Stosh]

If you're really not able to train or control the dog, rehoming might be the best option

 

[GSDBESTK9]

Also, get a long line and have her drag the line at all times. When you call her and she doesn't come to you, you always can grab the other end of the line and make her come to you. Never give her a command that you can't make happen!!! She has already learned that she can totally ignore the COME command. So I would start with a new one and make sure you can make it happen and reward for coming.

 

[PaddyD]

She is in the bratty teenager period.
Get a crate. She will grow to like it although she will protest at first.
You will grow to love it.

 

[jmoney]

I'm no pro by any means but I will say that 3 weeks of training is nothing, training is a life long thing. I would also say to get a crate I feel like it will make a world of a difference. Also, everytime your dog wants something ( food, go outside to pee or poop, play, go for a walk....anything) make it do something first, I think this is called NILIF? It works so much that you will be amazed. Good luck

+1 get a crate, get her used to it, and no matter what do not let her out if she is whining or crying, make sure that you don't just toss her in there, start out by tossing in treats, leaving the door open so she is free to go in and out. Then slowly start feeding her closer and closer to the crate, once you get her all the way in there to feed, close the door while she eats and let her out when she is done. You will be able to leave her in there for longer and longer periods of time. You really need to be patient with this, and you will be happy if you do it right. My pup was good enough to run in there on her first night home and only cry when she had to use the restroom (got lucky on that one) but she had behavior problems that were my fault really in other areas.

Also, get a long line and have her drag the line at all times. When you call her and she doesn't come to you, you always can grab the other end of the line and make her come to you. Never give her a command that you can't make happen!!! She has already learned that she can totally ignore the COME command. So I would start with a new one and make sure you can make it happen and reward for coming.

+ Exactly what our trainer had us do, we train with the dogtra stim collar, and started the first day of training with her on a 15 foot lead, let her go away, then used the nick command on a low setting while saying here in a sweet tone...remember she is a dog and doesn't understand you say it in a nice voice and she will learn to come. Stop using the nick command on the collar once she commits to coming, only resume if she goes off path. You can do this without the collar of course, it just worked wonderful for us. And remember...treats when she does it. Just remember she is a puppy and can be distracted, 20 min a day with this exercise should help greatly though.

She is in the bratty teenager period.
Get a crate. She will grow to like it although she will protest at first.
You will grow to love it.

+ like I said get, use it, love it

I really reccomend a stim collar, not a shock collar and even more so, finding a trainer to teach you how to use it, otherwise it is not a good option. It worked magic for us, 3 weeks of training (please god don't say it was petsmart) is not enough, and remember just because the class is over doesn't mean the training is over 20 minutes a day AT LEAST 3 times a week until you really get these behaviors under control.

 

[shaner]

You just haven't trained her properly. No dog is untrainable. Even the worst behaved dogs can be trained, it just takes dedication and knowledge. Knowledge is easy to get, so the only question is whether you are dedicated to a dog that is supposed to be a family member?

There is rarely an excuse to get rid of a dog. A dog is a lifetime commitment, you don't enroll a dog in 3 weeks of classes and then give up, claiming the dog is bad. The dog is being a dog, it's your responsibility to show him how to behave.

 

[elisabeth_00117]

We have an 8 month old spayed female GSD with terrible behavior.

She is in prime "butthead" phase. Usually around this time young dogs like to test their boundries, see what they can get away with, what they can't. This means that NILIF (nothing in life is free) needs to be worked on with everything you do with her and YOU need to be consistent.

She doesn't get anything (even pets and cuddles) without doing something for it, either sits and downs, waiting patiently, focus, etc. Nothing is free.

Completed three of six week dog obedience class...no real benefit.

This only means one thing to me - you were not consistent enough with her and the commands/rules.

No slacking off, having a dog is hard work, especially a high energy working breed like the GSD.

Training needs to be done in short session throughout the day. Not just once a week.

You are on track with getting her into classes though, I would definitely save some money and get her back into classes but also make sure YOU follow through and be consistent with her at home too.

She won't come when called,

Don't give her a chance to ignore you. Leash her up. Keep a long lead on her outside and call her to you, if she ignores you, grab the leash and bring her in, guiding her with the leash, when she takes a step on her own toward you - throw a party and treat her! She made a right step - one step leads to two and two leads to three.

When she is in the house, keep her leashed and tethered to you. She goes where you go and she learns that ignoring you is not an option.

If she can't be tethered to you - crate her.

Next to the leash the crate is a dog owners most important tool in raising a dog IMO.

runs away when we try to leash her,

Don't give her the chance. See above.

barks at everything and

What types of things is she barking at? Is it out of frustration? Fear?

If it is frustration she needs to expell more engery which means YOU need to step up the excerise and mental games. Try some "find it" games in the house or outside in the snow. Throw some kibble or treats on the ground outside (with her on a long lead remember) and have her "find it".

Throw the ball for her, call her to you (with her on a long lead) and then reel her in and praise like crazy when she comes!

keeps my husband up all night wanting to go out.

Crate her. Ignore her. If she is peeing every time she goes out at this age, I would think a vet check is in order, see if she has a UTI or something causing her to need to go so often.

I am about to the point of saying we need to get rid of her.

Having a well trained dog is a lot of work.

I have poor hearing and my husband thought it would be nice to have a "watch dog" for me but she is too much.

If you are consistent and provide a lot of excerise (physcial) and mental stimulation it will get easier.

Lunges to the point I can not even take her for a walk...she is TOO powerful. Seventy seven pounds of raw energy. Any advice for us before she is put out to pasture???

Is the prong on properly? Are you using it properly? A trip to a trainier using this tool may be inorder to help you use it.

Good luck.

 

[elisabeth_00117]

**Also (too late to edit my previous post) what about training her to help you out around the house?

Train her to come to you and paw at you when the doorbell rings.

When the phone rings have her bring you a special toy that means that one thing - phone is ringing.

Kettle wistling? Have her spin in a circle next to you.

Tire her mind out, tire her body out and you will have a peaceful content dog.