german shepherd

[heidiho]

Ok! I HAVE NO FURNITURE,SO I HAVE BEEN LAYING ON FLOOR ON MY SHEETS TO WATCH TV.LAST NIGHT I WAS READING A MAGAZINE AND ME GERMNA SHEPHERD{4 MONTHS OLD]WAS EATING HIS BONE,GOT UP TO GOT HE BATHROOM WAS GONE LESS THEN A MINUTE WHEN I CAME BACK HE PEED RIGHT WHERE I LAY ON THE SHEETS,WHY?????????? HE KNOWS TO GO TO THE DOOR WHEN HE HAS TO GO POTTY,IS HOUSEBROKEN//// ALSO GROWLS AT ME IF I TRY TO TAKE HIS FOOD WHILE HE IS EATING... HELP

[cmt489]

In my humble opinion, puppy is testing boundaries to see who will be alpha. Oliver used to do this with my ex. He understood that I was alpha to him but he decided to have a pissing contest - literally - with my ex over who would be alpha male (seeing as his nemesis is my ex, guess he won didn't he - LOL!! ) I actually witnessed him pee on my ex's side of the bed twice (not mine)! He would also pee right in front of him in the hallway even though housetrained.

Perhaps I should listen to Oliver's opinion on any men I bring home in the future... He obviously knows better than I do ...

Michelle

[Bill & Bob]

Well, the dog is pretty young... If I was the dog, I'd sure be wondering why you were sleeping on the floor too. Seriously, I'm wondering if he thought the blanket was his bed rather than yours? He's a male, and I know that male's like to pee on stuff for marking territory. Even inside they'll do that.

If he growls at you when you touch his food bowl, I'd say that you've got some dominance issues to deal with. That would explain the peeing on the blankie too. He wants the bed and is marking it for his own. What happened when you picked up the blanket off the floor. Did he growl at that?

If so, you need to assert yourself as the boss of the house before he takes over. He's at a good age to learn right now too. Shepherds love to learn that stuff and I've found mine likes to know his place in the pack order.

Around the house, Bob knows that I'm the boss. I can take his food, bones, toys, whatever I want, whether he's playing with them or not. I can rummage around in his mouth to look at his teeth and he doesn't say a word. Flip him on his back to look around on the underbelly and no problems.

Now if I could only teach him not to run over to grumpy old men with little dogs in the park and get them started yelling at him that would be great.

[heidiho]

yeah,i know i just got my own place so iam slowly getting furniture.i can take bones,toys put my hand in his mouth all of that,he only growls if i touch his food bowl....i brush his teeth also..And when we go int he car when i stop he has to be the first one out of the car,what should i do about that,same thing when i take him to the front door for a walk???? Is a male/...

[Bill & Bob]

First of all, good luck with the furniture. When I first moved out, I went to the local thrift store and went nuts. Outfitted the whole place for under $140! After that, you can get nicer stuff as you go along. Or, as I have done, replace it all with disposable IKEA furniture. Yeesh.

Hmm, that's interesting about the food bowl. He lets you take toys, bones and everything else away, including brushing his teeth, but won't let you touch the food bowl. Well, you got me there, but I know that the food bowl is a major hotspot for dogs.

As for the getting out of the car first, and going through doors first, that's totally a dominance thing. I make Bob sit five feet from the door to the house when we leave. I go out first and then he can follow. I read it in a book somewhere that it's a dominance thing.

You need to start wearing the A on your team. Here's an article I read that helped me out in the beginning.
http://www.sonic.net/~cdlcruz/GPCC/library/alpha.htm

[heidiho]

Yeah.i dont get it either,loves me to brush his teeth...take his toys right out of his mouth...but cant mess with his food when eating,how do i do that though without getting bit..

[mona_b]

When Yukon was that age he did grawl at me when I was near his dish.I would right away give him a stern "NO".When he stopped,I would praise him and rub his neck...I did this a few times..Then I tried to take his bowl away while he was eating.It was a bit of a test.He growled again.Stern "NO" again.He stopped.I praised him and as I was slowly putting the bowl down,I was rubbing the back of his neck..After that I had no problems at all.With Tron,I had no problem...And they are both GSD's.

As for the car and door,he needs to be taught the "sit" "stay" command..It will make things so much easier for you....

[heidiho]

He does know sit and stay,but he gets so excited when i stop the car,he just will not sit while i open the door and get out...the food thing i have tried petting him while he eats he gets real stiff ears go down then he turns his neck and then growls,i just know i am gonna get bit one of these days,do i even mess with the food thing??

[mona_b]

Are you giving him a stern "NO" when he growls?....Also,are you talking to him while you are petting him?....Don't give up on the this.If you do,it will get worse when he is older.And it may not be a pretty site....

For the car.When you stop,don't get out right away.Get him to sit and stay.Then get out.Or what you can do,have the leash tied to the back of the passenger side,or yours.Then when you open the back door,get him to sit and stay,or teach him "wait"...But you must remember one thing,LOTS of praise right away when he does it right.This is the way he will learn.He wants to please you.

As for the peeing part,I have no advise.I never went through that...

Other then Yukongrowling when it came to his food dish,wish didn't last long,they were both easy to train.And I had them both at 3 months old.

[mona_b]

One more thing.When he does stop growling,praise right away.....

[heidiho]

he is very stubborn,yeah when he growls i say no,the other night i took him by the scruff of his neck and said no when i did he peed,what does that mean??? in the car i say damien sit he just wont,i think what i need is more patience,i will just sit in the car as long as it takes for him to,same with at hone when we go out for a walk,he has to be first out the door./..

[Lucky Rescue]

Here is a link for you. If you do this consistantly, it should teach your dog who is in charge without any harshness or punishments.
Alpha Boot Camp

in the car i say damien sit he just wont,

Does he really know what "sit" means? I suggest you take your dog to obedience school, so you can learn how to train him.

[heidiho]

Someone told me about that,i am gonna try it tonight,my dog is very stubborn and strong willed this will not be easy,cant believe how smart gs are//

[heidiho]

So i take it,i shouldnt wack my dog in the face when he growls or yell loud because i have ,i just get so mad i start yelling..

[melanie]

i love GSD, they are such cheeky little buggers arent they?? i to have a GSD and funnily enough, when i got her i had not a stick of furniture, or many blankets. when we met it was a cold winter and it turned into the best winter of our lives, not enough blankets and no heating so we decided to sleep together (on a big pile of cloths for a matress), she slept on my chest till she got to big after that we just snuggled. now i always take her camping, she is like a walking hot water bottle.
anywho, when she was a pup she did the same thing. and we have a lot of children visit us so any form of dominance over food is not acceptable. what i did was this- when she was eating i would allow her to have half the meal and then i would remove the bowl, if she growled she got a stern 'NO' and i kept the bowl for a few secounds and then gave it back. if she didnt growl i would take the bowl offering lots of pats and praise. i again keep the bowl for a few secounds and then give it back with heaps of praise. i didnt always hold the bowl when removed, i would sometimes sit it on a bench.
this sort of dominance is not on and you are on the right track to fixing it before it becomes a serious problem. but be consistant and never give in or let dog win you are top dog and he needs to understand that.
before you know it you will have lots of furniture and will be giving it away, just takes time and a little patience. good luck with it all

[heidiho]

Yeah i love him more than anything in this world,but what if i go for the food bowl and he bites because as i do this food thing it is not getting better..

[heidiho]

Here is exactly how it goes down,i put his food down,start petting him,his whole body stiffens up,ears go down,he turns his neck to look at me then growls,i just know i am gonna get bit...

[Luba]

I wish I had a dollar for every time someone went to the Alpha Boot Camp page cause u referred them LR

I'd be richola! It's a great site.

[heidiho]

Lets hope it works///

[melanie]

you get angry with him, get real angry, make him really understand he has done really wrong and really tell him so. you be really brave (he can sense fear), remember he is still small enough for you to physically dominate him, so if he tries to bite i would give him a shove over or a whack (i do not support beating dogs but my god, i have wacked my dog once or twice before, she is big and could be really dangerous and i will not take her crap, so if anyone wants to hound me on hurting my dog, go ahead, i have never beaten her or hurt her, i only dominate her) and drag him to the corner make him drop there (even if you physically force him to the ground). make him stay there. whilst you are doing this make sure you are extremely stern with him, in both your voice and posture. stare that little bugger in the eye and do not look away till he does, i always do this when she is naughty as my way of makeing her understand she has been dominated. keep him in the corner for a while. about 15 minutes later (when you calm down and coan look at him again) give him back the food, and try again. and in all other aspects of his day, never let him get away with ANYTHING!! biting top dog is not acceptable and top dogs must bite back and confirm their dominance. you must be firm and strong at all times, our dogs can be potentially very dangerous to others and you, you do not want to end up with a broken heart and neither does he., it may make you feel like a bit of an ogre, but for your happioness and his he must be extrememly well controlled. you will not have a happy life if he is not, it wiull just make you stressed and him also. if you are tough on him he will catch on fast, GSD are very smart and never doubt that, they will try to put one over on you when any opertunity presents itself, so keep on him.
you must be really tough on this fellow, he is really pushing boundaries and as the top dog you are not going to let him get away with it ever. and when you are settled maybe you should start dog school, he is the perfect age and it will help emensly and you will learn so much about home training and have alot of fun together, also get him desexed asap as that will make alot of difference to.
YOU BE TOUGH and persistant and it will happen. let us know how you go.good luck with it

[heidiho]

I agree with you ,that was agreat response i do wack him when needed,he is VERY,VERY smart.He learned sit in amatter of minutes,stay took about 1/2 an hour..So tonight when i put the food down i will pet him like i have been then try to pick up bowl,i just know he is gonna try to bite,then what??

[heidiho]

Also,after i take the food the first time{cause i know he is gonna growl] after the 10 minutes when i give it back do i try and gwt it again,or wait til next time..Also isnt this confusing for him,like why am i taking his food when he has done nothingwrong,i mean he doesnt know i am trying to train him,he is just minding his own business eating then i take it from him for no reason,isnt that confusing to him??

[heidiho]

Ok!! Getting ready to go home,does anyone have any replys to the last two things,before i get bit//

[melanie]

also try desensitising the bowl, just touch it ever now and again when you walk past when he is eating, and i would put a snack in it occassionally doing the same thing, just to reinforce.
no it isnt confusing them, he needs to understand that you are not a threat to his food, he will learn that he can get the food back by cooperating. as long as you are firm he will understand it is not an unpleasent experinece. there are various reasons for removing his food as you know, it may not happen for years but when it is needed you will be glad you didnt let him win. he needs to learn that as top dog you can have what ever you like and he must submit.. in the wild he would have eaten after top dog ans would have had to submit if the top dog said so, if he is allowed to dominate in the food area then he is dominating in the highest of relms, food is a life giving source and he is seeing it as if he has top proirity to it over you.
dont keep his food for 10 minutes unless he tries to bit and you have to get angry, just 1 minute is enough.
and if he bites that is when you get angry, it doesnt matter what the situation he needs to learn that biting is NEVER acceptable. and never be scared when he growles, he is still little enough for you to grab his mouth and physically dominate him. if he is naughty show him that you have a temper, give him a scare if need be. if he bites you it most likly wouldnt be too bad as he is still littleish so your not going to die or anything, and if he bites follow above advice, and let him know who boss is.
when you remove the bowl come in from a side on view so he can see you, give him a pat on the way in making sure not to sneak up on him, be a bit noisy, if it is just a growl, stern no, food away 1 minute and food given back, with a stern good boy. do it once a feed if he does not have any bad reactions like biting, then you may have to do it twice every now and again. when he is pretty good when you take food away lots of pats and praise. he sounds like a cheeky little fellow, arent they just so cute...
let us know how you go, and dont be afraid of him, if he bites it will just be an opertunirty for a lesson and it wont kill you or anything, he is only 4 months old so still a baby.

[Lucky Rescue]

Anyone wacking a dog in the face should be prepared to be bitten, and deserve it!

Food bowl aggression is one of the easier problems to fix. Here's what I did with a dog who had this problem:

Put down his bowl and walk away.
He starts eating. You walk past his bowl and drop something really great into it (hot dog, smoked turkey) and keep walking. Whatever you drop in must be fantastic, and he must get it no other time.

Gradually stop next to his bowl and drop the treat in. When he is o.k. with that, you can bend over to drop it in.

You get the message. Eventually you will be able to put your hand in his bowl or pick it up while he is eating, because he knows that means good things will happen!

If you take away his bowl and don't give it back right away, you are teaching him that he is RIGHT to guard it.

Sorry to repeat myself, but you really need to find a good obedience school.

[Luba]

I just want to warn you against using any method of force as it striking your dog with a hand/foot or object. You do NOT want to do this, even if it's retaliation for him nipping or growling at you!

so if he tries to bite i would give him a shove over or a whack

Esp you don't wanna do this with a big dog like a GSD or one day he will rip your face off!!

You will teach him to fear bite and they by far are the most unpredictable dogs you can find! One day out of the blue he may think your hand that is coming to 'pat him' is going to slap him and CHOMP and TEAR and there you go!

I've seen some horrible training techniques even coached by so called dog obedience trainers and pro handlers. They encourage rough shaking and a whack even. I can't tell you how scarey that is to me. I would NEVER hit a dog that way.

There are many other methods that can be used to curve/combat this behaviour esp when it comes to feeding.

If its a feeding issue YOU become control of EVERY single morsel he eats.

I'm not sure what u feed him dry/canned or home fed / both.

BUT each meal is going to be atleast 10/15 mins long and he's gonna have to be patient for a few days until he learns to behave.

You control the food, the bowl is in your hands or on the counter. You stand/sit in a chair and feed it to him piece by piece. Each time he takes it from your open palm gently you reward him with good boy! Make him sit before each portion, then he'll begin to just stay in seated position.

Over the course of a couple of days, alternate one or two pieces in your hand then a few in his bowl that you will put down after he sits for it.

When he is finished you put your hand to the bowl and put one or two more pieces in. Constantly telling him he is a good boy.

Feed him in the same place ALL the time (if you have a crate you feed him IN the crate and he SITS before he eats).

Slowly, you can give him a few more pieces at a time. Until you graduate to an entire meal.

MAking him sit to wait for the food is crucial. When he is done take the bowl away immediately and tell him good boy!

Hope this helps.

(LOL @ LR and me posting same time same sorta stuff)

[amaruq]

NO WHACKING A ANIMAL!!!!!!!!!!

I hate it and its abuse!

One thing you have to understand is agression breeds agression. Patience and understanding the big key here.

Oh and read books lots of books and listen to people with experience. Not experience in whacking though.

[Karin]

Please never whack him again over this issue..

Check into training like others have offered...

Make your voice LARGER, NO'S and practice this with taking his food bowl away, do not flinch if he trys to bite, gently grab his snout and re-affirm with a loud "NO, NO BITE"... Make yourself larger by voice...take away his food bowl. After a few short minutes give him his bowl back and stay with him..if he continues, get LARGE again... I have had the same problem with my dog when she was a puppy and have seen many more before that. An animal behavior Equine Vet showed me this method years ago that is applied to Thourghbred weanlings and it does work. Also, when you give the bowl back to him, massage his neck and along his spine...he will be happy to have you present at dinner time..
Just my .02 cents.

[melanie]

it is really good to have so many sources of advice. all are right, just find what works for you. i would never advocate hitting anything in the mouth or face, that is just plain nasty. but i certainly have shoved her before when she has been really naughty like fighting around children or something and i have no qualms with it when used in extreme situations, each to their own. good luck wiht it, make sure to take in all advice and be persistant and patient. ps you can get heaps of info on dog training on the net, you can even download whole books so have a good look, and get to dog school.

[Luba]

The training issue and obedience school is a great idea but do research and find one that meets your expectations.