Please help, do I have BAD DOG?

Question

Please help me, I have a 4 mnth old German shepard, but he is out of control.He was staying in the kitchen until he was toilet trained but he goes anywhere,whenever he wants. I come downstairs every morning and he has opened every cupboard and drawer, he eats everything, eggs still in their shells, porridge oats....When I give him his dinner (3 times a day) he eats like theres no tomorrow and if I walk near him while he eats, he now snarls and growls at me, we can't get near him to give him cuddles and love without it ending in him biting me or my child who is 4yrs old, who he doesn't like much.
If we are sitting together he tries to drag her off of the couch or he jumps on top of her to sit next to me, but yet he doesn't want to give me any love when my child isn't around.
I really want to love him more, but I cannot cope with this behaviour, is it normal? What can I do? A dog is for life so I don't want to get rid of him., I really want him to be a part of our family.

Gosh!!! So much good information. I do walk him very often, an hour in the morning, hour and a half in the afternoon and and 45 mins in the evening. Plus short walks to the shops or park. He does sit and stay while waiting for his food, but it is just the rest.
We have always had GSD in our family that is why I thought he would suit us as I have grown up with them and thought he would be ideal for us. We had one bad GSD in the family and he was given to the police force and was a wonderful asset to them. Also, he is the only male presence in our home, could this be a reason?
I think I am going to have to leave this to a community vote also as I could not choose which I think is the best answer as they are all great.
Oh and I would never leave my dog alone with my child, even if he was really well tempered.
Thank you all so kindly, I am looking up trainers as we speak! Thank you again.

Answer 1

Two things.

1) The dog needs to know who is the boss of his "pack". That doesn't mean you have to hit or yell at the dog, just keep sending him off the sofa and praise him when he sits on the floor. Similarly for other things. Use a firm, low woice.

2) A german shepherd is a big dog. Are you sure he gets enough exercise? He might have too much energy and is "hyper" otherwise. As far as the food is concerned, make sure you vary the food and it should be tatsy, or he'll crave more tasty things, like eggs etc. Also, it seems he thinks of the kitchen as "his room" as you say you've kept him there since you got him. Find another place for his basket. Preferably, build him a hut in the garden.

Answer 2

Who is control here? Right now it is the dog and an aggressive dog in control with a 4yr old child in the same home is a recipe for disaster.
You need to do what everyone else is suggesting.
Take control, become leader of the pack, train the dog. But especially keep your child safe. It is insane that you have permitted the dog to bite you or the child.
This behavior is only normal when the appropriate authority has not been established. If you cannot or will not do this give the dog to someone else before something terrible happens or before the dog is completely ruined.
I cannot stress this enough, and I am not sorry if your feelings are hurt, the well being of a smallish creature and a 4-legged is in your hands and so far you dropped the ball.
Just about everything you have done is wrong.
Have you taken him to vet even?
The only thing you have done right is ask about that situation and for that you get at the very least a hopeful sigh.

Answer 3

Hi,

Your dog needs authority, at the moment he does what he want and when he wants.

He behaves at eating time like he never had enough as a pup, and he will be very protective of its food what you give him, also he will eat anything he can find as he has been hungry when he was a pup. This does not nessesarely mean the breeder under fed him, it maybe that his brothers and sisters bullied him and he just did not get enough.

You need to be really authoritive with him and be the boss, rules should be there and there is no exeption to the rules, if he is allowed to do something one day and not the other he will keep doing it NO is NO.

A shep is a dog that can be easily trained, he will need looking after and needs his excersize, a shep is an intelligent animal and will get bored very easily.

Give him lots of toys, to chew, and play with. an excellent toy, to but for him is a training ball, this you can fill up with low protein dried dog pallets, and you adjust the entrance of the ball so that the pallets come out one by one, rather than the whole lot in the one go. This will keep him occupied and fed at the same time.

You may need help from a trainer, make sure you get one that trains pets rather than working dogs ther is a difference.

Take him also to the vet and see if he has no worms or parasites and is in good health.

I really belive you can turn your dog around, beware that he does not rule your house, you are boss, but you can do it. He you took the first step asked for help

Good luck and let me know how you got on,

Answer 4

How is he beeing trained?i hope you have been training him like basic obediance etc.Housetraining pups should start from the moment you bring them home,they should be taken out every hour no matter what the weather or how long your waiting out there as soon as the pup go's to the toilet praise them to the sky's.Training is the key to developing a good bond with your dog,so if your pup isn't beeing trained or is allowed to do what he wants,he's not going to have any sort of relationship with you.Make sure all contact between your pup and your child is supervised,do not let your child bother with your pup while he is eating,it's very rare that a pup would actually bite or attack hard at this early stage,but nipping obviously can be painfull esp to a child.You need to get him into training classes as there's to much i coud go through on here.As he nears adolecence though between 6-10months this problem will only become worse with your gsd.If you were a novice dog owner before buying your gsd,then you really should have gone for a more docile dog,gsd do have a dominant streak in them and like to test authority,it takes a good strong handler to train this out of them.If raised correctly a gsd is a very loyall,calm,well mannered dog who is affectionate and shows devotin to his family esp children.If i could come to you for the day,i would be able to show you things with your gsd pup that you would have never thought possible.Im training as a dog behaviourist.Good luck.

Answer 5

I sort of know what you're going through. My husband bought me an adorable golden retriever puppy then 4 weeks later, I found out I was pregnant with my first child. As he was getting bigger, so was I, and I really wasn't coping too well. I got some advice from a dog trainer, which I would definitely recommend, but ask at your local vet first to see a reputable trainer, so you know your dog is getting handled well. As for the growling when you are walking past his food, well I never had that problem, but the trainer did give me some advice in which I'm sure would help you. If you feed him dried food, then don't put in his bowl and leave it for him to eat on his own accord, this only learns them that it is their food. Command him to sit, lie down, stay or come what ever you want and reward him for it by giving him his food by hand, a few pieces at a time. This will learn him, that it is not his food, and he will be rewarded when he does what is asked of him. This sounds like abit of a chore, I know, but it does work, and tires them out just as much as a big walk would as it stimulates the mind. I t also helped me alot as I was able to give my young golden alot of attention for being good instead of any negative attention. I now have an "almost" perfect dog, who I wouldn't do without for the world. Your dog is still young, so this can be nipped in the bud. Good luck,I'm sure you will be fine, they are just like toddlers aren't they? Anything for a bit of attention.

Answer 6

Get him to a good dog trainer NOW. When you have these issues at 4 months old, imagine what they'll be like when he's 2 years old and double his size! Sounds like a mixture of food aggression and dominance issues in the home. You need to teach him (with a good trainer's help) to be the submissive member of the household. Yes, even submissive to you 4 year old child!
As for the destructive part ... my bet is he's a bored puppy that's not getting enough play time. Sheperds were bred to function as a form of working dogs. They need to do some WORK! Exercise that puppy ... he needs several hours a day to keep his body and mind satisfied. If you can't provide him with that, then you should not have signed up for a dog like that. I don't think you're going to stop the behavior in any other way (short of locking him in a crate all day). Good luck!

Answer 7

You seriously need to get expert help now!! He is testing you GSD's all go through this phase but not usually until they are quite a bit older, you need to be very firm with him, they also aren't generally fond of too much cuddling, he should not be getting up onto the couch so you must stop this now, apart from the fact that he is trying to dominate you he shouldn't be going anywhere where he needs to jump down, if you have a baby gate keep him out of your lounge let him know that you are the boss and you decide where he can and can't go, buy a dog crate, one large enough to house him when he is fully grown, put him in it at night and when you go out, you have to be very assertive with German Shepherds or they will rule your life and a dominant male is not good, get him castrated asap, your vet probably won't do it until he is 6 months old but get it done please because once his male hormones kick in you will be in trouble as he is already causing problems at 4 months old! I have kept GSD's for 31 years now and have to say I haven't had this much trouble when they go through this phase, but I am quite a dominant person, ie.I am pack leader and my dogs know it! I have 3 German Shepherds and 1 Border Collie.

Answer 8

There is plenty of answers to all these problems and they are all quite common problems if you dont assert your authority over the dog, the dog has to know who is the boss, without you showing any fear while doing this, my advice to you would be, as you seem as though you are quite novice at owning a dog, buy a book and read it thoroughly or a video or dvd, most books and dvds have all the answers that you need, im quite sure you will find ALL the answers to you questions, did you do your homework before you bought this breed of dog ? german shepards are not what id really call a first dog, as they can be quite dangerous dogs in the wrong hands, but are also loving, trusty, loyal, faithful, if you know what you are doing, plse go get some good knowledge about this breed and bringing a new dog into the home 'ESPECIALLY' if you have young children... hope this info has helped. jane.

Answer 9

You need to get him to a training class ASAP so you can learn how to control him. I have a 5 month old GSD. At 4 months he was an absolute nightmare. He wore us out & was extremely hard work. One month later he's a dog to be proud of BUT it's taken months of very hard work to make him like that (we've had him since he was 7 weeks) Be consistent, use the Nothing in Life is Free method - don't feed him until he's obeyed your command to Sit etc. No attention until he does as he's told. Do very short training sessions with him, GSDs really do want to learn. You really do need to get a large crate for him for his own safety. Ours is shut in the "naughty" room (utility) until he's calmed down. He could do plenty of damage in there but he never has, he just wants to get back to us as soon as possible. 15 to 20 minutes later, he comes out a different dog.
Please take him to a good training class. GSDs are wonderful dogs but they do need firm handling when young. Your Vets, local library or Pet Shop should be able to tell you where there is a local one.

Answer 10

Loving a dog is not like loving a child, it will not feel like it but you have to be the boss of the dog. if the dog is at all growls at you or your child stop it quickly by yelling a strong NO!! at him and send the dog outside or into another room away from you. if it continues you could get to the stage where he bites. I'd say that your dog is most likely very bored at night that's why he is opening the cupboards and remember that dogs can smell much better then us, so it's like putting you into a fast food place and saying don't eat anything. maybe a laundry is better. but most of all show the dog that your child is high on the pecking order then him and be very strong about telling the dog off, once you set the rules for the dog at a young age you will be best buddies for life. Good Luck. From a owner of big dogs to another