Why does my male German Shepherd lunge on walks? How to train him?

German Shepherd Dogs are one of the guarding breeds, but Bruno should only go into protection mode when there is an actual threat to you. A benign stranger passing by is most likely not a threat. He needs some training in leash walking and ignoring non-threats. I would enroll him in a good obedience class as soon as possible. I would not recommend your getting another puppy until you have Bruno under control.

You can use a head harness, such as a Gentle Leader or Halti, to exert more control and to easily redirect Bruno away from any stimuli. Work with a trainer to reinforce basic commands, especially "sit", "stay" and "leave it".

You are wise to consider holding off on another puppy until Bruno's behavior is under control. It is not necessarily true that the lunging will stop as he matures. it needs to be corrected now. You can ask your vet for a referral to a behavior specialist who can help you with this problem. And yes, female GSDs may lunge . . . as might a dog of any breed. It has more to do with the dog's temperament and training than with the breed, although a GSD would normally be more inclined to lunge than a Golden Retriever. Good luck with this!

With Bruno the reason he is acting this way is dominance and trying to mark his territory. He can do fine with another dog in the house and typically breed does not matter. However I would highly recommend getting Bruno neutered. Neutering will help with aggression and dominance issues. It is really important to get these dogs in a training program. I would recommend starting with basic commands like sit, come and stay. After he has mastered those you can move on to harder ones. IT is important in public that Bruno feels safe with you and also like he does not have to protect you. This will fix him releasing his anal glands. Training will be the key. hope that helps

Some dogs may lunge out of fear, some out of aggression, and some from excitement. Without being with your dog it is hard for us to say which he is experiencing. I would recommend finding a dog trainer in your area (I would recommend asking your vet for recommendations) to do some obedience training with him and they may be able to identify why he is lunging and how to fix the issue. If he is actually trying to bite people then he should see a veterinary behaviorist.

Well Bruno is still very young and learning how to behave. I would recommend getting a trainer involved to help you with basic commands (sit, come,stay). Also waking on a leash takes time. Try and use positive rewards like treats.

Hello, German Shepherds are commonly aggressive and may require intense training and socialization to be good companion animals. It sounds like he has become quite a dangerous animal, especially to your mother. Please take his aggression seriously and do not allow small children or animals to be around him, as he has a history of severely hurting people. He also needs to maintain his rabies vaccinations to ensure he is not able to spread a fatal disease with his bites. I would recommend seeing a veterinary behaviorist, a good dog trainer, as well as pursuing neutering him. This will be the best way to try to make him a safe animal to live with. I hope this is helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.