hi,

i was hoping someone can give me some advice on my 20wk old gsd puppy.  When out walking him over my local park he has a tendancy of when meeting larger dogs to give a cautious bark it's not aggressive but i would like to curb this behaviour a at the moment he is a cute little pup  but 6 months time people will have acompletley different perception of him.  I not sure what the best approach is best to achieve quiet meetings, whether to ignore and hope the confidence of my middle dog influences him, (please note i am not walking him with my eldst gsd who is a a barker, se prev. post, due to not wanting to pass on barkng problem).  He is a very vocal dog in general so any tips on reducng barking would be appreciated.

Is he on or off lead when he does this? I think it's quite natural for a young pup to give a little woof of insecurity.
If he is on lead, I would certainly try letting him meet other dogs off lead if you have a good recall with him. It is probably not something that will improve, it is more likely to get worse, especially with a shepherd - reaction can in time if left to it's own devices become more exaggerated (in my own experience).

If you have people with other sensible dogs he can interact with off lead in a safe environment, I would encourage that, especially if your older GSD is relaxed with other dogs. The only other thing I would possibly do is walk him on his own and see how he is, as sometimes they have a tendency to become over reliant on the other dog - bit like a security blanket, and never gain the right level of self confidence without them.

K

he is off lead,i also believe it is insecurity, he is excellent at recall but and he does tend to bark and come running back to me, i don't want to encourage this insecurity so i don't fuss him then , my other gsd pays no attention to him on walks he just wants torun with his friends.  i agree when you say"reaction can in time if left to it's own devices become more exaggerated" he is my 4thsheperd and i do believe they can work on when i doubt bark basis hence whygood guarding breed.

So when he actually barks would you suggest recall him?

Sounds like a normal GSD puppy to me, you do realize that GSDs are a very very vocal breed especially when they want another dog to play with them & also they just love to bark & whine. Tis little woof he gives is a greeting not a threat. If you wnated a quiet breed you have chosen the wrong one.

I used to train a quiet command with my GSDs & once learnt it would stop them from baking full blast, it however never stopped them from doing the GSD whinge

I agree with the vocalisation MM, but I think in this instance he is voicing some insecurity, especially as he runs back to 'Mum'. Lets be honest they aren't the bravest dogs in the world :)  My GSDs drive me batty sometimes with their vocalisation, but neither has ever done it in the situation that OP describes, so I think he is a little uncertain. Having said that my youngest at around the same age saw a woman come out of the wood carrying a plastic bag, did a couple of large woofs and took off! It wouldn't scare him now, he is a confident outgoing lad. Also I don't think OP considers it a threat, she actually stated it was not aggressive.

Sasha, is he currently attending puppy classes? That may help too. I personally would go for distraction when he does it, and then ignore, as you currently are doing. When he doesn't do it you need to get in quickly with a game or treat. I think if your other GSD is solid with other dogs this will rub off on him too. I don't think it's a major issue, and I would see how it goes over the next couple of months going as you are.  If you see it getting any worse after that time (becoming more of an ingrained behaviour) then I think you would need to work on it, as I do believe Shepherds 'expand' an activity if left to their own devices. As MM said, training a quiet command may help, but it isn't really overcoming his insecurity.

K

I only have one experience with overcoming this but it may give you some ideas. Someone at my training club had a GSD bitch puppy about the same age as yours that was doing the same thing. She barked whenever a dog came near her. It works as most of the time as people and dogs steer clear of barking shepherds even if they're just little. I have two goldens that are very calm and confident around just about every dog they meet so I started taking her on walks with me. We went to dog crowded places like the beach. She would bark, my two ignored her, said hello calmly to any other dogs who didn't go away as they were busy saying hello to my two. It didn't take more than a couple of days before she stopped barking, then she started saying hello too. Now there are some caveats. I knew most of the dogs that were there so knew who to avoid and who was safe for her to greet. I picked dogs that would ignore her barking and just give her the 'whatever' look. We made sure her experiences were positive and that she wasn't bullied by any dogs. This built her confidence up and she stopped barking completely. It helps if you have some good groups of stooge dogs to work with.

> Lets be honest they aren't the bravest dogs in the world

? my GSDs were never not brave, depends on how they are bred & reared of course

This is a good link that explains what he will possibly be going through

I agree with Moonmaiden and the link that she has put up is perfect.

Although I don't have GSD's now, I did have them for many yrs, so know a little about the breed. In my humble opinion, you are never going to be able to curb the breeds vocalisation. They are a very vocal dog and to try to stop this is unrealistic.

Again, the dog that you have depends upon the breeding and the current environment. Only you can encourage and train confidence into your Shepherd. I cannot stress enough how much you have to socialise your dog in every situation possible.

As a rule, they go through a period of insecurity/unsurity at 4/6 months, it's vital that you keep socialising, then again at 12-14 months and then there is another 'finding myself' surge around 18-24 months. This age can vary of course and is only a guide.

Obviously I had Shepherds that were 3,4,5 yrs + and still needed to be reminded of their manners by way of socialisation, as expected. It's a never ending story where that is concerned, you cannot sit back and think 'I've now trained my dog so that's it'  it is an ongoing routine that has to continue to the end of their lives. Just to reiterate, they are a very vocal breed and to a certain extent you have to ignore it. I trained mine to bark and whine on command but it didn't stop them doing it in other circumstances where they were 'overcome' and excited.

Good luck with your boy, I'm sure that you will get a lot of pleasure out of him.

Jo

Excellent link MM.

Mine are confident but I wouldn't call them brave. Of course it does depend on the definition of 'brave' !
Mine have never yet and hopefully never will be put in a position where they have to defend me, but somehow I believe all their natural instincts would kick in and they would (proven with a past dog).  My boy loves other dogs, but the slightest hint of aggression from the other dog, and he runs away, just out of range and says OK Whatever and does something else - Just the way I want it in fact. My bitch wouldn't back off, she would fight back but doesn't instigate any aggression.

K

thanks for all your posts.

I definetly believe it is insecurity but i think (fingers crossed) we have hit a turning point and he did brilliantly this weekend, and greeting all but one nice and quietly (the one he didn't was a slight nervous dog, which i think made him unsure).  So i'm taking the route of saying if he barks "enough" and and carrying on confidently and hopefully he can pick up on that and when he does it well he is rewarded.  I understand i am not out of the woods yet but as mentioned earlier he did make me very proud this weekend.

I definetly agree that shepherds are a breed that need that continual training and socialisation as previously mentioned i have 3 at present and lost my first Shepherd only back in October.   I'm just trying to make sure all my boys are as sociable, calm and confident as possible, and just want to nip any bad behaviour in the bud before it develops, as i do believe people can be a lot more wary and critical of shepherd than other breeds, and there is nothing more pleasing when someone who is worried by your dog size and the image of shepherds will come over and stroke and compliment you on what a lovely well behaved and natured dog you have , and generally is relaxed around them and leaves you feeling alot better about the breed. 

Anyway will keep you all updated on Little Luc's progress, thanks again