Problems with walking one of my GSD

[SarahFair]

Rudi has a big problem with other dogs, unless I approach her with the other dog shes just not having it.
I got her when she was almost a year old from a man who was an ex cop and pretty serious in the whole "I dont let anyone but me touch my dog" kinda thing..
It has left her skiddish with new people so usually I just put her away..

Since I have had her I have had problems walking her. Shell listen, walk behind me, is perfect... Till another dog comes in sight. She just looses it. My other dogs are just standing there like WTHeck is going on?!?
Its like this switch in her just goes off. I can easily hold her back but there is just no turning it off till after the dog leaves and even after that it takes her a while to settle.

I dont get it..
Shes totally submissive at home. Rolls on her side, obays ever command to a T, always has her ears back, etc. Its not that she cant get along with dogs, she does! Just only the ones I approach her with. Once the general meeting is over shes fine with them forever.

I dont know how to correct this. I dont know anyone with dogs she hasnt met. I feel bad because it has gotten to the point where I have to leave her behind because she cant behave and its not fair to her.
Any ideas on how to work through this?

 

[lildinkem]

I had a dog like this. She was a GSD husky mix. A very much ALPHA dog. She was terrible. She would bait another dog into thinking she was sweet, and then she would, with lightning speed, curl under that dogs neck and lift it off and slamm it on it's back crashing to the ground. IF your dog is an Alpha, she may never totally get over it. She thinks she needs to protect you. And heaven forbid bringing in another dog to be a playmate. I did that. And bought two old school GSD's from an ex Army guy from the WWII era. He had imported GSD after the war. They were gorgeous big old flatback style Sheps. Rosie, my Alpha queen took exception, and will always periodically just kick the crap ouuta the new 85 lbs girl. This went on till the day she died at 13. So, it is really hard to break this. I was told Rosie just needed a good butt kicking to get her to back off other dogs. Problem there is, no one had a dog who dared to try. She never did get a good whoopin, except from me.

 

[SarahFair]

See I dont know if Rudi is ALPHA because she goes up to Mary Jane (my small 35lb shepherd mix) who will snap on Rudi if Rudi wont leave her alone. When MJ does snap at her she usually bites at Rudis lip and Rudi get in her submissive roll and whines and MJ will hold her there..
But then sometimes I see Rudi being Dom of MJ.
Rudi gets along with other dogs that are not mine (I have another GSD that is about 7 months and MJ).. My dads a exfriend of ours that had 2, etc. Its just stranger dogs.

I mean Rudi is getting up on her back legs barking her head off at these stranger dogs. Its like she is just a crazy dog. People give me horrible looks like WHY WOULD YOU EVER BRING HER OUT!?!?

 

[Pavla]

Grumble,,,, just cause they use a gun doesn't mean they can build one.

Dog trainers are dog trainers, and yes it is a profession, grrrrrrrr, do your job, I'll do mine,,,,,,,,,,, sorry,,,,,,,,,,

She has learned new people take you away from her, and other dogs are dangerous to your welfare. Learning new people and dogs are fun and a good thing, will give both you and her a new level of quality of life.

She needs positive socialization, both human and canine. (Something all real police dogs are started with from puppyhood). Sometimes someone other than the owner ( who the dog isn't as protective of) can walk the dog past another dog ( must be a calm/ bored dog) with less posturing. Creating a friend/ play buddy through careful introductions (often muzzled/ through a fence with no owner in sight). Walk the play buddy past the new dog first, yes dogs do learn from each other Key, you must remain calm, if you cannot, hand the leash to a person who can Those emotions travel through a leash clearer than a telephone line!


Due to the dog aggression, you are likely going to need help.

Help can come in the form of a few things. Some rescues through the AKC will help with behavioral problems, some shelters have trainers/ behavioralists that may be able to assist you, or find a local pet shop/ kennel that has classes. It will have to be done under controlled conditions at first, to keep everyone safe. Going to the dog park will take a while to achieve, but it could be the long term goal.


It will be work, but it will be worth it GSD are smart, quick to learn and incredibly loyal. Normally they want to please and protect, find a trainer that understands that.

Good luck!

 

[SarahFair]

He said he use to take her to kinder classes when she was a puppy to heavily socialize her then he cuts that off and doesnt let anyone touch his dogs. If someone comes over he crates them because if the dog gets use to a friend and that friend comes to rob you the dog isnt going to protect the house and just come up for a pet. I mean I understand where hes coming from.. Its just seemed to caused her some issues.
She STILL doesnt like exfriend after the 2-3 years weve had her.

 

[Pavla]

He has created these psychological hang ups, and this dog would totally fail the test to become a police dog. He is NOT a dog trainer. His theories leave a lot to be desired. Gah, see above post about professions

Training is life long activity. It must be reinforced, everyday. Even if only for a few minutes each day. Example; heeling on a leash, most puppy classes teach this. Two owner/dog partners 'graduate' class. Team A walk every day for the rest of the dogs life. Team A use the heel command and the dog walks properly at the foot. Team B doesn't care were the dog walks so the dog start pulling and strangling itself on walks, walks become a nightmare and become fewer until there are no more walks. Does this sound familiar? Every puppy class has both of these in every one. Trainers often hear how the training didn't work. Oh it did, B taught the dog how NOT to walk on a leash

From this, the bad behavior, if repeated, is being 'trained' as well. We must not repeat habitual bad behavior. Sometimes this means some really creative antics If she is 'focused' on another 'stranger danger' dog/person, using a Noise Can ( soda can with pennies in it) can startle her enough to redirect her attention from the other person/dog. If sound doesnt work, touch may. Make small bean bags to carry in you pockets to throw at your dogs body ( never the head). And not when she is looking at you These are redirection / focus breaking techniques so you can gain control over you dog again.

I wish I was closer

 

[lildinkem]

Quote:
IF he is a policemen, and trains his dogs like the IMPD SWAT Team K-9 trainer I know, he has a kennel and ONLY takes the dog out for work. To the dog, when you go outside, you are taking him outta the kennel. The dog associates this with work. And thus PROTECTION. That is what he is bred to do. that is why GSD's are th number most likely dog to bite someone in the USA.
A reccommendation to try and change her mind set, is to incorporate other people and people who have dogs to help you play with her. Get a few big tuff lookiing guys to play tug of war, throw the ball. I use to play Monkey in the Middle with my dogs. I got a friend, a ball and played catch with the dogs running back and forth. THEN after you wore down the energy of your dog. Introduce her to other dogs and then start playing again. You will have to make an effort to set into your schedule a set time and routine. Then the Rudi will get the idea, it is 5 pm time to play. And then your aggressive dog will be more fun to take outside. You will be able to use the ball as a reward and a tool to train her. Much cheaper then treats.
I do train with GSD's in OGINDY Schutzhund Club. Mike is the IMPD Head K-9 trainer. And the head of our club. He is currently 2 years in a row USA SCHUTZHUND Champ and a member of our world team. I know how he trains dogs. And I am guessing your man trained Rudi very similarly.
Try a new routine, make it fun. She is a young dog, and I'll bet you will have a ball loving want to play all day dog by the end of summer. Just ware her out before introducing her to new dogs.
My Rosie was the same way. I bought those super bouncy hard rubber balls that go forever when thrown to wipe her out before we would go for our waks. It worked. She had no desire to fight after she ran gung ho for 15 minutes.

 

[Brindlebtch]

This is probably a learned behavior and may have actually been encouraged by the former owner (in spite of what he may have told you).

You need to take her for walks by herself so you can have more control over her without having to worry about the other dogs.

I would start by teaching her what a clicker is by name click treat name click treat........you can look this up on line. You need to do this in your bathroom or someplace small you can close off from other distractions. You will need to do this like 500 times over the course of a week.

Get a pinch collar and start working attention with her. Cue it with "watch me" or something similar. Everytime she looks at your face she gets a click and a treat and the 'good watch me' in a silly and engaging voice. I will spit these from my mouth to encourage eye contact. Use hot dogs or something. Work this intensely inside for about a week at least.

Take her outside and work this in your backyard, your front yard, on the sidewalk. This is about a months work.

Cut her kibble back by about 1/4 to make sure she is hungry for work sessions. If she were my dog I would also hand feed her meals to make you very important and more or less the center of her universe.

Tire her out before you go for a walk by playing with her or somethinf and-

Take her for a walk by herself. Have your clicker in hand and a pocket full of easily accessible treats. If she sees another dog say watch me and if she even glances back at you praise and click if you can mange it with a leash. Hopefully, if she is hungry at this point training will take over and she will come back to you for a treat. Continue with the watch me as you walk away from the distraction.


I had a young AmStaff that would do this, and I had to forcibly down her and stand on her leash as soon as a dog came into sight and stay there until the dog was out of sight. I did this for weeks until she would quietly down and lay there until the dog was gone. Then we progressed to a sit. And then and 'off the road' where we could still keep walking but she had to stay on the grass and not the cement. It gave her something else to think about instead of the other dog. So you can also try something like this.

The important thing is whatever you do, be persistent and consistent.

 

[Brindlebtch]

Here is another thread I just found that may be helpful:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=334874&p=1

 

[Crazyland]

I beg to differ.
"that is why GSD's are th number most likely dog to bite someone in the USA."
They are NOT most likely to bite. A Dachshund is more likely to bite, a Poodle is more likely to bite, a Chihuahua is more likely to bite. And why is that? Because small breeds are less socialized that larger breeds causing more issues then a well trained GSD.
Dog bites by small dogs are not reported because of the lack of damage to people.

If the statistics could be accurately reported then it would be shown that little toy breeds are the worst for bite cases.

Take a poll on here of people who were bitten and you will see a majority of it was by little dogs.

As to the OP This looks like a fear aggression due to lack of training and socialization.
You can retrain the dog but I doubt there will ever be a time you are 100% calm with her on walks. I would personally get a real behavior trainer in your area to help you get started.

You can start by teaching the look command. They look at the stimulus and look at you and get rewarded for focusing on you. Over time this will get better and they will focus more and more on you and not pay attention to the stimulus that is setting them off on the walks.