9 m/o male starting to growl and lunge at other dogs on walk

[ridley86]

My german shepherd is a 9 month old male and is also not fixed. We have socialized him at a very early age with dogs, cats, people, you name it. He regularly goes to doggy day care as well. Very recently, (the past 3 weeks or so), he now shows his hackles at other dogs on walks, (he's on a leash) and starts to lunge and growl. I can usually give a quick tug at the leash and say, "NO" and he will stop, but I have no idea why he is doing this behavior. He was recently taken on a walk by two of my friends who said he didn't even acknowledge other dogs on their walk. He also does not do this with my significant other, so it seems as though he does it when he is with me.

He's very obedient, and otherwise is a great pup. I just want to nip this in the butt before he gets older. I plan on taking him to a trainer who specializes in this type of behavior but I wanted to reach out to see if anyone had these problems before?

I also forgot to mention, he does not do this with dogs he knows.

Thanks!

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@ridley86 Sounds to me like he seems like he needs to protect you. Mine can be aggressive to other males his size but is great with Bitches and people

 

[dfomin]

@nylde0705 Oh shoot...this is what my puppy does as well and only on a leash. I think it's because one time, we were in a bad situation and she saved me from being mugged by barking and growling.

 

[ridley86]

@imagebeastmarkbeast Thanks for the response, this makes good sense! He's been doing it with males and females, but larger dogs so I can see where the protecting comes in.

 

[solina]

@ridley86 My dog did this for a while and still does, with dogs, to some degree. I know he doesn't mean anything by it. My trainer advised me to make him do a 'leave it' or a 'watch me' as his attention is diverted. You treat when he does it correctly so that you condition him to look to you before scaring the beans out of someone else.

Getting a trainer is also a good idea! I'm glad you are making an effort to get rid of this before it becomes a real problem. It is a very common thing among shepherds, so please don't feel bad.

 

[chrisccc]

@ridley86 At 9 months, the "teenage" period is starting. During this period, like with human teens, hormones are in control. It's during this point that they start honing and developing their instincts.

With the growling and lunging, it's his protective instincts kicking in. He's getting older and he's starting to see more things as being dangerous not only to himself, but to you. You're doing well by telling him no and to stop - this is teaching him what's dangerous and a threat to you and what isn't.

Personally, I don't think a specialist is needed. He's really not doing anything too terrible, and he's still listening to you when you tell him to stop. Just keep doing that, and in a few months as the hormones start to die down, then it should disappear.

NOTE: Unspayed male dogs tend to be a little more aggressive than those who are spayed. I'm not sure if you're planning to breed him, or just decided not to spay him. If you're not planning on breeding him, then I'd suggest that he get spayed. Spaying your dog can cut down the chances of getting any number of things, such as cancers, and it helps to curb aggression and other frustrating behaviors, such as marking things. However, I'd talk this through with your vet and discuss if it's the best option for your pup.

 

[ridley86]

@chrisccc Thanks so much for your thorough response! I do plan on getting him fixed, but I wanted to wait until about a year and a half (due to learning that it is good for the developmental growth of their hips and overall health). I'm not sure if this is entirely accurate as I've heard it doesent make a difference, but I figured waiting wouldn't hurt. I am hoping this does help as well. I guess I'll see if his demeanor on walks improves or gets worse before contacting as specialist and am happy to know this is normal!