I am new to the group and own a GS that I am trying to get started as a therapy dog - I'm a school psychologist.. He came from a breeder who has some of Leerburg GS's and other good lines used in SAR and Law enforcment in Kansas . My previous GS's were Leerburg and the BEST Ive ever had.one This guy is the most stubborn boy Ive ever had- I guess "dominant " is the correct term. i intend to move to the Miami / Ft lauderdale area and I am interested in becoming involed with a GS group to further my dogs training. I am finding it a bit dificult to locate housing that allows large breed dogs in this area.
I also need to inquire about my dogs behavior in terms of barking at people in the school. This only occurrs to those who stop dead in their tracks when they see him- this then prompts him to take a defensive posture and a deep confident bark follows. I have inserviced the staff about his role here but some seem threatened as he is a big dog. I have taken him everywhere in the certification and training process for his public acces exam through the place that trains service dogs for medical, emotional and physical handicaps. They also train professional therapy dogs. We went with an entire goup of people and their dogs to day cares, wal mart, retraunts, hotels,etc. He was fine each time Ive gone to the training for several weeks that I participated in it to learn. We get back home and he is acting in perhaps a defensive manner - territorial of me ??????? All i want to know is how to correct this as he loves people typically. It is definatly counter-productive to the idea of "therapy Dog"-- and makes me feel embarrassed. Perhaps his disposion was more suited for a different line of work? The people at the training facility say he will be fine, he is a dominant dog and I have followed suit in training to deal with that. Does anyone have any suggestions.

Hi there, and welcome!

First may I ask HOW you dealt with his behavior? I have found that there are many schools of thought as to how to do this, and, in my opinion, most don’t work or can be dangerous.

Second, how old is he? If he is young or “teenage” then maybe it would be a good idea to continue the socializing with out putting him in a “working” capacity at school. He might just need to “figure out who he is” for lack of a better term. They often try to assert themselves and are testing the water for a while, like human teenagers if you want my opinion. Just don’t stop with the socializing.

Also think about getting him into a sport. Rall-O or agility would be good for bonding and obedience while also being exposed to lots of different people and activity.

There are great articles about how to be a leader, rather than assert your dominance, to a dog and it starts with how you live with them. Very easy and clear to the dog, and makes for a better relationship between the two of you.

For an adult dog

For a puppy

Thankyou for responding! Well I dealt with it by redirecting him , telling him "no bark" I took control by walking him briskly . I was told that if he feels that I am in charge he will be less likely to feel he needs to assert himself. He is only 14 mo. old- I have also been told that he is at that age where he is trying to be a teenage boy and assert himself for the first time.i will continue to bring him to work but I worry that people that arent "dog people" will view him differently and perhaps become alarmed.