Dog Lovers/Experts

vim_n_vigor

I have a rescue dog from a shelter that we got when she was around a year old and she is now close to 2 years old. She is a German Shepherd/Boxer mix. The people who owned her before us lived in an apartment and pretty much kept her in a cage all the time. They had issues with her jumping up to steal food from counter tops, but since she was normally locked up, didn't note any other behavioral problems.

We did initially break her of her habit of jumping up and stealing food off of the counter. Overall, unless it is related to food or cutting her toe nails, she has been fairly mild mannered. We did have to teach her how to go outside and run and play. We have a large yard and also have a Golden Retriever that is a little less than a year older than her. Other than the dogs deciding who was boss over the first few days, the dogs have gotten along very well. I also have 2 sons aged 4 and 6.

Lately, she has been jumping back up and stealing food from the counter, she has even started to snap at my other dog as she tries to steal her food. She has never done this and both dogs get plenty of food.

Her new thing now is that she won't come into the house at night. It is getting down below freezing most nights and last night she spent the night howling at the river behind our home for hours. Finally, somehow, my other dog was able to get her to come inside the house.

I am pregnant and will have a newborn in the house by early June. If we had known we were going to have more children, we would not have adopted this combination of breeds. We have discussed trying obedience school or finding her a new home. My MIL has worked with dogs for many years and has owned several German Shepherds. She is worried that our dog is showing some early warning signs of German Shepherds that she had that she had to put down because of aggression and attacking people or other animals. I am obviously worried about my children, who she has been very playful with, but even more concerned about what she will do with an infant. Anyone have some suggestions or inputs here?

rml_16

I think obedience school is the best bet and if she can't be cured of the aggression, find a home for her with no children.

I'm normally not keen on people getting rid of dogs, but if you can't fix that, there could be serious injury. As for the baby, there is a strong chance she'll be more protective than aggressive, but best to do the obedience thing just in case. She needs to understand her place (beta).

the_journeyman

We have a boxer/shepherd mix. She will steal right off the counter like you mention. She only does this when tasty things are left unattended. It's pretty common for a dog to be protective of their food bowl, so i wouldn't be overly concerned about that. Ours runs the cats out of her bowl, but won't hurt them. Plenty of food won't keep that from happening. If she is not aggressive toward people, I don't think it's a big problem. However, I would not want ours around small children simply because she gets so excited, she'll knock them down trying to play.

As far as coming in, sometimes ours doesn't want to, but we just call for her and close the door. She'll then come to the door in about five minutes or so. Not sure how to solve that one.

JM

vim_n_vigor

Our Golden Retriever is so opposite when it comes to food. If someone comes near her food bowl she will either sit or walk away. She won't touch food on the counter (except bacon) and same with the garbage or anything else. She won't touch food (even dog snacks) that are in someone's hands other than mine or my husbands. I think that makes her behavior even that more noticeable.

UsedToBeHusky

What has changed recently? Besides your pregnancy... maybe she is reacting to a change in her environment. Maybe you can pin point what is triggering this bad behavior. How do the boys treat her when you aren't looking? I'm not suggesting that they would intentionally be cruel, but at that age, they just might not know better.

vim_n_vigor

There isn't anything besides the pregnancy that has changed. Another thing to mention - she has started peeing in the house again. She had stopped doing that for several months. I can tell she has been acting differently (both dogs actually) since I got pregnant. They are at my feet nonstop. The boys play with her pretty nicely. My youngest is especially affectionate to animals, even as a toddler. My oldest has always been pretty indifferent to the dogs but will give them hugs and play fetch. I guess the only other thing would be the weather change from fairly warm to freezing over the past few weeks.

rml_16

It probably is directly related to the pregnancy. She may feel like her place in the pack is threatened.

UsedToBeHusky

It probably is directly related to the pregnancy. She may feel like her place in the pack is threatened.

This. I would try some one-on-one time with her. Take her for a walk without the retriever and without the kids. Give her a little extra affection. You might see some changes. Then she probably will be more protective of you and the baby. She might just need some reassurance.

vim_n_vigor

It probably is directly related to the pregnancy. She may feel like her place in the pack is threatened.

This. I would try some one-on-one time with her. Take her for a walk without the retriever and without the kids. Give her a little extra affection. You might see some changes. Then she probably will be more protective of you and the baby. She might just need some reassurance.

I'll try it out and see!

rjt1000

It probably is directly related to the pregnancy. She may feel like her place in the pack is threatened.

This. I would try some one-on-one time with her. Take her for a walk without the retriever and without the kids. Give her a little extra affection. You might see some changes. Then she probably will be more protective of you and the baby. She might just need some reassurance.

No, dogs are pack animals. Doing things separate with them is not usually a good thing. Do things together, dogs and humans but make sure the dogs understand their place in the pack. We adopted our 3rd dog who'd been in a kennel for over a year. She was very territorial over her food to the point of snapping at anybody who walked by while she was eating. she wouldn't come in the kitchen if anybody was sitting at the table and eating. She's only eat if nobody else was around and if anybody came around, she'd get upset. Solution was to get her used to eating with others around her by feeding the dogs together at same time as we were eating dinner. We'd bring all into the kitchen and then close the doors so she couldn't leave. After a few weeks of it, she got much more comfortable. She is used to eating around others now.

NaurielR

I'd highly recommend seeking out an experienced trainer, someone who has schooling in animal behavior. Your dog sounds like she has some food aggression issues. That could be dangerous to your child, especially when he/she is old enough to be crawling around. I'm worried what might happen if your child started playing with your dog's food bowl.

Danni3ll3

I'd highly recommend seeking out an experienced trainer, someone who has schooling in animal behavior. Your dog sounds like she has some food aggression issues. That could be dangerous to your child, especially when he/she is old enough to be crawling around. I'm worried what might happen if your child started playing with your dog's food bowl.

^^^What she said!^^^^ I believe you have a time bomb on your hands and you need to deal with it right away. This is from someone who has trained and shown dogs for many years.

WeekndOVOXO

Most behavioral problems come from the owner.

I'm not an expert or anything. And my advice isn't the bees knees, but I've watched almost all Dog Whisperer shows since I was young and have read his books and watched his DVDs.

Dogs need exercise, discipline, and affection.

My recommendation is to walk your German Sheppard for about an hour. Once she's done the walk get her bowl of food, fill it up and raise it above her. Make sure she makes eye contact with you, wait until she submits(either by sitting down and looking at you, or laying down and looking at you. Once she has submitted give her the food. If she's growling or whining use a command to get her to stop "shh," seriously works. Don't let her walk to her food when you're filling it up. Make sure there's distance, and if she doesn't give any push her away and ignore her. When you've finally done this a few times try and take away her food or put your hand in front of her food. If she growls use your command. Make sure when you're doing this that you're calm and assertive. Try not to get frustrated or angry, dogs do have a sense for that and mimic the way we feel.

I've had 2 dogs. Both who I've got to train and work with and have benefited from Cesar Millan's expertise. I've also helped out my friends dog and his compulsiveness to jump up at people every time they entered the house. Check his stuff out, you'll likely find a case similar to yours.

terewilliams

I'd highly recommend seeking out an experienced trainer, someone who has schooling in animal behavior. Your dog sounds like she has some food aggression issues. That could be dangerous to your child, especially when he/she is old enough to be crawling around. I'm worried what might happen if your child started playing with your dog's food bowl.

I am a serious dog lover and have loved every breed there is to love. I will even add that my ex-husband and I had a pit bull dog puppy when our first born was 6 months old. He used the dog as a walker and rider (on the dog's back) and his sister followed suit two years later. I have had two rescue dogs. One was just fine and you would never have thought that she was a rescue. The second had some serious issues to overcome. Fortunately, my kids were grown and gone and I was single with another dog when I got her. I think a trainer would tell you that some dogs are able to sense hormonal changes in our bodies and this may have an impact as well. However, I would give this serious attention prior to the arrival of the new baby. Please do seek some professional assistane and be prepared to locate a new home for her. Remember that this must be a win/win relationship for all concerned. Although she may not be with you, you may have time to locate a happy home for her.