One reason why some of our dogs come running out in the AM with their hackles up is because of the nocturnal creatures bugging them all night. We may not know what’s out there but they do.

I had hoped to do schutzhund with her but I was never able to hook up with anyone who trains. I am a beginner to GSD's and have always loved and had dogs as pets.This dog is like none other I have ever experienced!!!!!

She has turned into a very good dog for the most part, however it has been a hard road many times.

After I got her and was pursuing OB,I became pregnant. I work as an x-ray tech so I'm always on my feet and I have 3 other children, so not long into my pregnancy I became practically crippled w/lower back pain. This prevented me from working much with her on a formal basis, I just did alot of sit & down stays in the house ,etc.

My new baby is almost 5 mos old now and I have also a new pup, so I am always busy with something!!!!However,I am again starting to train her. I've gone on a few Sundays to my OB trainer, and he suggested I try some match shows with her.

Do you think that this will help with her dominant traits?Also, Is defense what she is displaying or weak nerves? I wasn't sure what the determination was in the previous posts.Is Defense drive good to have or not? I thought that I read it was good in protection dogs.

Do you think I should find a PP trainer to work with insted of or in conjunction with the OB?

I look forward to the feedback!! thank you all so much!

Jeannette, you have a 5 month baby, a new puppy, a dominant dog, and a bad back... holy smokes... I have trouble with just one dog.

Regarding defense being good or bad... people disagree but since you are seeing hackles... this is an indicator that the defensive aggression is based in the perception of fear... weak nerves.

Most Shepherd owners have dogs with fairly weak nerves so this is not unusual... but obedience training and socialization are even more important in this situation.

I am new to the board. I have 3 GSD reading over jenette's problem with her female I have experienced the same behavior with my 3 year old female. She always has been the greatest dog until I bred her a year ago last march. Training I kept 2 of her pups a male and female. She is displaying the same kind of nervous behavior. I have observed when I correct or raise my voice she gets nervous could be when the baby cries or someone gets excited she is being confused by the new sounds or moods in the house. check it out. I also have to get her to the vet just in case of a physical problem. I still insist she is reacting to the change in conditions with the addition of 2 puppies. what do you thing?

Originally posted by milt:
One reason why some of our dogs come running out in the AM with their hackles up is because of the nocturnal creatures bugging them all night. We may not know what’s out there but they do. Good point Milt. There is more too it than this but nevertheless, a very good thought.

My 14 month GSD use to raise his hackles when playing ball. Occasionaly he still raises the hackles at the lower end of the back. Two of his litter mates do the same thing. If you search for my previous post, you will find several in which i posted because my GSD was also raising hackles at inappropriate times, something that concerned me. Some at the time had commented that he was a weak nerved dog but over time the opposite is now seen. I socialized the hell out of him on a daily basis. I tried to introduce him to every type of person and every possible situation I could think of. Though a few weaks ago he was going back to this weird spooky phase but now we are back to normal. perhaps it was not a spooky phse but rather a weird smell to him since he had never picked up the scent of buffalos. Now he just stares at them for a sec and moves along on the hiking trail. If I run into problems I usually contact the breeder for she knows what she breeds very well and she has always been right in her predictions, so you might contact the breeder to see what she thinks is going on. Though I have had GSDs before, this one has been nothing like any other I have ever raised. He is quite a handful and lots of work but well worth it. also since we are at it, what is , if any, difference between a dog raising the rear hackles only vs raising the neck hackles only?

I will say that my dog does not have weak nerves.

She has only displayed the hackles since the new pup arrived and now she does the raising of the hackles ONLY when she and the pup are racing around the property like lunatics! In these instances it is Bella running full tilt w/ the pup in hot pursuit.

I don't know why still, but I feel that there is something going on related to the pup,now almost 5 mos. old.

So if a dog raises its hackles, it has weak nerves??? Confident dogs don't do this, ever?

No, under normal circumstances like those described, they don't. (hackle up neck to butt)

Ok, thanks. But let me phrase it another way. Do confident dogs raise their hackles? Thanks again. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />