Question
Kupe
We have a 7 month old (not neutered) male German Shepherd called Kupe.
He's affectionate in the house to myself and my fiancee, but over the last few weeks he's becoming harder to manage around strangers inside and outside the house.
From the moment we open the front door to take him out he looks around nervously and barks if he sees a cat or person, while he's barking we try to distract him but he usually ignores us because he's looking around - he's usually obedient at home and in his puppy class.
In the car he looks around and barks at people crossing the road or on bikes, we've started trying to anticipate this and click and treat him when he sees a person but hasn't yet barked which stops the barking but I'm not sure if he's understanding what he's being treated for.
When out on walks to the park he's very good with dogs and quite good with people walking their dogs, however if they pet him he sometimes lowers his head a little and seems to be avoiding their hand slightly and walks off but he doesn't usually bark.
When we take him to crowded towns however he constantly looks around and it's very difficult to get his attention. If someone walks near him he may bark, and if people come up to him especially recently he'll walk up to them, sniff them then back off slightly and bark until they back away. This has progressed from about a month ago when he rarely barked at people, to barking at a few men when in our pet shop to now barking at most people.
Also, a month or two ago I had a number of people over to the house and he was quite relaxed with most of them, just sniffing and barking at two males, but now he barks at anyone who comes in the house. We had family over last week and introduced everyone in the park outside our house, and he didn't bark then, as soon as we walked in the gate to the house he started barking. We had the family sit in the living room then moved Kupe gradually toward the room stopping when he barks clicking and treating him for sitting and doing downs until he was calm then moving closer until he was laying on the outskirts of the group next to me. However if anyone got up he would bark.
We would be really grateful for your help on this as we've hit a bit of a road block and he seems to be getting worse quite quickly.
Many thanks for your time,
Bryony, Rich and Kupe
AnswerHi Bryony. Kupe is reaching adolescence and you're seeing the changes associated with this developmental stage. He could be going through a secondary fear period, which can happen anywhere between 6-14 months or he could be developing his true adult personality. Let's hope it's a fear period. Either way, there are things you need to do now to help him. It's good that you recognize the potential problem here. And it's great that you're already clicker training him. That's going to be really helpful when working on this issue.
It's a German Shepherd's first instinct to look around and decide if things are safe for him and for his family. GSD's may be a herding breed, but they are most often bred for their protective tendencies. That's why he may have been fine with your family at the park, but not on his territory at home.
You are doing exactly the right thing by clicking and treat when he notices a trigger (people, bikes, etc.) but before he barks. This is a technique called "Look at That" made popular by Leslie McDevitt in her book Control Unleashed. If you don't have it already, try and pick up a copy. By clicking the trigger you are marking the alert and redirecting his attention back to you for a reward before he goes over threshold (barking, lunging). In time, he will look at the trigger on his own and automatically look back at you for reinforcement.
There is another technique that I'd like you to investigate for times when you are out on walks. It's called Behavior Adjustment Training - BAT - and the creator is Grisha Stewart.
The website is at: http://ahimsadogtraining.com/blog/bat/ Purchase the 1.5 hour DVD to get more details than what you'll find on the website.
Basically, BAT allows the dog to make good choices (before he makes bad ones like barking) and then creating a distance between the dog and the trigger - which is really what he's trying to do when he barks. All work is done below his trigger threshold, so you would begin at a distance where he can see, but not react, then retreat. You don't need a clicker, you don't really need treats, but you can use them. I've had great success with this technique with every dog I've tried it with.
In the meantime, while you're learning about this, walk at times of day when you aren't likely to run into other dogs or take a path with less chance of running into other dogs. If you do see another dog coming toward you, do whatever you have to do to create a greater distance - go to the other side of the street or do a u-turn in the other direction. Teach your boy a cue that means that you'll be changing direction quickly. Teach this skill when there are no distractions and practice frequently. Make it a game so it will be fun for him to chase you in another direction.
I've seen so many GSD's with the behavior you've described - OK as long as no one moves from their chair. I'm not sure whether this is the herding instinct or the protective instinct - probably a combination of both. He wants to control where people are and gets nervous when they move about. You can use the "Look at That" when people start to rise from their chair. Invite someone over to practice this with. Person begins to get up, Kupe notices, you click/treat. You could also have the visitor toss Kupe a treat as they get up.
Since you're already taking a training class, perhaps your instructor might recommend someone to give you some in-home sessions to deal with Kupe's issues before they escalate.
Please let me know if you have any questions about anything I recommend or need clarification on anything. You're doing lots of things right. I think you need to be conscious of his trigger threshold and do what's necessary to keep him at a distance.
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