I’m starting to get more dominance problems with our now 20 month GSD. After advice from other members on the board I’m managing to control aggression with food, dogs and strangers. I’m using methods of Ed’s dvd (dealing with dominant dogs) and running through the ground work programme again.

The Problem now is that he is challenging me in a lot of situations around the house. Most recent being.

1)Sat next to the dog on the floor my sock on the floor next to him. I go to get up, he jumps up showing all his teeth snarling warning me away from my own socks. No line or prong was on him so could not physically correct him so verbally said NO called him to me and put him in a down at my feet which he did then put him to his crate for some time out.

2)Saw a cat outside started barking I say no and again he challenges me, I correct him and got the start of some redirected aggression.

3)Playing on my PS2 he is on his blanket and chewing it, I say NO he snarls showing his teeth to which he gets a correction and time out in his crate.

Seems he is loosing respect for me around the house and also feel now a bond is been broken. Also it seems he will try and get my attention by doing something it shouldn’t and then challenge me when I move towards him. Any one else come across this behaviour and any tips that work effectively.

I have a dominant dog collar on order so hoping used correctly I can get some good results from this. Would consider an electric collar but would probably get a lot of abuse myself from people round here as they are hated.

Thanks

First off all I've got the impression that you're afraid of your dog. Any of my dogs that challenge me will get an immediate retaliation, no matter if he is wearing a collar or not. No agression towards me or family is allowed. Put on a collar at all times. don't give him any leanience. He has to obey and nothing else is alowed. you have to obtain total controle over him

Greetings

Johan

Hi Johan,

This is what I have started doing he is on a line and a collar at all times but there is no way that I afraid of him. Thats what he wants me to be. If he is out of line I will approach him and give a correction snarling or not but even with a big enough correction he will still try the same thing again it's like a battle over and over.

If he does it more than once then the first correction wasn't enough. Especially on a family dog that lives in the house I would be extra hard on him to make sure he understands that FIRST TIME "YOU WILL NEVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN". Hang his ass on the nylon choker or dominant dog collar. Once you get thru to a dog like that you will generally see an immediate 180 in them, their decision to respect you as leader is very quick.

Ricky, my boy is a lot like the way you describe your dog. He's naturally a dominant dog and very competitive for that top spot, so he's constantly testing the waters so see if I show any weakness. If I do, then he makes his move.

Seems to me that competitive dogs show aggression when they're a little confused about where they stand in the hierarchy. They need to KNOW that you are the pack leader, and that means not letting them get away with anything, not even the little things (such as breaking eye contact with him). Find that proper approach, and be very consistent with it. He'll know his place, and the bond will strengthen.

As much of a pain as it can be to deal with around the house, I love to have this quality in a dog. Because that competitiveness follows through everything they do, from the home, to the training field, to protecting you & your family.

This is something that will probably escalate if you're not careful. If you go back and read your previous posts, you can almost watch it developing.

The correction has to fit the dog, as everyone is saying, and it sounds like your dog has not surrendered to you. What a huge risk and danger this dog could become! It's good that you're trying to deal with it.

I noticed that you said your dog has hip dysplasia. Is this something that is causing him pain? I have seen dogs that are in pain (ie, feel vulnerable) take the position of "the best defense is a good offense" and develop aggression issues as a result. Not saying it's so in your case, but it never hurts to consider the possibilities.

Also, I wouldn't crate him after these offenses. It's my personal opinion that dogs don't view that as much of a punishment. I'd correct him and put him in a down near me until released.

As for the broken bond...sometimes when people get into pissing contests with their dogs as a result of the dogs challenging them, they can forget the other side of the spectrum...which is praise. This dog obviously needs STRONG corrections, but don't neglect the other side of it when he's behaving properly. My best experiences come with dogs that get both appropriate corrections and appropriate praise. It's easy to get mad at a dog that challenges you...try not to do that, if you are. Stay calm and authoritative.

Also, some dogs will present some handler aggression when they think they are being unfairly corrected. I would review your past history with this dog...was he getting many strong corrections for some things that maybe deserved a lower level?

The reason I say this is because, if that's the case, he could be coming to view you as someone that he feels he needs to be defensive around. This is another reason why the praise/reward part of training should never be neglected.

Again, I'm not saying this is what you're doing, but it doesn't hurt to consider all possibilities, and these particular things are things that I have seen people do, with similar handler-aggressive results.

 Quote: Ricky Barnes

I have a dominant dog collar on order so hoping used correctly I can get some good results from this. Would consider an electric collar but would probably get a lot of abuse myself from people round here as they are hated.

I think most people here would approve of the use of an e-collar in some cases. Not really for aggression issues though. Often times a high level of stim on a dog like that can make them *more* aggressive, not less.

Yep reading my post back it does seem like that. He is a great dog and is very hard.

The hip problem is not an issue, as we had a second set of x-rays done at a specialist and it turned out that it was bad positioning the first time round which gave a wrong diagnosis not dysplasia but he did have pano.

I do train everyday and there is a lot of praise / reward and don’t feel I have corrected unfairly, but reading the replies to my post maybe I’m not correcting hard enough.

 Quote: Ricky Barnes

The hip problem is not an issue, as we had a second set of x-rays done at a specialist and it turned out that it was bad positioning the first time round which gave a wrong diagnosis not dysplasia but he did have pano.

I'm really glad to hear that! HD isn't a diagnosis anyone wants!

You're obviously working really hard on correcting the issue and you'll eventually get it! I prefer hard dogs to soft, but they certainly require a different game plan, don't they?!

I wish you the best of luck!

Ricky, that dog would never be loose in my house -- he would be tethered to me with a prong AND a dominant dog collar on whenever he wasn't crated...

And I'm with the other posters who've basically said, "If he repeats that snarling, barking challenge any time soon following ONE correction (preferably an all-fours-OFF-the ground-string-up!) then it was NOT strong/long enough the first time"...

This is no behavior I would ever tolerate from a family PET, and he should be made to believe that if he ever does it again, he'll DIE at your hands (not that you would do him a cruelty, mind you) but this type of sh*t will escalate, especially against other people the dog thinks are weak or afraid of him & you'll have a tragedy or lawsuit on your hands -- Of course, none of this means he won't be a "good dog" with the RIGHT training, management, and handling.