How to make friends with a german sheperd?

Yester

I've been having an on and off feud with my neighbours dog. I don't think he is a bad dog but he acts the prick sometimes. (and i have acted aggressively towards him in return)

1. He used to be a nuisance when i was driving off in my car, by pretend attacking the wheels and then running in front of the car and impeding me from driving off. (The second time this happened I got out of the car and chased him away and it hasn't happened since)

2. I came home one day and he was lying outside my gate and as I was going in home he made a go for me. I don't think there was any intent to bite on his behalf but he was making his presence felt. (his owners were visiting in my home at the time so I can see where he was coming from)

3. I was walking home late one night and he pulled the same stunt so I grabbed a hurley and chased him home whilst shouting much abuse.

Again, I don't think he is a bad dog but we certainly haven't built up a good relationship. I am trying to improve this by throwing him a of doggy treats from time to time. He takes them cautiously.

I wish to make peace and befriend this dog.

Any advice?

FrostyJack

Yester wrote: »

3. I was walking home late one night and he pulled the same stunt so I grabbed a hurley and chased him home whilst shouting much abuse.

You were walking home late one night and happened upon a hurley on the side of the road or you went into your house/car and got a hurley?

With the rest of the post I don't even know where to start. Any dog that nips at people should not be let out to roam on its own, especially a RB dog like a German Shepherd. Dogs that chase cars generally end up one of them so I would fear for the dogs safety as much as yours. Did you speak to the owner? Randomly giving the dog treats will not help your cause, especially if you chase it with a hurley or generally aggressive to it at other times. You need to desensitise the dog to you for a start. Give the dog a treat when it ignores you, reward the behaviour you want.

Qualitymark

And talk to the dog's owners. They should be warned that their dog is behaving aggressively, and they should not leave it out where it might do the same to a child or an old person.
As for your behaviour with the dog: first thing is to ignore it completely, do not look it in the eyes, behave like a visiting duchess. This will establish you as a more senior creature in the animal hierarchy.
Giving treats when the dog ignores you is fine, but it takes skill; a badly-trained dog will immediately start pestering for more, and most people will then give them more treats, thinking "this is working". It isn't; you're just establishing the dog as a blackmailer.

ganmo

FrostyJack wrote: »

You were walking home late one night and happened upon a hurley on the side of the road or you went into your house/car and got a hurley?

With the rest of the post I don't even know where to start. Any dog that nips at people should not be let out to roam on its own, especially a RB dog like a German Shepherd. Dogs that chase cars generally end up one of them so I would fear for the dogs safety as much as yours. Did you speak to the owner? Randomly giving the dog treats will not help your cause, especially if you chase it with a hurley or generally aggressive to it at other times. You need to desensitise the dog to you for a start. Give the dog a treat when it ignores you, reward the behaviour you want.

never heard the story of Cuchulain and how he got his name? killing the guard dog with a hurl and slitor.

OP ya might want to talk to your neighbour, inform him of his responsibilities to his dog and neighbours

Yester

Thanks for the advice. The above incidences were rare and happened over a period of 3 years or so. Most of the time me and the dog ignore each other and get on fine. I did mention it to my neighbours the day he was lying outside my gate and they were most apologetic.

The neighbours are sound and I know if I complained strongly they would probably get rid of the dog. But that seems a bit extreme. I've never seen him chase other cars (and he only did to me twice) and I've never seen him bother anyone else.

I have been making the mistake of being too nice to him in recent weeks, trying to call him over to me and then giving him treats. He probably thinks he's the boss of me now. I'm angry now and I'm going to get the hurly (jk).

I will try ignoring him completely and then if he chooses to behave himself and approach I will give him a treat. Does that sound right?

DBB

Yester wrote: »

I have been making the mistake of being too nice to him in recent weeks, trying to call him over to me and then giving him treats. He probably thinks he's the boss of me now. I'm angry now and I'm going to get the hurly (jk).

Yester, I know you meant the above as a joke, but we draw a very strong line with this sort of posting, even if it's in jest.
Thanks.

Okay, with mod hat off now... tread carefully about luring a hesitant/unsure/anxious/aggressive dog over to you with treats. If they're very food motivated, their love of food can draw them much closer to you than they're happy to be. They take the food, then suddenly realise they're too close to you for comfort, which can cause a bigger negative reaction than you had anticipated.
You're better off to gently roll treats towards him, or leave them on the ground and walk away from the treats, until a stage where he's more inclined to approach you in a friendly manner of his own volition.

Yester

DBB: It was just a joke. Just edited an angry reply lol. When you replied as a mod in bold text, it felt a bit unnecessary and annoyed me.

tk123

Talk to the dogs owners first - I wouldn't be too happy about somebody trying to befriend my dog without my permission especially when they don't know what they're doing. I don't mean offence by that but from your posts you don't seem to have experience in a situation like this so may miss cues the dog is giving you which could be dangerous. I've done a lot of training with my dog to work through issues and am particular about who he interacts with so he doesn't have a set back - I've met 'trainers' before who didn't spot signs that he was uncomfortable around them etc...

kathleen37

Surely the neighbour doesn't need to get rid of the dog, just keep it off the streets and from roaming free?

the beer revolu

tk123 wrote: »

Talk to the dogs owners first - I wouldn't be too happy about somebody trying to befriend my dog without my permission especially when they don't know what they're doing. I don't mean offence by that but from your posts you don't seem to have experience in a situation like this so may miss cues the dog is giving you which could be dangerous. I've done a lot of training with my dog to work through issues and am particular about who he interacts with so he doesn't have a set back - I've met 'trainers' before who didn't spot signs that he was uncomfortable around them etc...

I don't think that an owner who lets their dog roam free is really in a position to dictate who interacts with the dog.

tk123

the beer revolu wrote: »

I don't think that an owner who lets their dog roam free is really in a position to dictate who interacts with the dog.

They mightn't be aware the dog is causing problems?

I'm also assuming they're in the country as opposed to the city where it seems to be more acceptable for dogs to be.... out which is a whole other topic we don't really need to debate here since the OP doesn't seem to want to go down the dog warden / fight with his neighbours route...

ganmo

tk123 wrote: »

They mightn't be aware the dog is causing problems?

I'm also assuming they're in the country as opposed to the city where it seems to be more acceptable for dogs to be.... out which is a whole other topic we don't really need to debate here since the OP doesn't seem to want to go down the dog warden / fight with his neighbours route...

oh but the risks can be so much more

some wardens can be very diplomatic so may be an option, after you have a chat with the owner

DBB

Yester wrote: »

DBB: It was just a joke. Just edited an angry reply lol. When you replied as a mod in bold text, it felt a bit unnecessary and annoyed me.

Yester, don't dig any deeper here by arguing with a mod on-thread. If you want to discuss the on-thread warning with me or any other forum mod, it is a site-wide rule that you do so by pm. You broke a forum rule that usually gets people permanently banned. I know it was in jest, I said that clearly in my warning, but just note, not everyone understands what (jk) after a comment means, and your "joke" was therefore badly lost on some, remembering that you had somewhat set the tone with your description of your previous encounters with this dog. Sometimes, the tone of what you write does not translate in the written word. You have to be careful of that on discussion forums.
I should not have to say this, but do not reply to this post on-thread.
Thanks,
DBB

tk123

ganmo wrote: »

some wardens can be very diplomatic so may be an option, after you have a chat with the owner

Yeah some are ok and some I've heard are a bit crap BUT I heard on the park grapevine :P yesterday that a good few of the owners are in touch with the community garda (i didn't know we had one lol) about one particular dog in our park (who's attacking other dogs but the owner won't put it on a lead or muzzle it) and he's taking it very seriously so that may be an option.. But really I'd talk to the neighbours first and see what they have to say before taking it further?