[Abbey'sMom]

OK...so i try my best to stay calm and not react...and of course i come here and read old posts...but understand, even though i raised a GSD prior to Abbey...i never had these issues...so this is all new to me. So you also know she has a good pedigree, came from a breeder...i have her family tree etc...and my previous GSD was from yes..a pet store...13 years ago when i didnt know better...but was an amazing dog...loved everyone and everything...even hamsters... i could take her anywhere. True Gentle Giant at 100lbs....

She (Abbey) eats Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach and gets a probiotic enzyme every day. Which is fish based, and from what i can see more desirable as far as behavior issues?...seems some ingredients cause behavioral problems...Despite my not being crazy about the food brand...it works for her...good poop etc, and she likes it, cleans her bowl every time...

I switched to a Halti for walks and it works wonders....i take her out every day, we walk, she has a back yard to run and play in, her own pool, plenty of nylabones and balls etc...sometimes when we are out for walks she is great, and other days its like someone switched my pup to her evil twin?

I also adopted an American Eskimo almost 8 years ago...so he is around 13ish?....she cannot leave him alone when im around...My hubby says they are fine during the day, but once i come home, everything changes, she gets extremely jealous of me and him spending any time together...and this has been going on for over a year now. They play and my Eskie holds his own, but she is relentless, not sure if its resource guarding, prey drive or she wants him out of the picture and fast? He is a mini Eskie about 20lbs........he isnt much of a player with toys, but once in a blue moon he wants a ball.....so the other day he attempted to pick up a ball she normally plays with...(there are 2 identical balls one for each)....she went after him, and i mean, beared her teeth and put the big girl voice on and i had to intervene, taking ownership of the balls..she put her mouth over his neck, but never harmed him. I gathered both balls, and gave one to each, making sure she saw there are 2, but she still wanted his.....God talk about the terrible 2's. After this happened...she takes her ball , he is laying next to me...and throws it down out of her mouth right at his face.........so, was she sharing ?...or daring him to touch it?....it happened a few times...i didnt want to find out, so i gave them both each their own ball again, making it clear they were MINE and im letting you play with them. She always chases him and i have seen little improvement with how she reacts to him , to the point if i want peace, they have to be separated. She always herds him....always....maybe she thinks he is a little sheep?

Took her to Petco to pick up her food yesterday....she barked at these 2 puppies wiggling all over the place and these little kids....whom at home she plays with and enjoys? (Kids)....she is a different dog at home....the L'Oreal "Your Dog Is Worth It Too Day" is coming up and i feel like i cant take her...but i dont know how to get her around all this?....i have tried all natural calming pills for the last few months, and they work to a degree?...they do relax her, and seems ok on walks, but im afraid to let her go up to a dog for fear she will hurt them?...so how do you socialize a dog who acts likes this to get them more socialized? Where the owners are standing there cringing for the mere fact she is a GSD.

Im stumped because i feel like i try to do all the right things, but i still have this reaction from her, but at home, she is the most loyal , loving dog you could ever have?.....

at some point i want to get another dog..my Eskie is 13 or 14...and im afraid to even try that...so this is something i need to help her through now, if im ever going to get another one.

Also, and lastly...my sister has a Tri Colored Collie who she adores?? and plays with very nicely....i cant figure it out....any and all suggestions are welcome....sorry so wordy.

 

[Mary Beth]

I will say upfront and I sure hope you will get more positive replies, but I think your Abbey was meant to be an only pet. With your Eskie, I would be very careful and not play with them together so there is no chance of fighting over a ball, because with the size difference, there is a great risk of your Eskie getting hurt. For other dogs, well, my Sting is reactive, and he doesn't need to play with other dogs to be happy since his idea of play is to show who is the top dog and to play rough. It isn't in my view worth the risk. What my Sting had to learn was to behave, follow me, focus on me. I curve - change direction - at first far distances, then I could close the distance - but no contact. Your Abbey does play nicely with your sister's dog - great - I would be happy with that and not push her to be friendly with any other dog.

 

[Abbey'sMom]

I started to feel the same way myself.
what's odd is that when I brought her home I did everything by the book. Leaving me a little confused to say the least. Do you think its his size?..i was thinking also its because he is small?..my sisters collie about her size.
thanks for your response..appreciate it.

 

[llombardo]

so the other day he attempted to pick up a ball she normally plays with...(there are 2 identical balls one for each)....she went after him, and i mean, beared her teeth and put the big girl voice on and i had to intervene, taking ownership of the balls..she put her mouth over his neck, but never harmed him. I gathered both balls, and gave one to each, making sure she saw there are 2, but she still wanted his.....God talk about the terrible 2's. After this happened...she takes her ball , he is laying next to me...and throws it down out of her mouth right at his face.........so, was she sharing ?...or daring him to touch it?....it happened a few times...i didnt want to find out, so i gave them both each their own ball again, making it clear they were MINE and im letting you play with them. She always chases him and i have seen little improvement with how she reacts to him , to the point if i want peace, they have to be separated. She always herds him....always....maybe she thinks he is a little sheep?

Both of my GSD's do this to each other all day long. I've tried getting duplicate toys and they, mostly the female, still want the toy the other one has. It then becomes a game of chase. They are always bearing their teeth to each other, but they can hold their own. Lots of times if he has a toy and she takes it, she growls at him when he tries to get it back, I step in and either take it away or give it to him. She will also rub it in his face once she gets the toy and then she gets him going. In our case its play and very rough play. They get along great and I'm getting used to how they play..at first I didn't like it either, but I've finally figured out what all their sounds are. My male also goes for the legs(herding), I do stop this behavior and its gotten alot better. If he lays down, which is rare, then the female comes along and starts everything all over again. If I want any peace and quiet, he has to go in the crate, so everyone settles down.

 

[MaggieRoseLee]

If you haven't had any real fights yet, then I think if you step up and get into a leadership role with your GSD you can nip this in the bud.

This is NOT about huge corrections and yelling. It's about you learning how to step in at the appropriate time to command the situation and manage your dog. Starting with your GSD knowing you have ZERO tolerance for rude and inappropriate behavior. Just another great use for a crate if you took advantage of crate training.

The fact this is going on right in front of you shows your GSD know they are in control and can do it without having to concern themself with you stepping in.

This may not happen when you aren't home because your husband has the natural leadership role when you aren't around. But when you are the waters are muddy and the GSD can take advantage.

If your dogs can't play well together, then they can't play together. If they play well SOME of the time together, then you let them play and when it starts going wrong it's the GSD that calmly gets removed/crated/ CLEARLY SHOWN that you are not going to allow that in YOUR home.

Dog classes dog classes dog classes.

They are NOT just to get the perfect sit. In fact any of the exact behaviors are the least amount of the reason I attend (though I do get all the behaviors taught, ALL OF THEM, in the end). What the best dog classes do is to teach ME how to be the leader in my dogs eyes. In new situations, with new people/dogs, and for my dog to look to ME, listen to ME, and take the lead from ME rather than just deciding the world is their oyster and they can react and misbehave just cause they want to.

In the meantime, have you purchased and watched the DVD (don't just buy the book, not as helpful). Calming Signals by Turid Rugass? Really teaches us to SEE what's going on with dogs and their method of communication so we can be ahead of the game and prevent issues before the dogs may fight. By the time we see growling/barking and 'aggression' we have MISSED probably minutes of other cues cause we are 'stupid' humans and don't know Dog Talk.

Amazon.com: Calming Signals: What Your Dog Tells You: Turid Rugaas: Movies & TV

 

[Abbey'sMom]

I have actually done exactly what your suggesting. I am showing zero tolerance when she gets out of hand. I'm hoping that she realizes when she gets too rough a time out in the crate will take place. I have been reading and I am trying to find my leader role again.
she is better on walks..and we do try to exercise her alot...then we let them interact when she is more tired. Thank you all so much for such complete answers. I appreciate the time you took to answer.

 

[Beckch]

When I got my GSD at 3 months old I allowed him to "rough-house" with our 9 yr old Golden Retriever. Everyone said it was normal puppy behavior, but I ended up putting a stop to it all together when he was 4 months old. I just did not have a good gut feeling about the way he would grab and latch on to either her ear or her throat. So... no mas! They still play, but the moment he starts to nip, he gets reprimanded with either a "NO" or (if that isn't enough) a squirt from the squirt bottle. I have gotten a lot of flak from my friends saying that I'm not allowing them to just play and be dogs, but I will trust my gut instincts on this one. My Golden is old and does not want to be rough-housed and this is not behavior that I deem acceptable, so my GSD must accept it as I am the pack leader. He has plenty of other outlets including long walks every day, a big back yard to play in, weekend trips to Grandma's and other places (we just took them both camping) and plenty of training exercises!

 

[Abbey'sMom]

I agree with you, sometimes you have a gut feeling and it gnaws at you...and i dont ever want to have to go to the vet, and face huge vet bills because of something i could have avoided by being more pro active, and trusting my instinct....which i had been, but now its an immediate reaction and in the crate she goes....i calmly put her in there, i tell her NO...then we walk to the crate....after doing that a few times, she is so darn smart, she is getting it....but when she is already in that excited state of mind, its a losing situation, so i let her play it out by herself in the yard for awhile, then add my Eskie in...if she is too rough, SHE goes in and he can stay and play...definitely not happy about it, but she is getting it...slowly but surely....at times the noises that comes from them playing is enough to scare anyone, but i can feel when it has escalated, and thats when its put to an abrupt end...im sure half the problem is my Eskie too...cant blame Abbey all the time, sometimes, i feel like she is so cunning though, and she knows it annoys him when she tries to lay on him or near him, that she does it on purpose........he tries to tell her to back off...but she doesnt take his social cues very well...thats when i have to remind her to back off...

its an ongoing struggle, and i think if he was a little bigger and younger i might not be so cautious...i think she missed the line when God handed out
manners, and being graceful...LOL....

Thanks again for the responses...

 

[Mary Beth]

I am beginning to think that it is not just your Abby. Like the oldest child gets the blame, the biggest dog does. It is your Eskie also. From what you have said, she tries to give as good as she gets but is so much smaller and older. If you watched the video that Maggie posted - it takes 2 dogs to communicate well. Your sister's sheltie, now, I am only guessing, probably turns her back, yawns, lies down (but doesn't turn over) - all are calming signals for your Abby when she gets in drive. Your other gsd was probably not as high drive, as you said a gentle giant, who had naturally excellent calming signals.

 

[MadLab]

My hubby says they are fine during the day, but once i come home, everything changes, she gets extremely jealous of me and him spending any time together...and this has been going on for over a year now.

That would suggest to me that you unintentionally nurture this behavior. Your energy brings excitement and excitement brings instability and instability brings tension and conflict.

You gotta try to be a calming influence to your dogs.

 

[mebully21]

honestly i would not take her to the L'Oreal event,its WAY too crowded with dogs and owners and flexi leashes and no one paying attention and if your girl is reactive at the petstore taking her to the L'Oreal event will be super stressful for her.... leave her home that day and go without her..

also,some dogs just dont understand personal space (i have one here) she just ignores the signals from the other dog when he wants his space and is super pushy with him and doesnt relent until he gives in ... it works for her and she knows she will get the response she wants eventually..

 

[Abbey'sMom]

I agree with all of you, as I am trying a more calm approach, and when they do interact, its after some serious exercise with Abbey...and I also agree my 20 lb "angel"/ senior citizen is partially to blame...where he looks for her sometimes, most times he wants no part of it...same with her...they seriously have a love hate relationship...I have never seen anything like it....

like I said, I hope it gets better, because I would like to get another dog in the future...