5 yr old gsd second attack on another dog

Question
Dear Expert,

We are at our wits end with our gsd. She is a spayed 5 yr old who was the runt of the litter and has a slightly anxious disposition. we also have a golden retriever of the same age. I am expecting twins in the next three weeks nd also have a 4 yr old girl. Zena our gsd started acting strange when i became pregnant, pushing me, whining constantly for attention and most weird ,staring at me in silence. We live in a very rural area but people and other dogs do walk by. Until recently radio fence around our 2 acres has secured them both but they have now worked out how to run through it. Zena has attacked, un provoked( no skin punctures, growling, barking loudly and showing teeth)two dogs who were  being walked past our house recently.

Answer
Many of the behaviors your dog is exhibiting sound like dominance issues. Please read my article at http://www.thegooddogjournal.com/2009/02/whos-boss-establishing-pack-leadership.... for tips on dealing with this.

I also suggest you call the company that installed your electric fence and tell them your dogs need to be retrained. You can boundary train dogs without using the fence at all, but it is a complicated process best handled by a professional. Someone at http://www.betterdog.com can help you if the fence company cannot. If you want to try it yourself you'll need some sort of visual barrier. Most trainers and fence companies use little flags. You (or someone) will need to take the dogs out individually and approach the flags and as the dog approaches give her a firm NO and a leash correction. Repeat all over the yard whenever the barrier is approached daily for several days. Next go to a long line and let the dogs run around (individually) freely on the line keeping it tight enough to give a leash correction when the flags are approached. Do this daily for a few weeks. Then bring in distractions, kids and other animals running alongside the dog and then past the flags, neighbors walking their dogs past, etc.

It could be (I'm speculating, I don't know) that Zena is seeing dogs walk by, approaching the fence, getting a zap and associating it with the dogs walking by (rather than the boundary) and that could be causing her aggression. If that's the case, she will need to be retrained to the fence and desensitized to other dogs. I've explained how to do the first, for the second you will need to take her to a neutral area to have her interact with dogs. Keep her on the leash at first and have her approach the other dogs slowly while praising and petting her. When she shows signs of aggression (barking, growling, etc.) give her a firm no and leash correction and back off away from the other dog. Then pet and praise her when she's calm and do it again gradually getting closer and closer to the other dog.

I'm afraid your solution isn't an easy one and it will take time, but your dog isn't a hopeless case, I promise!