Opinions /my dog obsessed with other dogs

I know i don't post much but i do read as many topics as i can and i thought you guys could give me some honest opinions.

I have a nearly four year old who i have had for about 18 months he came to me limping after having had elbow surgery and unable to be a slow calm dog never gave himself time to heal. After months gradually increasing exercise i have a well and fit dog, my problem is that he obsessed with other dogs he thinks he is a small playful ckcs but is in reality a very large gsd, he whinnies and whines at them to play with him and when on the lead will also bark - all very agressive looking. If another dog barks at him he starts barking back but in reality he would run the other way as when he does meet other dogs off the lead he is not overly forceful except when they want to play and then he's bombastic mad and mental and doesn't know when to stop. The problem is that he can't play like that cos it undoes all our hard work with his fitness. I have joined training classes and our first week was really good he even mamaged to pay attention to me at some point, but i am feeling like i have a huge mountain to climb with him before he might be normal(?). What is not helping is the fact that one of myneighbours whom i used to get on quite well with was coming out of her house with her 6 month rough collie as i was going back in with mine, she dragged the dog into her front garden on two feet a screamed! i walked off more than a little annoyed she told me my attitude was all wrong she didn't want to let her dog near any others (?) Like i was gonna let him off lead to molest her (my dog is never off lead around other dogs and people), but she is able to stand and talk to others breeds of dog male and female all sizes! Am i being over sensitive? Is she just a breed snob? Will i ever be able to just have fun with my dog?

Sorry you are having problems mutthouse I know exactly how you feel because I used to have a GSD and some people used to react this way to him He loved nothing better than to play with other dogs too but lots of owners didnt want a large GSD playing with their dogs so I couldn't let him off when they were around. He did used to like playing with a Yorkshire Terrier though that lives near us and the lady who owns it didn't mind although we had to remind him to be gentle with her sometimes because he was a bit bouncy and boisterous in his younger days Another dog used to come out of its house to have a go at him whilst he was on the lead and the lady owner used to come out and say 'Oh my dog doesn't like GSD's cos he was attacked by one when he was a puppy' - as if the dog would remember that it was a GSD that attacked him I think you would always get this sort of reaction from some people if you own a GSD or Rottie or some other dog with a reputation - thats because they are ignorant. I find that the proper doggy people are more friendly than people who just aquire a dog on a whim and don't really know much about them - they are the ones that panic if your dog goes near them or their dog because they havent been used to dogs at all or probably never had one in their life before.

I would just tell your neighbour where to get off if I was you - she sounds a right idiot

Thanx Foxy, i did tell my neighbour at the time that it was her problem, im just annoyed and a little despondant, after my last bitch became ill i really wanted a break from the extra work that comes with a gsd, my last bitch had severe sepaeration anxiety which meant i needed to be careful about how affectionate i was seen to be around her a now this bag of tricks, I do pick 'em! maybe next time i'll go for a cyber dog! yeah like that'll be the same.
Thanks for readig and sorry it's so long!

Think it is your neighbour who has a problem not you, you are doing the correct thing in taking him to training classes, it will take longer than with a puppy but should be very rewarding, the breed you have really enjoy working with you and will learn with easy. He is still not much more than a puppy himself and will calm down and yes, some of us have had problems with GSD's & BC's & Boxers & Akitas & Borzois & others, it is a fact of life and getting hysterical every time you meet one just add to the problem.

So carry on the way you are, and ignore the silly people, glad your dog has now recovered and some time spent now on training will more than repay you in the years to come.

I'm slightly offended by that comment, I think dogs do know and remember things from being a puppy, my dog was attacked a couple of times as a puppy by different Staffies and ever since whenever he saw a staffie come close he would cower he was not aggressive or snappy just scared and cowered on the floor and tried to hide , he must recognise the breed as hes fine with every other breed and its not that I am a fuddy duddy or breedist as I really like staffies. We (the dog and I) have since spent some time with some nice staffies that we have met on our walks and gradually his confidence has been built back up a bit and he no longer appears frightened but remains cautious.

A friend of mine has an Alsation x Border collie that was attacked (as an adult) by a poodle of all things and although they don't come across poodles often when they do the dog goes mad, so again he must somehow be able to tell.

I don't think you are giving dogs very much credit, with a statement like that.

I know there are some stupid people like that around but that doesn't always mean that that isn't the case.

I certainly wouldn't go as far as to say that the remark offended me, but I do think that dogs' memories are a lot better than many people give them credit for! My Kali, now nearly 12, still scuttles off under the table whenenver he sees a plastic measuring jug - which he remembers from having had jugfuls of cold water chucked at him when he was only a few months old (to discourage him from barking at passing ponies!). He remembers the water, but not to stop barking at ponies

Whilst the dog may not realize that it was given a hard time by a GSD (or whatever), it will remember the general shape and size of its one-time "tormentor". It's a strong component of the learning process that all animals (including people) have.

Snorri

I agree, dogs certainly do remember .... My Leonberger was attacked by a GSD and a Boxer as a pup (at the same time, both dogs from same family) and he's really not happy about either breed now and I have to be very careful with him if either breed is around whilst we're out ....... He loathes the Boxer that attacked him with a passion (they no longer have the GSD) and to be quite honest I think if he had the opportunity, he'd seek his revenge on it and if that happened it would be my boy that would be deemed as the aggressive dog and be the one to be PTS being the bigger dog, no past history would be taken into consideration such as the many times the owner of the said dogs used to walk up the back of my house and taunt my lad, after the attack, letting their dogs run free and snapping and snarling at the gate at him, who at the time was still pup and they laughed cos they thought it was funny, so I'm sorry but I'm not prepared to allow my boy to be PTS for the sake of down right ignorant people, I have had many an argument with this family and explained that they wouldn't think it funny when he's fully grown and breaks out of the garden to get his own back, we try to avoid walk times that we know they will be about, it can be any shepherd or boxer although we don't see many boxers besides the one that attacked him, it can be so frustrating and it has spoilt my gorgeous boy, in every other respect he is true to his breed characteristics, any other dogs he loves to play with particularly small dogs ...... I have always said he has a memory like an elephant..... he still remembers the bloke that raised a stick at him and attempted to hit him simply because he was a big dog too close to his own dog, his heckles go up when he see's this bloke now ... So yes .... dogs certainly Do remember

Also .... Quick note last summer a friend of mine and myself went to a companion dog show organised by a gsd training club and out of all the many other breeds that were there, the only dogs that were literally fighting amongst themselves and intimidating other dogs around them was the GSD's

I was very pleased that my boy coped very well seeing this situation but had I known before going that it had been organised by a GSD training club I wouldn't have contemplated going at all

I know that all gsd's cannot be tarred with the same brush and as a previous owner of the breed, know what a delight they are to own but over the past few years there seems to be a decline in tempremants in them, at the training club that I go to two chaps came with two lovely looking shepherds one was six months old the other 16mths and honestly they were so aggressive they were barking aggresively as they came through the door and they actually lunged, snapping and snarling at the trainer (who herself has gsd's) .... so it is understandable that people are wary of the breed with so many bad examples out there that usually through not fault of their own are under socialised as puppies ......... and sometimes just fall into the hands of people that want a GSD for all the wrong reasons

In my experience well-bred GSDs are fine but the breed went through a period of popularity some years back and it seemed that anyone who owned a bitch decided to breed from it regardless of any of the things a breeder who loved and respected the breed would look for in a brood bitch. That is breed type, temperament and health.

Needless to say owners of local GSD males were not too fussy about which bitch their dog covered, if the backgrounds were compatible and did not bother with health tests either, they cost money and spending is not what these people had in mind.

The breed is no longer so popular but the results of this bad breeding are still around, some look nothing like GSDs, some have awful conformation and most poor temperament, the worse of which IMO are the fearful dogs, they are in most cases dangerously unpredictable.

You do always get the stupid owner, of course, and the working guarding breeds suffer the worse from bad owners and bad handling. GSDs are easy to train but it is just as easy to teach a dog to attack as to teach is to sit at your side, the breed are a victim of it’s own mailable nature given the ignorance of some owners and stupidity of others.

Hi!
Have to admit to having been wary when I've seen GSD's inthe past, but since learning more about the breed I've become besotted. I do think it depends on the dog and handler though, as a breed they've suffered as Thordell said, with bad breeding, they are also a breed that attracts the 'butch' brigade of dog ownership, which is so sad for the dogs and the responsible owners!
You're doing all the right things, keep your head up and be proud!