What is wrong with my puppy?!!!?

Question

Help! I bought a Shepherd mix puppy at 4 weeks old, and she was the sweetest thing until about 3 months later. She get undivided love and care, and she is spoiled rotton. She has never barked, growled, bit, or snapped at anyone who lives in my house. But, when I am walking her or if someone is coming into our house, she acts like they have a gun aimed at me. She barks and growls and tries to bite them. She is sooo sweet with us though. She is not rewarded for this behavior, and if often punished, but she doesn't seem to connect. Most of my friends are afraid to come over because of her. How can I stop this behaviour?

I tried to have my friends give her treats, but she tried to bite their hands. I also had my dad dress up in a big hoody and when he walked in the door, she striked at him before he had time to show her who he was. It wasn't enough to break the skin, but it left a bruise. Also, we can't find any trainers who will train her aggression problem, because they all said it is too late to deal with.

OMG! When we got my dog, we thought she looked like a shepherd mix. But I've been paying attention to her closely and researching, and she looks more like a Red Fox. She is now 9 months old, and has HUGE teeth. Where we bought her, they never told us the breed, they just said mutt.Could she be a Red Fox? Could this be an explanation for her aggressive and territorial behavior?

Answer 1

that sux. alot of things you can do at home to help your puppy but this one you might have to talk to a trainer. one thing you can do is kind of silly sounding but maybe when you have time play dress up with her. in th same hour change your clothes several times and put on hats sunglasses etc. etc. sometimes this hels familiarize puppies with strangers. reward her when she is good to you in diff. clothes and get others in your house to do this too. if she will not bite your houseguests then maybe get someone who is not afraid to come around and stay in the room so that she knows she is the dog and they are the human and she can growl and whatever until she realizes they are not leaving and she will deal with it and again reward her when she stops. it will take some work at first but after a few weeks she will be somewhat changed. also find what she is mixed with. some dogs have a bad temperament like dobermins can snap any time because their brains swell in their heads and if she has any black on her tongue then she has a breed of chow chow that is known for attacking.my friend has a lab mixed with a sharpei and you would think she was going to eat you alive but she is all talk. she snarls and shows her teeth and foams and drools if you come near her and looks like attack mode but she will lick your face and love you while she is snarling etc.. kinda scary but she has never attacked anyone and has been around thousands of people litterally and is now about five years old. hope this helps a little but talk to a trainer that is certified also.

Answer 2

First of all a sheperd is a guardian of proper behaviors.
Any farm mix in with a sheperd and historically they were
misused by many militant types for much too long. This
was that they were used to sheperd and hunt, and also to
guard on fenced areas. These are very good lines of dog.
To properly reintroduce the sheperd the AKC in 1864 took
a great deal of studies and compounded a replacing of
sheperds in pure farm system. Now they are struggling to
hold their jobs, versus some very versatile types. Of all the
dogs we use on a plantation the two with the greater learning
issues are sheperd mix and chow chow. Both do better with
these simple rehearsals. Take the dog for a long walk, with
the running leash, Snap on hold at about 25 feet the small
dogs full length, then hold at 35 feet. Keep practicing to get
the dog to not pull out the leash, when he or she gets used
to the freedom and does not tug the hold button, you have
shown him to keep distance. This is a large dog, also keep
your palms facing upwards when introducing and tell your
friends to keep them upward, or with treats when patting.
Softer voices and with a sheperd stroke her further back
on the shoulder. Keep the door closed to cut out distractions.
Another factor is make sure the food is for puppies and not
later at evenings, feed her more like 3 pm and at 7 am.

Answer 3

She is just territorial. Have you seen the Dog Whisperer on TV with Cesar Milan? This guy can really connect with dogs and often times he deals with dogs that are having similar experiences you just described. He also wrote a book which can help you implement techniques to rehabilitate her. Cesar says often times it is the owner who is doing something wrong - not saying that you are but maybe you are reinforcing this behavior without even knowing it. She sounds like a good dog but appears to get very threatened when strangers come in to your home.

Answer 4

Try keeping some treats near the front door. When you have guests over, have them give her a treat. She'll learn to look forward to having strangers in the house.

On an aside, did you really get her at 4 weeks old? Puppies shouldnt be seperated from their moms until at least 8 weeks...I wouldnt think it would be good for her health to be on her own that long. Maybe talk to your vet?

Answer 5

Your pup is a shepard mix meaning that she could be mixed with a ton of different breeds of dog including some that have been bred to protect or kill. Anyway just get a training chain and every time someone comes put it on him and sharply yank and tell him no if she tries to hurt someone, make sure it is an instant yank and release though, my friend was teaching her dog and i was teaching and she used to pull and nearly strangle her dog. Hope you are succesful.

Answer 6

She just needs training. The best course of action is to enroll in a dog training school- DON'T follow Cesar Milan's advice. Many of his methods are harmful to pets and most animal hospitals and veterinarians will tell you to disregard him. He has gotten in trouble before for injuries caused by his 'training.' He is NOT a certified behaviorist and his techniques (pulling a dog off the ground by their leash, for example) are dangerous and may cause injury.

Find a school near you; PetSmart sometimes offer courses. Do you pay any more attention to her than normal when she acts this way? Also, punishment ONLY works if it is within 5-10 seconds of her action.

It sounds like you are doing things correctly for the most part.

Answer 7

Dogs are very protective of their people. They are pack animals, always remember that! Someone outside their pack comes in they think their pack is in danger! She's just worried about you is all. A spray bottle works good, unless she likes water. Also I'd try putting her in a spot where she can see her family but not strangers. Give her a comfort zone. Maybe a spot where family goes that guests don't. Maybe a laundry room?

Answer 8

Dogs have an inherent pack mentality. Your dog views you as pack leader and therefore will always try to protect you from a perceived threat to keep stability in the pack. You will also find your dog easier to train if you reinforce your status as pack leader. One way trainers suggest to do this is to hold your dog down, gently but firmly, with one hand on her side and one on her neck until she raises her hind leg in a submissive response.

Answer 9

Try getting a friend/family member(that the dog is used to) to wear a disguise, come in, and when she acts all weird and growls and stuff, your friend/family member should pull of the disguise and say "BOOGA WOOGA WOOGA!" enough to scare her. If she doesnt think she is losing her mind, then perhaps she will just learn that being mean to strangers can in turn make them turn into a friend and yelling BOOGA WOOGA WOOGA at them.
Idano, just a suggestion
Good Luck! :-)

Answer 10

i don't know what kind of friends u have but its actually a good thing, i let my dogs get to know ppl when they come over and them same ppl has broken into my home and stole stuff. so i would just put the dog in the bathroom or another room and close the door, he is protective and one day u may need his protection.