Dog troubles

[Ceist]

At the beginning of this week my mom and I received a young dog from one of her co-workers. It's a German Shepherd / Labrador mix. It's about one year old. It has all its shot, but the only thing tho is that it hasn't been neutered yet.

Since we got it, it has been barking at me and only me repeatedly, it only stops whenever I pet him or hover my hand away from him a few inches. When I do this, he mostly just sits completely still. He's pissed in front of my door, in front of our front door, on my couch, and in front of my moms door. Really my largest problem with the dog is that if he doesn't stop barking, we're just gonna take him to the pound. We live in an apartment complex so that doesn't help. We've come to a few conclusions that he was either beaten by another male, has a mental deficiency, or is just displaying territorial aggressiveness.

what do forums

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[Master Shadow Phoenix]

Here's another conclusion.

D. He wants to give you the D.

In all seriousness, it may be territorial aggression.

[Frontrox]

Yeah my German shepherd barks a lot too. Have you tried spending more time with him? Maybe he'll stop barking at you when he becomes more familiar with you.

Do you know how the previous owner house broke him?

[ßlöükfáce]

i dunno, maybe get him neutered
and give him more attention

[Harm94]

German sherpards are working dogs. You have to train them and work them. You can work them by playing with them or walk them a lot.

[XR-7]

My dog was a great dog until the male (not neutered) neighbor dogs ganged up on him and nearly slaughtered him. And I mean that literally, with blood everywhere and skin ripped down into muscles and organs. He is a small sheltie, ran over to their gigantic dogs, got wasted, and now he hates absolutely every dog that he doesn't know. He will endlessly and aggressively bark at all dogs now. His coat is permanently damaged and he deals with skin issues too.

Dogs that haven't been neutered are extremely territorial.

[Ceist]

He won't bite me + I've tried to give him attention. All he does is bark at me, I've tried taking him outside. All he does is stare at me, sometimes he just sits there and shakes.

The previous owner who house-broke him has two younger kids, but she says they got along with him just fine.

I can't even go past my loving moms room without it barking up a storm.

[ThatRandomGuy]

My husky did the same thing and when we got her, she settled down once she got spayed.

[Swat 3]

He won't bite me + I've tried to give him attention. All he does is bark at me, I've tried taking him outside. All he does is stare at me, sometimes he just sits there and shakes.

The previous owner who house-broke him has two younger kids, but she says they got along with him just fine.

I can't even go past my loving moms room without it barking up a storm.

Just spend some time with him. He's probably just converting to his new surroundings and doesn't see you as a pack member yet. Sit on the couch and just watch tv with him.

German shepherd need this bonding experience.
They also should be trained and need to be taken outside more than expected. They LOVE fetch, especially since its lab AND german shepherd.

[sorrel]

with my experience of working at a pet kennel which the most common dog was a lab and having a German Sheppard (whose not neutered yet), male dogs until neutered love to piss on everything to mark it as their territory. Our German Sheppard pisses on everything compared to my other male dog who has quit since he got neutered, but now has started a piss war on reclaiming territory against the German Sheppard. They are also high energy dogs who need structure and training. From what you said about him barking at you when you move to another room is probably a pack order thing where he sees himself above you in the "pack" you should be the "boss" of him.

to deal with the barking i would suggest flicking or bopping his snout when he barks and firmly telling him No, remember you need to be the boss of him not the other way around. I wouldnt pet him to make him stop because doing that positively reinforces the bad behavior. If you do not want to do that i would suggest a barking collar

Also neutering will significantly decreases his testosterone, which sometimes can make the dog chill out more and decrease the need to piss everywhere.

[Mr. Hurricane]

Neutering may help. It is possible that you'll need to train him to not bark, and not to piss all over the house. Reward him for being silent perhaps.

I wouldn't suggest taking him to the pound. Seems like a stuffty place for a dog.

[Ceist]

with my experience of working at a pet kennel which the most common dog was a lab and having a German Sheppard (whose not neutered yet), male dogs until neutered love to piss on everything to mark it as their territory. Our German Sheppard pisses on everything compared to my other male dog who has quit since he got neutered, but now has started a piss war on reclaiming territory against the German Sheppard. They are also high energy dogs who need structure and training. From what you said about him barking at you when you move to another room is probably a pack order thing where he sees himself above you in the "pack" you should be the "boss" of him.

to deal with the barking i would suggest flicking or bopping his snout when he barks and firmly telling him No, remember you need to be the boss of him not the other way around. I wouldnt pet him to make him stop because doing that positively reinforces the bad behavior. If you do not want to do that i would suggest a barking collar

Also neutering will significantly decreases his testosterone, which sometimes can make the dog chill out more and decrease the need to piss everywhere.

but another thing is tho, most of the time when i approach him to shut him up, he'll sometimes try to run away, and cowar behind my mother or other objects, and continues to bark at me.

other than that, thanks for the advice, my mother and i are getting him neutered next week.

[sir dooble]

I think he is either afraid of you, or doesn't respect you, or possibly both.
I suggest you attempt to train him and prove your dominance. He is part of your pack, but he is at the bottom of the social order.

A good method is to try taking him for a walk.
Put him on his lead, and then walk with him. But keep the lead tight and close to yourself. Walk at a leisurely pace, but pull him back if he runs ahead of you. He should walk by your side, or slightly behind you.
If he's a strong dog, I suggest you try getting a head halter. They're completely humane, and they prevent a dog from pulling away from you, as a dog leads/pulls with his head/nose.


Honestly, I would suggest you go on YouTube and watch a few episodes of Cesar Milan's Dog Whisperer.
He gives some really good advice, and most of his methods worked well when we were training our dog.
And he's covered training lots of different dogs with different issues, whether it's them growling at their owners or fearing them.

A lot of the methods do require you maintain commitment to training your dog, however. It's no use doing it for just a couple of days, because they'll revert back to their normal behaviour.

[Ceist]

I think he is either afraid of you, or doesn't respect you, or possibly both.
I suggest you attempt to train him and prove your dominance. He is part of your pack, but he is at the bottom of the social order.

A good method is to try taking him for a walk.
Put him on his lead, and then walk with him. But keep the lead tight and close to yourself. Walk at a leisurely pace, but pull him back if he runs ahead of you. He should walk by your side, or slightly behind you.
If he's a strong dog, I suggest you try getting a head halter. They're completely humane, and they prevent a dog from pulling away from you, as a dog leads/pulls with his head/nose.


Honestly, I would suggest you go on YouTube and watch a few episodes of Cesar Milan's Dog Whisperer.
He gives some really good advice, and most of his methods worked well when we were training our dog.
And he's covered training lots of different dogs with different issues, whether it's them growling at their owners or fearing them.

A lot of the methods do require you maintain commitment to training your dog, however. It's no use doing it for just a couple of days, because they'll revert back to their normal behaviour.

like i said before, i've tried doing this and all he does is freeze up, staring at me, not wanting to move. I even had to drag him back up stairs.