Hi all
I have a serious problem with my GSD, i had Bonzo since he was 6 weeks old and he has been a smashing dog untill he hit 1 yr old

At my old house in whitby north yorkshire, my back garden over looked a large field, which was used by school children and dog walkers on a daily basis, story cut short some of kids liked to tease bonzo when he was in the garden and one time came into the garden and stole one of his toys so he became very territorial over what he felt was his and it is getting worse and worse.

When i am walking him in the lead and if someone stops me for any reason he is fine with a stranger, its only when that stranger comes near his, house, garden or car, he goes mental, cannot control his reaction

Is there any steps i can take to make Bonzo relax and stop being on edge with stangers, he weighs 7st and scares alot of people so it is not asif i can ask someone to help me as most of scared of him, help?

I can only try to give some advice from my own experience. My dog was very protective over me towards other dogs and sometimes people. First thing I thought of as solution was socializing en regaining trust, but later I found out you clearly have to point out who is the boss haha . He just have to realize these are YOUR car, YOUR backyard and YOUR house, not his. You are the alpha and can protect those things by yourself, he doesn't have to do that for you. Ofcourse german shepherd are a protective breed, which makes it more difficult. My dog has that natural behavior too. I think he has to learn that even if those kids come by and misbehave for example, YOU will be the one correcting that and not him.

I started to work on all little things that make clear I stand above him. So while walking on the lead, he walks BEHIND me and not in front anymore. He can go out the door after me and not before. You have to work on those things in the time the problembehaviour is not there at that moment. Ofcourse for me it was easier, since he only did it on the leash and with me. With other objects in in different area's it will be more difficult to correct him. So I hope some other subscribers can give some other good tips. Good luck!

Sorry, I have to disagree. These are old, out-of-date methods and philosophies.

This is not a ranking issue...nothing is a ranking issue. This isn't really a territorial issue either. In fact, I don't like thinking of dogs as a territorial animal. They don't choose their territories, nor do the types of things (mating, hunting, rearing cubs) that wild, territorial animals would do. It's too artificial.

Anyway, this problem is, most likely, to do with barrier frustration and aggression. Seeing objects and people moving around outside, but not being allowed to interact, is frustrating for a dog. This alone can lead to aggression issues (as stress is a scale, and frustration and over-arousal on that scale is very close to aggression), nevermind being taunted by children from behind the fence.

The first step is maintenance. Try and limit the time he spends out there not under supervision. Avoid the opportunities he gets to get worked up. Even block the areas he sees out of.

Second of all, I would make the appearance of people outside the house a positive experience. Have you used clicker or marker training? Use his daily meal food and some tastier bits, such as cheese or chicken, and whenever he looks at someone/another dog outside say "Yes" or click and treat. Repetitions of this demonstrates that people walking outside is not a frustrating experience, but a very fun and positive one. Here are some vids to show what I mean:
YouTube - ‪What is clicker training?- dog training‬‏
YouTube - ‪Barking Episode 5- Barking at Dogs Behind Fences‬‏ (this is the other way around, but you can apply it in the same manner)
YouTube - ‪Counterconditioning‬‏ (if your dog likes toys more than food, but still note the clicker!)

These techniques aim to change a dog's emotional response to certain stimuli. Simply showing the dog that you're 'Alpha' is not a way to fix behavioural problems. In fact, the very term does not even apply to domestic dogs or wild wolves anymore. Dogs learn via association, not through how they perceive your ranking within a 'pack'.

Good luck!

Rottiefan.
You talk so much sense
Fiona

Thanks...it's very easy to get the wrong end of the stick in dog training, and over-complicate matters, so hopefully what I say makes things clearer!

Barrier aggression is a big deal in rescue centres. Taking some dogs out of kennels, you'd think they are severely dog-dog aggressive, but outside, their as playful as a puppy.

The largest study ever done this is the 2009 Cordoba uni study, 711 dogs, lack of leadership is the greates cause, click the link below to a google search theres quite a lot on it and comparitive studies, just click one of the google links

dogs cordoba university - Google Search

.

@Sleepy. Yes, I have read that study before, and personally wasn't that impresses, if I'm honest! I'm not saying some dogs can't be classifies as 'territorial', only that I think the term is not completely accurate in describing domestic dog behaviour. Lions are territorial...domestic dogs don't really fit that mould.

Especially in this case, however, the dog has learnt via association to be reactive towards people outside.

I am sure there are several idea's and ways to work with this dog. Yours will work fine too i am sure. But that old ideas and techniques never work is a mistake I think. When I had trouble with my dog I got several advices and help from people with clicker, softer techniques etc., but the way I described before did the trick.

Personally I believe in some cases you don't have solve the complete cause of behavior, but that a simple "no" should work, just because his owner tells him not to. Wolves are territorial, just as dogs, and if there is a threat to the pack, the dogs lower in rank shall not attack or act if the alpha hasn't started himself. But that is just the way I see it. I don't use one trainingmethod or philosophies, i try to combine the, for my dog, best working things.

Another nice vid for you...desensitising towards children.
http://youtu.be/Z7kz3KrVMZE

Fair enough. But these ideas that you follow are very controversial in the training world at the moment and there is a lot of evidence against them working.

Just to point out one thing: if there was a threat to a wild wolf pack, the 'Alpha' (although this term is not applied anymore) would not be the one to go first...the lower ranking ones would defend first. All animals with a ranking system do this. Why do you think female lions hunt and the pride males rarely do? Because they may get injured, that's why. So things are not so clear cut.