Okay, this is my first shepherd and I love him to death. I am overseas right now and I just got off the phone with my stepmother who is watching my 6 month old pup. We had a long conversation about Moby(pup) and towards the end she mentioned that he bite the neighbor. I guess what had happened was... she heard the neighbor shout out for her while in the backyard, and she rushed over there to see what the shouting was about, and the neighbor informed her that he was bit. She asked what happened and he said that he reached over the fence (which is about 5.5 ft tall) to pet him and than Moby bit his hand, from my understanding the bite wasnt too bad but it did draw blood. Moby and the neighbor have never been formally introduced, the neighbor has never been in the backyard with Moby. He has never bitten anyone, hes around kids constantly and adores them, he takes to anyone that comes into the house. So, I guess what Im getting at is... should I worry about him being aggresive or is this something he did feeling threatened by the neighbor and wanting to protect his property? I am pursuing Schutzhund with him immediately when I come back to the states which is about a week from now, I started some sack work with him before I left with the local club.

Also it would have been devastating if it were a little kid that was reaching through the fence to pet him, and he were to bite the kid. Just the thought of it freaks me out.
Well any feedback would be helpful. Thanks.

Lisa King

I was over seas and had to leave my dog with my mom. I was worried that they would not be as responsible as I. I don't ever leave my dog unattended. Even in a fenced yard. Some people unfortunately like to tease or stick their hand where it shoulddn't be. I will leave the behavior advice to the professionals. I just like to play it safe and never allow my dog to be where I am not.

There is not enough information in this original post for anyone to make a definative judgement on whats going on with this dog.

Additional information would be needed on the dogs reaction to strangers, while on walks, when others came into the back yard etc.

Ok Ill try and put as much info out as I can about Moby and his personality, so here it goes...
Before I left overseas I socialized Moby with every spare time I had, taking him on walks to the local park, taking him up to Petsmart, attending the local club meetings, and taking him to work. I work at a veterinary clinic and while I work he would stay in one of the boarding runs, and I would let him out on breaks to relieve himself and stretch out. He minds really well in the kennel has never barked or whined whenever I put him in, he also is crate trained at home where he sleeps in the kennel, and stays when no one is at home to supervise him.
Walks through the park and seeing new people hes never been aggresive towards people or other dogs. The first walk through the park he showed a lot of intrest in bicyclist and joggers he kept wanting to sniff and pursue the two subjects with interest and curiousity.
Meeting new people outside of home he stands his ground tail wagging and has accepted people as friends. When we go up to Petsmart he takes treats from the clerk, and lets people say hi to him and pet him it doesnt seem to bother him. This goes for the same at home hes never shown any aggresion towards friends or anyone we let into the house, hes been around kids since he was 9 weeks old and they dont bother him at all.
Also we have two small dachshunds that run full speed to the property/fence line to go bark aggresively at the neighbor(who was bit)dogs. He has a huge Great pyrenese that hangs over the fence and that is the main target of the dachshunds bark battle. So Moby has seen how the small dogs are towards the neighbors, and Im sure hes picked up on that as well. When were out there with him and he starts barking at the neighbor dogs we call him back and he comes immediately.
The only time his demeanor changed when we go out, was when I would take him to the club. Every time I let him out and walked him out onto the field his hackles would come up and he would start to bark. Then after he saw and smelled everyone he was fine, than after about 10 to 15 minutes I would put him away. But he did this everytime we went which was about 5 meetings we went to before I had to leave.
Overall I always thought of him as being sure and confident in himself, and hes truly been the smartest and coolest dog Ive ever owned.
So... I hope I provided enough info to get some feedback on. If not shoot some questions at me.
Lisa

here is another take on this situation....i know in our area as like most areas the weather has been extemely hot..and according to our Vet... he has seen a increase in bites....hot weather, fur coats, stange people, not a good mix in my book....

I have too agree with Mike"s post!!!

Based on your description, I would assume either one of two things happened. As Mike suggested, the puppy got excited, jumped, and nicked the guy's hand by accident. OR, the smart guy reached over a 5 foot fence to pet a dog that he had never been introduced to, and got bit. As far as I'm concerned, he got what he deserved and is lucky it was a puppy. I can only imagine if he had tried to get to one of my dogs in "their" backyard.

You have a responsibility to keep your puppy secured, but he has no right to be on your property. The laws are different in some places, but most likely, you don't have anything to worry about. As for the dog, he sounds totally normal to me. I'm no expert with working dogs or protection sports, but if he has only shown aggression to an idiot that was coming over your fence, I wouldn't give it a second thought.

One last note is that if at all possible, you should avoid leaving your dog unattended in the back yard. It's just better to avoid situations where misbehavior can go unnoticed.