Odd behavior from my Dutch Shepherd

[arab_roots]

So I have had my washout for 6 years now. When we were in NC we did a little PSA training and I really worked hard on her obedience training and scent work. After we had been together for about a month she really became attached and protective of me. As someone who lives alone I really appreciated that. Now when I left her with my aunt for my deployment I told her to be a good dog and keep everyone safe. My aunt and 2 cousins have been awesome to her. Well one day my aunt when to go wake up my older cousin and when she opened the door to walk in Misha was laying on the bed staring and growling at her. My aunt did what I told her…speak in a stern voice and tell her to knock it off. Misha immediately stopped growling and started wagging her tail like nothing ever happened.

Now there have been other times when they will have adult males over at the house and my aunt will introduce Misha to them and she will solicit attention from them. A couple of hours later on of them left the bathroom and Misha jumped off the couch and started barking at them and staring them down. My aunt/uncle/ cousins will tell her to knock it off and she is fine.

Now the other day my aunt had a handyman over, goes through the whole intro thing and Misha hangs out with him all day. When all of a sudden she takes his drill gun out of his hand and sets it on the ground. I think she wanted him to give her some attention(she’s an attention whore like that).

Her behavior has me perplexed. This is the same dog that I would take in the barracks while I was a Drill Sgt and never pay the soldiers any mind other than to get them to throw the Tennis ball or to watch her do some detection work(gun powder). I have taken her to dog shows/ home depot/everywhere almost and she has met complete strangers and is very social. The only time she has ever growled at me was when we would work on her guard command and one time when I tried to take a blanket from her when I first got her but nipped that in the bud. I know someone may say something about the guard command but she has no real aggression it is all for play The only behavior that she has shown about around me is that if I am working on something she will try and distract me in order to get attention from me. She is very sensitive to verbal correction and is very Velcro and a people pleaser.

I am perplexed on her odd behavior any ideas?

*I would just like to reiterate that she is NOT an aggressive dog and is very well behaved in public. She was purchased by my friend who washed her out to be a detection dog only not a dual purpose dog.

[Donkaloosa]

It almost sounds like she’s getting a bit reactive, although I’m far from being an expert. Is there an animal behaviorist around you that you could talk with?

[Spud_amp_Saf]

How much dog experience do the people she is now living with have? Seems that when the dog was with you, it’s place in the pack was well defined. Perhaps now she is unsure and needs clearer boundaries.

[Casey09]

When you lived with this dog, was it on base with lots of people around all of the time? Maybe she was used to people in that setting, but is getting more guard-y in a home setting, where a stranger is a more unusual occurrence?

[gypsymare]

My loves everyone Border Collie will guard any room I’m sleeping in even from my husband of 2 years. It just takes a hello or some other kind of interaction to stop it. It seems to fall into the lines of “resource guarding”. No amount of correction has ever helped this behavior and I have not been able to retrain hubby to offer treats on a routine basis to start associating his entrance with All Good Things. So now he goes into his kennel while I’m sleeping.

Good reference book “Mine!: A Practical Guide to Resource Guarding in Dogs” by Jean Donaldson.

[Bicoastal]

Doesn’t sound very odd. She’s a DS not a Lab.

What concerns is Aunt expressing? Does she want Misha gone? When will you be taking Misha back?

She is protective or guarding within her home, which you encouraged. This is inherent in her breed and it sounds balanced with her training to “knock it off.”

[QUOTE=arab_roots;7508946]
As someone who lives alone I really appreciated that. Now when I left her with my aunt for my deployment…Well one day my aunt when to go wake up my older cousin and when she opened the door to walk in Misha was laying on the bed staring and growling at her. My aunt did what I told her…Misha immediately stopped growling and started wagging her tail like nothing ever happened. [/QUOTE]
I don’t see a problem. Misha is doing what she is supposed to do, according to her DNA and training.

@arab_roots;7508946

they will have adult males over at the house and my aunt will introduce Misha to them and she will solicit attention from them. A couple of hours later one of them left the bathroom and Misha jumped off the couch and started barking and staring. My aunt/uncle/ cousins will tell her to knock it off and she is fine.

Same as above.

@arab_roots;7508946

Now the other day my aunt had a handyman over…When all of a sudden she takes his drill gun out of his hand and sets it on the ground.

Was this a problem? It doesn’t sound like aggression. Did she bite his hand to get the drill? Was the handyman scared? Most importantly, WHY IS THIS DOG loose, unsupervised around a stranger working in the home? Out of courtesy and safety for all, my small social dogs are crated when a repairman comes over.

@arab_roots;7508946

*I would just like to reiterate that she is NOT an aggressive dog and is very well behaved in public. She was purchased by my friend who washed her out to be a detection dog only not a dual purpose dog.

Well, yes she does. You have outlined two maybe three examples of said aggression. The pup was washed out to be a single-purpose detection dog. It sounds like she is now living the life of a pet. I assume, I know ass-u-me :winkgrin:, she is not being trained, exercised, and managed like a working dog. Any IPO, FR, Mondio clubs around? An OB club the cousins could enjoy with Misha until you take her back?

[Countrywood]

The dog is probably stressed from you being gone. Maybe bring a shirt or something you own with your scent to leave it there with her?

I would not leave her alone, or any dog for that matter with a handyman/worker/guest. Sounds like a great dog just trying to cope.

[arab_roots]

My aunt doesn’t seem concerned at all. I won’t be back in the States until this summer. I have had many people come over for get together and what not and she has never been like this. Maybe it’s just worried mom syndrome.

Bicostal-
The only reason why I mentioned the other incidents was to help explain the series of events. I know that these behaviors are indicative of the breed. But she has never been fine started fussing at someone once she has met them even if they move around the house. Misha does get worried and destructive when there are new people in the house and she is separated from her people i.e. incessant barking and scratching and biting doors. What I meant by aggressive was that she is social with strangers not barking at them nipping biting or heck even neutral with them…runs up and happy go lucky please pet me and I will be your bestest friend forever type attitude. The first time I took her to work and my CO walked in she ran up to him and kept bugging him to pet her until I told her to stop. That is why I am a little dumbfounded at the change in behavior. All her aggression is linked to her desire to play. The reason why I never bothered to title her in PSA is due to the fact that she will come off the bite for a tennis ball even if the decoy is engaging her.

Countrywood-
If it was stress I would have expected this to have happened much earlier but she has been living with them for almost 10 months.

The more I think about it my uncle who is home most of the day isn’t the most dog savy. I am thinking that him spoiling her has a lot to do with this.

I couldn’t find any dog sport clubs near where my aunt lives, but I do know that they have worked on ob with her due to the fact that she will counter surf if given the chance. Also the boys have been taking her for runs and teaching her how to jump and catch Frisbee and some other tricks that are surprises for me lol. I have told my aunt to have the boys or someone take her out for a walk if they have work done on the house. Also I told her to keep Misha with her if they have guest over. I am worried that this behavior will escalate and something bad will happen. I am such a worry wart when I don’t have control over my dogs interactions. Thank you all for your suggestions

[ChickenLittle]

[QUOTE=arab_roots;7510706]
My aunt doesn’t seem concerned at all. I won’t be back in the States until this summer. I have had many people come over for get together and what not and she has never been like this. Maybe it’s just worried mom syndrome.

Bicostal-
The only reason why I mentioned the other incidents was to help explain the series of events. I know that these behaviors are indicative of the breed. But she has never been fine started fussing at someone once she has met them even if they move around the house. Misha does get worried and destructive when there are new people in the house and she is separated from her people i.e. incessant barking and scratching and biting doors. What I meant by aggressive was that she is social with strangers not barking at them nipping biting or heck even neutral with them…runs up and happy go lucky please pet me and I will be your bestest friend forever type attitude. The first time I took her to work and my CO walked in she ran up to him and kept bugging him to pet her until I told her to stop. That is why I am a little dumbfounded at the change in behavior. All her aggression is linked to her desire to play. The reason why I never bothered to title her in PSA is due to the fact that she will come off the bite for a tennis ball even if the decoy is engaging her.

Countrywood-
If it was stress I would have expected this to have happened much earlier but she has been living with them for almost 10 months.

The more I think about it my uncle who is home most of the day isn’t the most dog savy. I am thinking that him spoiling her has a lot to do with this.

I couldn’t find any dog sport clubs near where my aunt lives, but I do know that they have worked on ob with her due to the fact that she will counter surf if given the chance. Also the boys have been taking her for runs and teaching her how to jump and catch Frisbee and some other tricks that are surprises for me lol. I have told my aunt to have the boys or someone take her out for a walk if they have work done on the house. Also I told her to keep Misha with her if they have guest over. I am worried that this behavior will escalate and something bad will happen. I am such a worry wart when I don’t have control over my dogs interactions. Thank you all for your suggestions[/QUOTE]

Were it my dog, I would be doing a thyroid panel through Hemopet. http://www.hemopet.org/

[Horsegal984]

This sounds more like an obedience/training issue than a thyroid problem.

Now if the behavior doesn’t resolve with remedial training it may be worth looking at thyroid, but I wouldn’t jump to that yet.

[ChickenLittle]

[QUOTE=Horsegal984;7510762]
This sounds more like an obedience/training issue than a thyroid problem.

Now if the behavior doesn’t resolve with remedial training it may be worth looking at thyroid, but I wouldn’t jump to that yet.[/QUOTE]

Any time you’re dealing with a sudden change of behaviour or onset of reactivity, it’s smart to do a vet check first. Thyroid is one of the first things we go to for reactivity.

OP, I would stop getting your aunt to tell the dog to knock it off. Your dog will start associating the correction with the strangers and over time it increases reactivity. There’s an excellent Facebook group called Reactive Dogs that can help you/your aunt with some CC/DS.

[Horsegal984]

I guess that’s where we differ. I don’t consider this to be a “sudden, unexplained change in behavior.” Looks to me like a protection minded breed that went to live in a new environment with people who are less aware of her breed as a whole and haven’t continued her training.

That’s not screaming “health issue” to me, it’s saying the dog needs more structure and to spend some time re-visiting her past training.

[ChickenLittle]

[QUOTE=Horsegal984;7511207]
I guess that’s where we differ. I don’t consider this to be a “sudden, unexplained change in behavior.” Looks to me like a protection minded breed that went to live in a new environment with people who are less aware of her breed as a whole and haven’t continued her training.

That’s not screaming “health issue” to me, it’s saying the dog needs more structure and to spend some time re-visiting her past training.[/QUOTE]

I may have misinterpreted. My understanding was that while this behaviour cropped up at the aunt’s house, it didn’t appear shortly after arrival

Regardless if the OP chooses to do a vet visit or not, my training advice is the same. Teach your pup, or in this case have your aunt teach your pup, that strangers predict good things. Change the association and the behaviour will change too.

[Bicoastal]

Can you send your aunt Control Unleashed? I think it is a pretty friendly/introductory read.

Thanks for explaining this is a change from before. I didn’t get that from the first post.

[Horsegal984]

[QUOTE=ChickenLittle;7511809]
I may have misinterpreted. My understanding was that while this behaviour cropped up at the aunt’s house, it didn’t appear shortly after arrival

Regardless if the OP chooses to do a vet visit or not, my training advice is the same. Teach your pup, or in this case have your aunt teach your pup, that strangers predict good things. Change the association and the behaviour will change too.[/QUOTE]

Certainly I could have misunderstood as well! If so I think your advice to check thyroid is well heeded. I have hypothyroidism and I know how I feel if I forget my meds for a couple days

[arab_roots]

I don’t think that it is an issue with my aunt. I am pretty sure that it is mostly my uncle’s doing. He is at home most of the day. I have sent them Control unleashed but I doubt he will follow through with it. Misha has his number an as a result I don’t think she respects him that much. Misha sees him as nothing but treats and attention and he very rarely disciplines her. I will see if my aunt can talk some sense in to him. I was thinking about letting her stay there with them due to the fact that the boys have grown very attached to her, but in light I don’t think that it would be a wise choice due to the fact that my uncle is not on board with keeping her inline.