Hello
I have a GSD who will be 3 in March and he has been an absolutely lovely dog with a great temperment untill now,
We have 2 small children 6 & 4 who he gets on great with i must say but this last 2 weeks if i go to grab the kids or shout at them he goes for me! He has never done this before i was playing with my son the other day and was playfully slapping his bum when "bruce" came over and grabbed my arm (I shouted at him and he soon backed off) but it has now happened 3 times and he really means business.
Also our bed, he has this game where when we get ready for bed he runs upstairs and jumps on my bed he knows he can't sleep on there and i'm going to get him off but it has turned into quite a game untill a month ago when he really turned on me when i told him to get off i soon told him who was boss and he got off and has not got on since.
The other thing is the front garden he wont let anyone on the grass he grummbles and chases them off never actually Bitten anyone YET but i'm really worried what is happening to him he is such a laid back dog and we have had him since he was 6 weeks old and he has never so much as grummbled before i can't understand the change in him.
Any advice would be great
Jinny

Any change in behaviour like this should be checked with a vet to ensure it's not down to a medical reason.  Then ask your vet to refer you to a behaviourist (member of the UKRCB or the APBC preferably).  It wouldn't be appropriate to advise on this issue over the 'net because of the variety of different things that could be going on in your dogs head.

It sounds to me that he is trying to protect your kids, and that could be a big problem if he is too attached, they will not be there for your dog one day and he might get really ill or develop behavioural problems! I think you should not let your dog spend as much time with your ch9ildren and ask your children to sometimes ignore him for no reason. Spend more time with him, and he might ease off.

I'm wondering if there are areas where your dog is confused as to what you mean; for instance, has he for many a long time been uncomfortable re. roughhousing (many dogs are not that comfortable with family members doing this to each other, they don't always understand) and also has the bed game become confusing to him? I would say that the bed game, as you have described anyway, would leave a huge room for misunderstanding to grow between owner and dog - you have to always remember, what is the dog learning, is this what you want to teach him? :)

I agree about the vet check, a change of behaviour in an adult dog  can be due to a health problem if there is no obvious cause. You may need behaviourist back up because, a vet may make cursory checks (ie a visual check, plus temperature, etc) but some dogs may need a more indepth check such as for hypothyroid.

Lindsay
x

did the change coincide with the kids going back to school?

Vet check first, but it sounds very much like he's taken on a protective role. Shouting at him and 'showing him who's boss' will only make things worse.

Would be worth asking your vet if they can recommend a good behaviourist in the area before things get too out of hand.

Hi.  It's great that you've recognised that you have a problem here - and a potentially serious one at that.

All of the incidents that you have described are examples of guarding of some kind or another, mostly resource guarding.  He is either protecting the kids, or he sees them as 'his' (same thing, perhaps).  He is then resource guarding the bed, a location.  Followed by resource guarding the grass (another location). 

I'd suggest you purchase an excellent book called 'Mine!  A Practical Guide to Resource Guarding in Dogs' by Jean Donaldson.  This is available from Crosskeys books:  http://www.crosskeysbooks.com/product_info.php?products_id=451

I'd also suggest you go to your vet and get a vet referral to an APBC recognised behaviourist.  (APBC behaviourists will only see people on vet referral.)

Are you single? Sounds a bit like he's thinking he's the 'man' of the house!

There's already been a lot of good advice given on this thread already. I can understand why the dog has done the things he's done from his point of view. Family members play fighting is a really bad idea in front of 99% of dogs but especially guarding breeds like GSD's. In the meanwhile you can try these right now, why don't you try a little obedience training with him when the kids aren't around? Just 5 minutes a day and simple stuff like sit, down etc... and all reward and praise based - don't be harsh in any way, but always make sure you end a session on an up note with lots of praise and with something he does really well. Start in the house and then the front garden and when you have him out for a walk. Also make him sit or down before he goes through a door  or crosses the road and you go through first. Same when you feed him - sit and if possible make him wait a few seconds. Don't let the kids feed him if at all possible for now and don't allow him upstairs if possible either. If you are not sure on technique, try your local library for dog training books that use kind methods. Even if he's obedient to begin with, try this as the extra bit of control you will be exerting over him will help him realize you are in charge.

These are just stop gap ideas so please get vet/behavioural help too.