any idea's in calming metz down

metz is a 8 year old german shephard who has become more aggressive this past year! we moved to quite a rough estate (through no fault of ours) since then the kids here taunt her so she barks consintly and now every little noise she goes mad! our letters have teeth marks in where she has snapped at the letter box. she never used to be like this until we moved here she ignores us completely when we call on her and we are worried that one day she just might bite someone so if anyone has any idea's id be more than happy to hear them!

thanks ash

oh gosh what horrid children!!! have u tried talking to the children metz, poor lil baby, hate kids like that!

sorry i cant help much, someone will be along whos much better than me to help!


good luck!!

unfortunalty yes we have and we get a mouth full of abuse they just enjoy seeing metz aggitated awful i know now if she just needs a quick pee we have to see if the kids are out there to let her out!

Oh dear im so sorry! how sad is that! poor wee girl!

poor dog I haven't got any advice - but I'm sure some-one will be along soon with some - but what I would say is you shouldn't really have the dog off lead if you suspect she may bite and because she won't come back when called - maybe a muzzle would be good just now for her

Do you know who the parents of these children are? If not can you find out? Everyone has a right to walk the streets without harrassment or intimidation. I know it's a long shot but if you can get to the parents of these children you may be able to nip it in the bud before it escalates.

jake ive tried that the parents are just as bad! we have even tried the police and council they both say its just kids being kids and they will keep an eye on it pah ! emm we do have her on the lead but its when we let her in the garden the kids congregate outside our garden and torment her! but a muzzle might be the next thing on the list! we are trying to get a move but doesnt look good either.

thats terrible - it dosen't surprise me about the parents though unfortunately

it must be absolute hell for you just now - have you tried your local MP say the hassle you're getting and the fact that the council and the police are not treating this seriously

poor dog because if she were to retaliate it would be her in trouble and not the kids who started it!

Hi Ash,

this is an awful situation for you. There are a few things you can do, but I don't know how many you've tried.

The first thing I'd do is contact the police and ask what their current standing is on warning signs - this changes quite frequently. Explain that you have a large breed dog and the kids in the area are tormenting her - if they jumped into your garden and got hurt by the dog, you don't want your dog punished for their illegal act. If the police suggest you put sign up, try to get it in writing. Avoid signs like "beware!" "caution!" etc - these suggest you have knowingly dangerous dogs on the premises. The signs you should go for say something like "Dogs live here" or "Dogs running loose", which don't imply a known danger.

Then contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau - ask when you stand legally on this issue. Find out how much you can legally demand of the council and the police - can you demand ASBOs etc?

Make sure your garden is suitably secure - with a safe, high fence.

It may be hard to change Metz's behaviour with regard to the kids, but you can try desensitizing her to the kids. Take her into the garden as much as possible and play and train her - it doesn't matter if she learns anything from the training, just that you're getting her used to being outside when the horrid kids are tormenting and encouraging her to ignore them. Play lots of games she loves, take tons of treats like liver cake out with you and give her tons of praise when she ignores them. You need to be more exciting to her than the kids are.

You need to make sure you don't show any fear or annoyance at these kids which Metz will pick up on. These kids are nothing to you, of no importance to anyone, and you must have that attitude, so when you take her out she learns that if you're not bothered there's no reason for her to be. She must respect you as alpha/leader/mum/whatever for her to look to you for your reaction.

If possible, join a training club to give Metz more confidence.

I would agree you should muzzle her in public, but just to keep her safe. Most GSDs tend to be quite highly strung so focus on lots of praise and treats when she's calm. If she likes 'working' set up tracks and hide and seek for her in the garden. Go out in the garden with her at all times so she draws from your confidence and calmness. If possible, take a book and a drink into the garden and just sit with her - give her kongs and bones to keep her amused and praise her for ignoring the kids. Take a radio out there so there's noise other than the kids. If she likes water, play with her and a hose pipe - anything to make the garden a fun, safe, enjoyable place and to encourage her to ignore the kids.

If you've got any friends or family with a large, calm dog, get them over and go sit in the garden. Let the dogs play together. The kids might like winding up one dog, but more than one's a pack and not so appealling. But you need to make sure the garden's safe as you don't want the dogs escaping to get to the kids.

Get in touch with your local police force's dog unit. Most forces have a special training unit for their dogs. Get in touch with them and try to befriend some of them. The might be able to give you much more advice, and it never hurts to have the police on your side.

If I can think of anything else I will let you know. Sorry this is such a long post!

Becs

Metz what a horrid situation, what is our society coming to? I live in a "nice" part of London and was walking Jake yesterday evening a gang of 15 youths were congregated at the enterance to a park. Jake and I walked in and one of the youths swore: get off my f**king pitch or I'll kill your dog. Well when someone threatens Jake the lioness in me takes over I told him I was calling the police. I also got a video of them on my phone. I followed them down the road and asked the ringleader for an apology otherwise I would take action against him. He apologised in the end!!!! I know you shouldn't take on gangs however they are starting to rule our streets and as there parents are not doing their jobs right us poor citizens who have to put up with them must stand up to them.

If I was you I would keep sending e-mails to crimestoppers (you can do this annonomously through the crimestoppers site). Tell them you are facing constant harrassment and intimidation "how dare they say it's kids being kids" Contact your local MP and keep on at the council. I know it's hard but you mustn't let them win to many of them are at present