Hello All, first time poster, long time GSD lover, here looking for any advice you could give me to help better manage my high strung 11 month old boy, haha.
I have two German Shepherds, one that just turned 2 (Hartwin) and another that is about to be 11 months old (Max). Both are males and neutered. Max, who is definitely the Alpha male, is going through some of his crazy teen years, decides that he is smarter then me and doesn't want to listen at times. He has been a handful despite my exercising him and attempting to establish some basic training. My biggest issues I want to tackle is his aggressiveness towards other dogs, barking, his jumping up on people, and his recall and would absolutely love to get to a point where I can walk him off lease on the country trails and be comfortable that he will obey my commands.
When we are hanging out in my back yard, and the next door neighbors dogs come over to the fence and starts barking, Max sprints over to the fence as if he is ready to fight and starts barking and nipping at the fence. During this time, I cannot from a distance get Max to listen to me and stop the barking, I have to go over to the fence a grab him away. This same situation occurs when Hartwin, Max, and I are walking in the neighborhood and pass by another dog, Max gets extremely worked up and I can't seem to calm him down. However, walking is hit and miss, and at times he can walk by a dog just fine and nothing happens.
Another point that may be of value, if I am walking Max by himself and we encounter other dogs things are usually fine, no problems. I took Max to the Vet by himself and many dogs were around and he was as calm as can be. At the same time, when I walk Hartwin by himself or take him to Pet Smart to get some toys, he is extremly obedient. Now, when they are together, walking or in the back of my truck driving, and we encounter other dogs, they both get hyped up, as if they are competing against each other's energy and they are completely different dogs. But Max is usually the one who initiates the barking and the hype over Hartwin.
All in all, I would like to address these issues with Max and possibly Hartwin at some point too. I am definitely thinking of getting private lessons. My question for all the GSD lovers around here, is this normal adolescence of our beloved breed? What books, sites, etc can give me a better understanding of my dog's behavior, including an understanding of my dog's body language. What are some safe management techniques and other tools to safely change my dog's behavior in the situations that trigger the problem behavior and what training techinques can I use to teach my dog alternate behaviors through positive counter-conditioning methods. I am all about positive reinforcement methods, I appreciate any insight, thank you...
I have two German Shepherds, one that just turned 2 (Hartwin) and another that is about to be 11 months old (Max). Both are males and neutered. Max, who is definitely the Alpha male, is going through some of his crazy teen years, decides that he is smarter then me and doesn't want to listen at times. He has been a handful despite my exercising him and attempting to establish some basic training. My biggest issues I want to tackle is his aggressiveness towards other dogs, barking, his jumping up on people, and his recall and would absolutely love to get to a point where I can walk him off lease on the country trails and be comfortable that he will obey my commands.
When we are hanging out in my back yard, and the next door neighbors dogs come over to the fence and starts barking, Max sprints over to the fence as if he is ready to fight and starts barking and nipping at the fence. During this time, I cannot from a distance get Max to listen to me and stop the barking, I have to go over to the fence a grab him away. This same situation occurs when Hartwin, Max, and I are walking in the neighborhood and pass by another dog, Max gets extremely worked up and I can't seem to calm him down. However, walking is hit and miss, and at times he can walk by a dog just fine and nothing happens.
Another point that may be of value, if I am walking Max by himself and we encounter other dogs things are usually fine, no problems. I took Max to the Vet by himself and many dogs were around and he was as calm as can be. At the same time, when I walk Hartwin by himself or take him to Pet Smart to get some toys, he is extremly obedient. Now, when they are together, walking or in the back of my truck driving, and we encounter other dogs, they both get hyped up, as if they are competing against each other's energy and they are completely different dogs. But Max is usually the one who initiates the barking and the hype over Hartwin.
All in all, I would like to address these issues with Max and possibly Hartwin at some point too. I am definitely thinking of getting private lessons. My question for all the GSD lovers around here, is this normal adolescence of our beloved breed? What books, sites, etc can give me a better understanding of my dog's behavior, including an understanding of my dog's body language. What are some safe management techniques and other tools to safely change my dog's behavior in the situations that trigger the problem behavior and what training techinques can I use to teach my dog alternate behaviors through positive counter-conditioning methods. I am all about positive reinforcement methods, I appreciate any insight, thank you...
