i have a 18 month old gsd male he is very friendly with the people he knows but when a stranger comes around he just barks his head off. If he gets to know you and trust you he is fine but it takes time i dont know what kind of a dog i have whith my kids he is fine he does not show any agrresion towards them or my wife or me should i be worried?

It is always hard to give an exact answer over the web since we cant see what is happening, but from what you say, it sounds like you just have a thin nerved dog. I am welling to bet that the littlest things spook him. i wouldn't worrey about it to much however just know the way he acts around strangers and don't let people your dog dont know just walk up and try to pet it. another thing you should know is not to push him to fast in stuff. thin nerve dogs can be outstanding watch dogs since they bark at the littlest things but if you push him he can turn into a fear biter or go right into a defense mode. if you do it right take your time you may have a chance but it all depends on what you want to do with him. just a pet would PROBABLY be your best bet.

Sorry i tried to edit but it wouldn't let me. answer these questions for us.
1)As he is barking does he back up as people walk up
2)Does ther hair on his back and infront of his tail go up?
3)is it a deep bark or high pitch bark?
4)Have you done any bite work with him?

Hi Jason,

Could I just ask a couple of questions appropriate to this thread?

I had a similar problem a short time ago, only difference was/is that my dog is fine with strangers outside/in the park/on walks etc. it's just when strangers come into the garden/house he goes NUTZ!

He has a high pitched bark at times and is totally focused on the man.

I had a professional trainer come to the house (guy used to train K9's for the army and seemed pretty good)

He tested the dog using a leash waving in front of his face while the dog was barking at him and lunging on the end of a prong.

This guy said that because my dog completely ignored the leash and focused on him that he was not a fearful dog, but more agressive than anything, and that if he'd have gone for the leash he'd most likely be a fear biter.

I accepted that and have been working to improve him but since you mention about the slightest thing spooking him (does happen with my dog....car doors etc.) I've been wondering if teh leash thing was a valid test.

Do you have any experience of this kind of testing/evaluation?

Summary

My dog is ONLY agressive with people who come onto our property. He IGNORES everyone almost all of the time when out on walks/ in the park etc.

When he's going NUTZ!

Barks and tries to get as close to the person as possible, Never backs down and always on the move forward, I believe he would bite given the chance.

Tail is up and wagging most times.
Seems to have high pitched bark, a bit like when I frustrate him with his favourite toys, but can go deep (not often).

Never done any bite/protection work with him.

Cheers

John

his bark is not to deep but not hihg pitched his hair on his back is straight up and his tail high no bite work last time i had a stranger aproch him he was backing up while barking but that was when he was 8 months old havent had the chance since then.

John,

Take my comments with a handful (or two) of "salt," as I am not (yet) very experienced in the finer points of evaluating a dog's temperament (especially in print!)

I have never tried that with a leash, (nor do I intend to), but IMO it's not a sound test for evaluating weak nerves.

A question for those more experienced: Can a dog both have a lot of defense and also have weak nerves? (ummm ... isn't that what a fear-biter is???)

IF I am correct in this though, the leash spinning would test the defense, but other tests, like assessing the reaction to a sudden loud noise would be far more accurate in evaluating nerves.

Sounds like you dog has a lot of defense in him. a lot of the things you said were key
1)walking forward- if your dog backed down the he would be showing signs of avoidance.
2)tail up- when a dogs tail is up it is saying he is comfortable witht he situation.
3)focused on the guy not the leash- by him concentraiting on the guy and not the leash he is not just "playing".
Some dogs are naturally defensive and it sounds like yours is. now don't take this as "YES MY DOG IS SERIOUS!". Defense drive is not a comfortable place for a dog. i am not sure what you plan on doing with your dog but if you plan on doing bite work you need to work in prey drive only! prey drive is a place of comfort for dogs. as far as being ok in parks, well dogs are going to be more protective of their area then an area not theirs. sounds very normal for a defensive dog. Think of it like this, if you are at the zoo and you hear a person just cursing like a druken sailor, you will probably just walk away and forget about it. now you are at home and you hear the same thing, you are going to say something to the person. why, cause it is your home.
same thing with dogs, the park is not "their property" but your home is. hope this helps you <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Anne,
yes the leash would test defense maybe a little nerve. all dogs have a point where they will go into avoidance and working TO that point and finding that point is what you need to do at a certain point in training. Never push a dog into avoidance though . you dont take a 4 month puppy and run at him like a drunken idiot, of course it will run. there are certain tests you do for each characteristic(sp?).

"Can a dog both have a lot of defense and also have weak nerves?"
i believe so. avoidance is a for of defense. a dog with weak nerves will bark but will back up. there are many signs of avoidance before a dog will haul butt outta there. but yes i believe a dog can have a lot of defense and have weak nerves. i dont think this is the case with john's dog though. his dog is standing fast or walking forward tail up.

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the info. It helps me a lot.

Being new to dogs, GSD's in particular I've been getting lots of input from different people, some who know what they are talking about (like yourself and some of the people on this board) and others who don't (friends, family, local "trainers").

I'm learning a lot in a short space of time and just want to make sure what I'm being told by peopole in this part of the world holds water so that I can use what I'm learning later.

Cheers

John

remimber this, everyone has an opinion on how to train a dog, just ask your mailman. i find it is best to take what people say and ask if it really makes sense or not. believe it or not dog training is not rocket science. most of it is common sense. granit there is some areas that are kinda gray but when it comes down to it, take advise and and ask yourself does this make sense at all? if you can answer yes then it may just work. there is no right way or wrong way, well there is a wrong way, but there is no 100% right way to train a dog. every dog is different so you will have to take all the advise you get including mine and those you get from this board and apply it to fit your dog. good luck and if you have ANY questions please feel free to send me a pm and ask or just put another post. there are a lot of smart people on here, smarter then me, and if i can't help you someone on here will have a good answer for you. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />