I just got my new 5-month old GSD pup! He's the sweetest, most gentle and docile dog I've owned. It's like owning a big teddy German teddy bear! He gets along with everybody, including strangers. Though aloof with strangers, if you give him the chance to mingle with them, he'd be more than willing to be pet without so much as an excited pant.

However, show him another dog, especially a small breed dog and he turns into a hungry tiger ready to pounce without warning.

What happened was I was loading his plastic crate in my van for our morning walk out of town and I wasn't holding his leash (I know, my bad!). It's just that he never leaves my side even off leash or even with lots of people around. What I did not expect (or noticed) was that there was a Jack Russell Terrier going for a walk with a maid infront of our house. Before I could even blink, he charged at the poor little pooch without warning, not even a single bark. I was shocked to see my GSD take the Terrier by the neck, lifted him up like a doll and put him down and started pawing him. Good thing I was able to finally grab my dog's leash and he stopped. Luckily, neither of the dogs got injured or even bled. It ended with a strong leash correction from me afterwards.

Can anybody explain why this is so? Why can dogs be so gentle with humans and be so hyper with their own kind? My theory is my GSD sees the little dogs as prey items. He behaves the same way with the stray cats in our area: though luckily I'm always there with him to keep him from mauling the cats. So far he's not so intense with dogs close to his size: I have to observe and continue socializing him further with other dogs.

Do you know how he was raised the first 5 months? That might answer your question.

Howard

I would ask the same question Howard asked.

I also have a female GSD pup that does the same thing, she is 6 months old now and has graduated to the prong collar and a long line.....she gets to run out to the end of the long line and basically correct herself.

Once she has gotten up (since she pretty much clotheslines herself) I call her to me and give her a treat for "good heir"
She is charging less and less at other dogs (she has only charged twice since the first time and that was two and a half weeks ago) and learning that it is okay to "meet" on lead and behave.
I wait for her to launch before giving a firm NO and correction with the prong when she is on lead.
I do not believe in correction for "signs" of being aggressive as I think that you end up with an unpredictable dog, therefore, I set her up to make decisions.
More and more, she takes a look, sniff and then looks and comes back to me and for this she gets a treat. SHE makes the choice on whether she gets corrected or whether she gets a treat.

I have to make sure my timing is correct and I would rather deal with it now as she is young than with what I am dealing with on the other end of the spectrum, which is a small dog with serious aggression issues. Full on attack, out for blood aggression. She is a handful but is learning.

He's an imported pup from the Fichtenschlag Kennel in Germany. My friend here in the Philippines who is a part of their team told me that as pups they were given free reign of a big fenced-in field near the woods together with his littermates. They were basically left out most of the day to play and develop physically. They were given a lot of drive work since they were li'l pups.

I can tell he's had some training when I got him last week. He never pulls on a leash, keeps eye contact from time to time in our walks and has great drive: he did as what Bernhard Flinks' dog did when I watched the Drive and Focus DVD in an instant. I think his innate drives were encouraged very early by his German breeders. I have a feeling that explains his "exuberance" towards smaller animals.

Just to confirm, Carol, you're saying to wait until there's an aggressive response (lunging, barking, growling, etc) before issuing the correction? I'd always heard to correct the instant they even look, but I see your point about wanting to maintain predictability. At what point do you correct - as soon as there's a low growl and hackles raised or once there's lunging and barking?

I'm having a similar problem with my 11 year old - it had always been relatively manageable, just embarassing, until today when he dragged me face first down a cement alley going after another dog (dogs weren't harmed, but I'm all scraped up).

I wait for a full out lunge to give a good correction....now with this said, I will watch and if she hackles, growls, fixed gazes I will redirect her attention with a Nay or Fooey and we will work on something else.

The dog can look, the dog can smell, the dog can sit, down, stand on its head or whatever....the dog just CANNOT attack. Period.

Dogs are dogs and they are going to throw behaviors, so I want to be able to tell which behavior the dog is going to exhibit in what situation so I feel that correct a growl, lip pursed forward, hackle up is a "sign" of aggression and is a precursor to what is going to happen if the handler/pack leader does not step in and do what is needed to redirect attentions.

If I correct these enough the dog will soon choose not to exhibit them because I trained the dog that looks, hackles and growls are wrong, but attacking is okay. Therefore I have a time bomb on my hands. So, I would rather see the signs and tell them to stop and pick something acceptable to do rather than not be able to predict attacks.

I hope that makes sense....

Thanks Carol, that makes plenty sense!