Unspayed female German Shepherd?

Boy, I sure know where you're coming from. My first GSD (in 1972) had the same problem. I got him at 4 years old, and had a heck of a time getting rid of that habit. Your dog needs some serious re-training.

This will require a dedication of at least three weeks, an hour twice per day.

If you are really serious, and want my help, email me and I will offer training strategy. However, ONLY if you can commit to at least two hours per day..or I'm wasting my time.

This is not an instant fix, but a change in your relationship.

1. spaying her won't solve this problem, though having her spayed is healthier for her if she's not a show dog. (forget breeding, unless she's been shown in conformation to be the best of her standard and a CH w/all proper health testing in place breeding is out of the question)

2. She needs specialized training to get over this obsessive behavior. you need to consult an animal behaviorist.

3. You never "play around" w/breeding. many things need to be done to insure a healthy litter. esp when it comes to GSDs. it's a lot more than just putting 2 dogs in a backyard and hoping they mate.

a. you have an AKC registered dog, and to have your litter AKC registered to their standard you will need to do ALL the proper testing on:

hips

elbows

eyes

heart etc.

Congenital testing

Genetic testing

and pass these w/flying colors before a vet and the AKC will write off on your pups being registered.

you SHOULD be showing your dog in conformation (dog shows) to earn her CH, which at 4 yrs old, might be a challenge. earning a CH ensures breed integrity, and standard. it says, this is the BEST example of the breed and here are her perfect test scores to back it up...so her pups will be good quality and will more than likely NOT pass any bad traits on, be they temperament, health, or conformation faults.

In a nutshell: the GSD is a breed i would leave to the experts to breed. many things can go wrong w/this breed due to the potential defects and diseases the breed can carry w/in their lines.

4. Spaying your dog is the healthiest thing for her if she is not a show dog. There is no need to breed a dog, just because she's "pretty" or "well behaved" there are more important reasons for breeding as i've stated above. Spaying keeps her from roaming, can settle some behavioral issues, and prevents cancers and other reproductive diseases.

Spaying the dog is not gonna stop this, why do people think if you spay or neuter a dog, bam it is cured no more bad habits, while it does calm them down some, in no way should it thought it is gonna cure the problem, it won't.

But, breeding her is not the answer either, is she a champion, are her parents both champions, has she been fully tested, temperament and genetically......

The only way you should breed her if you answered yes to all of the above, there are enough dogs in the world now, and thousands are put to death each day in shelters....and breeding should only be done to improve the breed standard.

Breeding her also is not going to calm her done either....

This dogs needs some serious training and socialization, big time.

Get a reputable trainer and help the poor dog, she is as frustrated as you are with her behavior........get her trained....and the Dog Whisperer is not the answer at all.....

Good luck...but breeding or spraying is not gonna do the trick....that is not the answer...

What I would add to everybody else's comments is to get help with friends and family.I would put a leash on your dog and have some treats handy.Then have fiends and family members take turns walking by the house and when your dog starts pull back on the leash with a correction of IGNORE..Then give a treat.Continue doing this repeatedly everyday a few times a day till you get her to "ignore who is outside.She has a very strong mode for protection of the house and family and it's up to you to tell her when it's OK and when it's not.I would still get her spayed as she is getting to an age where health problems will happen.Mammory gland and Pyometra are 2 big concerns and would mean an early and painful death.So reconsider this as it will calm her some but it's still up to you to train her..

No, but spaying isn't a bad idea just for her health. She is barking and being agressive because she feels she needs to protect your house. There are many different ways to correct the behaviour, and I can't think of them all. But the one I use is the distraction technic. Basically when you see her getting ready to bark or go crazy call her to you and make her do commands until the person has past. I hope I've helped. Good luck.

My 2 year-old german shepherd cross was just as over-the-top when we got her (a year ago now), and she was already spayed. Bad habits can be fixed although it takes effort! Set aside some time and arrange some helpers for training sessions. Put her on a long leash, put some treats in your pocket. Then, have friends (people she doesn't know!) walk past your house and create distractions. Over and over again. Each time, as soon as she starts to over-react (one bark is good, frenzy is bad), say "thank you, enough!" and (assuming she stops, even for just a second) give her praise and a tiny treat. And do it again. And again. Until, in her doggy brain people walking past, it's a good thing. Essentially she needs to learn that her job is only to let you know strangers are there, not to scare the scary strangers away . . .

Really depends on if you are going to get them spayed/neutered. A female and a male dog will get along fine. You run into a problem when you have two male dogs together because of the whole dominance issue. I have friends that have male and female dogs, and they have never had any problems.

By all means, get her spayed, since there is no reason to breed a pet, but this is a training issue.

I have had neutered dogs that were territorial, and barked like that. Its just a matter of correction, correction, correction......you have to be more persistent than the dog. After all the house belongs to you, not her. :o)

I have a foster chihuahua right now (spayed) who would like to act the same way. I have taken to carrying a water bottle to get her attention when she refuses to listen, otherwise.

Neutering will have NO EFFECT WHATSOEVER on existing behaviour.

Research has recently been done on the ACTUAL side-effects of neutering at various ages, and some is continuing. None of the possible benefits and possible consequences - and believe me there most certainly ARE damaging consequences in some cases - are guaranteed. Only the real reason for neutering a pet is guaranteed: It can no longer co-operate in the production of a litter.

Statistical likelihoods of each benefit/consequence are included with the research reports at: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/The_GSD_Source/...

Thinking of breeding ? No, no-one who asks questions HERE about GSDs has anything that is of breeding quality. If their pet WAS of breeding quality they would be discussing the situation with their pooch's breeder and their mentor and the members of the club where they participate in GSD testing & proving activities.

The MINIMUM requirements for registering a litter of genuine GSDs in Germany are that both parents are:

• on the official Breed Register

• have passed BH (a "street safe" test that CGC probably got its ideas from)

• have pass certificates for hips and elbows, and the average of their ZWs derived from the hip results of their close families is no higher than average for the breed

• have passed either HGH (herding+courage) or SchH (obedience+tracking+courage).

But such pups are regarded as merely either guard-dog-only or pet-dog-only quality.

The quality litters have parents who have gone on to also gain:

• a show-grading certificate of Good or Very Good

• an AD (Endurance Dog; basically for gaiting 12 miles/20km)

• a Breed Survey Classification (BS.Cl.1 or 2 in English; KKl.I or II in German)

For details of what's involved in getting those certificates, look up the website of either the USCA or the WDA.

For the NAmerican Ski-Slope Dog deviation from the GSD, the expectation is that both parents:

• are on the AKC or CKC Register

• have hip & elbow pass certificates from OFA

• are either themselves champions or have champion parents if the pups are destined for the show ring, OR possess training qualifications appropriate to the field of competition the pups are intended for.

For details of what's involved in getting those certificates, look up the website of OFA and either the AKC or the CKC.

Does you bit.ch measure up? Based on her obvious territorial aggression it sounds as though she couldn't pass BH, and is unlikely to pass CGC, so is NOT a breeding prospect, regardless of whether she is fertile.

The aggressive barking should have been squelched when she was 10-18 weeks old and being taken out for socialisation experiences. (Did you think it was "cute" to have a puppy that barked at big dogs?)

It should have been THOROUGHLY suppressed when you were in a training class from 18 weeks onwards until you had graduated together at least a couple of times.

Yes, she IS aggressive - you admit that you can't walk her past dogs.

Training classes are where the 2 of you need to be NOW, so that your techniques are polished up and so that she learns to pay attention and be calm regardless of what dogs & people are doing around her. Classes run by a GSD club are the best. You will get some ideas from members of some of the 300+ Yahoo Groups dedicated to various aspects of living with GSDs, but they cannot do the direct observation needed to improve YOU, and they cannot supply the distractions needed to get your bit.ch to become stable around other dogs. Each group's Home page tells you what they want to talk about, and how active they are.

In addition to classes, you need to have her under PHYSICAL control at home (try "wearing" her - put the loop of her leash over one shoulder and under the opposite armpit, or clip your belt through it, and require her to accompany you during everything you do at home).

I'm betting that she is currently allowed on the furniture - stop THAT immediately.

Les P, owner of GSD_Friendly: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GSD_Friendly

"In GSDs" as of 1967

Proper training can reverse this. Saying that spaying or neutering a dog will magically solve a behavioral problem is ludicrous.

You need to assert yourself as alpha in your house. Start with NILIF training. http://factoidz.com/nothing-in-life-is-free/ With this sort of training, your dog will begin to think of you as alpha. When you tell her to jump, she SHOULD ask, "How high," no matter what sort of distractions are going on around her.

After she knows you are alpha, start refocusing her attention if you see her going to the window. Tell her to go lie down in her bed, or tell her to sit, stay, and keep her focused on you, not the window.

Attaching her to a lead and tying it to you is a good idea, too, if you're willing to put a great deal of time into this training. Every time you walk past the window, if she shows any sort of longing to go at it, tell her to "leave it." And continue walking past.

The problem is that she's gotten possessive over the window. She thinks it is hers. You need to make sure she knows that the window is yours.