Wow so many responses, I didn't think I would get this many on this thread. It is really interesting to hear what you all have to say with your dogs. One thing I noticed even when German Shepherds do go to dog parks, they usually just hang around the owners, and barely play with the dogs, and if they run a bit with a dog, they quickly run back without going far. But then I have seen other GSDs who LOVE other dogs, but it seems more GSDs are more reactive or aggressive than actually liking to play with other dogs..

 

when we would go to the dog park back home all the time, i noticed that my dogs would run and run but check in with me. They werent interested in playing with other dogs.... unless another shepherd came in. BUT then they would all run around, in a way, ganging up on other dogs that got in their running path. They're good with other dogs (with the exception of Riley and his saint bernard issue) but they certainly dont seek to be friends all the time. Shelby was a very sweet and VERY tolerant girl but she didnt give a rats behind about other dogs at all. They could go up in flames and she still wouldnt have cared about them. Shasta is interested because she's still at the stage where she wants to play with everyone but i've noticed thats disappearing recently. She's only interested in playing with dogs she knows which consists of Riley and our friends smaller mixed thing (thing because they dont actually know what the heck she is other than some sort of dog) and the beagle down the street. Beyond that, she's good with a sniff and moving on. Riley is a mixed box of reactions. He can be friendly, unsure or downright nasty tempered. I think a lot of it goes into how they were socialized but more importantly how the general temperment is. Some dogs can be socialized like crazy and still end up being dog aggressive. sometimes there just may be too many factors we dont realize that go into it. Does that make sense? It might not. i'm kinda tired lol.

 

Wow so many responses, I didn't think I would get this many on this thread. It is really interesting to hear what you all have to say with your dogs. One thing I noticed even when German Shepherds do go to dog parks, they usually just hang around the owners, and barely play with the dogs, and if they run a bit with a dog, they quickly run back without going far. But then I have seen other GSDs who LOVE other dogs, but it seems more GSDs are more reactive or aggressive than actually liking to play with other dogs..

That's pretty much Alice at the dog park. Not aggressive or reactive, but focuses on me and the ball. I will actually walk around for about ten minutes when I first get there and ignore her. She follows me around stays close but will go out and sniff more butts than if I just go and start tossing the ball right away.
She actually likes to play with other dogs; preferrably standard poodles or labradoodles (sheesh..no accounting for taste) She settled for a 15 month Viszla the other day. She misses her day of daycare she used to do.

But, in the car she's a holy terror...I will pull over and correct the situation if my timing is bad with the leave it. I really don't want to crate her in the car. I don't think that will help the reactivity in the car.

 

Ruby from the start has always been reactive towards small dogs even though she has been through over a year of dog training classes and lives in the same house with a Pomeranian. Ruby has never hurt the Pom but does herd him around. With large dogs and especially males she is fine, even looking forward to playing with them. Have something like a Yorkie approach her and you better have good control or there could be a dead Yorkie. She has bitten a toy Poodle when she was 7 months old. Once fully introduced to a dog she will be great, like with my brothers French Bulldog. If it's a strange dog - watch out.

 

I agree with KZoppa too- Stosh has always been a very friendly dog, socialized from day one, lots of training, etc. He's never met a dog he didn't want to play with until recently. He's now 15 mos old, still intact and has gotten more selective. Like another poster said, if he sees a dog behaving badly he wants to take care of it.

 

The theory is that males are usually the ones to be more aggressive or reactive right? And that's why they say if you neuter them young you can bring that down somewhat, as well as decreasing the chance of having a reactive dog.
So for everyone whose dogs are said to be aggressive/reactive, what's different with your dog? Are the neutered/spayed or not? Do you believe letting them go unfixed until older can make a great chance of becoming more reactive/aggressive?
I really want to hear your opinions on this, and so far I thank all of you for not making this a nasty thread where there is fights all over the place, and I really hope my new discussion won't trigger anything. I just hope we can all continue to be respectful and possibly even take a thing or two from others.

 

honestly i think it depends on the dog. Riley is fixed only because that was a requirement of his adoption. I think he would still be the way he is had be not been altered. Zena on the other hand is just a dominant personality and Shasta is more laid back (though i'm seeing some dominance come out from her sometimes recently). As far as GSDs go, i've heard any number of things but the most common is that females tend to be more serious and quick to judge and definitely less forgiving of other dogs who make them mad while the males tend to be more laid back and dont seem to be interested in arguements like the females do. Some males can be perfectly fine going through life with no issues remaining intact while other males, being altered really does help tone them down. i think the same applies to females. Riley was 6 months old when he was fixed and he's now 6 years old. Given his general personality, i think had we been able to keep him intact he would still be like he is today.... just with a little more lol. Shasta.... well she turns a year old on May 5th and i think over the next year we'll start seeing more of her permanent personality and attitude as she continues to mature.

 

The theory is that males are usually the ones to be more aggressive or reactive right? And that's why they say if you neuter them young you can bring that down somewhat, as well as decreasing the chance of having a reactive dog.

I don't think that I agree with this theory. Females tend to be territorial.
I think it really comes down to breeding the temprament (you need a good foundation) and then exposure to the outside world.

I'm only basing this on my female's reactivity and the fact that I had her spayed young. (6 month old) She's still quick to react to a dog pulling their owner down the street approaching her with dominant body language.

Someone here mentioned that males fight for breeding rights and females fight for breathing rights. That made sense to me.

 

Well don't most vets say oh no it is really time you should consider getting your dog neutered as it will most likely develop aggressive or reactive behaviors, and a lot of vets try to push it to neuter around six months, when research now shows that is not always the best case, and there were some studies used just for German Shepherds. I'll try to find it. I mean when your dog gets to that age, I haven't heard from anyone that their vet didn't say anything about a dog being at a higher risk of picking bad behaviors..
Breeding of course does also make the hugest factor in this I agree, because temperament is inherited, and that's the whole part of breeding, getting dogs to the correct temperament to the breed along with other things behind it such as conformation and anatomy. There will always be some nut who claims to be a breeder, and it shows why so many German Shepherds IMO are becoming so messed up and abandoned.

 

keep in mind vets are going off older studies and not newer studies. They've had it drilled into their heads that dogs HAVE to be fixed by a certain age otherwise it can cause behavorial issues for life. More often than not, the behavior issues are a result of bad breeding and/or poor training. Think of it similar to vets pushing foods on people for their dogs that arent really good foods. They push things on people that isnt always the best course of action. some vets have an open mind and some even encourage people to not alter their dogs younger than a year old. I had a base vet verbally attack me one night while i was walking Shasta demanding to know why she'd not been fixed yet when she was about 7 months old. He asked me if she was altered and when i said no, i was waiting until she was about 2 years old, thats when he started laying into me. I dont care about the studies HE has. I've looked up my own studies and come to my own conclusions regarding MY dogs. Riley was ONLY altered because we adopted him and that was part of the condition he stayed with us. Otherwise, he would still be intact. and the ONLY reason shasta will be fixed when she's about 2 years old is because i dont want to deal with doggie periods. My males, if possible, will remain intact.

 

Reactivity is NOT the same as aggression. Reactivity has a lot to do with nerve strength and IME (generalization) females are a good deal more reactive than males. Females I've known are more likely to react to a stimulus than males who are more likely to be doofy. What we're talking about is actually more like over-reactivity. The dog reacts to a stimulus in a pronounced and inappropriate way. On one end a dog that is frightened by a loud/unexpected noise may panic and run or cower tail tucked at the other end you get the dog that goes full force aggression. Both dogs are reactive just one chooses flight and the other chooses fight (which is where aggression comes in)

In regards to early neutering...I look at litter mates Cade (intact) and Beau (neutered at 5-6 months). Neither one is reactive towards other dogs, both generally like other dogs...but Beau still acts like a giant puppy. He doesn't act like a 2 year old dog, he's goofy, he still bounds like a puppy. He hasn't matured and I believe that's what early neutering gets you. I think early neutering does reduce dominance aggression...however...it won't have any impact on aggression resulting from fear, discomfort, etc. Those kinds of aggression are not hormonally influenced IMO.

 

Yes! But there is no rhyme or reason to it. We can walk and pass other dogs with no problems. Or she can see one she dislikes and go on alert. At ScH training, she wants to "eat" every one of them if any of them get near her. Recently, we were in the car and stopped at a gas station. She ignored the people passing by my car. We arrived at our destination and there was a dog walking in the middle of the street. She jumped up barking and hackling, and would have gone through the window if she could have. A few weeks ago, she met some strange dogs up close, and bared her teeth and fussed, but after she got to know them, she was fine and could hang out with them, although remained aloof. Strange with people too. Come into my home, she's like a lab and welcomes you. Out of the house, she *might* greet you with a sniff, then you become invisible.

 

I was reading the posts,should have joined when Daisy was 2 9She's 11 now. Daisy reacted to females,she was altered i rthink she became more aggressive but then i didn't socialize enough (1st shepherd)daisy loves male dogs can play with any male till she has enough and will leave or when yolunger use her chest to push them back.A friend of mine who trained in the prison dog program said one day when i was upset daisy didn't like other females,"you wnt a lab get a lab You have a shepherd who are meant to work one on one or in a pair. If I would have been a member here I would have asked questions and maybe not made some dumb mistakes.

 

I have a reactive GSD who is 17 months old. She took 3 sessions of obedience and we tried an agility class that didn't work out. She also had several private classes. She is worked and exercised at home. She will bark and lunge at other dogs, in class, on walks anywhere there is another dog she can react to. She stays home now and is a very good house dog.

I was told it was genetic. We didn't get her from the best breeder. hindsight is 20/20.

 

Riley is extremely reactive to dogs. It's not an aggressive reaction although at training one day another shepherd, a 7 mo old puppy, ran up to him and I and he tried to bite her. Luckily I was able to choke up quick enough and turn him around. This dog reactivity he has is the main problem I have with Riley. His behavior is great except in this department. All focus on me or a high value toy or treat is gone when he sees another dog. We can be in a total calm state and he sees a dog and his breathing gets very heavy, panting heavily, starts to low huffing growl and whining and then barking. I usually say "no" and if he continues which he ALWAYS does I choke up until he stops and this is when he will finally shut up and then I praise him after he is calm and watching the dog. I have noticed when I get him calm he shows a lot of interest towards the dog and wants to play with it. I just cannot for the life of me get him to be calm when he sees another dog without the physical correction

 

My Riley (a female) is fixed but I have no clue when as she was a surrender at the shelter and came to them that way. She's not dominant and edges towards aggression (with some dogs) and is definitely reactive to other dogs (initially on leash and now it's starting up with just seeing other dogs when she can't get to them - she's in the car and they are not, she's on my deck and they are walking by.) As with the other Riley, this is really her only negative trait - great with people, children, cars, etc even when on leash.

We're working the positive reinforcement route learning self-control and to increase her frustration level. The first private trainer was into negative reinforcement so we're moving on to some who goes the positive route. If we get in a situation that I completely lose all of her focus, all I can do is get her out of the situation (generally by pulling her along). And while we're working on the desensitization, I try to only walk her when I know there won't be many dogs out and about ready to pop around the next corner or behind the next fence.

 

I'm encountering this with my five month old boy.
He gets all attentive when he sees another dog in the distance. I try to redirect and it usually works, until the dog is close. Then - like today - he hackles, whines, barks, and eventually screeches while lunging and I cannot get his focus. Meanwhile, the other dog owner and his/her geriatric poodle or friendly lab are horrified that this 55-lb, doesn't-look -like-a-puppy but does, perhaps, look like a wolf to an average joe, is behaving this way toward them, and I don't blame them.

My previous dog was very reactive dog aggressive, but it was a direct result from a serious attack from another dog when he was about six months old (a neighbor's pit bull dug under my fence and set about trying to kill my dog the first day they moved in.) He, however, ignored other dogs completely unless they came within a few inches of him; then he snapped and that was only to get them to go away. Then he was fine again. Before that attack happened, he could be pushy and puppy-obnoxious with other dogs, but not aggressive.

So, this is our main challenge, and I think it's a great big pain! :help:

 

Skylar was reactive from 4-7 months. She was fear reactive towards other dogs. I socialized the heck out of her, and she is "all better" now- she is the "walking buddy" with the dogs at my mom's boarding kennel, and we compete in rally and go to dog events with no issue, so she wasn't really too reactive, i just didn't know how to deal with it right away.

 

Sasha really likes other dogs, but does not appreciate dogs with bad doggy manners. She's very much a lets sniff each other first then we can play kinda girl. She's not a huge fan when dogs just jump on her right off the bat. She doesn't bite, but she won't play with dogs that act like that; she walks away.

 

My pup is 18 weeks old. I have another dog, 4 year old american bulldog, who he loves. I have been socializing him alot, and even though he doesn't dislike other dogs, he always spends 15 minutes of barking at them and showing sort of dominance when he meets them.. then get gets on to playing.