Hi, my new years resolution is to sort out my 9 year olds gsd barking issues.  Firstly my dog is not agressive ie is not a fighter he just has a habbit of barking when iniatially meeting new dogs but it is not the full on agressive bark snarling and showing teeth or aggressive posture, its more just insecurity on his part i think as previously was attacked by some nightmare dogs on more than one occassion where they used to appear from nowwhere and would basically knock him down onto ground, i then noticed he learnt that if he barked at them it would stop them in their tracks and they would not come closer, as mentioned before this happened on more than one occassion.  So anyway now he tends to bark before any close meeting with other dogs, usually once he has had a sniff then that is it no more barking but it is really embarassing and i'm fed up saying to other dog walkers he's friendly (won't attack just barks) but as i can well appreciate a gsd barking can look scary.  Over the last 3 months i have really stepped up socialisation with him and other dogs hoping he would soon realise that not all dogs are like the one that got him, also he has had the influence of my other younger shepherd who is the most sociable and does not bark and really does the perfect approach to other dogs, but still the older one barks and now he knows most dogs over the park and even the other dogs don't even bat a eyelid at him barking, but yet he continue.  Ignoring it hoping he will pick up on my confidence around other dogs and realise there is no problem with them, shouting, treats as distrations, toys but to no avail please any suggestions would be great.

thanks

Spoken to a professional trainer (who walks his dogs there )who has seen his behaviour on the field and he said its clearly not aggressive he's just letting them know he is there, but this does not help me or my barking dog to be quiet

Hi Sasha I have always had GSDs. They are lovely dogs arent they. Just a few questions to ask so I can try and help.
1) How long ago was he attacked?
2) Did the barking start immediately after he was attacked?
3) What type of bark- is it higher pitched or a deep woo woo woo woo bark?
4) Do his hackles go up when he sees the dog?
5) What is his body posture- are his ears down or up right, is his tail still or arched slightly or wagging?
6) If wagging, what type of wag is it, is it a fast or slow wag?
7) What does he do when you try to distract him- does he look at you at all?
8) Does he walk to heel or does he pull slightly in front of you?
9) When you walk through the door, does he lead or do you go through doorways first?
10) When you see a dog, does your grip on the lead change, or is it held fairly loosely?
11) What is the pecking order beween your older and younger GSD
Sorry to ask so many questions, but it will tell me a little bit more about his behaviour and why he is doing it and hopefully I should be able to help.

hi,

attacked a few years ago ( i know not good me doing anything about barking till now but only just started walking him with my younger sociable dog, as used to walk with my other older gsd, sorry bit confusing lots of gsd, but kept the older to on different walks from younger one so younger one did not pick up any bad habbits ie barking but since lost my eldest gsd 11yr old so and my youngest is now 2 so i decided to start walking them together as i figure the youngest has excellent social skills and maybe they will rub off onto the older one but i feel the younger one s character is strong enough is wn't copy the otehr if that makes sense!?!?!

Yes i'm 99% sure it did

its and woo bark but with no effort in it if you know what i mean.

no hackles up and tail does the circurlar wag ears not fully up on approach if sniffing other dogs ears up but if other dog paying no attention to him ears tend to be back but not completely down.

when i distract him i can hold his attention full if dog walking past at distance if dog running towards us then its 50%

He is off lead when meeting dogs so tends to hang around by side, when on lead always slightly behind by one step been practising pack leader traits therfore i'm always slightly infront, as with doors i'm always first and all my dogs have no problem with that when i walk them all together they all walk a step behind, and no pulling and i have made a point of not changing grip on lead when see other dogs as i know any bad vibes can go straight down the lead also been practising mental exercise of thinking no big deal and keeping body completly relaxed and i previously wondered if i was unknowinly sending vibes to him but no change he still barks.

My packs order has recently changed up till a 8 wks ago it was my eldest i pretty sure was second in command to me, then the barker and then youngest, my barker would only stand his ground on a few things ie if he had an apple then eldest would go no where near him but other than that he is so chilled out (the barker is) and is one of those dogs who once he has been walked sleeps upstairs on his own and you don't see him till tea time while the other two are downstairs keeping an eye on everything with me.  8wks ago lost the eldest due to aggressive tumour behind eye, so pack politics have changed a bit, but i really don't believe the barker is stepping up to the plate of second in command.

As i said previously i really believe it is not aggressive, and all the regular dog walkers know him just say hello and are not bothered, neither are their dogs in fact a lot don't even acknowledge him

Also just to mention he is not a shepherd that constantly barks at home he never barks not at the postman, window cleaners, visitors he is completly silent

I am really sorry to hear of your older shepherd. That must have been so hard for you. I lost my thirteen year old GSD in April. He had a stroke which he recovered from but then, a month later he had another which resulted in paralysis of his back legs. It was hard to make the decision to say goodbye, but he deserved his dignity and I couldnt see him suffer, love him. We have a spaniel who is nine years old and a nine month old GSD pup currently. I love my dogs, couldnt be without them.

Reading what you have written, from the woo woo woo barking and the ears slightly back I think its nervousness. I think it will be a matter of trying to build his confidence especially if he hasnt taken over as the 2nd in command. I know from my 9 month GSD, she will sometimes let out a bark if she is attention seeking or she wants to play, but that is a higher pitched one off bark. I think he is a little bit nervous around other dogs and he is using the bark to try and say he isnt scared. Its a difficult one, especially if he has been doing it a while as I would imagine it will have become quite habitual. But I would try to work on his confidence with other dogs, maybe taking him to dog classes or trying to socialise him with dogs who are fairly submissive to build that confidence in himself. I really hope it works. All the best. xx

hi there, really interesting to read your post as this is pretty much the same behaviour as my 4 yr old male gsd exhibits occasionally when on lead and meeting a strange dog, he will have a sniff and then start barking if the other dog shows any interest in him, i know he really likes other dogs and always wants to play but hes a bit full on so im careful which dogs i let him interact with.
im certain with mine it is on lead nervousness and so i try to avoid those sort of meetings. he has had masses of training/socialisation/doggy mates etc but with new dogs thats just the way he is.
i have managed it by using a headcollar so he cant pull me around and so im still in control and a lot of obedience training as i know its just his personality and wont change now.

it is definetly habitual barking now and i've been socialising him alot with other dogs over the last few months thinking the more he mixes and realises not all dogs are out to hurt him i hoped it would gradually lessen but it hasn't, (the other dogs we meet regularly on the walk pay little or no attention to him now and look at him as if to say whatever) as with yours, some dogs he will do it and then once sniffed be ok, others he will continue barking.  Also not sure if made clear earlier most meetings tend to be off lead with other dogs off lead (who both know me and my dogs and i know their dogs, so there is no nervousness on both sides from owners).  He is definetly worse with fast running dogs when they run round or near by, one thought i had was i think if the dog he meets is mentally balanced themselves then he is alot better, but i want him to have the confidence around all dogs, without being over dominant (i know a very fine line ) also he is not so nervous that tail is tucked under or shaking but definetly low esteem, i know that is to a certain sense it is just him but i know there is a way out there to break this cycle (having seen how Ceasar Millan correct dogs of their issue) i just have not found the correct method yet so any advice would be great.  Also other than socialising any suggestions for confidence boosting training, at present just increasing his socialising on walk and doing and lot more one to one lead walks also to increase his opinion of me as pack leader in hope he will focus more on me in these situations

Trouble is he's been attacked!

GSD's as I found myself whilst training my brothers are prime targets particularly as teenagers, they are seen from many breeds of dog, and other adolescents as something they need to tackle, as are many other large breeds.  I found ways around that to avoid them being attacked, but as yours was got to, the damage is now done. :-(

He's 9 years old now, and has been for years allowed to defend himself with his bark, as an older adult dog he is unlikely now to be attacked, alas he does not know that, and is just making sure that all dogs understand he can now fight back, he is warning them, although probably afraid himself. ;-)

Personally, if your frequent dog walkers know he is just shouting at other dogs to keep himself safe and all the dogs and humans are fine with it, I wouldn't even worry about it.

You can continue with distractions, which will work well, but IMO your not going to persuade a dog of this age, with a habitual bark which he has used for years, that he no longer needs to use it. :-)

I'm sure he has not been attacked for years, (but this has not stopped him barking) and will happily play friendly with all the dogs he meets, but as far as he is concerned it is because of his warning bark. :-)  Personally, although a nuscience to yourself, he feels safe, and I think he is too old to change now.

damm those dogs that got him.  unfortunately this is what i thought people might say but still if anyone has any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated and i will keep you updated on his progress, thanks all