Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

Dogs being attacked by GSDs?!

57 replies

chocolateicefan · 09/11/2021 20:47

The number of people who won't let their dog say hello to my GSD because their dog was 'previously attacked by one' is alarming. Where and how are these attacks happening?

OP posts:
pennysays · 09/11/2021 20:50

To my dog last year. GSD not on lead, we were over the other side of a field. GSD ran over as if to say hello, but took a chunk out of my dog instead. Owner said they had ‘never done anything like that before.’ I believe them, but it makes even harder to trust GSDs if it is completely unpredictable.

Hoppinggreen · 09/11/2021 20:52

I love the breed but my dog is scared of them for some reason, no idea why as he’s never had a bad experience with one

Pumpkinsonparade · 09/11/2021 20:52

Same here with our Husky. Savage breed apparently..
She was jumped on by a savage jrt 2 years ago. She did nothing back .
Unlike the owner who punched it...bastard..

MrsOvertonsWindow · 09/11/2021 20:55

Mine was nipped by a GSD when he was about 6 months. He now shouts alarmingly if he sees one. Luckily there are 2 gentle ones locally with lovely owners and he's been able to overcome his fears and walk along beside them. But strange ones and he kicks off. '

MrsOvertonsWindow · 09/11/2021 20:56

Interestingly he also hates the local lovely gentle husky. He sees him as a threat and shouts warnings at him - even from a distance.

Original poster
chocolateicefan · 09/11/2021 20:57

@pennysays

To my dog last year. GSD not on lead, we were over the other side of a field. GSD ran over as if to say hello, but took a chunk out of my dog instead. Owner said they had ‘never done anything like that before.’ I believe them, but it makes even harder to trust GSDs if it is completely unpredictable.
Odd. Because GSDs are trainable in a way a lot of other breeds aren't. A trained GSD's behaviour is actually very predictable.

Sorry to hear about your poor dog x

OP posts:
Jenjenn · 09/11/2021 20:58

There's a gsd in our estate that seems to jump on little dogs. The gsd jumped on our dachshund puppy last week and yesterday my dh saw it going for another little one. I dont avoid gsd in general but do give that one a wide berth because the owner doesn't seem to have full control of it.

Original poster
chocolateicefan · 09/11/2021 20:58

Just had a thought - sounds barking - but.. could it be the ears?! (Just thinking: husky and GSDs)

OP posts:
Saucery · 09/11/2021 21:02

Our old dog was 5 months when she was shaken and pinned down by an 18 month old GSD. It was in a small group of dog owners who met up in a park most mornings and it had done it before. The owner was told he wasn’t welcome any more until he’d trained his dog properly.

It was such a shame, because there are quite a few GSDs round here and they are all lovely dogs, but she wouldn’t even entertain a well managed meeting with them after that for a long, long time. Then she went to a doggy day care with a couple who had the sweetest, calmest natures and she was a lot better (I have photos of her lying next to them fast asleep). She was always wary of GSDs she didn’t know though.

Beautiful dogs with the right owners.

Original poster
chocolateicefan · 09/11/2021 21:05

@Jenjenn

There's a gsd in our estate that seems to jump on little dogs. The gsd jumped on our dachshund puppy last week and yesterday my dh saw it going for another little one. I dont avoid gsd in general but do give that one a wide berth because the owner doesn't seem to have full control of it.
Was it off the lead? Jumping as in playing/humping or jumping as in aggressive?
OP posts:
niceupthedanceagain · 09/11/2021 21:06

Our dog also bitten twice by the same gsd when he was around 5/6 months - maybe they dislike puppies? But this owner was a twat who refused to put his gsd on a lead when he saw us - thank god we moved away.

ANameChangeAgain · 09/11/2021 21:07

I think they are nice dogs in the whole. Mine is afraid of big hairy dogs unfortunately, GSDs, Huskys and Collies, so is likely to start the fight over fear if I didn't act.

Saucery · 09/11/2021 21:16

I’m sure I read somewhere that they have a more direct stare and stance than other breeds, so some dogs might be wary of them even if they’ve never had a bad experience. So it is sort of to do with their ears, I suppose! And they woof more while playing, which many dogs find a challenge.

Rollaroundtheclock · 09/11/2021 21:16

I’d like to know what had happened before/in the run up to the ‘attack’. We have a larger dog and quite often lots of small dogs run up, nip, bite and become aggressive whether she’s on or off lead. She never retaliates. The owners all laugh it off saying something along the lines of it having a small dog complex, no attempt to correct the behaviour. Not once have I come home declaring how our dog has been attacked by a terrier/dachshund/toy breed etc….

Notebooksarefabulous · 09/11/2021 21:18

My dd was knocked over and jumped on by a german shepherd when she was 2. She was terrified. I was terrified. The owner thought the whole incident was hilarious. [fume]

SomepeopleareTERFSgetoverit · 09/11/2021 21:24

My dog was knocked over and pinned down by a white GSD on his first day with me out of rescue. Thankfully it was muzzled - because the owner knew it was aggressive but was walking it off lead anyway! It ran right across the field to get to us.

Karanciri · 09/11/2021 21:31

I think it's mainly how GSD play. Being herding dogs they chase and naturally nip. My lab is very soft and hates the chasing nipping games. She now is wary of any GSD, collies and lurchers as they all have that same style. Doesn't help that my uncles GSD put a hole in his side and 2 lurchers bruised his ribs by pinning him down (they had muzzles on so thankfully nothing worse than a bruise).

bargelights · 09/11/2021 21:32

My last dog was attacked by a GS when he was young (under a year old). It was terrifying, all the more so as the owner stood by and did absolutely nothing. He even had the nerve to blame my dog, who had been walking along happily on lead when the GSD came bounding over and attacked him.

Winniemarysarah · 09/11/2021 21:35

I’ve not trusted them since I was little. I grew up on a council estate in the 80’s back when dogs were left loose to roam the street. There were 4 German shepherds from different households (and 1 pub). All were aggressive and repeatedly attacked people. My dad killed one with a plank of wood when it jumped over the garden wall and went for us as we were walking past (it had bitten me previously). I still have a facial scar from when another jumped up to bite my face at the park, it missed with its teeth but it’s claw ripped my cheek open. There was another that generally used to stay in its front garden but attacked anyone that stepped foot in it, the scary thing was though that there was no wall or fence and you never knew if it would just bark and growl as you went past or if it would charge at you. The other one used to do the same but eventually got shot by a farmer after savaging a herd of sheep. Bearing in mind that there were plenty of other breeds that used to wander out loose, I only remember anyone getting bit by the German shepherds. I don’t recall them being dog aggressive though, just people aggressive

MrsOvertonsWindow · 09/11/2021 21:37

@chocolateicefan

Just had a thought - sounds barking - but.. could it be the ears?! (Just thinking: husky and GSDs)
I'm sure there's something like that OP. Mine is friendly and not bothered by larger dogs - rushes off to happily play with labradors and golden retrievers (when invited!) but as soon as a GSD / husky is anywhere near I have to put him on the lead. Otherwise he'll either run off in a panic or will go and shout at them.
XelaM · 10/11/2021 00:05

My daughter's classmate has a GSD and it was like a scary beast when younger. He used to run like a maniac and launch himself really aggressively at people if they didn't manage to get out of the way (we love dogs and have a dog ourselves but the GSD was/is very scary!)

GoGoGretaDoll · 10/11/2021 00:11

It can be just one dog in your area that becomes 'all dogs of that breed'. My neighbour walks her daughter's GSD and she's not really in control of him. Oddly enough, my dog loves him, but that's beside the point - I've heard so many stories about 'that dog' and it's easy to see how, in a small community, that becomes generalised into a scary breed.

My dog is also petrified of huskies and behaves very poorly around them - though he's never been harmed by one.

UndertonesOfCake · 10/11/2021 02:59

@Hoppinggreen

I love the breed but my dog is scared of them for some reason, no idea why as he’s never had a bad experience with one
Same here - mine will bark at them. No idea why, he started doing it one day for no apparent reason.

I'd be dodging you because I don't want my dog to be a twat to yours, not because I think yours is going to bite.

tabulahrasa · 10/11/2021 03:26

I had a dog that had an issue with GSDs... where we lived a neighbour had one that used to sit on their doorstep (back path not out on a public road or path or anything) till she objected to mine walking past a couple of times. She didn’t attack attack him, just a bit of noise and snapping because he was effectively on her doorstep and she wasn’t happy about it.

But after that he was real iffy with GSDs, never any other breed - it was a bit odd tbh, because it wasn’t that shaped breed, but specifically GSDs.

I know lots of dogs can be wary of breeds with that ear set and who are a bit intense when they look at them, GSDs, collies... they can read it as threatening.

Leonberger · 10/11/2021 06:50

I own a GSD (and have worked with GSD rescue for years) and don’t like meeting them out Blush My own was also attacked by a GSD bitch of the same size and it was pretty scary, luckily they were evenly matched. I always avoid them now because she hates dogs of her own kind!
I also get the my dog hates GSD thing a lot but I generally just shrug it off Grin

I think the major issue with shepherds is that they are so so sensitive. Some other dogs can take a negative experience and shrug it off whereas I’ve found GSD are really effected by any negative experiences and this is probably why lots of them are aggressive. They need very careful handling and training IMO more than your average pet dog owner can manage unless you are lucky and get a really sound one. Weak and nervy temperaments are also very common in the breed and it can mean they tend to be nervous aggressive towards strange dogs running up to them. If you’ve got a sound one your very lucky because I would say the majority have some sort of reactivity issue!

I do think it’s also the play style and being quite vocal that puts people and other dogs off too. My bitch is smaller but wrestles my leonberger boys to the floor and they weigh almost 80kgs. She’s also very growly and loud when playing which puts other dogs off. Her instinct is to run up to anything new barking her head off which understandably is not acceptable to people or dogs and so she is not allowed to greet anyone.

I do absolutely love GSD and working with them though I just wish they were a little less dramatic at times Grin