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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We have a medium-sized shepherd mix from a local rescue organization.  When we got her (as an adult) she was very dog-friendly and we went to dog parks, she went to doggie daycare, etc.  Over time she has become increasingly hostile to other dogs -- started with not liking the dog park, then to not liking her doggie "friends" when they came over, then to not liking daycare.  Earlier this year she bit a neighbor's leashed dog, completely unprovoked, while we were out for a leashed walk (did not draw blood, but still not acceptable).  We now consider her too unpredictable to allow near other dogs.

I do not know what has caused this -- she is maybe 5 or 6 years old, certainly slowing down but not old enough to be this cranky.  She gets long daily walks and has no health problems we've identified.  She is a great family dog, no food aggression or other issues, but we avoid all interactions with other dogs now.  I'm posting this to show that you can start out with an apparently well-socialized normal dog, and continue its socialization, and still have things go wrong.  There are no guarantees.[/quote]

Shepherds are bred to protect.  They tend to bond very well to a family, but they are extremely protective.

It's possible that she was fine with other dogs before she bonded with your family.  But the longer she lived with you, the more she bonded.  And now other dogs are viewed as threats.

The other possibility is that something happened at the dog park when you weren't looking or, perhaps more likely, at doggie daycare.  All it takes is one bad experience with another dog.

A third possibility is that she has something medical going on.  It could be something like a brain tumor.  Those kinds of things can happen at any age.  Or it could be something as simple as arthritis that is causing her pain.  5/6 is not young for a German Shepherd or any large breed dog.  So arthritis, et cetera, is most certainly a possibility.[/quote]

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