Hi. I have an almost two German bred GSD. He has been trained using a variety of methods and does wear an e-collar (but not most of the time, mostly for off leash walks in the woods). He's a super smart awesome dog. He takes commands well, we do agility, he's a huge part of my family.

The other day while waiting for my son at school a little girl came up behind him and began to horse around with his tail. He growled and then growled at all of the children around him. The next day another little girl sort of snuck up behind him and began to rub his back...of course he growled and barked (he's never done that). He had on a pinch and I gave him a correction and a "no", but not over the top because the girl was getting freaked out. I told the girl it was a warning to back off! I also explained to her the proper way to approach a dog and told her to never sneak up on any dog.

So now my dog gets agitated when kids approach. He gave my daughter a warning snap the other day - that was when she was surrounded by kids - at home he's fine with my kids and lets then roll all over him.

I realize I have to be super vigilant now and today I'm not walking him to pick up my kids because I think it's gotten stressful for him. I do want to figure out a way to make him comfortable around kids though...only because I have them in and out of my house constantly and often he's outside when they might stop by. I don't want him to bite one of them! He has never bitten anyone.

I read on the board about giving kids treats to give him when they approach, etc. I'm open for other ideas, especially anything regarding correcting him with the e-collar when he growls/snaps...I don't want the e-collar to piss him off even more in a situation.

So, summer is coming which means more kids around and I want my dog comfortable around them. I know this is my fault for not being super vigilant in the first place. I do think that one little girl messing with his tail/business ticked him off/scared him so bad that this is all stemming from that few seconds.

So, anyone have some advice for me?

Thanks,

Vanessa

Sounds like a dog starting to aproach maturity & is testing the boundries. The maturity process usually begins around the age of 2 & often runs until around 3. Might want to also run some blood work on the dog to rule out anything there.

I posted what I wrote below on a thread a while back & just copied it to here. It will give you some info on is most likely going on. But I would keep the dog away from the neighbor or school kids completely...for now. I would also keep the dog on a long line with you on the end around your own kids until you straighten things out. Very hard to Dx over the internet.


Some dogs coming up on mental maturity can be a rea PITA. Some just push a little here & a little there & others all out forget all the rules & realy have at ya & some are somewhere in between. Physical maturity & mental maturity are two different things. Physical maturity is when they reach their full stature & finish filling out. Mental maturity is when they reach their full capacity & attitude as as adult canine. They often become more serious, intense, more aware of their enviroment, intact males get alot more challenging to other males, especially, protective of 'property' which can be home turf & humans, just get 'forgetful' about rules & commands challenging authority etc etc etc. Most large breed dogs go thur this somewhere between 2 & 3 years old. Small breeds mature more quickly & go thru this sooner...haven't had small dogs in many years...but I think around a year or so give or take.

Different dogs & lines of dogs can be very different going thru this process....from your hardly noticing any change to out & out right handler aggression issues testing authority.

During this time you may need to reinforce all rules & even make a few new ones that require more absolute obedience & practice a NILIF(nothing in life is free)attitude if you don't already. Some dogs need to 'earn' everything from food to a pat of affection. Don't give a command that you can't inforce. Handler aggression issues need to be dealt with immediately, calmly & without emotion. Not going to go into dealing with this, as most people will not have this issue & if they do they need professional help, if not experienced & this is truly going on. It is not something to play with as you can get badly bittten if not handled correctly.

Most males are more ready to 'test' during this maturity stage then the females are. Althought there can be exceptions.

Most dogs just get pushy & test the rules & boundries. This process of maturing & testing can go on for weeks or months. Mostly he was a PITA.

My male constantly pushes & tests (but no his is NOT a dominant dog just s VERY pushy one). He was at his worse between 2 1/2 & 3 1/2 & became very HA at times. Mostly he was a PITA. My female would just 'turn a deaf ear' to commands & get pushy when she wanted affection & became more intense when protecting property.

When going thru this stage of your dog's growth you need to stay firm in your rules & be consistant in all that you do, because your dog will be watching for those inconsistancies & will be ready to take advantage when they happen.

You want to make clear to your dog that the rules are the rules & you as leader make those rules to be followed by all pack members(in multiple dogs homes) but you don't want to destroy your bond with your dog in the process.

Frmales as I said USUALLY don't go past the pushy I forgot all my commands stage, but some due. My female just got more demanding & more intense when working she challenged me a bit, but mostly nothing compared to my 2 males.

My recommendation would be to not allow him around strange kids until you can find a trainer in your area to work with. And monitor all interactions with your own children. Dogs and children are not something IMO that people should be trying to diagnose/fix over the internet, just because we aren't there, and can't really see what is going on. Is this fear based, dominance based, is the dog really enjoying even his interactions with your children or just tolerating them, etc. All of this plays into any advice you would get, and if signals are being missed, and advice is given based on incorrect perceptions, a child could easily be injured as the outcome.

A stable dog, used to children, shouldn't have gone from "I like kids" to "I don't want kids anywhere near me" just from one experience of a child playing with it's tail. I think there is more going on here (not that you aren't giving us all the information you have, but maybe there are signs that have been missed). Which is why I recommend an in-person evaluation with a trainer.

Your agility trainer might be able to help you with this, if not they might be able to recommend someone who can. What area do you live in? Maybe someone on here can recommend a trainer.

Thanks Anne. I'm hoping this is just the teenage stuff! I have noticed that he has been a lot more prey driven in the last week or so. He goes after squirrels and deer with a vigor I've not seen before. Maybe he is just feeling like the young man he is. I'm going to keep him away from kids, especially the little unknowing ones for a while and watch him like a hawk around mine. I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

-Vanessa

Thanks Kadi, I am planning to meet with my agility trained next week...she knows my dog and has boarded him before. She may be able to see something I missed.

-Vanessa

I agree with Anne, it may be something as simple as he's going through those teenage moments into his "manhood". If it is, it's normal, and it's pretty easy to fix with more training. Much easier to fix IMO than if it's out of insecurity. But I'm glad to hear you are checking with your agility instructor for some advice.

 Quote: vanessa grebe

He gave my daughter a warning snap the other day - that was when she was surrounded by kids - at home he's fine with my kids and lets then roll all over him.

This immediately jumped out at me. I would not be letting any kids, even my own, "roll all over my dog". Its possible he is reaching man-hood and has decided he doesn't appreciate "puppies(kids)" rolling all over him anymore. At this point, I would be sitting the kiddos down and laying out the new rules. So 1) Do not pet the dog without moms permission 2) no rolling on or wrestling with the dog 3)No food or toys around the dog while the kids are there, regardless of if its supervised, it only takes a second. The dog is not a toy, a companion yes, but to kids that word means something different and often times the respect part gets missed.

When you go to pick the kids up from school - leave the dog behind. He has already told you he doesn't appreciate the strange kids touching him. It is way too much risk to train this behavior using someone else's kid as the guinea pig.

What I would start doing though is making sure he knows his OB commands 100%. Then I would start doing them under distractions starting from low to high and work on proofing each command so that it is completely solid. This way if something were to occur somewhere else you will have the commands to control the dog.

Hope this helps!