I recently adopted a 2.5 yr old shepherd who's previous owner was not able to give him the attention he required. He is a sweet dog and very good with people and loves kids. I am pretty good with dogs and I have even trained dogs for other people (mostly golden retrievers). There are a few behaviors that I have not had to address due to the breeds I have worked with in the past. The first problem is he is aggressive toward other dogs. I have tried twice now to socialize him with another dog and both times lasted no more than a couple of minutes before attacking the other dog. The first time both dogs were on a leash the second time neither dog was on a leash. Both dogs were female and both get along with other dogs. This is a serious problem for me and if I can not correct it I will have to get rid of him. I hate to do it but I am curious if having him neutered could help with this problem or if anyone can give me any other suggestions.
jackietaz
I am dealing with a similar situation right now myself. My 2 year old GSD was attacked by another dog at the dog park about 8 months ago, ever since the 'incident,' she has become very fearful/aggressive to other dogs. She used to exhibit the same attacking behavior (sometimes still does). Luckily, I have a few friends who are patient and have very well adjusted friendly dogs to practice her behavior. She wears a muzzle when interacting with a new dog and for as many interactions as needed to feel like she can be trusted. With the first dog it took tons of introductions with the new dog and a quick leash corrections. Eventually, we worked up to muzzle still on and no leash. After about 20 'playdates' I was finally able to take the muzzle off. Things went stunningly! Each new dog she has met has been easier, but she always wears the muzzle initially until she learns to be friendly and tolerate them. In my opinion, aggression can almost always be fixed with repeated positive exposure to other dogs and the proper correction. It just takes a ton of patience, proper safety precaution and willing friends/family/etc. with dogs that are willing to understand the situation and try to help. Don't give up on him, if needed maybe consult a trainer that deals with aggression issues and become educated on how to correct your dogs behavior.
Also, maybe neutering will calm your dogs behavior a bit, but as he is already 2.5, in my opinion it will not be a total game changer.
Also, maybe neutering will calm your dogs behavior a bit, but as he is already 2.5, in my opinion it will not be a total game changer.
I totally agree with konakoo. I was struggling with London's fear aggression when he hit his adolescent stage. I was forced to put a muzzle on him until he realized that most other dogs just wanna have fun! 
I socialized him like crazy. Now I can walk into a very crowded store, i.e. 3 Dog Bakery and not have to worry about a thing. As a matter of fact, we went there last week and there were 9 big dogs in that tiny little shop. London walked right in and was pleased as punch to be there.
I also have been taking him to DayCare at a very GOOD kennel. They would not let him play at first because of his fear aggression issues. But they kept allowing him to stand at the sidelines with a lease on. I was not there so he did not have to worry about "protecting" his mom. Now I drop him off and he LOVES to play with all the other dogs. He even got great remarks on playing with small dogs.
It took a lot of time and work, but the socialization really paid off. Don't give up! And good luck!
I socialized him like crazy. Now I can walk into a very crowded store, i.e. 3 Dog Bakery and not have to worry about a thing. As a matter of fact, we went there last week and there were 9 big dogs in that tiny little shop. London walked right in and was pleased as punch to be there.
I also have been taking him to DayCare at a very GOOD kennel. They would not let him play at first because of his fear aggression issues. But they kept allowing him to stand at the sidelines with a lease on. I was not there so he did not have to worry about "protecting" his mom. Now I drop him off and he LOVES to play with all the other dogs. He even got great remarks on playing with small dogs.
It took a lot of time and work, but the socialization really paid off. Don't give up! And good luck!
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