German Shephard in my face! HELP

My husband and I have a German Shephard named Quinn. He is actually 95% German and about 5% Australian but he looks ALL German Shephard. He is just a year old and we have had him since he was weaned. The problem we have is he wants to be in our faces constantly. If I sit down to tie my shoes he will come over and put his nose less then 1/2 an inch away. Sometimes he will lick, sometimes not but no amount of pushing, shoving, yelling...will get him to back off. If I push him back he crawls right back over, if I tell him to lay down he will and then get right back up and get back in my face. He does this constantly, if we are at his level he is right there. We know he is probably just looking for affection...we've tried snuggling with him when he does this and then asking his to back off but he won't learn. Otherwise he is pretty well behaved. We know he is young still and We hate the idea of yelling at him for being affectionate but it is incredibly annoying. I don't enjoy tieing my shoes at 5am with a dog in my face! Any suggestions?

Maybe you could try perfecting a down stay...? Or, I taught my dog to 'back off'. When he was running around or being annoying, I would just say in a firm, no joke tone of voice (not harsh or mean though) 'back off'. That works well...
~Emily

actually, I had to smile a bit cause my GSD loves to be 'in my face' also. all I have to do is bend, and he is there. only I've never thought of it as a problem, usually I find it amusing that he has to get so close. you could keep working on the 'stay back', or maybe just put your shoes on in another room. I don't know, but if that is his only flaw...seems pretty minor.

Touching a dog to get them to move away does not work. They will just push against the pressure.

Your dog does not view you as his leader or he would not be invading your personal space in this way and not responding.

I would recommend a couple of things:

Go take an obedience class. Better yet, take several in succession. Your dog will get to exercise his brain, you will build a bond of love and respect with him, and it will absolutely improve your entire relationship with the dog.

Get the dog neutered if he is not. Any dog not to be used for breeding should be altered. He will be happier and likely live longer.

Read this article, and put it to work for you and your dog.

http://www.sonic.net/~cdlcruz/GPCC/library/alpha.htm

Dogs do not and cannot live in a democratic society. There is always a leader and a hierarchy. If you are not presenting him with a leadership figure, the dog will take charge.

Good luck, and let us know how things turn out.

i was going to comment on this post because i have the same problem.my dog is trained ,down ,stay .sit .come heel all the basic..if im standing that is.If im sitting or laying down i have this problem as mentioned `i often have to lay with one foot on the floor so he knows i can get up fast,its a real pain. so i know how they feel,training collar does work but it kinda ruins relaxing time with all the yelling and corrections,my trainer suggested shock collar but im not so sure bout that, hes still young

Sometimes for a dog any attention is better than no attention!
When I put on my shoes Dante knows that something is up. His thing is to race around the coffee table
Luckily we're worked very long and hard at the down/wait command and so he now lays at my feet and talks the whole time I'm putting my shoes on!!

RedyreRottweilers has geat tips and points and so I won't add anymore, just know that it can be fixed!!

Barb

I'm not sure this is the problem....he does it to both myself and my husband. He is submissive, respectful and obedient (most of the time......he still has a lot of puppy energy in him) otherwise. He is NEVER aggressive towards us although we have to watch him around other animals. I do make him sit before allowing him out or dinner etc. I read the article and it says "Alpha dogs are used to being fussed over. In a real dog pack, subordinate dogs are forever touching, licking and grooming the alpha dog. It's a show of respect and submission. For now, until his attitude has shown improvement, cut down on the amount of cuddling your dog gets. When he wants attention, make him SIT first, give him a few kind words and pats, then stop. Go back to whatever it was you were doing and ignore him. If he pesters you, tell him NO! in a firm voice and ignore him some more. Pet him when you want to, not just because he wants you to. Also, for the time being, don't get down on the floor or on your knees to pet your dog. That, too, is a show of submission. Give praise, petting and rewards from a position that's higher than the dog."

That part about petting him from a higher level I'll try...and we'll work on the sit stay thing.

We do however let him sleep in our bedroom...never on the bed though. And Debi....you're right...if that is the only problem we are lucky....It certainly won't cause us to get rid of him.
He DOES need to be nuetered....hopefully this will help. We have no intention of ever breeding him and we had planned on nuetering him earlier but we've moved, gotten married, holidays......you know how it goes.
Thanks for the input everyone.

I think he just loves you, and is curious. you should be here...Ham is interested in EVERYTHING I do...with his big head right there while I'm folding laundry, etc. lol they are such loving, curious dogs....you bend down, he's wanting to be up close and personal..probably wants a smooch. sounds like a sweetie. (and yes, I have times when it's not always appreciated either!)

How is neutering him going to help? This is a training issue, not a hormone issue. Your dog is not full grown yet. Most people recommend you don't fix a GSD till they are full grown but it's your choice.

I think most GSDs are like yours. Mine is, I sit down to put on my shoes and he's right there investigating and giving out some love. I don't mind it and it's easy to put him in a down/stay to do what I need.

actually, Dan, I was thinking the exact same thing...this has absolutely nothing to do with neutering.

Is this only when you are putting your shoes on? My border collie does the same thing, but will back off when told - but usually it just makes me laugh. I cant get my shoes on when I cant see what I am doing because he is in my face. I dont think you have a dominant dog problem. More likely is "OMG shes putting her shoes on = going outside= for a walk.. IM HERE , IM HERE, take me with you!" Only you can know if your dog is being dominant, but what you wrote sounds so similar to what Gil does. He only does it in the morning, knowing for sure when I put my shoes on we are going outside to play frisbee. I really think the getting in your face is "notice me". Gil is the most submissive border collie, I have ever owned and I have been graced with sharing my life with 4 and other breeds too.

Your dog sounds a lovely dog and you pushing him back could be taken as a game. Retraining him into a down before you take him out - should help if you find it a problem.

Well......Actually I've just always heard that you were supposed to neuter a dog ASAP. If that isn't the case I don't feel as guilty! I kinda felt like a bad dog mom.

Quinn does it ANYTIME we are at that level regardless of what we are doing. No...It isn't an agressive thing......he just wants to be there. It seems like most everyone is saying it is simply a training thing......which is good....I thought maybe he had a face fetish. LOL

All my dogs did this but we taught them the down stay and after we finish putting our shoes on or dressing the kids whatever we are doing...we release with the word OK and they get a cookie if they held the down stay on the first command. Which now Hope adn Yukon do, Faith is 5 weeks old so she will need a little more time to get it all figured out.

Is it just a german shephard thing that makes them want to be that close to you? or a dog thing. I've had puppies before, although not in a very long time. Quinn is the first young dog I've had in about 15 years (I usually get older dogs...my last one was an australian shephard who just passed away...he was 22!! But I don't remember any puppy doing this....Quinn is my first german shephard.

Mine do it, especially my Doberman. He respects me just fine as a leader. I don't believe it necessarily means he's being "dominant." I think that mentality about labeling every behavior a dog does in terms of pack behavior is overdone, personally. He sniffs sometimes to find out what I just ate. Or to be friendly. His ears go back, he wags his tail...his whole body language is being friendly. He sometimes gives a kiss and if I've had enough, I just say, "away." Or "enough." And he does. It's his way of greeting me. My Chihuahuas do this too. I invite them to because I like dog kisses. But they also will quit after a greeting. Licking our faces can also be construed as a submissive gesture if one wants to chalk this all up to pack behavior. Licking under the chin of a higher ranking dog is an acknowledgement of the lickers subordinate position to the lickee.

So, while I do see many behaviors as relating to instincts from being wild animals, I think perhaps trying to find a deep meaning to every behavior a dog does, gets us bogged down sometimes.

Train him to be obedient and if you don't like a certain behavior, teach him that there won't be any payoff for it, give an alternative for him and be consistant and it will go away. Be a confident, decisive, fair, kind but firm leader and work on obedience skills every day a little bit. He'll look up to you as his guide.


Great suggestion. Also, if he's getting excited to go out and he knows what putting on your shoes means....start putting on your shoes and not going right out. (I have to do this. My dogs all act silly when we're about to go for a walk and I'm putting on my shoes) But I don't really mind that behavior.

It isn't just when I put shoes on....it's ANYTIME I sit low enough for him to reach my face. He does it to my husband too. If we sit on the bed, the couch or anything for any reason he will want to shove his nose in our faces. He'll seem like he's getting better about it and then regress. I wouldn't mind if he just came over to say hi and get some lovin. It's that he won't back off at all. I'll keep working on the sit stay thing though. That seems to be unananimous. He is a pretty good dog otherwise. Come to think about it.....he does this with the horses too, to the point I can't let him out if the horses are in the pasture.....he bugs them so much they kick at him and normally they don't mind dogs. My gelding always liked my Aussie's company. I'm afraid they'll hurt him......especially the mule.

Here are a few suggestions I hope will be helpful: Teach him calmly and decisively that that behaivor will earn him NOTHING. If he can't sit/stay, put him out of the room calmly...not punishingly, but simply implimenting social isolation. Do it AFTER he attempts to get in your face. "Oh...you are too close. You'll have to leave." Remove any payoff. He likes being in your face. Make it so he can't be in your face. When there comes a moment when he greets you without being in your face, nicely sitting....(sit/stay) praise him like crazy. Show him the contrast of what behavior you like and what behavior you don't. Show him what to do instead of sticking his face in your face and reward for his sitting nicely. Give no attention or payoff for that behavior you don't like. He's trying to get your attention, I guess, when he does this. Don't give it to him....good or bad. That behavior = no payoff. Good behavior = a very good reward. I would have special treats ready in your pocket. A dog will work very eagerly for something he loves. (not something you think he should love.) Most dogs love treats. Make sure your timing is good with rewards.

Another thing you can do is practice. Ask for a sit/stay while you're sitting on the couch a couple of feet back. Don't make him stay for very long at all. Reward. Reward before he can't stand sitting there any longer. You want him to be successful. Gradually ask for more from him.... a little longer and you can practice at gradually lengthened distances as well as close up. Don't reward if he stretches his nose out to you...only reward for a nice sit/stay.

Your dog should do what you ask IF he understands. If he doesn't understand, you can't expect him to not do some unwanted behavior. NILIF is a good, kind way to show your dog who is his leader and so is obedience training. Can you get him in a class with a positive method trainer?

Why don't you take a look at this site:
http://www.dogpatch.org/obed/obpage4.cfm

Here's NILIF: http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/nothingfree.htm

My GSD's are very in your face, in your business, always "nosing" around to see what your doing. However, it sounds like your problem is more a training issue , while he may be "obedient" he obviously isn't following thru with his commands, when you say sit, that's what it means, and it means you don't move until I release you.

He is a YOUNG dog as well, and I am all for a good obedience class which will not only teach your dog, but teaches an owner as well ..Good luck, you could have worse problems !
Diane

Thanks for the suggestions....we can't really afford classes right now but teaching him to sit-stay should be fairly easy....he's a smart dog. I understand positive training and timing...I train horses. I have been working on this with him in the last few days and I think I see improvment.