Hello, I am new at the board so first I will say I'm sorry if I make mistakes. I was advised by Ed some one here might be able to help me.
We have recently adopted a male german shepard of 5 <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> mths old,he is now 7 mths old. We were told by family the female of house had said if the dog wasn't gone she would kill it.She did not like dog at all.The family had 4 children under the age of 5.
Ranger has behavior problems..!!! To our family he is a big teddy bear and loves us dearly. To our dog (Lg Husky)he plays fine. I mean they might spat over toys but thats it. Ok heres the problem he seems afraid of others and when they approach our fence he will attack it or try to go under it , which he already has done. Both times the owners of the other dogs just let them come in our yard to the fence. Ofcourse Ranger was punished hard and put back inside. Asked them please not to do that. One neighbor will bring over cookies then turn around and shake his fist at Ranger tell him he'll get a piece of this if he comes after him. Told him not to do that because he is confusing him.(When Ranger has been good we give him treats or play ball with just him alone.)
We have had Shepards in the past of course we had them from pup on up to death. He is only aggressive when he is taken somewhere strange or is being approached by unknowns. We are working with him daily to stop, found out rolled paperbag works wonders. We dont get alot of company so it is very hard for me to put in social enviroment other then his walks. He's a dream on walks.
My husband says something has to work or I will have him put down.This I dont want. Beacuse of his size over 27in at shoulder and goes now over80 lbs.,he will be big boy. Please help me save him. Oh yes he goes in 2 weeks to be fixed. Some say that may help alittle. Thank you so much....Lara..Ranger's Mom

Welcome to the board. Can you explain this statement you wrote:

"We are working with him daily to stop, found out rolled paperbag works wonders."

Again. Welcome.

Ok I am confused...

Dog gets out of your fenced yard... you punish it.

Other dogs get into your yard... You punish your dog. Sounds to me like you need a better fence or your dog needs to live in the house only. You already know you have a problem so continuing to put the dog into a bad situation is bad ownership.

Rolled paper bag :rolleyes: ? Please tell me you are hitting yourself with this and not the dog. As this dog gets older you may find that he decides to retaliate for such unjust punishment. There are better ways to train dogs.

You need the help of a trainer that is used to problem dogs. DO NOT enlist into a puppy obedience class. You would do best with a one on one to get YOU started. Otherwise Ed sells a basic obedience tape that will help with the obedience aspect, but you still need to address the unwanted agression. Writing over the internet may give you general ideas, but you really need someone to guide you. This dog is WAY too young to already be such a problem, and if you have problems like this now they will only get worse as the dog matures if you don't work it out now.

So far as your neighbor goes... he sounds like a jerk, you absolutly MUST limit contact with Ranger or you will end up in court with a dog bite case on your hands. Never underestimate what teasing a dog through a fence can cause.

I know you said he is a dream on walks, but he is aggressive in strange situations? I am confused here. I get the feeling for whatever reason the dog is insecure and insecurity is helped by obedience. You may not be able to save the dog, but you won't know until you try. Consistancy and patience are key.

Ranger: In reading your post; I am also confused.

If your dog is getting out of the fenced area; you must take the necessary steps to insure that the dog is confined. Running hot wire at the top and bottom of the fence will usually solve escapes. I have a dog who is an escape artist and the hot wire solved that problem. Make sure you get a small animal fence charger as the livestock charges have too much voltage and can harm the dog.

Your neighbor is causing and/or contributing to inappropriate behavior of your dog by teasing him.
You must put an immediate halt to this in no uncertain terms or you will end up in a court of law facing a judge, trying to explain why your dog finally got even with this jerk by biting his arm off. If it causes termination of a neighborly relationship then so be it. Your going to have to choose between the neighbor or your dog.

The damage that has occured to this dog may or may not be able to be corrected depending upon how you conduct yourself. An experienced trainer would be the best choice to teach you and your dog on a one on one level basic obedience using positive reenforcement. I wouldn't back away from a group setting as this would greatly aid in socialization which this dog desperately needs at this age.

Sorry I should have explained further. The paper bag makes a loud popping noise when I hit my hand or leg. This is used when I call him back and doesn't listen. I think the noise scares him. When he listens he gets cookies,(chunks of dog food)cookies would cost me a fortune. When I walk Ranger he is on short leash (so I have control while we learn how to approach people walking).He is doimg very well and have had no bad cases. I walk him daily as well as train in yard. Again we have problems only when other people DON'T have their dogs on tight leash, they try to get close.As far as our fence(chain link) he went under so hard it bent it.Now it is lowered to ground and staked also.Our fence is about 16 ft off the road. That is why we have asked people to please not come in our yard. It has been about 2 weeks since that happened and it hasnt happened again. I do want to be responsible for Rangers sake.And he has come along way in the short time we have had him. I will do whatever it takes to make this right. Thats why I ask for your advice . I think he stands a good chance.

I wish I could say more of Rangers background but we know very little, other then he may have been abused, but by whom we dont know. They aren't returning calls. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

In my opinion a lot of the problem is being caused by leaving the dog in the yard. A shy dog left with a lot of territory that he feels he should be defending. I think a secure kennel run inside your fenced yard out of sight of your idiot neighbour would allow the dog to feel more
secure. I feel a little concerned about comment that the two dogs scrap over toys. I would remove the toys before you have a real BIG scrap. The kennel run would allow him some toy time of his own. Because of the problems he is exhibiting at a young age I would never leave him unattended with the other dog.

I apologize for assuming that you were using the paper bag to correct the dog. It is beginning to sound more like an issue of dog agression than anything.

I stand by my original recommendation of a local trainer. While I do think group classes can be beneficial for socialization, I do not think I would start off in a group class with this dog. Meet with a trainer and get the dog evaluated. I have watched many a person feel defeated after going to a group OB class and having "worst dog in the class" and I don't think that serves either the dog or the person trying to desperately fix the dog well. With dog agression you must be a strong leader for your dog. Learn how without putting other dogs and people in the mix and you will be amazed at how it will carry over with your dog once it comes time to add distractions.

just my $.02