german shepard 18 month old bitch called leia

Question
Hi
  i have 2 things that i would really like 2 know.

the first questions is why is my 18 mnth old german shephard bitch getting a grey bear and a grey like mostash?

could it possibly be anything to do with her chancing her tail non stop if so could u give me some advise how to stop her chacing her tail

and secondly
my dog constantly barks at dogs when ever she see's any dog big or small she just has to bark she has not been attacked or had any bad expierences as a puppy but the first time we took her out after the injections shestarted barking at a dog for no reason!
when she see's a dog now she barks but she really wants to play but she isnt to sure how to.
i am looking at getting a second dog do you think that this could help her with the problem of not knowing how to play? would it stop her barking at dogs in the street if we got another dog and she saw that they are no a threat?

please reply in desperate need of help

kieran  

Answer
Hi Kieran,  First, if she is getting grey that young, she probably has sable somewhere in her genetics.  Grey sable is a color in GSD's and it will start to come out if they carry it as they get closer to two.  
She chases her tail because she is a herding dog, so her herding instinct must be pretty strong as she is being triggered by the movement of her own tail.  You can spray her with a spray bottle filled with water and tell her no if you catch her in the act, but remember it is an instinct that is being triggered, so it is not something you can just stop.
As far as another dog being a threat, some GSD females have major problems with other dogs.  If you want to get another dog, I would do it now before she becomes a full adult and dislikes dogs all together.  You will definitely want to get a puppy so that she would not be threatened by it.  You can use the spray bottle to correct her for barking also.  Another thing that will help is to get her obedience trained so that you have commands to work with to get her to understand what you expect from her.  Hope this helps,

Dawn