My 3 yr old German Shorthaired Pointer (Remington) has recently started growling at me after corrections. I have been his owner since day one and until now I would have sworn that I was his pack leader. He has growled at me twice now. Both times were when he was corrected and told "Kennel" in a raised voice. Today he and our German Shepherd (Brutus) got in a little tiff over a toy and I yelled "Kennel". Immediately Brutus went right into his kennel, whereas Remington decided to remain on location. I got closer to him and told him kennel again. And he still did not move. So I pulled on his collar slightly to move him from a sitting position to a standing. He started to walk to his kennel but as I was following him he turned back and stopped. I yelled "Move It" and gave him a poke on the rump. He ran into his kennel but as I started to lock it, he growled at me. I told him "No". He was sitting but tense and looking right at me. So I held eye contact and after what seemed like forever and a few growls later he stopped. It seems to me that he is trying to test me as Alpha or completely has lost image of me as so. The question is what to do from here? I refuse to have an aggressive dog in my home regardless of his current tenure.


I am here with them all day. I feed them in the morning and my husband does at night. He has never growled/nipped at our children. He does "point" at small dogs/cats and chases them. He gets walked/ran as well as has a back yard he plays fetch in, followed by sun bathing. He gets fed Taste of the Wild twice a day and is current on all vaccines/flea/heartworm. I cannot speak of his breeding too much other than I saved him when the breeder brought him in to the vets office to be put down because of parvo. He was neutered at 2 years. Has basic OB and nothing more.

Thank you-
Jessica

You will get a lot more explanatory questions from others (there's lots more detail needed), but why are the dogs together with toys?

I'm not saying "Here's the answer!"

I AM saying that this is not good management at all and that stopping that would be my first step. Was the other occasion also around a "tiff" with the other dog?

If I recall correctly, the GSD is newly acquired? You had this dog first? How long for the second dog?

PS
You are labeling the dog "aggressive" way prematurely, IMHO.

Remington (GSHP) has been with us almost 4 years. Brutus (GSD) for 4 months.

Once a day they get "free time" where I let them run around together for 10 minutes while I watch over them. This is the time I use for training while distractions present. Both of them are great solo listeners but when another dog is around they can go ADHD. So I do simple training for a few minutes a day like this. This was the first time they were together with a toy present. This was also the first time they had barked/growled and jumped at each other also. They will not have toys present again, clearly they are not ready for multiple distractions.

The last time Remington growled at me was when he "put his nose" in a bag of trash and I told him "Kennel" and he went in willingly, but growled when I locked it.

I am not saying Remington IS aggressive. Was he worked up, yes. But what I was stating is that an aggressive dog is not welcomed in my house with children. So it is vital to fix the problem.

You can work with and fix this, IMHO, Jessica.

I'm not home right now, and Sunday is often a slow response day on dog boards in general (a common training day), but you will get help.


Of course, this is right off the top of my head and I was not there, but neither of these two incidents would make me think "aggressive" as they stand. (I am just saying that I see at first glance "completely fixable with pack work plus some one-on-one training" rather than "oh, no, aggression.")

Have you read any pack structure groundwork articles on LB?


You might give us more pieces of info, such as "How far apart were these two events."

Also, how much training does this guy get? Did his ongoing work maybe slacken a bit when the new dog came (as often happens) or does he still get frequent marker sessions, or what? With you, or your husband, or both?

Was the other dog present when the first growling event happened?


This added background will help others who respond, too.

All JMO!

Did this only start after adding the second dog to the mix or was the first episode of growling before the pup was added?

What type of training are you doing when they are both together?

Until we figure out what is going on, you might want to consider keeping them seperated at all times so that a fight does not break out which could have a very negative impact on your young dog. I think the initial goal was to work the new GSD in Schutzhund, was it not? Having him become "doggy" or scared/intimidated is not going to be helpful if a working dog is still the goal.

I just wanted to pop in and say that I personally don't correct for growling. I do correct for command refusal, posturing, air snapping, or any other menacing displays, but not growling.

This doesn't mean I allow them to get away with things by growling, it just means that I continue what I was doing, or intervene as necessary to stop a problem from happening.

I don't want to teach my dog to escalate with no warning.

For example, Loki tolerates the cats for the most part, but will not consent to cuddling or being used as a heating pad. If the cat gets too cozy he will growl and if that doesn't work he will snap, usually in the air, but there has been wet fur a couple of times.

Without that growl I wouldn't have time to intervene and the smarter of the cats wouldn't know to get the heck out of dodge.

The "nose in the trash" was about 6-9 months ago. So Brutus was not here then.

I have watched the Pack Structure DVD and read through various forums. Remington has the basic OB training but we still go over it daily. He is very well when he is solo. But when he is around another dog he loses his mind and forgets his training. Hence why he gets trained in a group setting. When they are together being trained I do sit, down, stay, here, leave it. Nothing advanced.

Since Brutus' arrival Remington has been trained more not less. He does listen better with my husband but he has always listened to me without lip.

They will be separated for a while which sucks to say the least because Brutus enjoys the "free time". But I agree that a fight is not wanted.

The way I respond to growls are by saying "Enough" and removing the cause. The problem was not that he growled in general, but that he growled at me the Alpha. That is the problem that I have with the situation. I took it as he was challenging me. The stare he gave and his flat pulled back ears makes me think that.

What I need advice on is how to correct this thinking that he can challenge me, so he doesn't go on to try to challenge the children.

Thank you all for your hasty responses!

Have you read the articles about groundwork and pack structure?

I would also institute the "Nothing in life is free" or NILIF program with him immediately.

It is really hard to gauge what exactly body language means without seeing it, he might well be challenging you, but it could also be other issues going on.

Ears being back can mean several things, I like this link to illustrate the sometimes slight differences in position and what they might mean.

A stare might also mean several things. I actually teach my dogs to make eye contact and have run into people thinking they are behaving aggressively because they watch faces so intently for cues.
Dogs are VERY tuned in to humans body language and facial expressions. He might have been giving you the stare down, or he could have been watching to see what would happen next.
http://www.pawsacrossamerica.com/interpret.html

 Quote: Zachariah Adkins

I have watched the Pack Structure DVD

Are there any portions of what is suggested in this DVD that you are having a hard time implementing? How are the dogs responding to the changes you've made in how you are handling them?

One thing which comes to mind which may or may not be playing a part, but is there anything else you doing to wear out your GSHP other than repetitions of basic obedience inside the house? The ones I've known were high energy, working line type of mentalities which required more than the normal amount of exercise.

GSHP are extremely active, you are very correct on that! Remington could use more distance runs. He loves to run and run and run.

The thing I am having a hard time with is his idea that he goes first. He cries if Brutus is fed first (though his bowl is placed not even 20 seconds later), he cries if he is let outside second, he wants to barrel through doorways and run down the stairs ahead of everyone else, etc. He does have to sit and wait for the command before he can eat or go outside/come inside. However once he does receive the command he charges straight ahead for it (whatever "it" may be). I know that I need to be positionally ahead of him. Other than leashing him constantly I see no other way to fix that mentality.

Like I said prior Remington's training has increased since Brutus' arrival. Brutus is doing great, as smart and quick as a GSD should be! But Remington is being stubborn and does not like waiting.

After spending all day thinking about it and thinking about it (beating a dead horse as I hear it called often), I do not think he was trying to be aggressive (he is the biggest baby there is) but more so stating his frustrations.

I am going to continue to feed them and potty breaks in alternations so neither goes first all the time. As well as doing more solo training on waiting. Unfortunately for Brutus he will not have play time with Remington for a while.

Anything else anyone has to offer will be greatly appreciated! I could use all of the great ideas there are!