Hello guys,
I have 2 year old German Shepherd, over time he has developed the habit of barking in his crate and now it's turned into agressive barking. What I mean by this it looks like he's trying to get out of the crate to bite someone. Now he only does this with new people and my 3 year old son. Outside of the crate he's perfect doesn't bark at all when we are at home... Today while I was at work my son had dog food in one hand and stuck his free hand in his crate and was bitten. I do realize it was my son's fault but my until thought is that this could have been avoided if the behavior above was corrected a long time ago

Good afternoon,

In the first instance, there should be no 3 year old proximate to a GSD without immediate close adult supervision but that's just my opinion. A 3 year old child is in no way able to understand or read, and certainly not begin to command a GSD.

All right, how many hours a day is the dog in the crate? I presume your son was not alone in the house.

I'll bet the dog was trying to get out of the crate. Any one of mine would be. And especially so if in the crate while people are wandering around within view. Usually, I located a crate out sight of the main thoroughfares in the house.

Then too, I work to have the dogs not crated unless a special occasion arises, and then I usually put the dogs in another room or outside. In my world, the basic command structure acts as a crate, if that doesn't seem to strange.

There are many here who are much better able to help with your questions than I but it is easy to get into the habit of using a crate to get the dog out of your hair or out from underfoot when it is a little more difficult and takes a little more time to work on a command structure.

A thought, it is possible that too much crate time will lead to a frustrated and less stable dog, again just my opinion. No substitute for training and exercise, in my opinion.

Let the games begin.

Mike is already ahead of me asking how much time each day the dog is spending in the crate. It would also be helpful to know what you do with the dog when he is not in the crate? How much exercise does he get? Who does he interact with? What's your training routine?

 Quote: Christian Cruz

Hello guys,
I have 2 year old German Shepherd, over time he has developed the habit of barking in his crate...

and now it's turned into aggressive barking. What I mean by this it looks like he's trying to get out of the crate to bite someone.

Now he only does this with new people and my 3 year old son...

Outside of the crate he's perfect doesn't bark at all when we are at home... Today while I was at work my son had dog food in one hand and stuck his free hand in his crate and was bitten.

I do realize it was my son's fault...

but my until thought is that this could have been avoided if the behavior above was corrected a long time ago.

WOW, this bite was NOT the fault of a Three YEAR OLD Child -- It is the fault of whatever ADULT was taking care of your child, Christina ... The rule at my house is: Nobody should Ever reach Into a Crate with Any dog INSIDE of it, no one-No Way-NO HOW, especially NOT if High-Value Edibles are NEAR (bone, food, treat)

Plus, a little child should not be involved with Feeding this Dog in the future (just asking for more trouble) -- Protective breeds like the GSD can become "guardy" over the interior of their crate ... Can you extinguish that unwanted behavior ??? I don't really know if that is a Realistic Goal for you, but it is something you Must Manage by never allowing this situation to repeat itself.

Hello guys thank you for the reponses. I usually do tracking with him in the mornings and then play with some balls afterwards. He is in the crate while I'm at work usually 8 or 9 hours. When I get home I do ob and then he stays with us in the house. He interacts with everyone in the house especially me and my son. I might have to record what he does and post it. When he is inside of the crate he displays this behavior if a stranger is inside of the room or standing eight next to the crate.

Christian,

Sounds like you are doing a lot of things right.

I presume, in addition to the time spent in the crate while you are at work, the dog is in the crate overnight? If that's a correct presumption, that's a lot of time in a crate.

In re a stranger in the room or next to the crate, sounds like a normal GSD reaction to me. A stranger in the room, the dog restrained or constrained by the crate, kinda tests the dog's natural instincts, I think. Why would a stranger be in the room with the crated dog?

My preferred crate locations consider the cave or den aspect of a crate, and I try to locate it where the dog can relax and not be over stimulated by lots of traffic or strangers. But that is just me. The dog wants to be social, and a shepherd, and a participating member of the pack if its a house dog.

Anyway, as I previously noted, there are much more able people on the site who will have much more useful information.

And exercise makes for a more relaxed dog, in my experience.

Christian,
Your dog bit your 3 year old. The answer is not on a forum, contact a trainer specializing in aggression. Just curious, where is the Great Dane pup kept in conjunction to the GSD? Could this be a contributing factor?

Christian,

How does the dog react to strangers when he's not in the crate?

And is he also crated at night?

The great dane is kept in a separate room on the other side of the house. They do not see each other unless I take them for a walk together. When he is out of the crate he is fine he gets excited to see people and with my son he is terrific. I have had no problems with him at all until this happened. He is crated at night


I know we dripped the ball on this one bit do any of you think a bark collar would have made a difference? To me it starts out as barking and then it turns into the behavior I have described above.

This is going to sound weird but what do you mean he bit the child. Did he break skin? Was it a warning snap? The child had the dog's food in his other hand....could it be the child wanted to give the dog food and the dog grabbed his hand to get the food? I am not making excuses for the dog just trying to weigh out what happened.

Leaving a 3 year old alone with a dog is not a good idea. Especially if there is food involved. We can argue all day here about dogs that could be left with small children but as a rule of thumb do not leave them alone.

The suggestion to put his crate in a quieter area is a good one especially if it can be secured if you will not be around to supervise in the area it is now.