I have a 13 month Czech GSD. I got him at 10 weeks old. I noticed the day I picked him up at the airport that he showed aggression to some people, even at just 10 weeks old.
I never saw that before in a pup. When socializing him, I always took him to places where there was alot of noise and alot of people, various surfaces, places for him to explore and climb, etc.
Now, at 13 months, he is beginning to show avoidance when a stranger approaches him. Sometimes he'll show aggression if someone tries to pet him.
What puzzles me is, when he is loose, he will run up to anyone, jump all over them, the things dogs normally do.
But when he is on a leash or laying down and a stranger walks up to him, there is avoidance or aggression.
I'd like to hear from someone who is experienced in this.
This dog has extreme drive for the ball and in beginning bite work. His drive and energy levels are what I would call, extremely extreme. My questions are, do I have a serious issue here? If so, is it too late at 13 months to fix it?

When he's doing bite work, is he working in defense or prey? I have similar issues with mine, but it's because he was pushed into defense WAY too young, before I knew the trainer was an idiot. Feel free to PM me you want details. Short on time now.

Quote:What puzzles me is, when he is loose, he will run up to anyone, jump all over them, the things dogs normally do.
But when he is on a leash or laying down and a stranger walks up to him, there is avoidance or aggression.

Was he punished for showing aggression while on the leash? This might be the answer.

No, I don't punish him for aggression.

He's never been overly fond of other people. He's a one-man dog. I once watched my neighbor trying to feed him through the fence and my dog wouldn't so much as glance at him. He's very aloof.

he could be fearful. when they are on a leash, they can't escape, so they feel, in a sense, cornered. i've seen this in lots of dogs--friendly and playful off-leash, fearful and defensive when on it. sounds like fear aggression to me.

That's the most logical explanation I have heard so far.
That's gotta be it.

Any suggestion, anyone?

I wouldn't allow people to pet him if he is exhibiting this behavior right now on lead. He needs to slowly feel comfortable around people and realize they are not a threat.
I would start by letting people walk near him but not approach him and at the same time you should be giving him lots of yummy treats so that he associates people approaching or coming near as good. This can go on for a few weeks (while on lead). Eventually you can move to people handing him treats and then walking away.
The last step is people actually coming up to him and allowing them to pet him. Only you will know when and if this can happen.
You have to monitor your dog VERY carefully because you will never take the fear aggression out of him (100%) so be aware and take the time to study his body language while stressed. Notice what his body does prior to his aggression. Where does his safe zone end? Being on lead does not give him an avenue to escape that's why you are seeing this behavior. If you do this right and take the time to make the associations to him then you should see a big improvement but it will take time. But also remember, dogs associate situations so this needs to be practiced in all areas (house, walks, everywhere). Good luck!!
Karen Nesbitt

i just want to second what karen has said. my boy started behaving as you describe starting at about 8 or 9 mos. somehow he got startled one day when we were working one-on-one with his trainer, and he went from being happy go lucky to terrified in one inexplicable minute. (he was born with a distortion in one eye, the remains of the immature eye from when he was in utero, and we think the sun flashed into his eyes in that moment and spooked him. he just happened to be on leash with the trainer at that moment). after that, he was rarely comfortable with strangers again.

the good news is that we recognized the problem, managed it correctly, and worked with him. today, three years later, he is far more relaxed around strangers. so much so, that it's started to really surprise me. just last weekend he came running up to some friends as they entered our house, tail wagging, asking for pets. most of the time, he is still cautious, though.

a few things really helped us get a handle on this:

1. recognizing that his problem is his lack of confidence in *us* to handle the situation. he was right about that. he was more alert and vigilant about any perceived danger than we were. so we had to become better than him at scouring any situation for potential danger and assuring him that we were in charge and he could relax about it. once we started paying attention to everything that was going on, and averting potential situations, he had more freedom to calm down. we also started using touches developed by jeff loy, an aggressive dog rehab specialist from new jersey. these touches are dominance moves that tell the dog that i am his pack leader, and i'm in charge of all danger, and he can relax.

that by itself wasn't enough. we had to understand what danger was to the dog. so we avoided anything that might trigger him. the idea was to allow his reactivity to go extinct from lack of it being excited.

it helped to

2. watch the "calming signals" video by turid rugaas, that demonstrates what dog behavior/body language means. this has really helped us in evaluating whether a bad situation was headed down the path at us in the form of another dog. it's also helped us notice the early warning signs of ben being triggered, so we could remove him from the situation before he could become reactive.

3. a huge help in understanding and reprogramming the dog was a little booklet we got called "the cautious canine." i highly recommend it. just understanding the basic principles in the book made a huge difference in our ability to help our dog.

best of luck with him.

That really helps alot. I am going to try these things. Thanks for the good advice.

Alan,

Don't assume that because this is possibly fear based that your dog won't bite. Cause he just might!
I would continue to socialize him and have people throw or hand feed a special treat. Whatever he will allow but don't push the "pet him" thing. Is it really necessary for other people to pet your dog? Work at getting your dog to ignore strangers with appropriately timed corrections and rewards. Have him sit quietly by your side while in a converstion with someone and stay that way til you release him. With your dog, reliable basic obedience is of utmost importance. It is not too late but, time to get busy, serious and consistant with how you handle this behavior. While on leash have a consistant routine of how he is to act around strangers. As he matures his protective instincts could possibly get stronger.

When off leash notice how he responds to people getting close to you. I have a dog that has a similar temperament to yours and some of the same on/off leash behavior that you have described. A few off leash differences are; my dog still isn't exactly friendly, will approach and sniff and take food if offered but no touching(her rule and it's fine with me) however, when someone starts getting too close to me she sits between me and the other person, with no command from me. Doesn't do anything, shows no signs of fear or aggression, just sits there. She does display clear signs of protectiveness of me. Won't bore you all the details. So, IMHO, it isn't always because the dog cannot get away when leashed. Just pay close attention to his body language as well as your own. Stay relaxed with a loose leash. If your obedience is solid a loose leash won't be a problem.

Don't forget there are lots of good training tools. Read Ed's articles on pack behavior, temperments and agressiveness. These are the guys that keep you on your toes and make you learn about dog behavior!

What is your dogs job? Sport, PP, hang out with you and the family?

Don't know where you're from or if you are interested....but, I can give you the name of a trainer that has experience with and does not mind dealing with these types of dogs and is good with people as well! Send me a pm if you need a name.

Good luck and have fun!
Debbie