Quote: Rebekah Schwartz

... He lunges, barks, attempts to bite. He barks at the slighest noise at the door. In the car, when we stop at a light and someone glances over at him, he will start to bark and growl and lunge at them threw the window. He nuts. He was given basic obidence as a puppy (before I had him) and will listen to the sit, down, stay, paw commands. Again, it is only when he feels it will benefit him.
Why should I stay away from the dog parks? He loves them and shows no aggresion towards anyone or any dog when he is there. I have 2 other dogs that were easy as pie to train- but this one has me stuck.

If you can't get control now, then you are headed for trouble. And so is the dog, through your failure to provide control and training.

His history with the previous owner has very little to do with the situation you are in. His pedigree (first post), ditto.

If you are asking a web forum whether you should find a more experienced owner, then maybe you need to. This is a big dog, completely out of control.

Yes, off leash. See, that is where the bi-polar comes in. You could cut his leg off at a dog park as long as there were other dogs around. He wouldnt think twice about it. He will listen off leash at a dog park too. He is weird. Ive been reading around on the site. From what I can gather, he is a hard dog with good nerve. Does that make any sense?

However, if you were to meet him on the street, while on a walk, with no other dogs around he would be very 'protective'. I dont understand why in one situation he will let someone pull on his ears, and play with him, and then in another he wants to attack?

Also, I can do whatever I want to him, he is very submissive. He is also that way with my boyfriend. He would never try to hurt us... just everyone else without a dog present.

 Quote: rebekah schwartz

. . . Maybe I need to find him a new home, someone with LOTS of experience with dogs who need a job?

That's certainly true if you're not willing to put in the time reading and learning training techniques and then put in even more time working with this dog - or getting some help from an experienced trainer (not a Petco type, tho). Without getting into his specific issues, it can be done by someone without a lot of experience, but you'll need to study up first, closely follow the kinds of training instructions that have already been mentioned and linked to above and resort to a trainer if you get stuck. You need to commit to on-going training and "refresher" sessions. But. . . don't give up yet!

I got my most recent GSD from rescue, ~18mos. old. She had minimal obedience training and insufficient/minimal socialization. She was unpredictably aggressive toward most people and dogs. She's turned around about 170 deg. - we're not all the way "fixed" yet. It's a long process.

I second skipping the dog park trips. I did that for a short while w/o incident, but you don't have any control over other dogs and (just as bad or worse) other owners, so a bad incident is always possible, regardless of who starts it. And while you say your dog is not aggressive toward other dogs (yet!) you're also saying you basically can't control him. Based on your posts (previous bite, aggression, etc.), at this point I'd recommend that until you've done training and you cemented your role as pack leader, you assume that he can or will be aggressive toward other people and dogs at some point. You simply don't have the groundwork to safely think otherwise.

It can be a lot of work, but when you start to see results, it's very rewarding and it encourages you to keep going. It's not impossible.

Mike

Rebekah,

Not having seen the dog, off the cuff I suggest some serious pack structure work and obedience training. Just because he flies off the handle at people does not make him a hard dog. I suspect this dog is sharp and may be weak nerved. You're going to have to get a professional to evaluate him. If I were a little closer I would oblige but gas prices being what they are......

Howard

Ive really gotten attached to this dog and dont want to give up on him. Im just stuck. He only wants to work on his condtions, and praise doesnt seem to have any effect. He LOVES his basket ball, and loves to bite and chew on it. If anyone else wants to give him a shot, please let me know. I've done some reading tonight and have gotten a few good ideas for what needs to be done.

Id be willing to drive up that way if you would like to meet him.

 Quote: Rebekah Schwartz

Ive really gotten attached to this dog and dont want to give up on him. Im just stuck. He only wants to work on his condtions, and praise doesnt seem to have any effect. He LOVES his basket ball, and loves to bite and chew on it. If anyone else wants to give him a shot, please let me know. I've done some reading tonight and have gotten a few good ideas for what needs to be done.

From his weight issue, sounds like he's food-driven (AND he loves his ball). These are great motivational training tools.

Keep reading.

P.S. Just don't forget to use real food, not junk, as training treats, and to include them in his day's food allowance, since he has weight problems. Training treats can be teeny pieces of real food.

Rebekah, Check your PM's.

He is more ball driven then anything else.. food he doesnt really care for, but his old owner wasnt home a lot, so she always left pigs ears and cat treats (dont ask) around for him to chew on. He just got fat out of being board. I think having him neuterd also had an effect on him.