Does anyone have any idea were people get there statistics form. As far as the research i can see on websites,
German Shephards are listed as one of the top 10 dogs to have as a safe family pet, infact they were rated as 5th.
But yet on another website they are listed as the 3rd most dangerous dog in a top 10 servey.

I have owned my dog for last 2 years in Sept 10. He came to us as a 2year old cross German shephard / Border collie, with no history. We bought him from A Well known local cats and dogs home. he was thin hungry and looked very sad. We named him Sam. Introduced him to our cats, friends neighbours and family, hes was the friendliest dog you could own. Sam wasnt toilet trained so that took 6weeks to do. But still the odd accident when Im out.  We took him for long walks, and were even able to let him off the lead, were he never ran off,  never chased anything, and was totaly friendly with every dog we came into contact with. Our new dog was brilliant, having had no history thought we had got a winner. The only exception was another coming over my wall end of last year to chase my cats, our sam being protective stopped this other dog in his tracks, the dogs had a to do, I ran out to stop the fight. The owner came into my yard grabbed his dog and walked off without a word. a Staffordshire bull terrier off the lead!!! I had words with this man, and not polite ones.  From what I can gather this is were our problems began, Sam then began to growl at other dogs going past our garden and would bark to warn them away. Out on walks Sam is now no longer allowed off lead as he has had a few growls and has gone for other dogs!!! In his defence I think he had got sick of other dogs going for him that he thought he would retaliat. Sam no longer came back when shouted, totally ingoring every comand. He now walks on a long line unless i am on a dirt track and I can see for sure there arnt other dogs approaching. For last six months he has been on the lead for his walks.
He growls and constanly barks at my neighbours shaky dog, he has wrecked my fence trying to get to him, he is now supervised in the garden. Sometimes if i leave him alone in the evening for an hour or so he does cock his leg on my fridge or hoover. Last week I left him and came back to a puddle and did shout at him, he looked straight at me and growled at me, i was shocked and sent him to bed, where for days he just looked at me weird. I am now thinking, Is he dangerous?
He does follow house commands such as sit, lie down, up, down, he waits for his food nicely, but does steel other food left out if i am not watching, he shakes a paw, does a high five and other tricks.
He does pull on the lead, I have read and read to get tips to stop him, but nothing seems to have worked.
I have got the name and address of a dog trainer in Golborne, its a training class for dogs, and they do assess the dogs aswell.
I dont know what to do with this dog, he is very loving, and loyal and follows myself and my daughter everywhere.
Im at the end with him. Dont know what to do, earlier in the year I did think about rehoming him, but he is our dog and cannot do that after seeing him in that dogs home.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should do with him.

Thanks Claire

Hi everyone Claire is my sister, And sam is a beautiful loving loyal friend. I recommended she ask you all cause I know You will give her the best advice.

Thanks Everyone x

Alix

I actually don't know what to do. I use a technique that could be good for Sam but if I mention it the thread may get closed and you may not get the help you need.

My assesment (over the net lol) is that the fight with the staff made him insecure about other dogs in general and about your ablity to protect him/the cats when he can't/shouldn't have to. Gsd x Bc are super sensitive dogs and really need alot of confidence from their owner. From this point on he's been worried about other dogs but because you haven't been able to help him he is starting to question your ablity as a leader/protector. This maybe why he's marking and why he had a little growl at you.

So what to do (aside from the controversial stuff) I would look at building his confidence around other dogs gradually but first I would tackle your relationship with him. Little things that may help would include showing him you are a good leader/protector.
To do this I would use a few little routines, these could include.
. Commanding him to wait when you put his food down, until you say he can eat.
. Making him wait while you go through the front door (outside is scary for him because of the other dogs)
. Generally showing him you can control his movement by the use of sit/wait commands around the house.

Outside I would become the decision maker around other dogs, so if you see a dog at a distance immediatly tell Sam how to handle this situation. Ask/tell him to sit then either turn and walk away from the dog (if its to close to pass by without a reaction) calling him to heel/follow you. When you walk past put yourselve between him and the dog and as you get closer walking into Sam a little so he/you arc around the other dog. As you pass give calm verbal praise and a treat of he will eat (unlikely at this stage). Afterwards continue like nothing has happened, resit the tempation to make a big fuss when the dog is gone as this just reinforces the idea that dogs should go away.

If he kicks off I would use a redirection command (such as heel or come) and very firmly/physically move him away. When your out of the reaction zone make him sit then continue as if nothing has happened. If your between him and the dog when he kicks off (nd your sure he won't bite you) walk into his space/face to make him back off.

All of this is about him seeing you as a stronger leader/protector. You have to remain real calm at all times.

Another good leader ship technique is to cause the dog to yeild to your space. This is done as follows.

To do this have the dog on leash and start walking into him. Going head to head is probably best, at first. Don't give any commands, just head towards him. When you get real close start quietly saying "move, move, move," Don't kick him and don't bump into him unless it's absolutely necessary. What you are trying to do is to force him to move by the power of your personality. When you do this make sure that you're looking like the leader. Stand up straight, shoulders back, head erect. Don't stoop forward to look at your dog, that communicates to him that you're not the leader. Some may need to practice this in front of a mirror before they try it with their dog.

As soon as he does move, step back and praise him lightly. Not enough to break his concentration, but enough so that he knows he got something right. You should see a relaxation of tension in the dog's body. Think of your forward motion as applying pressure. Pressure that the dog can relieve by moving away. At first just one or two steps will relieve the pressure, but as you progress he has to move more to gain relief.

As the training progresses you can approach from slightly off to one side, then directly to one side, then from the rear quarter and finally from the rear. When you start this have him move several times in a row. Once he's caught on you can go to about ten times a day.

This is so subtle that many people believe that it won't have any affect on the dog, particularly one who's very dominant. But it will have more and better effect than a dozen alpha rolls. And it will establish your position with VERY little chance of a handler challenge or an attack on the handler.

Btw whats he fed|?

Adam

I'd be getting him down the vet to check for medical issues too.

Sometimes a dog can be hypothyroid without exhibiting all the normal 'classic'
symptoms of hypothyroidism.
One of the symptoms is behavioural issues.
He could for example have a tumour which is causing the behavioural changes.
So there are plenty of medical issues that can also cause behavioural issues.

Once the medical issues have been either ruled out or say for example in the case of hypothyroidism
medication started and dogs levels stabilised.
Then you can go forward by starting to work on socialisation and retraining your dog.
It's not going to be instant in results though and it also relies on your committment to him to be consistent and
not give up.

You will need to find a reliable reputable dog trainer that won't make his issues worse.
There are plenty of people that claim to be trainers but their methods cause more problems.
It may also be worth contacting an organisation such as the APDT to find names of trainers in your area.
Or someone here may be able to reccommend a trainer to you that has had success with problems such as these.

To be honest you may well be better to start your dog off on one-to-one training first, as to try and start him
in a class and expect to sort his issues may be too much for this dog to cope with.
You need to build both his confidence and yours. You need to set yourself and your dog up for success and not failure.
Restart him at the beginning with small steps i.e. the one to one classes with you, your dog and the trainer.
When the trainer is confident that you both are ready for the next steps and to progress to the training classes I'm sure they
will tell you.

One of my own pups and owners went through this as a wee pup he went to training classes and the owners were given all the wrong
advice. The result one ruined pup (he was 14 months old I think by the time they got to the stage of not being able to cope and asked for my help)
that the family's relatives were saying should be put to sleep...
I was able to reccommend a trainer to them - this trainer was well versed in my breed (owns it), had paper qualifications in training from another coountry.
His owners had lost confidence in him, he wasn't being walked so was a very frustrated misunderstood dog...
Fast forward to now - he is now much better in his behaviour, he's now understood, he's getting properly exercised, his owners do their homework (set by the trainer) and have put lots of time and committment into turning this dog around.
From being close to a put to sleep situation (I would have taken him back and worked with him) he is now a much loved family member that can
now be walked without fingers pointed and tongues wagging about an out of control dog....and the main female family member who had the most
responsibility for him is now much more confident in her abilities to keep him under control and enjoy their partnership.
Of course it's an ongoing situation and it's hard to get back those lost opportunities of socialisation as a youngster but with the help of a excellent trainer and a committed family his life is so much better than it was.

I wish you every success in finding the right trainer and getting you and your dogs confidence back.

Hi Claire
Well, I am no expert, but I have experienced a similar problem.  My 4 year old GR was every dogs friend, and was very sociable.  He was always the dog on lead that used to get attacked by grumpy dogs and yet he never retaliated, until last summer, he was just 3 years old and an Alaskan Malamute attacked him and he retaliated big time  - oh yes he chooses the biggest dog when he retaliated :( it was horrible, the AM ownwer was oblivious as over in another field) and fortunately my OH and another dog walker split them up (torn off finger nail on OH) but my dog wasn't wounded in any way at all.  However, after that he would snarl and growl at every single dog he met and my other dog would join him and to my horror they were becoming the local hooligans :( after having the nicest of temperaments).  I couldn't walk them together which was very time consuming and I hated taking them out as I was always expecting 2 out of control dogs in my hands.

So, I took them to a local trainer who is amazing, very kind and reward based training, I took them both to classes and had 1 to 1 time with the trainer and my GR is almost back to normal, I say almost as I will never feel totally confident with him, especially when other entire males are around or large dogs of any sex.  We have started to do agilitly as well and so far so good, no grumpiness etc.  I walk them both together again and both have halti head collars on so they are much easier to control if they decided to pull.

It will take time to get your boys confidence back, but if you are patient and work on it you will be able to turn him around to how he was.  He has proved to you he is not an agressive dog, but now he is fear agressive you just have to put the time in with training etc.  ALways be aware that at any time he might be grumpy with another dog, so only let him off lead when you know other dogs are not around or when you are confident of the ones that are off lead are ok with him.

I do understand how upsetting this is, but believe me you will be able to sort him out.  It wasn't his fault he was doing what comes naturally, protecting his space - now it is up to you to help him get his confidence back.

Hope this helps and good luck with your boy :)
edited to say - also worth taking him to the vets for a check up as advised on the other reply to make sure he is ok and nothing is causing the grumpiness other than fear.

It does sound very much like he has lost his confidence and needs help building it back up. So often dogs lose their confidence and then the more then have a go at dogs to protect themselves the more they look confident and get the label "dominant", which it doesn't sound like he is at all. I would reccommend a vet check first and then ask the vet to refer you to a good behaviourist that practices reward based methods and steer clear of anyone using punishment techniques like rattle bottles and electric collars as this is likely to make him less confident and make him worse in the long run. I would also avoid anyone who says you need to "dominate" your dog (eat before your dog, go through doors before your dog etc) to show him who's boss, dogs don't look at leadership like we do. We want them to be well behaved and do as we ask yes, but this can be fluid. My dogs will wait for me to go through a door as it is polite and safer, but when they go outside at night to go to the toilet i am not intending to go out in to the cold wet night! They know this and don't think they are taking over the world when they do so!

Hia, thanx for your replys.
Sam is fed, complete dog food, usually Bakers or Chum mixed with pc dog food tins, I have tried other foods but find Sam likes this the most, and his digestion. He does like the odd Sunday dinner as he loves the cooked meat and veg, I did try giving him raw meat, but he just brought it back up. I  give him doggy treats but not all the time. He enjoys the complete food the most and so do his house mates the cats. I wonder if he gets ancious at feeding times as even tho cats get fed first, the do try to steel his food, he never growls at them as they do rule the roost, and he always comes to tell me when they do, he just looks at me like hes saying their steeling my dinner again. Sam loves these 2 naughty cats. And I also wonder if he is protective of them also, as when the dog next door barks at them he does go off on one, at other times if i am in the garden he wont bark at the dog next door at all, and does know hes done wrong when I catch him at the fence, he puts his head down and walks away with tail between his legs.

I do agree I have tensed up when seeing other dogs approach, and have relaxed a bit more after reading other sites etc. And this has helped a bit, and of course keeping him on the lead. I am beginning to start letting him sniff some other dogs again and have a bit of dog play. I think Sams guard did go up and it stands to reason he should protect me, when yes I should be the leader and protect him.

After doing alot of reading on this site and having advice, dont really think Sam is as bad as I initially thought.
Just some slight changes in my behaviour with him will help alot.
I will still take him to classes i have enquired about to see if there is anything else I need to do.

And will definatly take him to see the vet, as having read some more these dogs do get hip problems and arthritis. Thinking about it Sam may have hurt himself as he  does climb onto worktops in kitchen to look out of window when I am not in, and thinking he may have slipped down. I cant leave him in rest of house when i am out because previously i have ended up having to clean ALL my windows as he breathes all over them.

Thanx again its great advice
Claire. x

Hi Claire
Sorry to hear about the problems you are experiencing with Sam. You mention Golborne, please be very careful which training classes you look at, as you have a couple in your area that use old fashion "bash em and thrash em" methods, and a couple that have popped up with "text book" trainers who have very limited experience.

My suggestion would be to contact Linda Edmondson (APDT) who runs Dog Friendly Training (www.dogfriendlytraining.net). She does private consultations, as well as training classes three times a week. Linda is exceptionally good with problem dogs and I am sure she will be able to help you.

I too have heard very good things about Linda Edmonson :)

Agree, you do have to be very careful choosing people to help. Failing Linda, I'd suggest www.apdt.co.uk or www.apbc.org.uk and check out their experience and methods ...

Good luck

Lindsay
x