H E L P w/ scared/aggressive rescue German shepherd mix!

[christiansworldwideweb]

So I am adopting a 4-5 year old German Shepherd who was found hung from a tree and very badly beaten around 5 months ago. I met the dog yesterday with his foster parents and hung out with him for about two hours. He is very docile, very sweet and is well leash trained. We brought him to my local dog park to see how he would do and it went two ways. The first dog he came in contact with was a calm dog who did not bark. They did fine. The next two dogs that came in were a German Shepherd and a Siberian Husky. My rescue dog reacted horribly to them prancing up to him with friendly barks and spunky behavior. The rescue dog became VERY aggressive bearing his teeth and lunging at the other dogs. His tail was between his legs the whole time. I am extremely nervous about this now. I am still going to adopt him because I believe in putting the work in and rehabilitating this sweet dog. But the people in my neighborhood are VERY uptight about aggressive dogs in the dog park. How can I get him to be better socialized and not get so scared or aggressive towards others??

EDIT: I live in Germany where it is very dog friendly here. Pets are welcomed to most restaurants. I want to be able to bring him around town with me without him getting aggressive.

 

[simcarter88]

@christiansworldwideweb The simplest answer is that the dog Park is a very uncertain and often over-stimulating experience for many dogs, even ones with far tamer upbringings. You can almost certainly work up to this experience at a later time, but to start there is clearly far too much for this pup. Begin small, getting to know one another, and establishing routines and trust at home. Pay close attention to his or her behaviors to try and determine what excites the pup positively vs causes anxiety. Then work up to planned interactions with trusted persons and their pets one at a time; if the interaction doesn’t go well, don’t sweat it, and don’t scold. Just observe the stimulus, then reassure your pup that he or she is ok, and exit the situation. Try again when he or she is calm, and continue to build/ increase interactions as positive behaviors increase. Reward positive interactions whenever they occur. If they don’t increase, go to a trainer, get some help on establishing language.

Everyone knows that dogs are domesticated from thousands of generations of breeding down from wolves, but wolves have a very clear and distinct manner of communicating. The modern Dog similarly uses body language to communicate before verbal tones, but the variety of size, breed, and training (and background!) result in every dog park and every sort of dog interaction being a place of essentially crossed languages, which can be so frustrating for both dogs and their humans to navigate. I have a husky who is definitely the awkward kid on the playground, and a mutt who wants to meet everyone, but comes on too strong without realizing not everyone will want to meet her. Both have very different communication styles and needs, which is pretty normal.

Good on you for making room in your life for this lovely creature so in need of patience and kindness. I wish you both many long years of friendship!!!

 

[christiansworldwideweb]

@simcarter88 Thank you SO MUCH for this detailed response! ❤

 

[simcarter88]

@christiansworldwideweb Definitely come back and let us know how it goes! Pupper pics are always welcome

 

[refei]

@christiansworldwideweb Google the two week shut down. Don’t take a dog you don’t know well to a dog park. Generally don’t take a dog to the dog park. They are hit and miss. Mostly because of the people.

Edit: Now that I'm not in line at Starbucks. Here is a link about the two week shutdown.

At dog parks you are at the mercy of other people and their control of their own dog. I won't take my dogs any more because there are too many people and dogs who should not be there. It was not the best place to take a dog you don't know and doesn't trust you yet to protect him. Take a training class. Much better for meeting other dogs and developing a bond.

 

[trmof]

@refei two-week shutdown...GREAT INFORMATION!!!!!!

 

[refei]

@trmof I wish I knew about when I found my boys. I think it really would have helped them with their adjustment.

 

[genxgen229]

@refei Here's an alternative explanation for the two-week shutdown. Some of the advice in that link is kind of sketch, and they seem to apply the whole mythical "you have to be the pack leader" idea.

 

[refei]

@genxgen229 I’ve never read pack leader into that. Just respecting what your new dog is going through and giving them time to adjust. While not a pack leader I do have to provide guidance. But I will go back a reread it. It’s been awhile.

 

[jedi4christ]

@christiansworldwideweb You are adopting a Project Dog who will take a lot of rehabilitation, training, and management. There is just no way to expect this dog to behave like a "normal" dog for some time, if ever (you need to keep your expectations in perspective). I'm sure a lot can be done, but you are going to need to keep your dog safe and under threshold for all the things he fears so that you can begin counter conditioning his emotional response to those stressers/stimuli. I highly recommend working with a very good positive reinforcement trainer (see the Wiki on how to choose one). Please do NOT bring this dog out in public (restaurants, etc., as you mentioned) until he is much more reliable and safe. It will be more than he can handle for quite a long time.

 

[richeze33]

@christiansworldwideweb Check out r/reactivedogs it has helped me and my aggressive rescue out tremendously

 

[pasteldreamrose]

@richeze33 yes! truly the most supportive and helpful people on the internet.

 

[genxgen229]

@christiansworldwideweb There are two books by Patricia McConnell that I would recommend. The first is a short booklet on how to countercondition reactivity, The Cautious Canine. An important point is that you don't fix these issues by simply causing the same event again, but rather slowly ease into the stimulus that stresses your dog out.

Another book by the same author is Love Has No Age Limit, about welcoming an older adopted dog into your home. I haven't received it yet, but my dog is an older puppy, and a very fearful rescue, so I wanted to check it out.