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I have a 5 month old GSD, named Apollo, that we got when he was 8 weeks old to the day. Unfortunately, when we got him I didn't know any better, so he isn't exactly from a reputable breeder, but I have reason to believe the parents are healthy, so we're hopeful he will have an easy life ahead of him. From day 1 we have been doing everything by the book. However, he has had some behaviors that I was hoping I could get some insight on. Starting at 8 weeks we took him out for socialization with people, dogs, sights and sounds and have been doing that steadily. He is now fully vaccinated, healthy, and will be getting neutered tomorrow. Currently he gets to walk between 3 and 6 miles a day and chows down on Wellness Puppy Large Breed 3 times a day, his weight seems to be right on track. He is extremely responsive to training, knows most of the basic obedience without a hitch (working on increasing distractions), we only use positive reinforcement, NILIF, corrections where necessary, and has been perfectly potty trained for about 2.5 months now. That's all just background, and the main question is really that I don't know what to make of some of the behaviors that he has picked up. He has had a good amount of play with dogs around his age (give or take a few months). However, recently we were dog sitting a 1yr old black lab who is extremely sweet, except she was a little snippy around treats/toys. They had plenty of fun running around and jumping on each other and wrestling, but at a few occasions she very assertively told him to get away, a couple of times making Apollo yelp. Throughout the course of the 4 days or so that they spent together they continued playing frequently, and were very friendly, and seemed to come to an understanding that they shouldn't get near each others toys. Apollo avoided her when she had a toy (mostly food toy), and she knew to keep her distance from him when he had one. They were even friendly enough to play tug of war with each other. I did notice that Apollo started making a moaning sound, not quite a growl, when she came close while he was chewing on something she wanted, which I have never seen before. Apollo has also never been an out of control type of puppy. He certainly has his moments, but for the most part he is very calm and well behaved in most situations. So much so that I almost wonder if it's just a part of his temperment, since I always got the impression that raising a GSD was "OMG so difficult they have so much energy!" While dog sitting we took the two of them to a fenced in area to let the dogs play while a few other people were there with their dogs off leash. Apollo seemed to be more interested in sniffing around and exploring than really playing. At the same time he was really responsive and would immediately come. Once, while we were sitting watching him play, he came up to us to check in, and another dog came up trying to initiate play, and Apollo acknowledged it, and made a little bit of chase, but I noticed his hair stand on end, which seemed unusual for him as well. However, after fully sniffing each other out he did continue on and actually play. On another occasion we went by a friends house with a 9mo old pit mix who was extremely sweet and extremely hyper. During some supervised play the pit mix was continually trying to jump on him (and some humping action, I'm trying to convince my friend to get his dog fixed soon), and it generally just seemed to piss Apollo off. When the other dog did this, he would make a little noise and chase him for a short distance to get the other dog away, and then went back to sniffing around. However, when the other dog was calm, he happily went up and sniffed the other dog and licked his muzzle. Sorry for all this somewhat disjointed text, please let me know if I need to explain something better, but I'm not sure what to think about this behavior because I just don't really have a good idea of what I should be expecting to see. I plan on getting him into obedience classes soon, and then eventually CGC, and some agility. I just hope that I'm not seeing the beginnings of dog aggresion, as I have worked hard on making all of his dog encounters as positive as I can. pics:  Click here for the full 1024x684 image.
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| # ? Nov 05, 2009 23:25 |
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| # ? Nov 22, 2009 00:38 |
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Sounds like a totally normal dog behaving completely reasonably towards other dogs. Dogs can tell other dogs to back off without it meaning they're dog aggressive. I wouldn't correct him for any of this behavior unless it escalates.
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| # ? Nov 05, 2009 23:29 |
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I haven't corrected him for any of this simply because it hasn't gone too far, and has been far from an actual fight. At most it has all seemingly been an assertive warning. Perhaps during the instance where his hair stood on end when another dog approached us while Apollo was around was him simply being wary and protective? I probably over-think some things too much, but I just want to make sure I do all I can do ensure he is a well adjusted adult so that we can actually go do things with him when he is.
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| # ? Nov 05, 2009 23:33 |
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Agree, there is nothing unusual about his behavior. He is communicating his needs to other dogs. By growling he is just saying "don't bother me". At this point with my own dogs, I would not be concerned. If you plan on doing obedience, at 5 months, he could be starting basic classes right now. It is a great way to work on socializing your dog. GSD like all dogs, really do benefit for early, consistent socialization. We often joke that we over-socialized our dog Kai because he loves people a little to much. He is currently a therapy dog and thinks people are greater than food.
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| # ? Nov 06, 2009 00:09 |
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I really do plan on starting obedience ASAP, basically it's just once he is healed from neutering, save up a couple extra bucks, find a good trainer, and make some available time. We just got back from a walk actually, and he exhibited a behavior that concerns me the most. We ran into someone else and let the dogs sniff each other, and his neck hair seemed to be on end without reason since this was the first time he had met this dog, and dog wasn't jumping or being obnoxious. The brief meeting was just fine, and we went our separate ways, but does this hair thing necessarily mean anything? Is it not necessarily linked to aggression? Should I just consider this as him being cautious?
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| # ? Nov 06, 2009 00:50 |
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He could just be excited, don't worry about it if he's not doing anything else.
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| # ? Nov 06, 2009 00:52 |
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Hair standing on end does not automatically mean aggression. It just sounds to me like he was feeling super alert, which would be expected when meeting another dog for the first time.
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| # ? Nov 06, 2009 06:29 |
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lichen posted:I really do plan on starting obedience ASAP, basically it's just once he is healed from neutering, save up a couple extra bucks, find a good trainer, and make some available time. My dog is probably the least aggressive wuss on the planet, but he always thinks he's hot poo poo when he's meeting new dogs. He'll "puff up" like that, and hold his head & tail really high, just because he wants to show off how in charge he is. Unfortunately, this has gotten him into trouble before, because most dogs don't enjoy you getting in their faces.  But on the couple occasions where the other dog did go after him (the same dog both times) he's just backed off with this total WTF? look on his face.i.e. With some dogs, it's all for show. 
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| # ? Nov 06, 2009 12:33 |
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My GSD gets all puffed up whenever she meets new dog and is not aggressive in the least; she certainly leans more towards the fearful end of the spectrum. It's just you boy going hey I'm big don't gently caress with me I won't gently caress with you; you may not have seen this behavior before because he was a dumb happy puppy now he's getting into the annoying rear end in a top hat teenager stage.
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| # ? Nov 06, 2009 14:59 |
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All that certainly makes me feel better. I just want to be as attentive as possible because it would be horrible to have a bad situation scar his outlook on other dogs forever. At the moment he is probably already under the knife getting his boys removed, so let's hope for a quick recovery so we can go do more fun stuff soon!
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| # ? Nov 06, 2009 17:45 |
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and now, some pics just because i can   Click here for the full 431x604 image.  Click here for the full 448x604 image.  Click here for the full 453x604 image.  Click here for the full 604x453 image.  Click here for the full 604x453 image.  Click here for the full 604x453 image.
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| # ? Nov 06, 2009 17:53 |
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I didn't even know what a "GSD" was until I read this thread. I'm still pretty unsure, as it looks to me like it stands for German Shepard Dog.
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| # ? Nov 06, 2009 23:00 |
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You would be correct. he is not happy:  Click here for the full 2048x1536 image.
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| # ? Nov 07, 2009 00:32 |
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It's okay, he will pay you back by using that cone to knock/scratch every piece of furniture, door, and nice object you have and leave bruises on your legs. It's only fair. Ah I miss those puppy ears, I love they way the lean to the middle. Wishing him a speedy recovery.
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| # ? Nov 07, 2009 09:17 |
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