My fiance is handicapped, and our GSD thinks that when my fiance starts to crawl, she can go and play with him. We tell her no, that he needs to go get around, but that usually ends up with the both of them fighting. The GSD starts to bite his hands, and raise her paws. I, at that point, become a referee. How do I make her understand? Nothing that we do seems to work.

MEEGS0104
Does your dog fight your fiance before or after she bites her tail?

She bites him constantly before her tail. That is all that she does. Either fights with him or bites her tail. I have no problem with her at all. She listens to me.

quote:

Originally posted by lizziedog1:
MEEGS0104
Does your dog fight your fiance before or after she bites her tail?

Obedience class.

Yes, attending a basic obedience class will be very helpful for you.

Owning a GSD myself and talking to others with them, I can tell you that they can be a bit.....pushy. Not dominant, just pushy. They can also be a bit ADD when young. Your dog needs to learn a bit of self control. What you need to be able to do is tell that dog to sit and stay and she won't budge an inch no matter what your fiance is doing on the ground.
You said she listens to you, well I'd hate to break it to you, but obviously she doesn't if you cannot get her to leave your fiance alone.

The other thing I'm going to touch on is the amount of exercise your GSD is getting. GSDs also tend to be a high energy breed so they need to be walked daily. Too much pent up energy can also contribute to a dog's unruly and uncontrolable behavior. A dog that isn't pent up with energy is better able to focus and hold still on a sit stay as well.

Also, what is this about tail bititng? Is she bititng her own tail? Does she only do it when she's playing/fighting with your fiance? This could be a whole other issue, something more serious than just lack of self containment and self control and it may need more attention than just obedience training and exercise.

what is a GDS ??

RBAG2BLACKLABS
A Gosh Darn Schnauzer!

Cute, Lizziedog!

German Shepherd Dog.

AGILITYK9TRAINER
A German Sheperd Dog would be a GSD. The question was about a GDS. Therefore, I might be correct.

I agree that definitely obedience training is in order for you and your dog; and it would not hurt to have your fiance attend to so that he can participate.

Another thing; especially once she gets started (with the training) is to give her something to do when he is crawling .
Get her a backpack/ harness and when he is going to move he should call her over, put on her harness and give her something to carry. Then he goes where he is going, and she accompanies him and when he gets there, he empties her backpack , removes the harness and praises her. Initially this will require your participation. You keep her on a leash and he calls for her you bring her over and he puts on the pack and loads it (even with useless things like a couple of two liter soda bottles ). You then keep her on the leash and control her as she accompanies him.

This way she learns that when he is down, he needs her help , not that he is trying to play .