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More from Dr. Kesten
Some people call this a "gotcha day"... since there's no good way to know when his birthday is, using the adoption date is fairly common practice. So, by that estimation, he is five years old now.
Health-wise, he's doing excellent now. Ear infections are gone, skin seems perfectly fine, fur has grown back where it had to be shaved, and his hip doesn't seem to be bothering him anymore. He's been in and out of three different vets about a dozen times total, and now it looks like he's going to be just maintaining from now on.
Behavior is improving, but not where I want it. In the house he will do any command I give him the first time, always seems happy to please, and wants to be by my side. Leash walking on his own is doing pretty good as well, and he is slowly improving on pack walking. The issues come when we're out of the house, he gets so distracted that he doesn't pay attention to commands much of the time. He also has serious fence-aggression and I've no idea what to do about that... the only real way to fix it is through continuously putting him in a situation, but when I do he scares the hell out of whoever's on the other side of the fence... I can't really blame them, if I didn't know him, I'd be scared too.
He sleeps in my bed every night and follows me around when I'm doing stuff around home. It's clear that he's very happy here now.
Health-wise, he's doing excellent now. Ear infections are gone, skin seems perfectly fine, fur has grown back where it had to be shaved, and his hip doesn't seem to be bothering him anymore. He's been in and out of three different vets about a dozen times total, and now it looks like he's going to be just maintaining from now on.
Behavior is improving, but not where I want it. In the house he will do any command I give him the first time, always seems happy to please, and wants to be by my side. Leash walking on his own is doing pretty good as well, and he is slowly improving on pack walking. The issues come when we're out of the house, he gets so distracted that he doesn't pay attention to commands much of the time. He also has serious fence-aggression and I've no idea what to do about that... the only real way to fix it is through continuously putting him in a situation, but when I do he scares the hell out of whoever's on the other side of the fence... I can't really blame them, if I didn't know him, I'd be scared too.
He sleeps in my bed every night and follows me around when I'm doing stuff around home. It's clear that he's very happy here now.
Category Photography / Still Life
Species German Shepherd
Size 720 x 681px
File Size 145.3 kB
what a handsome shepherd. something about his face reminds me a lot about the first shepherd i got to know, one of the best dogs ever.
sorry to hear about his aggression issues -- wish i could help in real life but doubt we live close by!
i strongly suggest using +R (positive reinforcement) and utilizing Behavior Adjustment Training for him: http://empoweredanimals.com/ is the website of the creator of the concept, and you can purchase the book (either Kindle or in paper) or less than $20 here: http://www.amazon.com/Behavior-Adju...../dp/1617810509
my cattle dog is also fence/leash aggressive, B.A.T has helped tremendously. i can give you more info if you'd like but i gotta run soon.
and another thing to keep in mind about shepherds, especially; that protective instinct is the reason why they may react aggressively. it may never not fully be trained out. but your dog can surely be trained to adjust to situations better. my heeler will never be the kind of dog i can bring to the dog park (unless he wears a muzzle) but that doesn't make him any less perfect. i just have to adjust my life to his needs.
sorry to hear about his aggression issues -- wish i could help in real life but doubt we live close by!
i strongly suggest using +R (positive reinforcement) and utilizing Behavior Adjustment Training for him: http://empoweredanimals.com/ is the website of the creator of the concept, and you can purchase the book (either Kindle or in paper) or less than $20 here: http://www.amazon.com/Behavior-Adju...../dp/1617810509
my cattle dog is also fence/leash aggressive, B.A.T has helped tremendously. i can give you more info if you'd like but i gotta run soon.
and another thing to keep in mind about shepherds, especially; that protective instinct is the reason why they may react aggressively. it may never not fully be trained out. but your dog can surely be trained to adjust to situations better. my heeler will never be the kind of dog i can bring to the dog park (unless he wears a muzzle) but that doesn't make him any less perfect. i just have to adjust my life to his needs.
I've been doing a lot of training on it, the major issue is where I'm located and not having helpers to work with on it.
He's extremely protective, that's quite obvious in his nature but it has absolutely nothing to do with his fence aggression. As an example: There was a time when we were at a dog park and went inside... he played with all the dogs nicely, accepted pettings from a little six year old girl and her parents, and was a true pleasure to be around with. The parents finally said they had to get going and I warned them that as long as they're inside, he's friendly, but as soon as they go outside the fence he's going to be barking his head off and stalking up and down the fence-line at them. They thought I was joking and just snickered, right up until the fence door closed and he started going off like a psycho-dog. This, of course, sets off the Pyrador that I also bring with, and now you have about 200 lbs of dogs screaming at you through a fence (the other dog doesn't do this unless Jaeger starts).
It's getting to the point that I don't like bringing him to the dog park because he freaks out the other people there.
He's extremely protective, that's quite obvious in his nature but it has absolutely nothing to do with his fence aggression. As an example: There was a time when we were at a dog park and went inside... he played with all the dogs nicely, accepted pettings from a little six year old girl and her parents, and was a true pleasure to be around with. The parents finally said they had to get going and I warned them that as long as they're inside, he's friendly, but as soon as they go outside the fence he's going to be barking his head off and stalking up and down the fence-line at them. They thought I was joking and just snickered, right up until the fence door closed and he started going off like a psycho-dog. This, of course, sets off the Pyrador that I also bring with, and now you have about 200 lbs of dogs screaming at you through a fence (the other dog doesn't do this unless Jaeger starts).
It's getting to the point that I don't like bringing him to the dog park because he freaks out the other people there.
That's really strange, and yeah, not having a controlled environment is a huge factor of helping dogs... it's one reason why I haven't made as much progress as I've wanted to with my dog.
The only thing I can think of at this point is have him on leash in the dog park environment, allow him to look at people on other side of the fence, reward when he does. It'll be a slow process, esp if it is a severe reaction, but you have to build that foundation of baby steps for things to get better.
And thankfully you don't even really need someone to help you who knows too much about dogs, just get a friend to stand on the other side of the fence and work with it.
I'm way tired at the moment so I can't think of a plan more detailed than this, been a long ass day, and of course it's something I'd have to see in person to really understand better, but I can help you out if you want, or at least give as much advice as I can.
The only thing I can think of at this point is have him on leash in the dog park environment, allow him to look at people on other side of the fence, reward when he does. It'll be a slow process, esp if it is a severe reaction, but you have to build that foundation of baby steps for things to get better.
And thankfully you don't even really need someone to help you who knows too much about dogs, just get a friend to stand on the other side of the fence and work with it.
I'm way tired at the moment so I can't think of a plan more detailed than this, been a long ass day, and of course it's something I'd have to see in person to really understand better, but I can help you out if you want, or at least give as much advice as I can.
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