Hi Cindy:I've had a 81/2 mth old GSD male for 4 days, and he has bonded to me and minds very well. He has agressively growled/barked at several people both in my home and outside, and yesterday bit my husband and a salesman totally without provication. He was in both instances relaxed and just reached up and bit out of the blue! This dog has had a lot of stress in his life up till now, and was returned to the breeder for inappropriate growling at his last home. Is there any way to work with him (he is very intelligent) and work this agression out of him permanently. I would like to keep him, and have just received the obedience tape and prong collar in the mail, and had planned to devote a lot of time working this dog, but that was before the unprovoked bites. I was told today by a trainer (over the phone) that he has "bad nerves" and will not improve to the point that he can ever be trusted with small children or strangers. I am willing to muzzle him and try to build up his confidence if there is any chance this can be done. However, I have 6 grandkids who range in age from 1 month to 15 years, and he must eventually be a safe, friendly dog with the kids. The breeder I bought him from has already told me that if he doesn't work out here she will refund my money and destroy the dog.

Hi. Take your breeder up on the offer. Tis animal will neveer be safe. Do not be foolish and risk the saftey or your grandchildren.

Unfortunately this dog can never be unsupervised around kids again. The only other solution besides Mikes is to put the fear of God into him when he shows aggression towards guests. He must understand that this behavior will not be tolerated by you. But even then he can never be fully trusted. Ed's obedience tape will show you how.

The dog has been shipped to CA at 12 weeks, gone to "camp" for 7 weeks of training without his new family, returned without these folks being a any "handler-trainer" classes, growled at their 8 year old and then shipped back to the breeder at 61/2 months to be caged for about 7 weeks. He did extremely well in school according to his trainer in CA, and simply lacked the support/dicipline necessary to reinforce his learning. He has pretty much "ruled the roost" and is pretty head strong. I don't think he was ever physically abused, but he sure has been moved around a lot in his 81/2 months. NO excuse for his threatning behavior, but I sure would like to be able to salvage this puppy, as he is a real beauty and just seems like an out of control teenager, no dicipline, and head-strong.

Think about the cost of therapy your grandchild is going to need when your "smart" dog tears off an ear....or an eye. Is that going to be worth more or less then a new dog?

Terri,
The dog needs to returned and put down or you put the dog down. More of the concern is that the behavior is unprovoked and without warning. I was in a similar situation a few years ago. We did medical tests, evaluated him, etc. He was bought at an older age, but you could not pin point to either genetics (which was my opinion), environment or both. 99.99 % of the time this dog was an absolute schmooze. My sister, who rescued the dog from the bad breeder ( no longer around...surprise...) since the breeder wanted to take him back and then re-sell him. My sister had him in a very structured environment,lots of OB and praise: she was the alpha, etc. This dog could not be trusted, period. His behavior was also without warning and unprovoked. My sister put the dog down.

My otehr concern is that the breeder sold the dog again to you??? How would you know if they put the dog down and did not re-sell it?

Sue DiCero

Poor breeding has left us with a problem. A mass of dogs that are not fit to receive protection training they even make worse pets. Weak nerves, and poor genetics really helped create this dog. It's been my experience that this dog may have had poor training, but it was probably already a bad dog. If any thing else happens it could not be called an accident. For more advise go to the breeding section. The posts have some substance.

It really puzzles me when someone would put thier children at risk for the sake of a dog You can mask this dogs screw that is loose to some degree, but it is an accident waiting to happen. Use common your brain if it can comprehend, this animal should be destroyed, or put into a suitable envoirment that it cannot harm anyone. A child is not worth it, so put your heart in the right place, and get your head from out of your ass. All this does is fuel the present topic of dangerous dogs. Get rid of this animal! Lets see how pretty your grandchildren look, after thier face gets ripped off. The breeder is living up to thier part of the bargin, so do the responsible thing. You cannot handle this dog. Period.

It seems I have touched a nerve with my last remark on this topic. I am an asshole and an aggressive one at that. I am also kill happy. Does anyone else think this? I am really concearned! LOL!

Michael,
I think you're a little hard on someone who may be trying hard to make the right decision. However you did get your point across. Not EVERY dog can be saved! Sometimes the most difficult decision is the most responsible one.

Sharon