Hello ladies and gentlemen
Looking for advice regarding a friends dog...
he is a 13 month old GSD from good tempered dam a pet therapy dog... sire is a Atlas grandson (Jemness lines)
My friend takes him for obedience classes 3 times a week and weekends does agility and tracking
She has had him for 2 months
Plz see email pasted below
"....On Saturday we did quite a large track, he started fine, even found an article, but then started to get stressed, he weed and pooh'd quite a few times, so when the instructor said it was due to stress I took him off, praised him and played with his ball.  The instructor had a natter and was giving me advice, and Monty who had been fine and playing with him took hold of the top of his arm.
(He never said anything except it hurt, and I just thought he was being over zealous).

But today has been quite a bad day.  I have disabled people that visit the hatchery (coach parties during the busy summer season), yes you guessed it, he did the same to one of them. The skin wasn't broken, and the lady didn't run or shout, I don't think she really understood what as happening, so I popped him into the back of the car, finished work and took him for his usual run, where he was fine and impeccably  well behaved.

Then this evening a friend visited, somebody he's met before and had treats and fuss from, and he went for him too.

I'm feeling less and less confident to walk him through the town, and I don't want to shut him away he's too good for that, and he's come on so well with everything else, he's such a lamb when we are in and so good to walk with (until we meet someone), his muscles are really building in his back legs (though he still has a bit of a flick on his back left leg) his coat is gorgeous (except when we've been through mud and sludge and peat) just your typical lovely pet shepherd.

I've tried putting Montyin the down position, I've tried taking him for a walk while people come in then introduce him, I've given him a long lead to meet and greet, I've tried a short lead, advice from other people have been a mussel, a spray collar for when he barks aggressively, but I'm wondering if they're really necessary.  Could it be he's just realising now that its not a short stay.

I'm not  wary or nervous of him, but I now wont leave Monty in a room with Paige, when somebody else visited, I put him through the back into his bed as I was wary as to what he might do, but then I felt like I was punishing him and he wouldn't understand why?

As I explained with the work I do I need Monty to be a deterrent, but for the best part of the day I need him to be friendly and approachable, and we are moving away from that.  "

Please advise us
Thanks

Hi Iceman,

My gut reaction to this is that the dog would be best to be firstly examined by a vet (particularly as this was a sudden behavioural change) to rule out any underlying medical causes, and if given a clean bill of health I'd ask for a referral to a reputable behaviourist.

As your friend has had him for a relatively short time in relation to his age, it may be that this is a previous problem in his character which he'd not demonstrated until he felt more part of his new family home. 

Either way I think in circumstances like these it's always best to have one on one advice with an independent specialist assessing what causes the behaviour - be it fear aggression, inappropriate protective tendencies etc as in most situations even the most experienced owners involved heavily in training can still be too close to the problem to see it clearly.

Best wishes, Teri :)

It sounds to me as though this dog has been given some protection work "training" by someone who does not know what they are doing!

As in two of the instances you mention he went for the arm.

The owner also says he wants him as a deterrant.

A properly bred GSD, with a sound temperament, correctly trained will not do this.

Either this dog is not temperamentally sound and/or it has had some "inappropriate" " training"..........

A vet/behaviourist and professional trainer experienced with the breed and who knows the lines should investigate.......

Thank you for all the feedback. I have known this dog for a long time (No I am not the breeder!) and he was a pretty laid back lad which was the reason I had recommended him to the family. I agree with you Tohme that they have tried to teach him to be aggressive and have got it wrong.... as they used to have a old police dog before and she was proud of his protective nature. Not sure what to do as they are trying to get him put to sleep.... a bit unfair I'd say

Hi - I would recommend a basket muzzle and trying to see what the trigger is.  If the dog has been badly protection trained then there must be some sort of trigger there.

The basket muzzle gives confidence to the owner without impedeing the dog from its visual displays.