How to stop my 1-year-old GSD from biting strangers at home?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I am sorry to hear that this has happened. This behavior is certainly concerning as you don't want Boston to cause serious harm to your wife or anyone else for that matter. I would recommend taking Boston to a behaviorist for training and other recommendations. There are trainers that will take Boston for several weeks for the training or trainers that will come to your house for in home training. At 4 months of age, this is easier to correct than when he is 4 years old. Now is the time to take action as it is much easier to train a puppy. I hope this helps and for now, please take the necessary precautions and keep Boston away from anyone until he is appropriately trained.

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.

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Although puppies will want to chew and bite, this behavior should be corrected with a little training. Keeping your hands away (placing them behind your back or folded) when he tries to go for a play bite will help eliminate the behavior. Also, making sure he has plenty of tactile toys around he enjoys to chew on will help as well. Lastly, a German Shepard needs PLENTY of exercise, so I would make sure he gets walked at least once daily (more is better). All of these behavioral tips can help decrease and eliminate the biting behavior. I hope this helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is certainly possible and recommended but this usually requires in person training by a qualified dog trainer. I recommend you consider contacting a qualified dog trainer to work with you in person. Good luck and have a good day!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! German Shepherds are highly intelligent an highly trainable dogs. I recommend hiring a trainer and nipping this in the bud now. German Shepherds are also very large and can be aggressive to strangers as adults so being able to control Bentley is very important. I would start with sit, stay, and leave it. Purchase the gentle leader harness that goes on the muzzle. Use that for all walks. Bring treats on the walk and when he tries to jump have him sit. Once he sits he gets a treat. Jumping is unacceptable in a dog his size and is one of the hardest bad habits to break. He should not be allowed to jump on people. The gentle leader allows great control of the head. I hope this helps and I wish you the very best!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! You are likely describing teething which is basically a normal type of behavior when puppies are growing up and it is secondary to mouth discomfort as teeth are growing. I recommend that you get her teething type toys which you can get at your local pet store or online. Anytime that she tries to nibble at you, you say no and give her the toy. This is likely going to resolve the issue. Good luck and have a great day!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! These types of behavior can improve though this does require in person training with the help of a qualified dog trainer. I would encourage you to contact a dog trainer that can work with you and Bruno in person to really take care of this behavior. The sooner these behaviors are dealt with, the more likely it is that you can improve and resolve them. Good luck and have a great day!