A common complaint I hear from people is they have an aggressive German Shepherd.
They're usually quite surprised by this behavior, because on the one hand, their dog is usually very loving and loyal, but sometimes the Dr.
Jeckyll/Mr.
Hyde switch gets flipped and they end up with an aggressive animal they don't seem to recognize.
Tim's problem with his dog Sal was very typical.
Sal was a great family dog, but when it came to food, she transformed into a growling, snarling, aggressive German Shepherd.
While Tim and his family were shocked and disturbed by this transformation, I wasn't at all.
What they were experiencing was a classic case of "food bowl aggression," which fortunately, is pretty easy to resolve.
Food bowl aggression, has to do with how your dog sees you.
It's important that your dog view you as the alpha, or the leader of the pack.
In fact, not asserting yourself in this position is one of the number one causes of an aggressive German Shepherd.
You need to make it clear to your dog that you're the provider of the food.
If she gets food, its because you give it to her.
This has to be clear in her mind, otherwise she'll view you as competition-- someone who's going to try to take away her food and keep it for themselves.
The first thing you need to do is to establish a strict mealtime schedule.
Have your dog sit while you prepare her food, and then once you tell her she can go eat, leave the bowl out for twenty minutes, and then take it away, even if she hasn't finished eating.
They're usually quite surprised by this behavior, because on the one hand, their dog is usually very loving and loyal, but sometimes the Dr.
Jeckyll/Mr.
Hyde switch gets flipped and they end up with an aggressive animal they don't seem to recognize.
Tim's problem with his dog Sal was very typical.
Sal was a great family dog, but when it came to food, she transformed into a growling, snarling, aggressive German Shepherd.
While Tim and his family were shocked and disturbed by this transformation, I wasn't at all.
What they were experiencing was a classic case of "food bowl aggression," which fortunately, is pretty easy to resolve.
Food bowl aggression, has to do with how your dog sees you.
It's important that your dog view you as the alpha, or the leader of the pack.
In fact, not asserting yourself in this position is one of the number one causes of an aggressive German Shepherd.
You need to make it clear to your dog that you're the provider of the food.
If she gets food, its because you give it to her.
This has to be clear in her mind, otherwise she'll view you as competition-- someone who's going to try to take away her food and keep it for themselves.
The first thing you need to do is to establish a strict mealtime schedule.
Have your dog sit while you prepare her food, and then once you tell her she can go eat, leave the bowl out for twenty minutes, and then take it away, even if she hasn't finished eating.