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October 04, 2013

My 5 month old Dutch Shepherd becomes aggressive and bites me at times, I've tried alpha rolling but that makes him more aggressive. Do you have any suggestions?

Full Question:
I have a 5 month old dutch shepherd. He is the second ds I have owned. He sleeps in his crate and does not get fed from the table. He is wonderful on a leash when we go for walks.

I am working with him to come when called and releasing toys with food reward. The only problem I have is there are times that he becomes aggressive and bites at me. An example is when I am watering plants and he grabs and attacks the water hose. if I take the hose from him, he bites my hand.

I was trying the alpha roll but learned quickly that made him more aggressive. I am now picking his feet off the ground and firmly telling him no. This seems to be working better. Are there any suggestions you can give me? He is otherwise, doing very well with training. There are many times that he shows submission such as lying on his back. He waits for me to go through the door first. He walks beside me on leash not in front. I will be getting him neutered when he is old enough.
Cindy
Cindy Cindy's Answer:
I don't put my puppies in situations where I know I'm not going to be in control. Chasing and biting the hose is prey drive, so since you know he's going to react this way you have a couple of choices:

A) Don't use the hose when he's in the area right now, and work on training him better for the future or
B) Have a leash on him so you can prevent the behaviors you don't want in a fair way.

Alpha rolling is a great way to destroy the relationship and picking him up off the ground isn't much better. He's a puppy and he needs to learn what you expect in a way he can understand. Here is a video about why you should not alpha roll any dog.

I'd highly suggest the video Living with Your Puppy - Establishing Pack Structure.

I don't allow my puppies to have the freedom to make these kinds of mistakes, they are either in a crate, ExPen or on a leash at all times, even in the house. The behavior your dog is showing you has nothing to do with aggression but prey drive.

We also have a number of ebooks that may be helpful.

I hope this gives you a place to start

Cindy Rhodes

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Expert Dog Trainer Cindy Rhodes
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