More Samson troubles

Well took Sam to the vet this morning. He was as feisty as usual and before I brought him into the building I had to scope out the area first to make sure no other animals were present in the lobby. Then I filled out his paperwork and brought him in. An elderly couple walked in with their 20 year old cat and Samson went nuts I mean really off the rails nuts. I was really frightened and under my breath I said to the receptionist "Samson hasn't eaten today" not meaning anything negative toward the old cat but the elderly couple looked mortified!

It will be fine!  Neutering is, in the end, a very good thing!  Both my dogs are neutered and I've never had any aggression issues.  DH's dog isn't neutered and there are often aggression issues when we go to the park and meet other dogs.  Good luck and let us know how Samson fares.

Hiya,

Sounds like this German Shepherd really is a handful !

I have a Japanese Akita and had him done when he was around 10-11 months old (he's now 30 months) to be on the safe side. We've never had a dog before and doing all the research, we definitley thought it best to have it done, just in case he turns out to be a 'bad akita' - Thankfully, it seems he's a 'good akita' and the op has probably made him just that little bit more docile. He only switches when he sees another dog and it seems he wants to play and check them out first before any hint of agression and growling happens. I even thought I should have left him as is, but glad we did do it.

If Samson is already quite hyper then it seems he'll still be hyper afterwards but maybe not as much and as he grows and matures will settle down more. I've definiltey noticed a change in mine in so much that if he meets someone new, he'll be excited for like 2 mins and then he'll chill out - same with other dogs, a couple of small jack russells around here are now his 'friends' !

Also, I think you may have an easier time afterwards training him as they respond better to training than Akita's -  I never let mine off the lead now, he just will not listen to orders until he wants to, and I always used to hope he wouldn't meet a dog whilst he was off the lead else more than likely they'd have fought!

I'd also suggest getting a body brace (forgot the proper name !?!) as it means you can control them a bit better -

I do remember coming across one german shepherd that was muzzled and had an electronic shock collar too, the elderly owner saying he was completley vicious and attacked anything he saw. By using the muzzle and the shock collar, he said he could control the dog enough to take it on walks. I hope your doggy doesn't become as bad as that, but it's an option to at least have the dog and not have to put him down (which is what this owner had thought of previously)

Good luck !

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!

I'd also suggest getting a body brace (forgot the proper name !?!) as it means you can control them a bit better

Do you mean a harness, DTM? Harnesses go around the shoulders and the trunk, and have pretty decent control - especially for a dog that likes to pull, it eliminates the pressure on the trachea/sensitive neck areas. What I personally recommend for dogs that are somewhat unruly on the leash is something called the "Gentle Leader" headcollar.

http://www.premier.com/View.aspx?page=dogs/products/collars/gentleleader/description

I promise I don't have any stock in Premier products, but we had a wetlab at my school with Gentle Leaders and "Easy walk harnesses" and they seem to be fantastic tools. It takes a little time for the dogs to get used to them, but in the end they seem to be pretty fantastic.

I do remember coming across one german shepherd that was muzzled and had an electronic shock collar too, the elderly owner saying he was completley vicious and attacked anything he saw. By using the muzzle and the shock collar, he said he could control the dog enough to take it on walks. I hope your doggy doesn't become as bad as that, but it's an option to at least have the dog and not have to put him down (which is what this owner had thought of previously)

Sadly, behavioral problems are the number one reason that people give when they relinquish their pets to animal shelters. At least in the United States it is.

Sadly, behavioral problems are the number one reason that people give when they relinquish their pets to animal shelters. At least in the United States it is.

Here too. We've gone back and forth about 'getting rid' of our dog.  He is a very, very powerful dog (part husky we think), loves to run (understatement) and is a huge handful.  We exercise him like crazy which helps, provide him with great toys (he's a chewer), feed him good food and we do provide him with lots of love. He's well socialised and really is a happy thing.  He's just daft!

And even though we know we are providing him with a good home and we really like him, we know that if we ever come across the "right" home for him - preferably a farm with other dogs where he can just run and play like crazy, or with sled dogs - we'd rehome him in a second. 

Until that day though, which may never come, we are constantly looking into training techniques and we all persevere, providing him with the best home possible. 

Wow Mrs. Pink, thats really sad.   :\\\'(

Wow Mrs. Pink, thats really sad.   :\\\'(

No it isn't. Don't get me wrong, but I LOVE my dog and we are totally committed to him!!  I know though that he would be much much happier in an environment where he could run and work. 

the highlight of my day is taking him running with the bike or running him in the fields off leash. 

We've had him for a year now and he seems like he's calming down a bit so we're hopeful. 

   

Thanks everyone. I'm confident I made the right choice. The vet tells me it will take a good six weeks for the hormone level to decrease enough for him to start calming down so we have to have this done now!

That is the right choice. We had a husky that became very aggressive after he was bred for the first time - it got so bad my parents had to get him fixed just so they could even take him out of his kennel without going nuts. But he did calm down a great deal after that.

Yep,

Just couldn't remember the name as I was typin!  Harness - we've used one for a long time now as I find it much easier to control him rather than tugging at his neck with a collar. As he's so strong using the harness means I can pull him back or around me using my weight to counter his and means he's less likely to get hurt, compared to a collar

Sometimes I wonder what he'd be like if we'd have left his danglies in place as he's so friendly, but then that goes quickly if he meets a doggy who shows him any hint of aggression - my doggy switches and you can kinda see what he's capable of!

Good luck with Samson Lady Godiva!

DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Thanks Dennis. His recovery is going well and today he is as boisterous as usual!

I use the Halti head collar on Samson which works pretty well. I'm afraid if I tried the harness he would pull me to the next county!

From everything I've heard & witnessed myself, the neutering definitely should help w/the aggression. Glad he's recovering well.

It is a great idea to spay/neuter anyway, because it can help lower the risks of various types of cancers or other illnesses, & plus, if your dog ever gets out, you'll have the relief of knowing that he hasn't contributed to the pet overpopulation problem (I don't know numbers for the UK, but I know in the US thousands & thousands of animals are killed in shelters every year).