Before I explain what I perceive as dominance and aggression in my now 8 month old GSD, Oscar, I will give you a briefing on how he has lived with us. We got him as a Christmas present from my mom to our 13 yr old son when he was 6 wks old. He stayed in the kitchen, with a toddler gate blocking him from the living room and the rest of the house, no crate. My son took him to a puppy obedience course, while I took Oscar's brother. My brother owns Oscar's brother and my aunt owns his sister, LOL. Growing up, he had some play time with his brother and sister, and a male Dachshund, who is a few months older and lives across the street. As he got older (3 to 4 months), during play time, he would constantly hold them down by the back of their necks (even the female), insisting they submit. I completely cut off all contact with his brother back then, as they argued too much.

This is where "my perception" of dominance begins. At about 5 months old, I took down the toddler gate and was making him "stay" in the kitchen. He did good for several weeks, then he began to sneak into the living room at night and when we didn't have our eyes on him. Around this time, he also started barking very aggressively when somebody knocked at the door, as well as when he was in the car and someone walked near it. I could be in the kitchen with him and when somebody knocked at the door, he would shove past me and bolt to the door barking viciously, with no regards to me or his boundary rules. He also barged through doors and gates, shoving me out of the way, and tried to pull me on walks. I know now that he did not see me as the pack leader, in fact, I had never heard of such a thing.

As for agression, over the past 2 months there has been 4 instances, and all were "handler mistakes".

1) I was across the street visiting my neighbor with the Dachshund, with Oscar on leash. A little girl came over and was running and playing by us. I sensed Oscar was a little uneasy with her. The girl ran up to Oscar and I, laughing and screaming, and Oscar barked at her in a vicious manner, as if he was warning her to stay away. I immediately yanked his leash while telling him "no" and took him home.

2) Again, I was across the street visiting my neighbor with the Dachshund, with Oscar on leash. It was dark and a man came down the street jogging, while we were sitting in her driveway, probably 20 ft from the road. I wasn't holding his leash tightly and it slipped out of my hand as he took off after him. I ran after him, telling him "no", but he didn't stop. Oscar viciously circled and barked at the man as he slowly kept jogging and I kept telling the man to stop. When the man finally stopped, so did Oscar. Oscar stood barking on the other side of the street (our house) while I retrieved him.

3) I was taking Oscar out of the backyard and into the house, about 10 ft, without a leash, when my husband called him over to play in the empty lot next to us. I ran in to get his leash and before I could get back outside, A boy (about my son's age) was walking down the street, again in front of our house, and Oscar charged after him doing the same thing. The boys arms were in the air and he was yelling and walking backwards making it worse. When I finally got the boy to stop and hold still, Oscar stopped and took off over to the neighbors, where I retrieved him. By the time I got him, I felt it was too late for a correction. I think I should have corrected him anyway.

4)We were at a river swimming and fishing and there was a boy about my sons age (who we didn't know) that hung around us part of the day. The boy got within 15 ft or so of Oscar and I, and off Oscar went. I was unable to hold on to his slippery, wet leather leash. Oscar and the boy did the exact same thing as the last instance. The boy was waving his arms, running backwards and screaming. I got the boy to stop, and again Oscar stopped. This time I had gotten enough information from Leerburg to have had a prong collar on him and to know to give him a level 10 correction.

It has been about a month now since this last occurance and since then, I have been doing the ground work to establish pack leadership and putting the pressure on him through obedience and pack structure. He has had no direct contact with other dogs. When I visit my neighbor and her dog, he must lie next to me and cannot go near her dog. He's fine with this. He is crated in the kitchen when we are gone, at night, and when we have someone over that he doesn't know. Other times he is in the kitchen with the toddler gate up or supervised in the backyard. When out of the crate, he is always on leash or a long line. I am always first through doorways and gates. Although he has never had a possession issue with food or toys, I only let him borrow my toys when I feel like playing with them with him.

His progress has been very good. He no longer even barks when someone gets near the car. On several occasions, someone has knocked at the door and the toddler gate was down, he stopped there and did not go to the door and he briefly barks, but not viciously like before. I correct him and crate him, then go to the door. He looks up at me for guidance/approval in situations on our walks, that's new and I really like that and he no longer tries to pull me through the walk.

I have not put him in a situation where aggression could easily happen. I have been soooo lucky that he did not bite anyone. I attempted to buy a muzzle, but customer support could not find one to fit him properly. We are going camping next weekend (at a public campground) and will have to take him. Although we have made lots of progress, I'm still worried. Sorry this post is incredibly long and I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read it. ;O)

Tracy and Oscar

It sounds like you have a monster in your hand. This dog does not respect you as a leader. I think you need to do the groundwork with Oscar. You must keep him on the leash 24/7 for 2 weeks. You will be the one to feed, walk, correct, and train him.

You keep him in the crate most of his time and take him for a potty break. He has to earn his place all over again. You will want to put two different collars on him, a prong collar and a dominant collar and keep two different leashes on. When he acts aggressive, you hang him. When you want to correct his behavior, you use prong. You must keep your cool down, don't get excited or get so nervous. Your dog needs to start to recongzie you as a leader.

Take your time and read these important articles
http://www.leerburg.com/articles.htm#dom

This is what you need to start with FIRST
http://www.leerburg.com/pdf/packstructure.pdf

You need to buy Dominant Dog Collar

http://www.leerburg.com/746.htm
Read below to learn how to use it properly

It sounds like you are handling the groundwork well and that you understand how important a strong leader is for this dog. There's only so much groundwork that will really change a dog. The other part is training.

I would continue to correct and retrain him, just remember that corrections are half the battle- the other half is retraining him and praise and rewards when he's good!

I would suggest getting a muzzle as an extra measure of saftey and get him used to wearing it when you do and don't expect him to be aggressive so it doesn't take on a negative connotation and add that extra level of stress to his aggresive-prone situations.
I have really come to seem the benefit of using muzzles for all kinds of things- related to aggression and not as well, for instance- a dog cannot eat stuff off the ground or chew on stuff when wearing a muzzle.
I prefer the basket style muzzles, not the soft ones like used at vet clinics. (the soft ones are suprisingly easy for the dog to get off.) These should be easy to fit as well.

Since it seems that alot of your dog's aggression has been towards other humans mostly, I would make an extreme attempt to socialize him as much as you can right now. He is getting to a point where the window of opportunity is about to close on his socilaization periods, making it much harder to deal with his socialibility after puberty. Get loaded with some hot dogs (treats), slap his muzzle on and take him to every park in town where people are running, biking, throwing, screaming and walk around the edges of these acctivities, praising your dog when he's good. Practice OB and conditioning him to listening and learning that when you are around these types of siutuations it means focus, praise and attention- not aggression, independence and stress.

Remember to ignore any interaction (you, not the dog) with other people until you know your dog can handle it. Do not push him over his limits or take a chance until you know he can handle it. Keep your interaction with other people to a minimum and just smile and if needed, tell people no, you cannot pet him, he's in training. If asked what the muzzle is for, jsut say he's on a special diet and you can't have him eating stuff he finds on the ground.
If strange stares occur, condition your dog to think this means extra love from you- get him attention and keep it until you pass the staring people (people seem to think a dog with a muzzle is a killer- dogs don't like to be looked at funny.)

The more you do it the better it will get. Some days will be off days, no doubt, but other days will really show some progress, so don't get frustrated. Work through the day you get and balance praise and corrections trying to push your dog a a safe limit of exposure. End on a good note and do it all over the next day.

He will get better- he's only a pup. Feel free to PM me with any questions!

I agree with Alison. If he's changed as you mentioned I wouldn't say you have a monster, just a dog that hasn't been shown who is alpha. I also wouldn't be quick to hang him with a dominant dog collar. He sounds like he's doing his job but without consent of the pack leader, or he thinks he has to take on this role. I'd walk him where people are near and give him a leash correction with a prong in the same manner as mentioned in Ed's dominant dog video. Also, regardless of baby gate in kitchen or not, out of crate means on a leash and you have the other end. If someone knocks on the door I wouldn't correct him for getting up but for responding. Personally I want my dog to warn people outside so after I know he understands who's in charge, I'll tell him "go see" and we'll go together on leash.

I also had a problem fitting a muzzle but for a chow. The only thing Leerburg had that would fit is the biggest rottie muzzle but it was to long. I had to cut the muzzle near the neck so it would come in closer to the end of his nose but of course this did void any chance of returning it. I bought a plastic JAFCO, I think, muzzle and I like it. Hard plastic with a felt liner for comfort, I guess.

Well...

NOTE: If I had read your first sentence I wouldn't have been confused. So. The rest is for an 8 or so month old dog.

Your dog is 8 or so months old? Right? It wasn't clear to me how old the dog is now.

But working on the assumption that the dog is 8 or 9 months old... And that you are working on the basics of behavior... And the dog is responding to your training and "He looks up at me for guidance/approval in situations on our walks, that's new and I really like that and he no longer tries to pull me through the walk..."

It seems to this casual observer that you are doing the training stuff to establish your dominance. If the dog is in the 8 or 9 month age range it is still trying to test boundaries and figure out what its role in the family is.

Keep him on a long line as you train him. Lots of praise and appropriate corrections. Be in charge and make sure the family follows the rules you establish.

I don't think you wrote of any experiences others who post here have not also experienced. We learn by various means. A long line would have avoided a few of your experiences but you know that.

Every day: training. All day: training. The dog is a sponge. It will respond to training but will test its boundaries so you need to be 'training' it when you are with it. I'm not talking hours a day but minutes here and there. The dog should 'get' that it has to pay attention to you all the time.

Anyway, a long line and go camping. Watch the dog like a hawk and correct unwanted behavior. Be in charge and set the rules. Be less concerned about what others think. Concentrate on the dog and you'll be surprised what others think.

Two cents.

I'd like to agree that you DO NOT have a monster, and as Mike Arnold said, your experiences with your dog Oscar is not unusual. I also agree with Eric about not hanging the dog. He's a pup, darn it. He's learning, and you're the teacher, so he'll learn from you.

You might want to start teaching a "leave it" command. I've found this leave it command is handy for lots of different things, including having my dog ignore other dogs and people.

Since you already know what sets off your pup, be ready to tell him "leave it" when you see another dog/person that he is beginning to focus on. If he disobeys you, a good pop with a prong collar will correct him.

You say that at 5 months he would stay in the kitchen without a gate - that's pretty darn amazing for a 5 month old. I wouldn't have done that with my pup when he was 5 months. It's my opinion that you expected a bit too much at that age, even though he gave you what you expected. Hooray for him. (I understand he's 8 months old now.) At 5-6 months old it doesn't surprise me at all that he would break the boundary of the kitchen when someone knocked at the door.

No more being around people or dogs without a leash on him, and as Mike said "Watch the dog like a hawk and correct unwanted behavior." Watch other dogs at the campsite also, making sure you don't let any dog, especially a loose dog, approach him. At the campsite I would use a 6 ft leash on him unless you're well away from others, which is almost impossible at a campsite.

He'll learn if you teach him. He'll learn how you want him to behave and he'll learn that you're the leader if you're consistent. He sounds like a cool dog actually. I happen to like dogs that don't tuck in their tails and show their belly. I like a confident dog and personally I like a rather strong dominant dog. But these dogs need constant, consistent leading from their owners so they know what is expected of them.

Of course you understand that you must strongly correct any show of slightest aggression toward children. Remember he's probably quite strong now and you absolutely cannot let go of that leash.

 Quote: sandy moore

You might want to start teaching a "leave it" command. I've found this leave it command is handy for lots of different things, including having my dog ignore other dogs and people.

I agree...this command is handy and my dogs seem to be able to apply it to many situations, not just picking something off the ground. The "gentle" command is also a good one when some interaction is okay, but not high-energy interaction.

 Quote: sandy moore

Remember he's probably quite strong now and you absolutely cannot let go of that leash.

Yes, it seems like there was a lot of leash-slipping going on. You can put your hand through the loop of the leash before you grasp it. That will give you an extra second or so for your hand to clamp down if he decides to bolt unexpectedly.

And as an echo to the other posters: Your dog does NOT sound like a monster to me. Just a good dog learning what is right and wrong in his world. My GSD wanted to "protect" me from everything when he was about 5 months old and it was my job to show him that I make the decisions. I haven't had a problem since. Now he'll alert me to anything strange coming up, but he looks to me to see what his response should be.

I use a metal tie down on one of those stakes that twists into the ground for camping in public areas. Walk and exersise the dog camping when you can give it your full attention. Your dog should not be just dragging a long line on your public camp spot. I find it quite useful and respectfull to the other camping guests. Why? Becasue even if my dog does not need to be tied up public camping, I want others to keep THEIR dogs on THEIR campsites. Watchout for roaming little dogs and super friendly labs and goldens who's owners think their dogs should roam all over becasue they are sooooo friendly.

As had been said, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure...

Have fun camping!!!

I'm so glad he's not a monster, LOL. I do know that if I don't do the work, he could easily become one. He seems like a perfect example of a dog who needs to know that I am the leader, so that he can relax and know what's expected of him. He has never shown an ounce of aggression to our family. Nor has he ever had any possessive issues with food, bed, or toys.

I need to add a couple of things that I didn't have time for yesterday. One is that he is still "in tact", although I will never breed him. He has also been on an all natural diet for 2 months now.

Something else that happened to us about a month ago is Oscar was attacked by another dog while we were on a walk. I had already found this website and learned that I should protect him (if possible), as another way of showing pack leadership. I had even ordered some pepper spray, which hadn't came yet! Oscar probably weighed 70 lbs, this Fox Terrier looking dog, maybe 25-30 lbs. and me 110 lbs. The dog came running from around the corner at us and I immediately put Oscar behind me and as the dog came at us, I kicked him in the chest and sent him flying, but of course he came right back and we did this several times. The stray managed to get behind me and get a hold of Oscar's neck and chest and was just tearing into him, but he was only interested in biting Oscar, not me. When he got a hold of Oscar, Oscar got a little nasty towards him, but that was the only time, the rest of the time he mostly whined and stayed put, behind me. We came home and hosed off, as we were all muddy and there was not a scratch or puncture on either one of us. He has so much loose skin that the dog was hanging from it. I finally see a use for all that extra skin he has! All that was going through my mind was that Oscar was going to either be scared of other dogs, or dog aggressive from then on. I always warn other dogs that are out and off leash, even if they are in their yards and never come towards us, by stomping and telling them to stay back. I do this as a way to show Oscar that I'm in charge of that. Luckily, he has never acted any different towards other dogs since that day. However, I may have proven once again that I had poor pack leadership skills, as I was unable to protect him from that dog. Since their worlds are so "black and white", the fact that I wore myself out with this dog probably didn't mean anything, only that I was unable to protect him.

Since socialization has been mentioned, I think I should point out that I have socialized him a lot all along. We started with the puppy obedience classes. We have taken him in the car with us everywhere since he was itty bitty. I take him to a couple of relatives houses as well. I have taken him to 3 different parks in our town over a dozen times and he's been around strangers. I walk him all over our neighborhood (nearly every single day) and stop and chat with people. He's never been comfortable with people petting him other than by 2 people outside of our family. He's just simply not one of those dogs who would take a petting from anyone who will give it, he'd just assume pass on that. I've always liked that in him and it gave me an excuse when people asked if they could. He has never shown agression towards anyone or any dog on our walks. Those times where he attacked seem "territorial" to me. We have taken him to the race track and he was tied to the trailer when it was our turn to race and he did very well. We've taken him camping and canoeing. He had to ride a school bus with 30 or more strangers to be taken up river. By the way, he didn't even tip the canoe over! I feel like I have done an adequate job in the social department.

I did purchase a dominant dog collar along with the Dominant & Aggressive dvd. I have only used the collar for a back-up to the prong collar, in case it comes undone. The way that it's attached, it can't take his air away. The only time I would consider using that collar, the way it is intended to be used, is if it were on him when he acted agressive towards someone. My plan is to calmly take his air away for a brief moment, nothing more.

I really appreciate all of your encouragement and helpful ideas to get him on the right track. Thanks a bunch! ;O)

It seems I'm having similar issues with my new 6 month old pup. I'm glad I read this post, very helpful!!!

Sounds like your doing a great job, . Dont beat yourself up about not "protecting" him. You did all you could and your actions showed leadership, and you were/are willing to protect him because you are his pack leader. I have been attacked by dogs on my block too many times. I am actually scared to go out and walk around my neighborhood because these dogs (dencent sized dogs) are always loose (not strays). And are very agressive. One time I was walking Ryot (he was 5 months old at the time) and this one GSD mix came flying towards us. I dont know what got into me but I managed to throw ryot over my shoulder and hold him pick up a huge stick and beat the dog as hard as I could. I got a few bites and bruises, small price to pay, IMO. Good luck!!!