hi i am at my wits end i have just purchased a 2 year old german sheperd and its all going wrong. My dog is brilliant inside the house but is constantly following me around . if i move an inch he is up and gets really excited.also when i take the dog for a walk he turns into the terminator . Anyone comes near and he starts barking and lunging.He becomes focused on anything moving.Ive tried the sprays and the bottle with stones in but they have had no effect on him.everytime i take him for a walk i have to avoid everything in case he bites someone.i have bought a muzzle to ensure this doesnt happen but he still gets aggitated and lunges.im on the verge on giving the dog up because i just dread waking up knowing i have to take him three times and people will judge me for not having control.does anyone know something that my work that will help?

At 2 years old he is an adolescent and that brings with it lots of dominating behaviour . You could do with going to training classes with him as he seems to need soscialising his behaviour could be agressive or out of fear , when he is on the lead when you are out as far as he is concerned you have taken away his option of running away from anything he is unsure of leaving him with only agression to turn to .You need to be very strong with him i would sudgest you get a book called The Dog Listener by Jan Fennell if ever you wanted to know why a dog does what he does and why this is the book you can then put into practice her easy step by step method of regaining your dogs trust and obeidience .Easy to start with is Gesture eating this is simply eat something before he does this makes you alfa (top dog ) put his bowl on the work top get your self a buscuit and make sure he sees you eat it have him sit while your doing this ( sitting is a subordinate action ) then put his food down . Never let him walk through doors before you , neber allow him to go out on walks if he is excited always make him wait till he is calm use the muzzle use a halti head collar . dont allow him on furniture or your bed . all these things give him the idea he is boss and untill you re ballance the pack leadership to your favour he will never listen to you as he does,nt see you as a good enough alfa and is doing the job you should have . All these things are easy to implement dont give up on him they are very intellegent dogs and need to be stimulated . please look into the book it really will work for you but you must stick to the rules they are there for your benfit , also look at what you are feeding him some foods are like smarties to dogs and can make them hyper , just a few sudgestions for you to be going along with im sure other people will have other ideas too but start with these and see how you go.
andrea

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