Fear Barker and Possible Aggression

Question
We have a 10 month old GSD female that we got when she was 5 mos. old from what we thought was a breeder, but turns out to be what we could call a puppy mill (here in S. Germany). We are currently residing in Bavaria, Germany and will be here for another 3 yrs. Freya, our GSD is just the sweetest thing in the house with our five kiddos and our little kitten, although outside the house is a very different story. She barks and lunges at people, kids, and goes nuts when other dogs cross her path. I have been taking her to dog training classes since she was 6 months old - the trainer says our GSD isn't aggressive or dominate, but is afraid of everything and reacts with barking, etc. We have had weekly 2 hour training classes and also she has been introduced to group class with other dogs and seems to do ok, she mostly befriended dogs that looked like she did. However, even after many hours of training (and she has grown a lot) she is still just as tough to handle out on a leash (but still a sweetie inside the house). We have tried clicker training, positive reward training, and now we are going to the collar that does the spray of cool water in the face to see if that helps. I am home with her full time as are the kids (I homeschool) so she gets many walks (we live in the country and I walk her on secluded walking trails) and much play/attention, and we do not physcially punish her in any way. I will continue with her training class, but we seem to not be making headway - at least not enough headway to overcome her growing power and strength.  She has never bitten anyone, but as you can imagine not too many people are willing to get close enough to a barking (hair up) GSD to find out if she would or not.  I am committed to raising her and taking care of her until the bitter end, but I can't deny it is exhausing to deal with this problem. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Most Sincerely,
Heather  

Answer
Hi Heather, first off it is not fear reaction if she is lunging at people.  Fear reaction would be if she barked like crazy, backed behind you and then lunged if someone continued to approach her when she was basically backed into a corner.  If she is lunging first and not backing away in fear, then you have what is termed an overaggressive dog.  How old was she when she started this?  This is not a good trait in a GSD under the age of 1.  It is a natural instinct in GSDs to start showing protective ability around a year of age, but anything under a year, and they are not mentally able to understand what they are doing, and that is why it is termed overaggression.  I would recommend that you get a Halti brand head halter.  I don't know if they sell them there, but if not, go online to Petco or PetSmart and purchase it online. It is a great training device that doesn't dominate the dog, but can help control lunging and get her better under control.  If you need more help, let me know.  

Dawn