Help with German Shepherd

DukesMom · New member Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Posts: 4

A friend of mine is having trouble with her 9 month German Shepherd (neutered male). He's nipped the hand of her elderly live-in aunt. The dog is fine around my friend and her sister, as they've never tolerated any aggression from him whatsoever. And the dog doesn't display any aggressive behavior with the aunt as long as one of them is around.

The dog sadly enough has never had any formal type of training and I'm itching to get my hands on him...he's so bright and is just begging to learn. My friend and her sister are willing to be trained, too, but the aunt is rather feeble and doesn't understand. Do you think the dog will continue to pose a problem for the aunt even after obedience training?
And if so, is there any other type of training that will work for this breed?

Thanks for your help.

Mary_NH · Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 7:27 pm Post subject:

I wonder if the aunt is showing fear of the dog...maybe her reaction to the pup is setting the pup off.

DukesMom · New member Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Posts: 4

Well, she's a small feisty woman......is she scared? hmmm I would have to say yes as the dog is capable of knocking her over. He had a jumping problem, which the 2 sisters handled for themselves, but when the dog is on his hind legs he's bigger than the aunt. She doesn't have the strength to push him backward. He only jumps on her when they're not around.
For the most part, while the 2 sisters are gone, the dog stays in the backyard while the aunt is in the house with her chihuahua. When the chihuahua goes out and gets let back in, oftentimes the shepherd bulldozes his way in at the same time. That's when the problems occur.

Dukesdad · Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 9:38 pm Post subject:

I'm going to guess that the dog is sensing a weakness in the elderly aunt and is displaying dominant behavior. Perhaps they could all work together to get the dog to respond to commands from the aunt. The size factor is scary as the dog could easily knock her down even in just a playful mood so they need to try to keep him out when they are not home. Maybe a tiny pet door that only the chihuahua can fit through.

seaecho · Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 9:47 pm Post subject:

I agree with Dukesdad. The dog senses weakness or feebleness in the woman and is taking advantage. I've seen lots of Shepherds and Shepherd crosses take advantage of certain people in this way. The breed is just so darn intelligent and intuitive. If a person is afraid of a dog, even if they don't appear to be - the dog will always sense it. You may have to always watch this dog like a hawk when he's around the aunt. Then again, obedience training may take care of the whole problem.

DukesMom · New member Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Posts: 4

Thanks for all your responses. I'm heading over tonight to meet the dog and start with the dog and the owners in obedience. I too have read that shepherds are real pack oriented and intuitive and dominating. They've had 2 shepherds prior to this one, so it's not as though anyone's a stranger to the breed. I guess the aunt is rather arthritic and maybe just not too keen on having to deal with another shepherd pup.

tuttifrutti · Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 1:29 am Post subject:

Yeah, it sounds like he feels that he is dominant over the aunt, but submissive in regards to the two sisters, which is why he behaves when they are around, and not when they are not. I think the best bet would be having the aunt participate in the training so that the dog understands she is another boss, and that it's not the boss of her.

DukesMom · New member Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Posts: 4

Well I met Oscar last night. What a kick! He's a great dog, sorely in need of some obedience. I spent some time with the aunt, other than being slight in frame and sort of arthritic, she's willing to give it a go. Lots of spunk there.
The biggest problem the aunt has is that she's physically incapable of kneeing him when he jumps up.....so we're thinking about getting her a short stick or something that she can poke him in the breast bone with. She certainly has the ability to voice a stern "NO" and I told her to use that and to always address him in a stern voice for awhile.
Going to be going back a couple more times this week and plan some regular visits for awhile to work with the 2 sisters. Oscar has such great potential and is a wonderful, bright, beautiful dog!
As is almost always the case, the outcome will depend on the owners. The end of the story will be happy either way, tho, because if it doesn't work out for the women and Oscar, Oscar has place to go - my place!