thanks robbin! when i first got him, i thought there was no way he could be PB, b/c he got dumped at a shelter....which was probably kind of a dumb thought on my part. he was probably a BYB PB though

right now - i was just thinking, i posted all that great stuff - and he is doing great - but he's also starting to be food aggressive about his bones, so i'm going to have to make some changes, i was reading ed's article about this as a dominance issue. and that's what chris (trainer) has been starting to say - he's more comfortable and now more dominance behaviours are coming out. i'm not sure if i should start using a crate for feeding, or just leave him while he's eating bones to not set up a situation where he gets to behave like that.

Wow! I really like your dog's expressions! I guess if I was running and hiking all the time, I would be smilin' too...

What is the brand of harness you have there? I really like it.

I have had similar issues with Levi, Jen. However, he only behaves dominant about food with the cat and the other dogs. I always kennel fed but then he got possesive of his kennel which sits in a room all the dogs are supposed to be in. So, I now feed the other two outside and then Levi in the kitchen. Still, if the cat finishes his dinner too early and gets curious about what he's eating...well, lets just say I stay in the kitchen until he is done. I, on the other hand, can do anything to him while he eats. I can even stick my hand in his bowl and grab some food and let him eat out of my hand. (I wouldn't recommend this). Just keep reading the board and trying different things..you'll find out what works for Luc soon enough!

Edited by RobbinMann (10/09/2007 11:16 AM)
Edit reason: spelling

rick - his harness is a ruffwear harness. i really like it.

robbin - he's good about most food, just his bones. i was thinking to start trying petting him quietly and away from his head when he's eating those so he'll get the idea that he can be touched while he's eating a bone.

Jennifer, Luc looks very much all GSD, especially more so in my mind from looking at the rest of the pictures you posted. There are a lot of purebreds in shelters, a lot. So you can remove the
"Luc 3.5 yo GSD X" from your sig picture

You also said:

 Quote: Jennifer Mullen

... or just leave him while he's eating bones to not set up a situation where he gets to behave like that.

Yeah, just leave him, unless you need to take a bone from him for some reason, then you can offer some other favorite treat in the bone's place. As Ed says, there's no reason to bother a dog when he's eating or chewing a bone. Once you give something, you don't take it away, unless it's absolutely necessary for some reason or other.

I too think you can crate him when you give a high-value food item, and leave him alone with it.

And I too have seen a LOT of pure-bred dogs in shelters.

The SPCA estimates that 25% of the incoming dogs are pure-bred, and in my own experience, GSDs are a sizeable chunk of that number.

i got rid of the X

generally i try to leave him alone when he's eating. it started as my fault, i've started giving him more RMBs and i always worried he's going to swallow a big chunk and choke (i don't worry so much about that now) so one day i idiotically leaned off my bed and stuck my face next to his to see how much bone he'd eaten....genius idea, i know. anyways, that's what started him growling/snapping around the bones.

otherwise, if it's he hasn't finished and we need to leave. i generally try to distract him and move him away from the bone, as he won't let me put the bone away in that situation. but leaving him alone to eat is my preference, it seems respectful to him.

i had to share what is the funniest comment i've gotten about luc, and several people made it.

i volunteer for an outdoor club, and i took luc on the hike i ran yesterday on the ganaraska trail on the outskirts of the minesing swamp (cool place, it's designated a wetland of international importance....we spent a fair bit of time in the grasses following deer trails which luc LOVED. http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a384/mitchthecat/Minesing%20Swamp%20Ganaraska/)

several people on the hike didn't believe that luc was a GSD. not b/c he's black, or b/c he's not 100lbs - i explained all of that. they kept asking me 'are you sure he's a german shepherd? he's too nice!' ummmm....excuse me? a very nice compliment to luc, and a sign of how much he's settled in, but a weird comment on the breed. anyways, they explained to me that german shepherds are supposed to be aggressive, and guarding all the time. i was like 'well, that sort of depends....and there's thing called situational awareness....and well, we're hiking, so ummm....yeah.' weird!

unfortunately, while i hike with him on leash, he doesn't have to heel when hiking, and i stepped on his foot accidentally twice. all seemed fine, but he pulled up lame 3k into our run this morning. i checked for scratches/burrs/etc, no pain reaction anywhere on his leg, so i think i must have bruised it.

HOWEVER! i decided to ice his paw when i got home....he was marginally cooperative initially, and then started trying to mouth me. i held his mouth shut and made prolonged eye contact. my trainer had also said if he acts aggressive and the prong/leash isn't on for a correction, i could grab him by the scruff (i think i recall him suggesting i shake his scruff while holding his muzzle shut/eye contact.) anyways, he mouthed/tried to nip again, so i grabbed his muzzle and his scruff....he was PISSED! i let go without trying any shaking as i figured that would really make him mad. oddly, he immediately laid down and showed me his belly, but when i had his scruff, he really tried to get me. anyways, i decided that discretion is the better part of valour, and i'm NEVER trying that again....i think my trainer's been great, but with all due respect....maybe someone more experienced would've done it better, but i'm pretty confident around luc and wasn't acting shy, but bad bad reaction.

he did come with me to the town my grandpa lives in today (hurt paw and all, i'm such a suck) and visited his retirement home. all sorts of people wanted to say hi, and he was so polite and friendly, especially to a couple of people who had had dogs and got really excited to see him. in a marked contrast to the day before, my grandpa remarked 'of course he's nice! he's a german shepherd!'

....and to make this post even longer, as a side note about the outdoor club - ontario has BSL about 'pit bulls' (APBT, am staffs, staffs etc) - dogs not fixed/born after a certain date have to be euthed, dogs born before and fixed are restricted and must be muzzled when not on private property etc. so there's this great bully rescue (where i originally looked b/f i got luc, and if i ever get him a second dog will probably go through them - they're very strict with temperament testing). they take in dogs out of shelters, help dogs that are supposed to be euthed get moved to other jurisdictions, etc. so i thought i'd do a couple of fundraising hikes through the club - done it for other stuff, worked amazing. usually my events fill up in an hour or so....both have been posted for days and are nowhere near full. absolutely ridiculous, people are very foolish sometimes. it disappoints me.