[denali90]

Hey everyone,

My girlfriend and I were camping with one other couple last weekend and my German Shepherd, who is now 4 years old, we very aggressive towards the couples dog. (In all 4 years never have I seen this and she has been around so many different dogs and even lived with one for over 2 years as well)

Anyway, after this we also went to Petsmart with her and took her other places and she was so nice to all of the other dogs she met. I just have a concern that when our Yorkshire Terrier gets here on Sat. that I can't trust her to even meet the puppy....she was so aggressive while camping that it's hard to look past.

Has anyone else had this happen? Any ideas? And any tips on bringing a very small puppy home to a fairly large German Shepherd? (At least my GSD is a girl and so is the puppy coming)

Thanks so any help!

Ryan

 

[Liesje]

Can you describe what she was doing/how she was reacting, and what both dogs were doing before/while she reacted that way?

 

[denali90]

Well we were in the campground, which was cut off from everything and the minute the dog entered (She was on a very long leash so she couldn't wander to other campsites) she charge growling and backing and trying to bite.....looked very scary.

After three days of keeping them away from each other but still close, she was fairly good letting the other dog come around but after too much she tried again to be mean. (Not quite as bad though)

 

[Qyn]

What breed was the other dog? Some dogs become territorially aggressive in an area that they claim for various reasons yet are otherwise ok in non-possessed areas.

 

[BlackGSD]

Was the other dog a male or female?

 

[denali90]

The other breed is a Yorkshire Terrier and she is a female like my German Shepherd. We have had the puppy for two days now and my dog has biten her once already and tried snipping at her through the cage agressively one other time last night.

I am giving our German Shepherd tons and tons of attention over the puppy knowing that she could feel left out; but I can assure you that she is getting so much attention and extra walks together and such.

I am very worried that we have created a bad situation because the puppy is so little that one snip or bite could be very harmful; the wierd thing is that my German Shepherd at times will sniff at our puppy through the cage wagging her tail.

Any ideas or tips please help!!

 

[grmnshpd21]

Are you sure your German Shepherd is being agressive with the Yorkie or is she just playing? My sister just brought home a Yorkie-poo about 2 weeks ago and he is around 7 lbs and my Molly is 70 lbs. We introduced them both on leash and yes, Molly is a little rough with him because she doesn't realize she needs to be gentle with the little pup, but she is learning to be gentle. Now my sister gets freaked out when Molly goes to play with Cooper (the yorkie-poo) because Molly shows her teeth when she plays because dogs play with their teeth. So that is why I ask if your shepherd was actually being aggressive or just being playful but rough.
Here is a video clip of Molly with the pup. Molly has resorted to now just using her nose and pushes him around.

 

[denali90]

Hello,

Thank you very much for your prompt response on this, but from seeing your video I can assure you this is aggressive action on my German Shephards part....full biting and hurting the puppy. (I wish I had what was in the video)

Thanks so much,

Ryan

 

[WiscTiger]

Some females don't like or will not tolerate another female around them. I would be really concerned about your female behaving like she is with a puppy. In a lot of cases puppies get a "free pass" so to speak with older dogs. My Alpha female likes and does well with puppies, but not so good with breeding age females, even then she is better with some than others.

If you GSD is seeing the pup as prey then you really need to work on that.

Without seeing what is going on it could be prey aggression it could be female/female aggression it is hard to tell over the internet.

Be careful and very much on your toes about watching the pup and keeping her safe.

Val

 

[denali90]

Hi Val,

Agreed, I have been contacting everyone that I can to get any tips on how to work with this situation. I am hopefully going to get some professional help to work on this because I see it as a very serious situation. My German Shepherd is highly trained in respect to obedience and I have never seen anything like this from her before.

If anyone knows of a really good trainer that might be willing to come to our home just outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin please let me know.

Thanks again for the help,

Ryan

 

[pupresq]

Quote:If you GSD is seeing the pup as prey then you really need to work on that.

If it turns out that this is a prey thing I would strongly encourage you to find the puppy another home. As a person who does rescue, I do not encourage someone to give up their pet lightly, but if your GSD sees her as prey, it may never be safe for them to be alone together, no matter how much better it seems, a minute's inattention is all it takes and you have a double tragedy - the loss of the small dog and the heartbreak and betrayal that comes when one of our big dogs kills an animal we love. Working in rescue, I have seen this scenario go down for a couple different people and it is horrible.

I wish you the best of luck and am glad you are on top of this. Just my two cents.

 

[middleofnowhere]

Your GSD may be sniffing and wagging her tail when the yorkie is caged but that is not always a sign of being friendly. It can be a "just you move!" thing as a dog waiting for prey to move.

From here (meaning I haven't witnessed this & I'm only going on what you've said) I'd rehome the yorkie for the sake of all concerned. What was your thinking when you decided to get it?

 

[denali90]

My German Shepherd has never had a problem with other dogs before and that is why I never thought something along these lines would happen.

 

[pupresq]

Has your dog been okay with very small dogs previously? There are some dogs who see dogs over a certain size as "dogs" but others as something else.

 

[denali90]

Yes, never a problem at all which is what is so wierd

 

[pupresq]

And this includes teeny tiny dogs in your home? Other females? Just trying to think of all variables...

If none of those apply, then it could just be some weird failure of chemistry. I know of two situations where a big dog attacked a little dog and the big dog had no prior history of aggression towards small dogs. It was like they just failed to identify the little dog as a dog. In one case we thought it might have been the hair - it was an unclipped Poodle and apparently the big dog had been treating it like a toy even before it got hurt.

I hope you are able to find a behaviorist who can give you more insight after observing them together.

 

[WiscTiger]

Ryan, gives us some more background, please. What breeds of dogs has your dog been around, was it at home, training, what places? As far as Obedience, has your female been put under distraction and had great Obedience or are you talking just every day stuff?

So your female was aggressive towards a grown female Yorkshire Terrier and your pup is a female Yorkshire Terrier, correct?

I am not ready to tell you to take the pup back to the breeder just yet.

Val

 

[Qyn]

Your GSD is showing similar signs to that shown by ours towards our maltese mix. They were great up until the GSD was 2yo but now it is separation city and the GSD is nearly 4yo. At your pup's young age, I would be returning the pup to its breeder so it can get a better home before it is irretrievably traumatised. Your dog biting a young pup of the same sex is definitely not a good sign and even if you can get a trainer to help you there will always be the potential for a severe injury or it being fatal. Most families do not have the diligence to manage this type of confrontations and the outcome is usually not the best (often fatal for the smaller dog).

 

[BlackGSD]

Denali90,

When I and others were asking about the breed and sex of the "other dog" we were talking aobut the dog mentioned in the first post that you were camping with.

 

[BlackGSD]

Originally Posted By: denali90My German Shepherd has never had a problem with other dogs before and that is why I never thought something along these lines would happen.

That isn't what you said in your first post.