I have a 18 month male German Shepherd that I purchased from a breeder in Arkansas when he was 2 months old.

I notice that when he is excited or when I verbal scold him, then go to reach for him or his collar (in a calm manner) he will softly nip at my wrist or hand. He never does this unless he is very excited or scared. I recently noticed that immediately after I correct him or verbally scold him, I will have to take a moment and calm him back down, in order to avoid his niping and fear biting.

. He is not aggresive at all to myself or strangers, unless they come into the house without me and my dog isnt familiar with them.

He seems to have a very high prey drive and he seems to be a very hard dog,(it takes a level 8 to 9 corection for him to even pay me any attention)
Yet he has moderately weak nerves (when we go for walks, any sudden movements from any object or thing he sees will scare him)

There was one incident when a stranger came close to my dog them my dog scurried away from the stanger. I was not sure why he did that.

So my question is...

Does this sound like a fearful dog?

Should I correct him for his fear biting? or calm him down first, like I have been doing.

Is there any way to prevent my dog from being so fearful? Perhaps maybe something I am doing wrong, that can be fixed.

I wish I could give you the answers you are seeking… but I am still in the learning phase myself. From reading prior posts my perception is that you should not console or pamper a dog for undesirable behavior whatever that behavior may be because it reinforces this behavior. The dog learns when I act this way… I get attention.

Regardless of what is motivating his biting… he needs to be corrected firmly and immediately (within 1.5 seconds of the act). You are the pack leader and the dog needs to know biting is not acceptable.

Ed has tons of articles and DVD’s and if you search the board you will find a wealth of information on this subject.

Good luck and welcome to the Board.

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....From reading prior posts my perception is that you should not console or pamper a dog for undesirable behavior whatever that behavior may be because it reinforces this behavior......if you search the board you will find a wealth of information on this subject.....

Here are the forum threads:
http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/postl...9ad680e64035005

and here is Ed Frawley's article about all the types of aggression:
http://www.leerburg.com/aggresiv.htm

Also, QUOTE: Should I correct him for his fear biting? or calm him down first, like I have been doing.END

Immediate correction for the unwanted behavior, and never reinforce it by caressing, petting, or whatever reward-type attention you are giving to "calm him down," is my opinion.

And stay tuned! There are many forum members who are extremely knowledgable about all kinds of aggression.

This site, too, does a pretty good breakdown of types of aggression, and the prevention & corrections:
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/aggres1.html

P.S. QUOTE: I recently noticed that immediately after I correct him or verbally scold him I will have to take a moment and calm him back down END

*Calm* assertive pack leader demeanor goes a long way towards calm submissive dog behavior.

I really appreciate you guys taking the time to answer my questions.


I think I may have been misunderstood in my last post which can easily be done while trying to type in a hurry.

When my dog does any unwanted behavior, It is always corrected Immediately. Then he goes in a down position, I always keep a electric collar on him whenever he is out of his kennel, so I can correct him. That is not the problem.

The problem is immediately after the correction, I try to reach for him and he may nip at me. That is the problem.

What I was doing before, was giving him another correction if he nipped at me after the first correction. I was not sure if I should give him a correction immediately after the initial one for his fear biting.

I was wondering if maybe after the intial correction, perhaps I should keep him in a down for a minute longer then approach him.

Maybe there are some other approaches that other may suggest.

I also wanted to make sure that I do not have a psycho dog. LOL.

I appreciate all your input.

Just to update, I researched the articles like you guys suggested and found and article that stated going back to square one to house proof your dog and to rid of bad habits So that is exactly what I did, I went back to square 1. meaning I have restricted his use of the house. He only has access to the anything only in my direct supervision and with a prong collar and leash. I feed him in the kennel and let him sleep there now. I let him out only when he has a prong collar on with me at the end of the leash. I take him walkng more often just to give him some exercise and I train him while we are on the walk. I can already see that he is more calm and controllable and so am I.

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The problem is immediately after the correction, I try to reach for him and he may nip at me. That is the problem.

Why are you reaching for him? Your idea of giving an obedience command and enforcing it is important. I usually vary the command or give two or three different ones in a row fairly quickly. Make him have to think fast. In some situations where fear is involved it works to give the "leave it" command with lots of praise(very happy voice) and a diversion reward, ie. food, tug, fun toy as soon as he looks at you. Keep your leash as loose as possible and stay calm.

Sounds like you're on the right track. It's the old pendulum swing. It does finally stop in the middle. Going back to the beginning should get his attention pretty quick. Having privledges revoked is a real bummer! :grin

Regards,
Debbie