I wanna resolve this issue or at least find out more about it. My GSD is 1.5 years old, intact male. Czech lines. We're training for Schutzhund, he does great, yada yada.

Anyhow, I spend a lot of time trying to be as dominant as I can be so that he doesn't get any ideas (I go first through doors, down stairs, he doesn't get on furniture, etc). And for the most part I feel like he's in line.

The issue: He does this thing where if someone walks in the door, or opens a door into where he is (be it the main house door or room door), or even if they walk into a room that he's in and he doesn't know them, he'll bark like crazy and charge right up to them. It scares people to death. Now he NEVER bites anyone, as soon as he gets to them he just sniffs them and then meanders off, maybe jumps up on them.

Now I know what you're thinking, don't let the dog get there first and put him on a leash. Well I do, but in these cases, I live in an apt with 2 other roomates that come and go, and he does this behavior to one of them. Also my girlfriend will come in spontaneously to my room and he'll do it to her in that instance. He even barked like crazy when he was in his crate, and a female friend of mine walked into my room to use my bathroom.

It's like any noise on the other side of a door (people talking, keys especially, etc) and anything coming through a door sets him off. He'll also do it if someone surprises him in the sense that they weren't there, and then now they are suddenly in the room and he didn't see them come in. But that's more isolated instances really.

I'm mainly trying to find out if this is some sort of dominance behavior which I think it is and a good method of dealing with it. Harsh correction? Food treats? Distraction? I dunno, I'm all ears.

Jeff,

I have exactly the same issue with my 1.5 yr. old! I hope someone with experience helps us out here.

My GSD, Axel, does this mostly in his crate. He is wonderful (mostly) outside of it. I have been using an e-collar at a low setting to reinforce my "no"'s and then when he is calm, I give him treats to reinforce his calm mood. Do you think this is a good thing to do?

Note that I said "mostly" wonderful outside of the crate. What I mean by that is that he seems to be testing me more lately, not when we are training, but just around the house. For example; he will sit up before I release him on a down/stay command after just a few minutes - seems to be regressing. I have picked up the training (short, 3-5 minutes, multiple times/day) and have increased walking/playing to counteract this, but I am thinking that this is an age thing - teenager? Could our dog's age be anything to do with the barking?

I own four of Ed's DVDs and have read a lot of this site, and Axel appears to be working well within Ed's type of training so I don't think I have screwed up, but maybe I have.

Good to know my post might help someone else. I don't get the impression I've necessarily done something wrong, other than not taken charge of a certain type of situation that he has taken upon himself to take charge of. Most likely just ignorance on my part.

I do feel him "test" me a lot, and I feel much of that is his age. I hear that at this time they're really starting to jockey for position in the pack and will be challenging for rank for a while. So that's why I try to stay consistent as possible with regards to dominance issues.

In this instance I am not aware of when I'm letting it slide, that he feels the need to take charge of. Thus my request for help. No other thoughts?

Jeff, it doesn't sound like a dominance issue, but he seems to be a little on the sharp side. Hopefully it's not a nerve problem, as no dog should go into "defense mode" under harmless circumstances.

my Czech line boy is the same. He is getting better with age, now 23 months. It is sharpness at least with him and some weakness in his nerves. I don't like it as he acts before thinking and is to fast for me sometimes which could result in a problem.I hope your problem goes away but doubt it will all together. Make sure you don't praise for this behavior and continue to socialize as much as you can and then more.