Why is your German Shepherd Dog Overly Aggressive?

Overly Aggressive German Shepherds is a big problem!

If you are a German Shepherd lover, there are chances that you like to meet new German Shepherd owners and mingle with new dogs. I am sure that by doing so you have met shepherds with strange behavior. Overly aggressive German Shepherd Dogs are threats to not only the owners, but also other animals and friends of their owners. The fact is, it is due to the lack of knowledge of the owners that many shepherds become aggressive. Well, aggression is a genetic trait that stimulates the protective drive of the breed. Over aggression in German Shepherd Dogs is a psychological imbalance and a serious fault in the breed. Such behavior is a deviation from the standard of GSD behavior.

This post includes tips and tricks to handle an overly aggressive German Shepherd Dog. You can get some important points that may help you make your German Shepherd Dog learn good habits. Teaching should start at the very young age, but since most dogs start displaying aggressive behavior in the later age you need to be well equipped with the technical know-how of teaching good things that can be applied at any point of time in the dog's life span. Remember GSD is a very intelligent breed and has an instinctual tendency to please his master - its important to understand this. Make your dog please you and show that you are pleased when he shows desirable behavior.

Most GSD owners, I have come across, cannot understand how to get their overly aggressive shepherds to learn good habits. Dogs are not humans. They understand things in a very different way. So most often, when an untrained trainer is training your German Shepherd, he is actually contributing to the dog's behavioral problems, thereby making them worse! My first tip to solving this problem is to find the right trainer, who knows how to communicate with and train a GSD with scientific methods. German shepherds are different from other breeds. A professionally trained trainer understands this well! Slashing, yelling and forcing him doesn't really work. A good trainer is a canine behaviorist first; he should be able to understand what your Shepherd actually need.

An untrained German Shepherd Dog can be a nightmare. So, before you have to make a decision to have your monstrous shepherd put down, you should in for some effective training session. An overly aggressive German Shepherd Dog does not just show up its wildness one day suddenly. It might have displayed warning signals quite often in his life that he had never been a friendly pet. As a young pup he might have been a timid dog that has always disliked strangers or strange places or he could have showed aggression at people coming near him and his food and toys. As a responsible owner you should be able to observe your pup's subtle behavioral changes and identify what's wrong!

 All dogs must be well socialized and should undergo a serious obedience training session either at home or in classes, in order to make them almost no-problem dogs. Proper socialization mitigates dominance and over aggression. Your dog's handler should be knowledgeable enough. The handler's aggression towards your German Shepherd will never mitigate the dog's aggression. It will never work. The handler MUST have a thorough understanding on:

• Temperament in dogs and its relation with dominance and aggression
• How genetics play its role on the dog's behavior and contribute to aggression and dominance

The control of all types of behavior in a dog is a very complex process, and is hugely influenced by genetics and environmental factors.

1. Most important problem area: Unscientific breeding is the most common factor that contributes to aggression of a dog. This area needs serious attention. An overly aggressive German Shepherd Dog, all through his life, shows warning signs that it is not like the other friendly canine companions. Choosing the right breeder is very important. Both the fear based aggression and dominant aggression are due to poor breeding, while territorial aggression and predatorial aggression in German Shepherds are normal and desirable to a certain degree. A well-bred GSD has a stead nerve and stable psychological health. Over-aggression and attack behavior are very rare in a well-bred specimen. 


2. Training sessions: Training process starts by boosting up the pup's the confidence level and making it feel secured. Overly aggressive German Shepherd Dogs usually have some kind of fear. They are often psychologically weak with low degree of hardness in their character. A pup with lack of confidence and psychological resiliency to unpleasant and strange situations, cannot be corrected easily. I suggest creating a perfect environment around the training zone. You can invite a few friends of yours whom your dog knows well. With the gradual passage of time you can invite a stranger along with your friends and go on for stroll in the park with them and your dog. Gradually increase the number of friends and strangers. This can be a very effective socialization technique and should be a slow process. By making haste in this process you may unknowingly contribute to your shepherd's behavioral problem, instead of solving it. A gradual and slow process in this socialization technique will keep pup's stress under control, and he will feel comfortable, and eventually get socialize to strangers and strange situations.

3. Mingling with other dogs: Often times aggressive dogs cannot tolerate other animals within their vicinity, which makes the dogs show aggressive behavior towards them. This is not a desirable characteristics of a well-bred GSD. Such problems can be solved, although not a very easy task. Mingling session has to be started immediately Today is the right time! Keep your dog on the leash in a region having a few other more confident and calm dogs. Hold the leash tight and as soon as he shows signs of aggression, just give him a mild jolt with a sharp "NO". Repeat it whenever he shows signs of anger. Keep a constant eye on him and you can predict how he will be behaving on a specific situation a few seconds before he actually shows the aggression. As soon as you can predict his behavior, give him a jolt with a sharp "NO". It will take a lot of time to socialize your German Shepherd Dog with other dogs. You need to be patient and consistent and handle him correctly, and with firm hand.

4. Keep your dog away from other aggressive adult dogs: Remember dogs are pack animals and they live a pack life. Their specific behaviors are usually the resultant products of staying together within the pack, which is very natural. If they do not consider their owner as the pack leader they will take it upon themselves to become the leader of the pack which turns out to be quite detrimental. If you have a new addition to your kennel, keep the new dog or puppy away from the other aggressive members of your kennel. Studies have shown that dogs and puppies that are in contact with the other aggressive pack mates usually become aggressive with time. Get the new dog surround with cool tempered, confident, well mannered, playful dogs with positive behavioral traits.

5. A battered German Shepherd loses trust and confidence: A German Shepherd that is being tortured physically and/or mentally today, will become an overly aggressive monster tomorrow. An abused dog is prone to become frequent biter and usually turns out to be overly aggressive towards human. Do not make your dog lose trust no you. If you are the second owner of your GSD, who is highly aggressive. You (yourself) are the right person to reduce his aggression. Help him regain his trust and confidence on you. Take him to walk... long walk. Take him to swim and play frisbee. Serve him treats when he listens to your commands. Try to develop a bondage with your dog; make him understand that you are his pack member, BUT DO NOT FORGET TO ESTABLISH ALFA MEMBERSHIP IN THE PROCESS.

6. Establish Alfa Membership: German Shepherds instinctively try to establish a rank within their pack. Dominant German Shepherds have been studied to have problems with their pack and rank within the pack. You need to be an established Alfa member of the pack. If you are an owner of a dominant German Shepherd Dog, you have to learn to become the alfa member of the pack, which most owners are not aware of or give this an afterthought. Establishing the leadership is a continuous and consistent process, which should be started since its puppy-hood. Crate training is of utmost importance here.

7. Lack of Exercise: German Shepherds are working dog. Less work and less exercise makes the dog easily frustrated. Aggression may be a result of this too! Frustration and aggression are directly related in working breeds like German Shepherd Dogs. A tired dog is a contend dog. Put him to heavy exercise. Long walk, trot, swimming, playing fetch are best exercise you can give to your dog, backed with good food and sufficient rest.

8. Poor Nerves: Dogs with poor nerves can be fierce biter. Indication of poor nerves are shrinking away from the strangers or fear of loud noises. Poor nerve is a breeding fault... this means such a behavior is wrongly controlled by genetics. It is hence important to look for the right breeder and his breeding programs.

Related Reads - Aggression in German Shepherds 

 Frustration-Elicited Aggression is Environmentally Engineered Behavior

Your Own Behavior Can Contribute to Your Dog's Aggression 

How to handle an Overly Aggressive German Shepherd Dog

 More Related Reads From Welcome Dog Lovers

Dog Aggression - Why Dog Becomes Aggressive 

Aggression is a seriously detrimental behavior that needs be adjusted with the help corrective training.

To conclude, the first and the major step to dealing with an overly aggressive German Shepherd Dog is to understand why the dog acts the way he does, and then figuring out what strategic drives should be taken as corrective measures.

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Environmentally Engineered Aggression in German Shepherd Dogs

Frustration-Elicited Aggression in German Shepherd Dog

If you are a German Shepherd Dog enthusiast, chances are that you have always liked to meet new German Shepherd owners and mingle with new GSDs around. It is quite normal for a real lover of GSD breed to look for more information on GSD, which makes him or her develop a tendency to stay in close relation with the GSD breeders, and experienced owners. I am pretty sure that if you have been meeting new German Shepherds, you have, at least once in your lifetime, come across a German Shepherd Dog strange behavior - either too submissive or too aggressive. Large breed like German Shepherd Dog sometimes turn out to be really difficult for novice owners to keep, especially in apartments, or with a family where nobody has time to take him on walk or to play in the yard. German Shepherd Dog is a working breed and can hardly stay

calm without doing something. Frustrated dogs - especially for a breed like GSD sometimes become hyper aggressive under such situations. Gene has got nothing to do here. Even a dog descending from the coolest bloodline can exhibit strangest behavior out of frustration.

Hyper aggressiveness or overly aggression in many breeds, including German Shepherds may be the result of many factors and frustration can be one of them. Apart from aggression due to frustration some other types of aggressions in GSD are genetically engineered aggression, territorial aggression, social aggression, defensive aggression, fear-elicited aggression, protective aggression, sex related aggression, redirected aggression. Like redirected aggression, fear-elicited aggression and social aggression, the frustration elicited aggression is also an environmentally engineered aggression, i.e. the type of aggression influenced by environmental condition or situation.

Frustration-elicited aggression is too common in German Shepherd Dogs, especially if they are kept confined, without any work been assigned. GSD is a working breed, They are basically farm dogs and loves to be on any outdoor projects. Evidences are there that some friendly dogs suddenly become aggressive when put in a closed room or leashed. This kind of aggression can be controlled through heavy exercise. A tired dog is a content dog. Dogs with this problem usually exhibit aggression on things they are frustrated with. For instance, many German Shepherds get frustrated on their leash. Resolving this problem is hard but not impossible. Lots of patience and time are the keys to the success story. Alongside enough exercise, not creating the situation too frequently that frustrates him is a way. For instance if he becomes frustrated with confinement, do not confine him too frequently or for long hours. If you realize that your dog is starting to create problem in a given situation, you can turn his attention off. Provide him with a bone to chew, for example.

What is worth worrying about this is that in many cases the frustration-elicited aggression in dogs (irrespective of breed) can lead to redirected aggression, which can be more devastating. This means, since the dog is not able to get to what actually he is looking for and consequently gets frustrated, he will try to show his aggression on some other thing. For instance if he is frustrated of being leashed or confined for hours, he may show his aggression on the bed and pillow. Things turn out to be more dangerous when such frustration elicited aggression is redirected to his pack members or family members.

Reach out to a professional canine behaviorist or trainer. It is essentially necessary to teach your German Shepherd to calm down in stressful situations. German Shepherds, if well bred, usually have higher "stress threshold" compared to many other dog breeds. Still many good dogs are seen with lower "stress threshold", and they easily get frustrated.

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Your Behavior Can Contribute to The Aggression of Your German Shepherd Dog

Is your German Shepherd Dog aggressive? Aggression, to the desirable extent, is a part of the breed's natural character, although these dogs usually make great companions for your family and can prove to be quite good with kids. Too docile nature of German Shepherd will compromise his guarding and protective instincts, and would make him undesirably friendly with strangers, which is a serious fault in his character. While, on the other hand, too aggressive nature can be a way to get over you... that is to become the alpha member of the pack. His over aggression can be a challenge thrown towards you to acquire the alpha position. Do not surrender your position to your dog. Successful and technical dog ownership demands you to be the leader of the pack. It is only if you are the alpha of your pack, that you can be successful in your attempts controlling your dogs. Retaining the alpha position of the pack doesn't mean you will yell at him. Remember... Yelling, punishing and hurting him doesn't work. Beating him or punishing him will cause fear-based aggression. Aggressive dog training, be it with German Shepherds or for any other breed, involves correcting measures without punishing him. Yelling and punishing your aggressive German Shepherd Dog will simply stimulate your dog's fear and increase his aggression.

Many people have been mailing me asking for suggestions about their aggressive GSD. Most of them have more than one dogs and they fight when they get to meet together. Sam's problem iss that his GSD tends to attack fearlessly his Labrador when they are given food at the same time. His trainer asked him to feed them separately. He said, now he has to pay double the charge paid to the one who walks his dogs, because he has to walk them separately. But this is not permanent solution! I am sure most people cannot afford to keep their dogs closed separately.

My suggestion to people like Sam would be simple...

Find out why your dogs are aggressive towards each other. Did you not socialize them during their puppy hood? Or do both of them need dominance? If you did not have socialized them properly, it was your fault. If they both are fighting your dominance, it's again your fault. Dogs are quite intelligent,. and can learn things throughout their life. take them to the external world. Allow them meet situations, and experience strangeness of the nature. I would suggest you take both your dogs together - and take them in an entirely new area, where they have never been to before. Strangeness of new places will mitigate their aggression towards each other. In a new area they won't be claiming their territory and position, because they know they are new there. Each of your dogs will need one another to form a team there. Well, by this I mean to say their sense of lack of confidence in a new place will make them look for each other's company. Make them play... let them be dead tired.

Next step is simple for experienced, but may be a bit tough for new owners.

Bring them home and now do not lock them in separate places. Take them along with you in your hall. They are tired, and need rest now. Make them lie in the same hall at two different corners. Provide them water in separate bowl. Be there yourself; keep an eye on both and try to maintain your position as an alpha of the pack of three - you and your two dogs. Do not too soft will giving them command. Say "NO" firmly, whenever required. Don't allow them to get on you.

My third very important suggestion...

Love them - but do not demonstrate preference - neither Rover over Rolley nor Rolley over Rover. The slightest demonstration of preference one over the other will make the other jealous, which will stimulate his aggression. Both of them should exercise together until they are tired. They should get the equal share of you love and touch. The aim is be at diminishing their jealousy towards each other.

Check out my post on handling aggressive German Shepherds
Know more about German Shepherd Dog - Ultimate Destination for Resources About German Shepherd Dog

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How to handle an Overly Aggressive German Shepherd Dog

If you are a lover of German Shepherd Dog breed, chances are that you have always liked to meet new German Shepherd owners and mingle with new dogs. By doing so, I am sure that you have, at least once in your life time, met shepherds with strange behavior. Overly aggressive German Shepherd Dogs are menace to not only the owners but also the other animals and friends of their owners they meet. The fact is it’s due to the lack of knowledge of the owners that many shepherds become aggressive. Well, aggression is a genetic trait that stimulates the protective drive of the breed. Over aggression in German Shepherd Dogs is a psychological imbalance and a serious fault in the breed, being a deviation from the standard of GSD behavior.

Now this topic is all about tips and tricks to handle an overly aggressive German Shepherd Dog. The piece includes some points that may help you make your German Shepherd Dog learn good habits. The process of teaching should start at the very young age, but since most dogs start displaying aggressive behavior in the later age you need to be well equipped with the technical know-how of teaching good things that can be applied at any point of time in his/ her life. Remember German Shepherd Dog is a very intelligent breed and has the tendency to please their master. This is a very important thing to understand. Make your dog please you and show that you are pleased when he shows desirable behavior. Most GSD owners, I have come across, cannot understand how to get their overly aggressive shepherds to learn good habits. Dogs are not humans and understand things in a very different ways. So often, when an untrained trainer is training your German Shepherd Dog he is actually contributing to the behavioral problem, thereby making them worse! My first tip to solving this problem is to find the right trainer, who knows how to communicate with and train a German Shepherd Dog with all full proved techniques.

Here are four German Shepherd Dog training tips to give a try before making the decision to have them put down.

1. Most important problem area: Unscientific breeding is the most important problem area that needs to be spared a serious thought over. Overly aggressive German Shepherd Dog all through his life shows warning signs that it is not like the other friendly canine companions. Choosing the right German Shepherd Dog breeder is very important. Both the fear based aggression and dominant aggression are due to poor breeding, while territorial aggression and predatorial aggression in German Shepherds are normal and desirable to a certain degree.

2. Training sessions: To start off with you need to boost up the confidence and make your dog feel the sense of security while setting the training session. Overly aggressive German Shepherd Dogs usually have some kind of fear psychologically week with low degree of hardness trait in their character. With lack of confidence and psychological resiliency to unpleasant and strange situations you cannot solve such behavioral problems. I would suggest you to create a perfect environment around the training zone. You can invite a few friends of yours whom your dog knows well. With the gradual passage of time you can invite a stranger along with your friends and go on for stroll in the park with them and your dog. Gradually increase the number of friends and stranger. This is a very important socialization technique and should be a slow process. By making slightest haste in this you may unknowingly contribute to your shepherd’s behavioral problem instead of solving it. This will pull down his stress level and make him feel comfortable.

3. Mingling with other dogs: Most aggressive dogs cannot tolerate other animals within their vicinity, which makes them show aggressive behavior towards them. This problem in the German Shepherd Dog personality can be solved, though not a very easy task. Mingling session has to be at as soon as possible. Keep your dog on the leash in a region having a few other more confident and calm dogs. Hold the leash tight and as soon as he shows signs of aggression, just give him a jolt with a sharp “NO”. Repeat it whenever he shows signs of anger. Keep a constant eye on him and you can predict how he will be behaving on a specific situation a few seconds prior to he actually shows the aggression signs. As soon as you can predict his behavior, give him a jolt with a sharp “NO”. It will take a lot of time to socialize your German Shepherd Dog with other dogs. You need to be patient and consistent and handle him correctly.

4. Keep your dog away from other aggressive adult dogs: Remember dogs are pack animals and they live a pack life. Their specific behaviors are usually the resultant products of staying together within the pack, which is very natural. If they do not consider their owner as the pack leader they will take it upon themselves to become the leader of the pack which tourn out to be quite detrimental. If you have a new addition to your kennel, keep the new dog or puppy away from the other aggressive members of your kennel. Studies have shown that dogs and puppies that are in contact with the other aggressive mates usually become aggressive as times pass by. Get the new dog surround with cool tempered, confident, well mannered, playful dogs with positive behavioral traits.

To conclude with I would like to say that your aggression towards the dog will never solve the problem of aggression your dogs. So don’t lose your cool on your dogs. You have to be patient and tactical enough to handle a overly aggressive German Shepherd Dog. A German Shepherd Dog who have been battered can turn out to be overly aggressive at to humans. Here's how to help battered German Shepherd Dogs regain confidence.

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