Very well Behaved Adopted Red Doberman Showing Signs of Aggression?

He DOES feel threatened. Doberman are no longer hard, tough, dominant dogs. All the ones who were died in the 1950's. the few remaining Doberman who can do work aren't hard, dominant dogs either, they're dogs with enough drive to get the job done.

So what you have is a dog with thin nerves hence his "shyness" HARD, dominant dogs aren't shy, they charge head long into everything they do, dominance and confidence is not time selective...a dominant dog will never show that kind of weakness that you described.

I think the issue here is...you have a 4 year old dog with thin nerves that you just recently adopted and you're trying to correct him. BAD idea. You don't go and correct a GROWN dog who doesn't feel fully comfortable with you yet, if he's a dominant dog, he'll bite you. If he's a thin nerved dog like yours, he'll growl, and may bite if pushed.

Your problem is you're giving him WAY too much freedom. He should be in the crate 80% of the day for the first week or two. Only out to use the bathroom and 2 or 3 short 5 minute ALL POSITIVE training sessions where he's leashed and gets food rewards (treats). You don't FORCE an adult dog to comply that doesn't know you, you WILL get bitten. You use incentive, you BUILD a working relationship with the dog. By training with positive methods you're showing that you're the new leader, I'm asking you to do something, and when you make me happy, I make you happy. Later down the road when he messes up, you can begin to correct him because you built the foundation of a GOOD working relationship.

So after a week or 2 of being in the crate 80% of the time, you can start letting him out in certain areas of the house, BUT he MUST be leashed and under your direct supervision 100% of the time. If he's leashed, he's under your control. What better way to show a dog that you're in control of everything he does besides keeping him on a leash and under a watchful eye 100% of the time? If you had done this, when he had gotten on the couch, you could've simply said "No", slight correction, and drug him off, the end. If you had him leashed, he wouldn't have been able to sneak into your daughter's room to shred paper.

Now that he's getting more and more time out (we're talking a month or two in) you can start treating him like your other dog, corrections, more serious training, and more serious expectations. Now you'll have a dog you have a real foundation with, one who's familiar with you, and clearly knows that you're in control of the household and him. Going about this in a "Well he's dominant bust his ***" type of way is going to get 80-90 pounds of red and tan muscle attached to shiny white flying razors shoved up your rear end!

The number 1 reason people get bitten by their own dogs is because they fail to lay down the groundwork of pack structure and therefore fail to develop a healthy working relationship with their dog.

-edit- I also wanted to add about correcting him. Every time you correct a dog you are challenging him. You are saying "If you do this again, I will correct you again, only harder"...if you pick the right dog at the right time (or the wrong dog at the wrong time) he MAY say "OKAY, let's fight then". Then what? Do you think you can win a fight with an 80+ pound Doberman? Everybody has a plan until they get BIT, and let me tell you, I have no grand illusions that I can beat any dog that size. Correcting a dog who's already showing you teeth is going to do one of 2 things: A: Make him fall for your bluff and stop or B: Take you up on your offer, call your bluff, and bite/fight you.

I got my stud dog from a woman who was bitten by him 3 or 4 times because she failed to build a proper working relationship. If your dog is threatening you, or biting you, you are doing something wrong. If you keep doing what you're doing, you're only going to get hurt...or what most people do which is cave in and put the dog down and put the blame on the dog, or genetics, or something else which isn't their fault. Don't be that person. Don't be the person I bought my dog from either. If you have any questions later feel free to e-mail me, I'd be more than happy to help and I mean that.

I starred for Memphis Belle and Aphrodite who know the breed very well.

I wasn't going to reply, but I want to just reinforce what Launi and the person who suggested NILF had to say. Dobermanns are a dominant, head-strong breed and can potentially be very dangerous when not under control. You have children - this NEEDS to be sorted out now. If you're showing fear at his aggressive behaviour, that is allowing him to walk all over you. Adopt an assertive, pack-leader type attidude and don't let him get away with any of this dangerous behaviour. Muzzle him on the house if you need to.

He doesn't feel threatened he is telling you in no uncertain terms that it (be it the couch, the toilet paper what ever ) is his and you aren't going to take it from him. He is telling you he is in charge. He should have been corrected memorably the second he thought to growl at you, had you done this it would likely have been the end of it. Now that you have let him get away with it not once but multiple times you are going to have an uphill battle. Since you seem out of your element in dealing with this dog I would recommend you enlist the help of an experienced trainer.

As Launi already stated this is a "hard" breed, positive only training as on poster suggested isn't going to cut it with this breed.

Oh yes! When he shows teeth give him a treat and tell him 'good boy'. That will work. NOT.

He owns your house, dear. Dobermans are 'hard' dogs and need serious assertive correction.

He gets on the couch and you tell him to get off? He shows teeth? That is unacceptable. How do you react? With fear he is going to bite you? Same thing in the kids room and counter surfing?

You cannot be in fear of your dog. That just enforces his determination to walk all over you.

If you feel you cannot use serious compulsion with this dog I suggest looking into a trainer who has experience with Dobermans, Rotties, German Shepherds and American Pit Bull Terriers.

ADD: Awww.....The Doberman experts are here. Thank gawd.

This doesnt sound like a dog whose learned to be indifferent to other dogs and mind under distraction. you havent put in the kind of work needed to be able to walk him off leash. leash on at all times and correct this by redirecting his attention to you using toys, treats, and leash corrections. In the context of this situatiom the why doesnt matter. You shouldnt have to deal with this every time you pass a dog. and yes depending on context it can be submissive or aggressive.

Start using the NILIF (Nothing In Life Is Free) system. You have to nip this in the bud now before it gets any worse. A large dog with dominance issues could be a big problem in your household. I would also look into some professional training. Look up NILIF and start with that right away.

Ok, the problem i believe here, is that there is a dominance issue. You may not be emphasising your pack leadership status.

Please view the following website as it has excellent advice for the dominance issue:

http://www.inch.com/~dogs/taming.html

I have adopted 2 Dobermans in my life and after correcting the dominance and fear issues, they were wonderful dogs. I now have a bull mastiff and an akita and they know that they are not the alphas in the home.

any physical problem should be checked for and ruled out first since you say he was well trained before and this aggression just started. Injury, lyme disease, hypothyroidism, and other physical problems can all make behavior changes.

if that's all ruled out, it my guess is it sounds like he's showing resource guarding (but a professional really should see him)

Dobermans are head strong, dominant dogs. If you let them take control, they will. Believe me - I am currently going through a form of "handler aggression" with my Dobe right now.

You don't ask him anything that he will be "fine" with you. You have to DEMAND he listens. He doesn't want to get off the couch? REMOVE HIM. He is testing his boundaries with you now.

You aren't being unreasonable. Dobes are smart enough to understand what you are asking of them - it's just whether or not they obey and that is determined upon whether or not you are enforcing rules in your house for him to follow.

I wouldn't say this is really a form of aggression as much as it the fact that he is, again, testing his boundaries with you to see what behaviours he can get away with. So right now you have let him become territorial over the couch and able to destroy what he wants when he wants. You tell him to go outside and he does, that's because he wants to go outside not so much that he's listening to you as a form of correction.

Get yourself a prong collar - talk to a professional trainer that will show you how to use one correctly. Keep that thing on him while he's in the house for now with his leash. He wants to snarl at you for asking him to get off the couch? Then give him a good pop with the leash.

Again, I'm not sure he is being aggressive as much as he is testing his boundaries.

If he was actually aggressive towards a REAL correction, such as my dog is right now, he will lay teeth on to you.

ADD: This dog IS NOT going to benefit from tossing treats at him right now. He will benefit from proper corrections. You can give him positive reinforcement when he learns to obey. You ask him to get off the couch, he snarls, you give him a correction. When he does get off after your command you can give him quiet praise so he understands which behaviour is acceptable and which is not.

Try teaching him the "leave it" command. Reinforce with treats and ALWAYS carry treats in your pocket. A dog like this will benefit from positive reinforcement training, not just commands/yelling. I would also start hand-feeding him. He needs to know that YOU are the alpha and that you are in charge of him. If you get aggressive with him though, he's going to get aggressive back, so passive forms of control are best. Do not rule out help from a professional trainer.

Good luck