With a dog like this, the best approach is just to ignore them entirely.

He'll be worshipping the ground you walk on in no time.

 Quote: adrian donohue

.... He was trying to bolt thru the door to get outside which I think is normal behavior for him in his house. ...

The owner will see her life and the life of the dog all change for the better when she initiates some pack structure, and I would start with the door behavior. It's so huge for the dog to perceive that his freedom to move in and out depends completely on the owner's permission.

As Al said, I'd stop my child's visits to the house while this work is in process. Mouthing is too close to a bite with children around.

Perhaps you could be the practice visitor in the door-manners lessons. Teaching wanted door behavior is so much faster and easier when you have a helper to be the doorbell-ringer. The owner will also feel less stressed and hurried as she refuses to open the door until the dog complies with the door command (whatever she decides on). For me, it's a circle of dogs several feet back from the door, all sitting and quiet. Any dog standing up or vocalizing means the door does not open yet.

This took a few "Just a minute" calls at first to whoever was waiting, but it was all worth it.

Hello All,
I am the said owner of "Duke" the German Sheperd. I want to mention a few things about Duke. We got him directly from Germany when he was 10 weeks. We were very careful in selecting him. He has always been around children. I have a 17 yo, 6 yo, 4 yo(she was 4 months when he came home) & a 2yo. My 17 yo son is Duke's owner. Duke listens to my son & my husband. While he listens to me in the house, I definitely do not have leash control with him. I did work with a trainer when he was a puppy. Unfortunately I did not continue. I certainly should have but b/c I do have the 3 young kids (my husband works long hours & my son wrestles year round & is very busy) I could not work with Duke enough & thus find myself in this situation now. The trainer did not feel that Duke was aggressive at all. He sometimes shows aggression towards other dogs, however only around me or the children. When we bring him to the dog run he is fine with the other dogs (of course the kids do not come.) I'm not sure what behavior he was showing towards my neighbor but I was concerned b/c I do not ever want to be in a situation where he could hurt anyone. I want to mention though that he did have an ear infection (& a small cut on his ear from scratching) when my neighbor touched him. I don't know if this had anything to do with his reaction but it is possible. Also, in response to those who questioned him being around children I will say this: while I certainly appreciate any concern, I do not leave him alone with any children - not b/c I think he is aggressive but b/c he is a dog & I don't think any dog - big or small - should be left alone with children. He has been socialized since he was a puppy around many people & many children. He is very gentle with my children - even careful not to knock down my 2 year old when she is walking near him. He does not rule the house as some of you seemed to suggest but I am not sure where he sees me in the pack structure. As I said earlier he is my son's dog & is very loyal to him. He also always listens to my husband. He behaves on his leash with both of them. I realize that I got myself into this situation but any suggestions as to what I can do to work with him would be appreciated. The suggestion to use a leash when I open the door is a good one - the trainer had recommended using a short training leash for this purpose. I can start by doing this.

We are very glad to have you!

Most folks would not have the courage or clear-headedness to read all these posts and then speak up.

Kudos!

 Quote: Alyssa Myracle

We are very glad to have you!

Sure are!

Hope you'll post an intro soon.

Welcome to the forum!

Hey Jenn! Heh, Sorry, I didn't mean to give "Duke" a bad name. Like I said I've only seen him at the bus stop with you and not with your Son or Husband and like I said, I dont fear him or think he's aggressive. My initial question had to do with the specific behavior about the mouthing which I was curious about as I'd never seen a dog do that before and also whether I was being too familar with him considering that he's and adult GSD and I'm not part of his family.

As you can see most of the people on this site are well versed in this breed. If nothing else you'll be able to learn more about the dog and his behavior.

He's a great dog. Best of luck with him.

 Quote: JENNIFER ADWAR

I realize that I got myself into this situation but any suggestions as to what I can do to work with him would be appreciated. The suggestion to use a leash when I open the door is a good one - the trainer had recommended using a short training leash for this purpose. I can start by doing this.

A couple of good resource articles for ANY dog owner:

http://www.leerburg.com/pdf/packstructure.pdf

http://leerburg.com/corrections.htm

http://leerburg.com/pdf/Preventing%20Dog%20Bites%20in%20Children.pdf

I don't think anyone got the impression that Duke was aggressive. Just that he needs more structure.

I'll let others chime in, they will have better advice than I!

However, I do like the DVD on establishing structure with the family pet: http://leerburg.com/308.htm

And training with markers: http://leerburg.com/219.htm

i have a yorkie shi tsu mix. he looks like a shi tsu with the personality of a yorki. the problem i have with him is that he will raise cane when anyone walks by the appartment door. That doesnt really bother me. what does is that when someone comes up to the door to visit me, he tends to jump up when they come in and nip at their cloths. I want to stop that and dont know what to do about it.

 Quote: jennifer schnegg

i have a yorkie shi tsu mix. he looks like a shi tsu with the personality of a yorki. the problem i have with him is that he will raise cane when anyone walks by the appartment door. That doesnt really bother me. what does is that when someone comes up to the door to visit me, he tends to jump up when they come in and nip at their cloths. I want to stop that and dont know what to do about it.

Hi Jennifer,

You need to start your own thread. You're hijacking Adrian's.

Go to the forum you want and click on "new topic" (blue font, top left) to start a new thread.

Like you could go here:
http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/postlist/Board/134
and click on "new topic."