My male GSD is now 3.5 years old. I also have 6 month old female GSD. Shortly after we got the pup I noticed my male's aggression escalated. Before he had mild aggression towards other dogs (he was attacked by another GSD when he was one; I was not present).
Lately he seems to be becoming aggressive towards people. He has never bitten/growled at anyone, and in structured settings (ie; dog class) he is fine with people, and after a bit the other dogs.
Here is what I've been noticing as of late:
1) If someone comes to the door, mailman/delivery guy he gets very worked up; I've been working on this with sit/down stays and what not.
2) On walks if someone wants to pet him (which i no longer allow just in case) he will sniff/snap at their hand.
3) If I stop and talk to someone his hackles will go up and he watches them like a hawk. (even when in a sit/stay).
4) This worries me the most: On walks as of late, anyone that goes by he will stare at in an aggressive way, getting worked up (in case they might come close).
5) If he sees another dog....well I won't even bother you with the details there.
As I mentioned above this aggression towards people was not an issue before I got the pup.
I have tried:
- Correcting his behaviour with a "no" or "never mind" and a snap on the prong. This has not worked, no matter how hard the correction he would not break eye contact with dog/person.
- Using treats, when we see another dog. ie: "watch me" then treat. It seems that he thought he was getting the treat for his reation to the dog so I quit that
- Just lately, and this seems to be working (i think), I put him in a down stay and have him watch me before he can get up. This is tough to do every time someone goes by, as the people will sometimes come over when they see me doing this (i can't figure out why!).
I am thinking now would be the time to get a dominant dog collar, but am not sure if his behaviour warrents it?? ANY advice/suggesions welcomed!
PS: i have ordered Mr. Frawley's dominant dog video.

I would recommend the dominant dog collar, since you have already ordered the video you will have instructions on how to correctly use it...

In the meantime, control the situations you allow this dog in as much as possible to avoid someone being bitten.

Let us know how you are doing!

P.S. have you had the male since he was a pup?

Yes, I've had him since he was 10 weeks old. I should also mention that he is fine around LOTS of people (ie: busy streets). He gets weird/aggressive only when we see a few people on walks.

sam,
i had just about the identical experience with my older boy not long after we got the pup we have now. (the older boy died last summer, and the pup is now going on 4 yrs old).

tucker was the sweetest, most gentle, most reliable, best tempered dog i'd ever had. he was a certified therapy dog and had always been totally trustworthy. a few months after we got our pup, he bit a woman passing us on the trail! he started aggressing towards some people, but not others. basically, the same drill you just wrote here.

i asked the vet about it, and she asked me some questions: who was sleeping in the bedroom now? (the pup was, tucker had problems walking and was having accidents in the bedroom, so we moved him out). in what other ways had his status in the family changed since the pup arrived? (well, lots of ways, the pup was a firecracker and demanded a lot of attention).

basically, he needed more attention. he felt acutely his loss of stature in the family. he was acting out towards the people he could act out towards (he was not going to act out towards us).

i don't know how much to believe of the vet's attribution of human emotions to the dog, however, after that little conversation we started taking tucker out on more walks and other activities without the pup. we started giving him as much playtime as he used to have. we ramped up his one-on-one time with us, and gave him more special attention.

the bad behaviors went away. he became his old happy and relaxed self again. he was a pretty sensitive guy, very emotional and deeply attached (typical mastiff) and we did not realize how much he resented the "intruder" until his personality changed.

i don't know how your household has changed since you got your pup, but if any of this rings a bell, rather than coming down harder on your dog, try giving him more of your time and attention away from the pup and see if that helps.

One thing I can think of is that you might be inadvertently transmitting your, very natural under the circumstances, tension down the leash to him. If you taught him to wear a basket-style muzzle by making it a great thing associated with good times like walks, maybe you'd relax knowing he couldn't bite and that would make him more relaxed.

Hi Alice! Yes, you could be right. I used to spend a lot more time with my dog Vader before we got the pup. I took him more places with me then (he was around more people then too!) I biked with him often (great exercise and bonding). But....since winter no biking, and I usually walk them both together to save time.........Yes, you could definetly have a point there!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> He could be feeling a bit neglected! Every thing I do with the dogs as of late, they do together. And our new pup is a fireball! I don't think it will be long before she is the alpha dog, this could be making him uneasy and he is constantly trying to assert himself over her, but SHE is very dominant! Not towards my husband or I though, we have never had a problem in that area with either of them.
I will try what you suggest (spend more time with him). But I am going to get the D.D. collar and work with him on that. I don't want his behaviours rubbing off on her (she has just started to follow his lead and has begun barking/hackles when she sees other dogs. I am trying to nip that in the bud ASAP, but I feel that if I can get him to stop these behaviours then she will follow lead.
Thank you for sharing your story!
If anyone else has suggestions or comments I'd love to hear them! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

sam,
please think twice about the dominant dog collar. is your dog really a dominant dog? it doesn't sound like it. it sounds like he is just jealous and hurt.

you are doing the same things i did. i know it is inconvenient to walk dogs separately and takes up a lot of time to give each dog your undivided attention, but it is really necessary.

i bet you will not need to get rough with him if you give him the one-on-one time, the solo walks, the solo playtime, the solo car trips and give him back his feeling of security with you. i'd be worried that getting tougher with him might just exacerbate the problems. not only has he been demoted, but he's being punished as well.

if you are worried about his bad influence on the pup, keep them separated, which you should be doing now anyway. our pup also got riled up by tucker's example. since tucker died, the pup (no longer a pup) has calmed down considerably. i wish i had known then what i know now about keeping them separate.

i also will probably not have more than one dog at a time again. it is just too hard to give them both enough attention.

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sam,
please think twice about the dominant dog collar. is your dog really a dominant dog? it doesn't sound like it. it sounds like he is just jealous and hurt.

,

Sam, I STILL recommend the dominant dog collar! It's not just used for dominance but to work with aggression, no matter what the cause.

Alice, how many times have you used a dominant dog collar? MY pet peeve is people who give advice with no experience to back it up.

Dogs don't show aggression to people because they are "jealous or have their feelings hurt" about a 2nd dog....
Dogs aren't people, they are dogs.

Changing the way you live with a dog and having the proper tools are the answer.

I have a 2-yr-old female GSD from rescue that had issues, but I saw little point being concerned about the cause of the past problems she may have had when she come to us. Nettie's in a new home now, my wife and I are the boss and she has to tow the line when expected and the appropriate behavior earns her plenty of attention and affection at the right time.

For one thing, your dog's frustration level is at a higher threshold with the decrease in his exercise, so aggressive behavior is more easily triggered. I'd go with a dominant dog collar and prong collar and pay a lot more attention to the signals of his escalating anxiety/frustration and act sooner. You said:

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3) If I stop and talk to someone his hackles will go up and he watches them like a hawk. (even when in a sit/stay).
4) This worries me the most: On walks as of late, anyone that goes by he will stare at in an aggressive way, getting worked up (in case they might come close).
5) If he sees another dog....well I won't even bother you with the details there.

He needs a minor correction or to have his focus re-directed at the very first signs that he's zoning in on someone or another dog. If he starts to tense up or get that stare, etc., make a sound or tap him or give a tiny pop on the leash to re-direct his focus off that person or dog. You'll may have to do that repeatedly, but it's more effective than having to give a #8 correction about 5-10 sec. later when he goes off on something.

I walk Nettie down at the beach a lot at an area where there are a ton of dogs, fortunately, all on leash. At first, when dogs approached, I would take in the whole scene - watch the other dog, its owner, my dog - and try to correct as needed. Now I focus about 98% on her 'cuz she's the only one I can control. I've been able to control more easily using less severe corrections and it seems her calmness can have a positive influence on the other dog as well.

mea culpa, cindy. i have never used the dominant dog collar and don't know a thing about it.

the experience i do have is with a dog changing its aggression levels apparently as a result of a new puppy entering the home. in my dog's case, corrections were not needed, just a change in the way the dogs were managed.

he may very well need a dominant dog collar. my suggestion was just that he try the changes in the home first to see if it is really needed. severe corrections would have been a bad idea with my dog. his dog may be totally different. i assumed that would be understood.

i realize that i was anthropomorphizing the dog, and that it isn't a real description of what goes on with dogs. it's just an easier way to talk about it from a human perspective.

hope i made myself clearer now.