He bit the hand that feeds him. 🤬

[JLS]

Get rid of the lap dog your wife got.

Simply establishing firm boundaries would probably go a long way.

 

[wolfpup]

Simply establishing firm boundaries would probably go a long way.

Amen.. and has solved any dog issue I have ever had. Can't really say it enough... establish that dominance of what is ok and what is not. I'm just not a small dog person, but only because I have never been around one that has not been a pain!

 

[JLS]

The small dog could very well bite someone without a change in trajectory.

 

[KB_]

we have a small Weiner dog that is my wifes and the hound is mine. This is one of those situations where there is a dominance thing going on. Assert your dominance over both of them and work on re-training.

Keep the crates in the living area, when you leave the room tell them to go into the crates and lock them. I know its a pain but pretty quickly they will just do it. This would help eliminate any chaos.

Also if you do get bite by the dog. Take his ass down pin him and start yelling at him. You don't even have to hit him. Assert your dominance. Even if you need to put a leather glove on to do it.

I dont deal with that at all with my dogs and they both know who is the boss in the house. They both submit to both my wife and I and our kids.

Bummer situation dude, I certainly feel for ya.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Tons of good advice on this thread, but the most important is the hierarchy, IMO. We had a similar issue with our 4 year old lab when the puppy came in. I was lucky enough to listen to a lot of the dog guys here and while the older dog still has some issues with male dogs due to an aggressive loving by an intact lab a few years ago, home life is back to "normal." (They're young labs, so it's still a chitshow). Ensuring that the older dog got as much attention as the puppy helped a lot with aggressiveness, as did remembering that fun is important for everyone.

The marriage end of this is the toughest. If you guys aren't on the same page, you're gonna have troubles. Our dogs are awesome family animals, poor hunters (my fault) and they have been given the green light by my wife to ignore her commands. She gets pissed about it, and I remind her that she's supposed to be in charge and if they're not listening, then correcting them is how you fix that. I get told that's my job, not hers. So I gave up trying to train my wife.

Best decision I've made in a while. She's untrainable, can't get rid of her though. And I really like my father in law, so I've learned to live with her.

Levity aside, it's a tough issue. Listen to the guys with experience, get ready for a tough conversation and give that GSP a lot of love.

 

[Irrelevant]

Also you can physically work a lot of that anxiety out of the dog. Just takes a shot load of time on your part to run it hard enough, morning and evening

 

[Sytes]

I get told that's my job, not hers. So I gave up trying to train my wife.

Hah! A proverb says...

*********

Self educated experience --> extremely valuable advice for those gents still pulling the hard-knocks card. Y'er always the gent, Ben.

 

[Akcabin]

My sense is that the dog may have some pain issues. Causing aggression. I say this based on introducing young dogs to our older ones. We have been a Chesapeake Bay Retriever family. And when they were both playing the older dog would never quit so consequently got sore. Or when playing fetch the younger dog was trying to gain dominance and would literally roll the older dog sending him head over tail.
The ol dog just couldn't compete anymore but couldn't stop trying either. Maybe a trip to the vet for a good exam.
And just maybe your ol dog was cowering in his kennel because he was not liking that he disrespected you. Or having a physical reaction and having spasms.
Anyhows we have had faithful dogs react badly because they reacted pain. A good veterinarian exam from a medical expert could identify bad hips or other issues that with proper care could help out.
Good luck

 

[rick19Kilo]

11 years ago we bought a pup. Everything was very promising until we had her neutered at 6 months.

I think instead of neutering, the vet installed testicles out of pitbull.

The dog's demeanor changed completely. The dog bit my 5 year old hard, then turned on me and bit me.

She went for a ride with me, and she was put down. I was sad. Something had gone wrong with the simple procedure, I believe she was in pain, infected or something.

It's a tough spot. I don't envy you. Do what's right for the family.

Laughed at the pitbull testicle implant coment, not the incident. That's a crappy situation.

 

[crock239]

Establish Yourself as Pack Leader by Managing Your Dog | German Shepherd Family Dog

Many people believe obedience is the way to become pack leader. This brief article shows you how to establish yourself as pack leader by managing your dog.

germanshepherdfamilydog.com

Without some human behavior changes, this might simply be an untenable situation.

@JLS is dropping some good knowledge in this thread. Resources I've reviewed and I'm gonna use to make some minor adjustments in our program at home.

@Addicting man it sounds like a really tough spot. I don't envy the choices in front of you. Good luck, that's a lot of people and dogs to manage.

 

[pre6422hornet]

So a little bit different situation as our dog was a rescue so we didn't raise him from a pup.

He was obviously abused as he disliked men and if I had a broom, golf club, snow shovel, fishing pole, etc.. .in my hand he would cower in a corner. But he loved my wife and I and never showed any aggression to us. Other men he didn't like. He ended up biting the cable guy and when the cable company reported it he went and stayed with animal control for a few days ( mandatory lockdown). Our oldest was 8 months old. I told my wife I had a bad feeling and I would never own a dog that bit people. The dog had never showed any aggression towards our daughter either.....

About 2 months later our daughter was crawling across the floor about 2 feet away from the dog ( dog was laying there, awake, no toys or food around). The dog attacked and bit her in the face and drew blood. I put the dog down as soon as I got home from work. To this day our daughter is now 14 and she has a small little pucker mark on her cheek from the canine tooth. I will never forgive myself for that.
Biting dogs are bad news. Friend of mine had to file bankruptcy after his lab bit a kid after the kid stuck his arm through the fence. Parents sued and all that stuff ensued.

 

[VOLhunter]

Yes there is a lot that can be done for establishing dominance, building trust and a dog's confidence, reorganizing pack order etc. However when you have children in a home with a dog that has proven the willingness to bite, you have to decide if it's worth risking. My answer is no. I spent 9 years as a K9 handler and trainer, and I've accepted bites from dogs with known problems that I was rehabilitating. As soon as I had my first kid, that limit changed. We can only learn from our mistakes in raising pets or children and we hopefully improve each time. It sucks, yes, but I would put the dog down or give to someone with experience working with a known biter. Hopefully you can establish a proper pack order with the new pup. To me it's an easy decision even though it's not a pleasant decision. Best of luck to your family in this unhappy process.

 

[Pahoundsman]

I have one rule in my kennel, if a dog bites,it goes. I have grandkids and if they bite you they will bite someone else. It’s a tough spot but human life and well being is always top priority.

 

[Addicting]

I just wanted to update everyone who replied. He had a Vet appointment today and we spoke with their trainer. They reaffirmed what was said here about going back to basics with him, which we had already implemented. Vet did a temperament test with him and he didn’t show any signs of aggression. On their physical exam they found he had a cracked molar that was causing him pain. Both incidents we had was when he was chewing on something hard. Vet said fixing his tooth and back to basics training will likely fix the the issues we are having.

We feel comfortable forgiving the incidents.

 

[Elkmagnet]

I have only had to do it once but as soon as a dog bites me we have a "dog fight" if I win he stays and we never have problems if I don't he goes and ill never have problems.
A lot of guys won't like it but I probably would have immediately dumped him out of the kinnel and pinned him on his back for a second. Let him know he messed up. You only have a few seconds and he is going to hurt you more then you hurt him. Like a lot more. But he is going to instantly understand where he sits in the pack.
Also an hour later once everything has calmed down act as if it never happened. Become instantly best buds again and move forward.
Not fun but a lot will be brought to light fast.

 

[Hunting Wife]

Glad you were able to get some answers and find a strategy to move forward. Hope it works out for all of you.

 

[MarvB]

Tough spot to be in, wishing you and the pooch success @Addicting
Hopefully the dental prob provided a key!

 

[Addicting]

Tough spot to be in, wishing you and the pooch success @Addicting
Hopefully the dental prob provided a key!

Seeing it has only been this last month we have had problems I’m sure he cracked that tooth which led to all the distrustful chewing. Throw a new pup constantly harassing him I’m sure he is dealing with all he can. We can fix both those problems so I think we will get past this without any more incidents.

 

[MarvB]

I had a crown break on day one of my elk hunt last year…felt like biting the shit out of everyone by day 8…and that’s without an ankle nipper after me at every turn.

 

[Elkmagnet]

I hope you have the chewing figured out!
Some tips I got from a good trainer that specifically dealt with German shepherds.
My wife took ours through some extensive obedience training to establish dominance when we noticed the need.
G.S. are typically dominant personalities so they can be hard for people to stay on top of.
One scenario is if the dog is asleep on the living room floor. Does your family walk around the dog? (to be nice and not disturb) or do they walk through the dog? He should understand he needs to get out of your way. This is a daily reminder of where we stand.
This should start slow with you and trickle down over time to the wife and kids so as not to be a shock to the dog. Give positive reinforcement. Also remember not to harass in the process.

Always make the dogs do an obedience exercise before handing them their food.
My 5yr old feeds our dogs as an obedience exercise. They are either told to sit or lay and stay while the food is delt out. If they can't we try again in an hour. The dogs seem to respect the kid better.

Another is that our dogs get scolded the second they put their mouth on us. Playing is fun but No exceptions. No excuses. It hardly ever happens anymore.