Help: Aggression. - Page 3

"One thing she did say was, we spoil him WAY too much. I have to agree. As of yesterday, all of the toys have been picked up, as well as the bones."

Okay, there's the tipoff right there. When I saw the dog's age, I suspected he was 'feeling his oats' and challenging you and the other dogs for the pack leader position.  Also, it seems neither you nor your female were seriously hurt by his aggression. That's another tip-off. Most often, when a male animal is challenging another for the alpha position, the display is mostly sound and fury, with very little real damage being done. (From a biological point of view, it wouldn't be good for the species' long term survival if the struggle for pack leadership led to serious injury or death.)

It sounds to me like you might be familiar with the program being shown here in Canada called "At the End of My Leash", featuring dog trainer Brad Pattison. The first thing Brad does after meeting his clients, is tour the home. An excess of dog toys and treats is always a tip-off that the dogs are being spoiled, and the owners are trying to bribe the dogs into behaving. He also is a big fan of the 'umbilical cord' leash to help teach the dog its place.

I think this guy knows his stuff, and he's not above doing an alpha roll on dogs who are tough customers. Check out his website, and see if you can get some help there: http://www.endofmyleash.com/  and http://www.slice.ca/Shows/ShowsPage.aspx?Title_ID=105200 . I would also recommend looking for a trainer who specializes in GSD's, preferrably one who's into Schutzhund or protection training.  I would also recommend testing to rule out a brain tumor or physical problem, BUT given what you've told us, and the dog's age (around 2 years old?)  I will be VERY surprised if that is the issue!

As usual, I agree with KCzaja and I am going to say something I rarely say, especially considering I do not know you or the dog.  Neutering and in-home training is not going to cut it with this dog at this point.  I think you are not experienced enough to have this type of dog in your home, you are in way over your head. The things you are doing in fact might be exacerbating the situation.   You need to find a very good trainer, experienced with aggression issues, willing to take this dog out of your home, board and attempt to put the fear of god back in him, if possible.  If he/she is able to accomplish this, the trainer will then have to spend time training you how to handle this dog.  I understand you love your dog, I know what I am saying may sound harsh, but you need to take a step back and allow cooler heads to prevail.

• In games of strength (eg. Tug-o-war) ensure you win more than you lose. This sends a signal that you are the stronger member of the pack.
• When you play possession and chase games, use a set of toys that you can remove from your dog at the end of the game. Your dog can associate possession of privileged items with higher ranking. Taking the toys from your dog at the end of the game sends a clear signal that they do not own the items.
• During play sessions, teach your dog to release toys at your request. Thus reinforcing the earlier point that you are the owner of the toy and can request it back at anytime.
• Stop playing and remove the toy immediately if your dog touches your hand with its teeth or begins to growl aggressively or get over excited.
• Dominant dogs always have the best sleeping places, usually higher up than the rest of the pack. Reinforce your status and don't let your dog sleep on your bed or furniture.

BTW no tag of war. At least that would be something that I would not do if I would be you, make him retrive the toys. :)

I would also have his thyroid checked!

Vickie

www.PowerHausKennels.com

It would be cruel to attempt to correct this problem through training (which will be brutally harsh) without ruling out a medical cause first. These are the tests that should be done:

Complete blood panel (SMA and CBC).

Thyroid check. The blood for this must be sent to Michigan State (or Jean Dodds), or you might as well flush your money down the toilet. Hypothyroidism is a common cause of aggression. Once the dog is put on thyroid supplement, the aggression goes away. So let's hope at least one of the thyroid values comes back a little low.

TLI-cobalamin-folate, which tests for pancreatic insufficiency and inflammatory gastrointestinal disease.

Urinalysis and urine culture.

If all of the above is normal, an MRI of his brain.

This will not be cheap.

If he is not neutered, this needs to be done ASAP.

If he is medically normal, this sounds like rage syndrome, which cannot be fixed through training or anything else and will get worse and worse as he gets older.

snaiper gives good advice: If you are going to keep this dog, this is what you will have to do. You only have three choices at this point: work with the dog yourself, or find a new home for it with someone who has experience with hard dogs, or put it to sleep. If you take it to the pound, needless to say, it will be PTS immediately.

I'd like to get Steve Leigh to chime in here, too. He LOVES hard dogs, and has a lot of experience with them.

To sum this up in a nutshell: you've got a tiger by the tail here, and the ONLY way to win is to be tougher than the dog is. This is going to mean using methods that frou-frou trainers think are too harsh. Do you know what snaiper means when he says to 'choke the dog out' if he tries to challenge you?  That literally means choking the dog with the choke chain (or, if it's not wearing one, your hands!) until it stops fighting you. Choking it unconscious, if necessary.

Extreme? Yes. But if a 100 lb. dog is threatening to take your face off, extreme measures are needed. Get Steve to tell you about the dog who tried to take HIS face off...he put the dog's head through the wall!*  And if the choice is between heavy-handed measures, and a one way trip to the vet...well, you decide. You have to love this dog enough to take the risk. And, if the risk is too much, if he's too strong for you to handle, it might be safer to rehome him or have him PTS.

(I should clarify that the dog had already ripped Steve's face open. Steve won the battle, and the dog eventually became one of his best dogs.)

The thyroid can be done in your veterinarians office if he uses the IDEXX system!  You can send it out but it can be done in-house also....a university isn't the only place to get thyroid done!

Vickie

www.PowerHausKennels.com

 When I lived in Saskatoon I knew a woman who raised show rotties (she boarded Wenig for me when I was out of town), so I was thinking maybe she'd know some good trainers in the area who could give you some expert advice after seeing you and the dog in person.  I can't remember her name so I was googling around and I also found that Saskatoon has a vet school, so maybe they could run more thorough tests than a vet's office?

So your female wasn't hurt either I hope?