Stop Your German Shepherd from Biting
I must admit, I really love German Shepherds. They just seem like the perfect all around dog. Besides being physically beautiful dogs, they are intelligent, athletic, great around my family, make for very loyal and good buddies. They are fantastic dogs for the family and are just a joy to have around. However, because the German shepherd is such a big strong dog, with the ability to add a bite to its bark, you’ll want to be sure you know how to stop your German shepherd from biting, should he become aggressive. In addition, a well trained German Shepherd provides a certain sense of security around the house that you are just not going to get with a little dog. Not too many people want to mess around with your property when they hear the deep sound of a German Shepherd voicing their displeasure at the intruder. You as the dog’s leader should be able to control whether or not your dog goes from barking to biting. You will need to be able to stop yoru German shepherd from biting, because it is one thing to protect your property from a burglar, but another thing entirely if it the intruder is merely the mailman. Read my article about how to stop dog aggression for more on dog aggression solutions.
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Besides being a wonderful breed of dog, German Shepherds that are not well-trained can be a public nuisance. I know, because some years ago my puppy Rocky developed into a very aggressive young dog. He eventually bit the hand of a good friend that was about to shake hands good by with me. Even though Rocky let go immediately and there was no blood or anything, it was a real eye-opener. Something had to be done immediately. I had to stop my puppy from biting. Rocky was already scheduled to start obedience training (belatedly)– after knocking over my poor mailman (who, as he tried to defend himself in vain, inadvertently sprayed his can of protective pepper-spray right into his own eyes, instead of Rocky’s). When I heard the story I was not too happy about what had happened, but I could not help but laugh at the irony of the mailman spraying himself instead of my naughty dog. However, apparently the mailman didn’t have a very good sense of humor about the irony of that, and as it turned out, I didn’t get any mail for awhile after that. Well, that was the final straw. I couldn’t believe my 6 month old German Shepherd puppy, who I loved to cuddle and spoil and obviously left only partially trained, was becoming a public enemy. Even though he was great around the family, and never aggressive to other dogs or us, he had become a holy terror to anyone else-even friends. Not only was he dangerous, his growing aggression towards people was making us afraid to invite any house guests over. It was very clear that I had to stop my big German Shepherd puppy from biting right away.
To stop your German Shepherd from biting or ever becoming a biter, I’d highly recommend taking your puppy as early as possible to a group puppy training class. Read my article on group puppy training to socialize the puppy early and greatly reduce the likelihood of becoming aggressive later on. It is never too early to start teaching them. There are two obvious benefits to this. In addition to learning how to train your puppy yourself (which is always a cool thing to know), you are also socializing your puppy at the same time. By being around the other puppies and their human counterparts, your puppy will get used to being relaxed in public situations, and will thus be less likely to be aggressive to strangers and their dogs. By just raising your dog to be relaxed around strangers and other dogs you have taken a step to stopping your German shepherd from biting. It is said that from ages 10 to 16 weeks the puppy is learning things at the fastest rate he ever will, so it’s a good idea to already be training and socializing your puppy before this stage. Therefore, make the effort to get your dog out in public and socialized.
Conversely, a German Shepherd, or any other breed really, will be more likely to display anti-social behaviors, such as aggression and even biting, if it is always contained in a small yard or apartment, and deprived of the opportunity to meet and play with other dogs and puppies and learn the interactive social lessons it needs to really develop into its full potential as a great dog-one that you can take anywhere and be proud of. Believe me, if you are taking a dog as big as a German Shepherd out in public, you will want a well trained dog that knows you are the boss. Otherwise, it just won’t be as much fun as your dog tugs you around while he’s growling and acting obnoxiously.
If you have inherited or adopted a grown German Shepherd and need to stop him from biting , don’t worry– because you can teach an older dog this trick as well as a young dog. He may be somewhat more headstrong, and already have some serious behavior issues, such as aggression and biting, but by learning how to communicate and work with your dog, training your German Shepherd to stop biting or stop other problem behaviors is doable.
If your German Shepherd is really aggressive and is known to bite, you should not hesitate to enroll in him in a training class for aggressive dogs, ( or call a professional dog trainer from your area) for immediate help to stop your German shepherd from biting. Dog biting is a very serious problem that must be rectified as soon as possible, so you can be confident that your dog will behave himself. Otherwise your options are to leave him constrained to your fenced in yard or chained up, or to never take him anywhere without a muzzle on (a drag for your doggy- and even though it does stop the ability to actually bite, it does not stop the aggressive behavior leading up to the urge to bite).
Stopping your German Shepherd from biting once he has started to do so, is a lot harder than raising your dog with positive reinforcement training from early on, and thus avoiding this type of behavior problem in the first place. So, be sure to take whatever training steps you need to stop your German Shepeherd puppy or dog from biting. Once you again have control of your dog’s behavior, especially aggressive tendencies, you can relax more and have fun with your dog, rather than stressing out and worrying if he’ll run off and attack another dog, or even worse- a person.
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