I have a german shephard and he just started to get a little agressve with my oldest kid, how do i stop this?

Question

we had tigger for 2 yrs and he never did it befor he always play good with our kids, we just got another german shephard about 6mo. tigger never bit or was agrevess with anyone but our oldest kid until now.

Answer 1

The best way for dogs to understand that children are simply short humans rather than 'playmates' is for the child to insist upon the dog obeying them.

Of course, the child will need the adult standing right behind them while the child gives commands, for the adult to enforce the child's will, especially in the beginning. {No child under age 12 should be left alone with any dog, ever.} Start out with simple 'sit' exercises.

During these exercises, the child should have treats for the dog. The dog ONLY gets the treats when he obeys the child's FIRST command. If the child has to repeat himself, the adult should walk around, silently, and push the dog into the proper position. Then the child tells the dog, OK. Repeat until the dog sits the first time the child orders him to. THEN the child can give the dog a treat.

Also, the adult needs to be working on tone with the child. The child should be speaking in a low, firm tone. Demanding the dog obey, not asking. Tone is very important, especially when the child's voice is naturally higher pitched than adults'.

Another biggie in getting the dog to respect the child is for the child to be the food provider. Two to three days a week, the child should be the one to set down the dog's food dish. AFTER the dog complies with a sit, of course! The dog should always have to follow a command before being fed, regardless of who is feeding.

You also might want to look into an obedience course with the dog, with your child(ren) attending the classes, as well.

Answer 2

Need some clarity here:

Aggressive HOW? Many peopel confuse play aggression (charging leaping, mock fighting, growling and nipping with real attack aggression.)

In what situations???

What is the kid doing when the dog does what he does???


This is a complex situation and a LOT MORE information is needed about the interactin between the new puppy,the 2 year old dog, the ages of the children, the behavior of dogs and kids and what happens when

When I was very small, around 3, apparently I climbed up on the bed and whacked the sleepin Boston Terrier on top of the head wih my head to wake him. It worked - at lest he was startled awake and in shock reacted by biting me on the lip. My grandmother calmly and correctly observed "You deserved it. Don' t do it again to him or I'll whack you on the head like that."

The 2 year old dog can be getting overly excited playing "mock fighting' with the 6 month old and carry it over to people or one in particular.

He could be defensive of someone (one of the younger children agains the older) or something (the pup against others in the household) - and 2 is when they are through adolesence and start to get bossy .

There may be something that the child is doing that is annoying or hurting the dog (or has hurt or annoyed the dog) perhaps he has teased or tomented the dog when you weren't watching (and OF COURSE, the kids deny it) - see above.

Seen too many dogs be labelled the sole culprit in an aggreesive spats with kids when in fact it was the kid who triggered it off and got an innate instinctive reaction frm the animal - and the older the child, the more deliberate the conduct.

You need a professional to assess the situation in your home in person - not an anonymous chat thing.

(1) Talk to your vet

(2) GO here to find contacts in you area that can help you locate and obedience trainer who works with all beeds and who does AKC obedience compettions: They can come out and evalutae the interaction among everyone - canine and human. You should also take BOTH dogs to obedience class - they get trained and get manners, you get control and it is a good place to assess their behavior and temperment.


You will have to strong willed, independent, guardy dogs in the house - get control, REAL control, NOW

http://www.akc.org/clubs/search/index.cf...

http://www.akc.org/clubs/search/index.cf... (set on all breeds)


http://www.akc.org/clubs/search/index.cf...

Even it they are an hour or more away, they will know other people all over the state.


HMMM>>>> fizz up above is an incompetent fool.

Answer 3

Honestly, if it was me, I would re-home the dog with a family who didn't have kids and didn't plan on having any. You would need to make them fully aware of why you feel the dog can no longer live in your household and make sure they were capable of dealing with his issues so that they don't end up getting hurt.

If the kid was a teenager and able to defend itself, then I would consider hiring a professional to show me exactly what needed to be done to try and keep him with us.

A dog put me in the hospital for a week when I was 4 and I just couldn't take the chance of one of my kids going through the same thing.

The only other option would be to separate dog and kid at all times, but the dog would more likely than not be kenneled/chained up all the time which would make his problem worse. It would be in no way fair for the dog to live out it's life that way.

Oh, and before anyone says it was probably my fault that the dog bit me, that's not true. The dog was hit as a "training" method and always tied up. The dog was also a german shepherd. Not a good combination. I simply raised my hand to pet him and I suppose he saw me as the perfect sized person to lash out at. I have loved animals from a very early age and was always kind to them as far back as I remember.

Answer 4

Seems to make sense, except the exact opposite is true. All puppies are cute; all puppies love everyone. It’s not until a dog hits sexual maturity that some innate behavioral problems start to surface. We can’t even estimate how many calls we’ve had from people who paid thousands of dollars for a purebred puppy, who is now a year or two old and biting people, attacking other dogs, or engaging in some oddball neurotic behavior. Purebred is not the same as well-bred, and sometimes it feels like the disreputable breeders grossly outnumber the responsible ones.

The truth is this: when we list a 4 month old puppy, we can only guess what kind of adult she’ll make. When we list an 18 month old dog, we can predict pretty accurately what kind of dog you’ll have forever.

Answer 5

Please don't listen to the person that told you to show dominance over your dog with the "take-down" maneuver! This is a completely archaic and very poor way of training a dog. It only teaches the dog to be fearful and may add to the problem rather than help it. The best thing you can do is work on obedience training with your dog. Obedience helps him know when he's doing things right and if you catch him doing something wrong you can simply correct him, give him a new command, and praise him when he does the right thing. Check with your local humane society about community classes. You might check out a book called "The Art of Raising a Puppy" by the Monks of New Skeete. It focuses on puppy training but you may still find it helpful! Good luck.

Answer 6

Tell your oldest kid to stop abusing the dog and to stop smoking, drinking and taking drugs - dogs are sensitive to stuff like that. Your oldest kid may or may not be doing all that, but its better to err on the side of caution.

If your oldest kid is not doing any of those things at all, then examine where the dog is attacking the kid - he may have an injury or a disease in that one area on the body. Dogs are sensitive to that as well.

Finally, if it is neither of those two things, then your dog considers your oldest kid to be a rival for his affection with whomever the dog is closest to. The only way to combat that is to give your dog more loving and show the dog openly that both the dog and the kid are loved equally and that you will not tolerate any in-fighting - show your dog you are the pack leader.

Answer 7

Start watching "The Dog Whisperer" on National Geographic channel as soon as you can! If you don't have a TV I'll tell you the basics: make it clear to the dog that YOU are the alpha of the pack. Assert your dominance in a calm assertive way (don't yell or hit, just be firm and certain of yourself). When the dog gets aggressive with the kid, step between them, firmly say "No" and don't pet the dog again until he is showing calm submissiveness (ears back, relaxed) then pet him. Make sure the dog is getting enough exercise too!

You can go to the Dog Whisperer's website. His name is Cesar Millan and his credo is, "I rehabilitate dogs and train people." And he does!

http://www.dogpsychologycenter.com/ I love dogs and this is the best thing you can do for your dog is learn this stuff! Woof!

Answer 8

Have both of them neutered first thing. Sounds like there's some jealousy reaction to the newcomer.
You didn't state how old your kids are, but you need to be on top of this! Tigger is at risk to cause a signifigant injury to your kid. Talk to your vet

Answer 9

Start by being more assertive with your dog, ocasionally grab it by the back of the neck and force it to the ground and turn the dog over - you are asserting your authority on the dog.

Then do this and invite your son into the room - the dog should remain calm. Do this several times, once the dog seems O.K with this, get your son to assert his authority over the dog in the same way, first while you are there, then further a way and then out of sight, but not far away.

Answer 10

first you need to figure out who is your pack leader. then start correcting tigger in a firm yet calm way. also find out what is triggering tigger to snap at your oldest child. is your child doing something that is causing him to snap, or making a certain noise or movement. also how is he getting along with the puppy now?

and most of all be consistent with modification of behavior or you will send your dog mixed messages.