Behavior Modification with a fearful Aggressive German Shepherd Part 1 

Spent my whole life around big dogs, from Akita's to shepards. I've always felt a bond for all dogs, always felt i understand them. But you sir, blows me away how in sync you are with them! Admire you so much man, i take my hat off to you! ❤

I was raised with gsd's...one of my fav dogs breeds. Even that poor scared boy is a gorgeous dog. Now he just needs a gorgeous, calm, mannerly disposition to match it. Not a single doubt you can help him get there Tom!

Does anyone notice how he does not look this dog in the eyes? It's quiet crucial when it comes to a fearful / aggressive dog. They don't know you and we probably just make it worse watching them in their eyes, often dog's get just most uncomfortable and they feel something is fishy if you look them in the eyes with the slightest of insecurity etc.

I havent skipped the intro because i appreciate the fact you gave me an option 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

I liked how you used the word leave it. Something I found that actually works. When training a dog.

The videos you do have helped me a lot with my dog that is fear based reactive with strangers. He is a german shepard husky mix. I have been trying for a long time to get him to like new people, his reactivativeness to people have improved 90% but I can tell he doesn't like meeting new people. I really like what you said here in this one. "he's not going to be the dog that runs around being everyone's buddy. He doesn't need to, he's got enough buddies"

So glad I now know I'm doing the right thing when my German shepherd acts like this. I let him do his bark thing to let me know, but when I tell him to knock it off he stops. I only muzzle him when i think it will be to stressful for him. Rather be safe than sorry. Nice video Tom!!

Had several boxers and now we have multiple German Shepherds and have to say your videos and advice are outstanding, the best! Excellent stuff! Firm enough but very humane, thanks!

Damn bro you’re good at your practice with dog training. And seem very passionate about it! Keep up the good work dude. Most dog owners don’t understand that they have just as much to learn as the dog does

I had a really bad experience with dogs when I was a kid. I got bit. Later in life. Adopted two pups that taught me to fear dogs less . Been learning how to train them and your videos have been a great help especially with understanding that. . . Chances are if my dog is agitated it is more likely because I am agitated and how to respond to that. Keeping calm and calming my dog and reassuring them that I am in control. Side note: your videos is helping a potential trainer from Kenya. 🙋🏿‍♂️

"Do you have the e-collar? Hi Mom."

I just viewed your new video. You are on special person with dogs. I’m amazed every time I see you demonstrate the Tom magic you perform on these strange dogs right before our eyes. You are truly special Tom Davis

We all know what really changed his demeanor was the GOOOOOSSSFRRAAABBBAAAA.. the secret is out Tom!

I can appreciate that you have the time stamp to skip the intro! I, personally, want to hear everything you have to say so I won’t be using it, but it’s cool that you understand some people may just want to get straight to the learning!

I wish we lived closer to you. My 2 year old GS has become fearful,and reactive. We just had a big move and her anxiety is at an all time high.

Thank you so much for doing these videos. I’m a first time dog owner and I have a German Shepard. And he has shown the exact same behaviors. Now with your videos I have confidence I can help correct these issues. You’re truly a life saver . Millions thanks from Texas.

6:00 I didn't catch this the first time because I wasn't paying 100% attention but you saw and pulled back when he reacted extremely quickly and I can only assume this comes with loads of practice and experience. I loved this part because of how subtle the dog's body language is but how clear it can be. You spotted it right as it happened.

❤❤❤❤❤❤ these are the dogs I live for ! Amazing to watch

This was amazing. Great job knowing exactly what to do with this sweetheart. Hopefully he is still improving.

Beautiful handler work. Just gorgeous

Really appreciate your knowledge, skill and ability to explain so well all that is going on! Thanks

Love your videos because you are clear on the point, and the dogs change immediately. Amazing!

Fantastic as always. It's great getting to see you make a positive impact on this dog and his owners lives.

What an absolutely amazing transformation! Superb👍🙏❤️

Well done Tom. I feel this dog feels it has to take the leadership position despite not being suited to it. This is why dogs must understand we will protect them and we are in charge. Beautiful work as always Tom. Thank you : ) Great stuff : )

You are awesome with these dogs. Love your channel. Thank you for sharing this with us.

What a beautiful dog he is, stunning

been watching your vids for some time now. you have helped me no end. thank you sir much appreciated.

Just started watching your videos. They're good! I'm actually planning on getting a German Shepherd. I know pretty much about the breed, but not quite enough. It will be at least a few years until I get a dog, but I want to be as prepared as I can be. My goal is of course to never let my dog get like in these type of videos, but it's still great to see how other people handle this breed when issues do appear. I'm so excited to get a dog. :D I know it will be worth waiting for. I actually go to a school where we get to train dogs ourselves. My training dog is a German Shepherd. She's a very nervous individual, she barks a lot and she gets TOO excited when it's other people around. But when it's only her and I, she is the most wonderful dog I have ever met. We share a great bond! Sadly our lessons with the dogs are over now, but I'm still allowed to train her on my free time. I think it's clear to see that it is the owners fault why her dog isn't good at interacting, because it looked like the dog was the one who owned HER (I've met the owner once or twice). Anyways, I've loved this breed for a long time.

This is great! i think half the problem is finding out is making the dog act this way. once thats found out your plan of attack is alot simpler. but executing is a different story. im glad your helping dogs like this.

My pit has a less severe kind of reaction...I think. When we go to vet he absolutely flips the ef out. I usually have to wait with him in my truck. When he is feeling better I am going to start the approach you showed. I love that you are so real life and don’t coddle the owners.

You're awesome Tom...

The germysheppy vids are always my fav🥲😍

so amazing watching that. Well done.

Wow this guy is amazing!

AGAIN, EXCELLENT!!!

Can’t wait for the next one!! 😀😀

Awesome video. So much insight, so helpful 😀

Incredible work !

Here to say how amazing this was and glad you’ve been able to help this dog and owners. Thank you for your content! Even when I don’t think it’s a relevant video for me and my mal, it always ends up opening my mind and helping me understand what’s going on from their perspective.

Extremely well done

Wow I would love to see if he could do this with my boy! He doesn't let strangers near him either and will growl and bark if you try almost exactly like this pretty boy. Amazing work I wish I was closer so I could come see you guys to get help.

Best video yet! Ty

Idk if you look at these comments but you’re already a great trainer so when you pulled out the groozfraba from anger management I had to like and subscribe

You make it seem easy.

Sweet moves Tom. Thanks for posting. Curious about the dogs previous e collar training?

Awesome work, Thomas! I am learning a lot from you!

I have a dog just like this one. She came from another home, complete with all the same behaviors. Fearful, but so protective she'll go after people or other strange dogs. She's bitten twice in the past and spent 7 days in the county shelter for the 2nd. I've tried like hell to get her to lighten up, but she seems reluctant to let it all go. I believe her self esteem is low, which might sound a bit far fetched for most folks, but I see it. Your videos and techniques have caught my attention, and I am working to implement them. I doubt she'll ever be the model dog, and will always need leadership present in social environments, but I do hope she can be helped enough to become a manageable companion. It's tough seeing her hackles bristle at the sight of her triggers.

Brilliant!

Oh there it is :) Edit: I hoped it was the follow up about the old lady's abused GSD. Still interesting though. Thanks.

Lol at the Goosfraba!

As always very well done.

Love love love love love love LOVEEEEEEE ❤ u have to come work with my dog!!

My German Shepherd is exactly like this. She has fear-based anxiety and aggression. She won't even allow my Son or grandchildren around me... she took to me and my daughter because the first 3 years of her life were just with us. We rarely had visitors and though I tried socializing her as a puppy the people around us feared her just by her breed so no one would approach her to pet her. As time went on whenever someone she didn't know came around she barked and lunged at them. She nipped and headbutted my son. We moved in with my son last year and she has never trusted him... he raises his voice, has stared her down, and makes threats and so she has no trust at all in him. My grandchildren only come over every other week and he doesn't feel comfortable with her around his children so this situation can't be resolved. My daughter didn't help the situation because she would block her view every time she walked through the room with her instead of allowing her to have any sort of contact with the rest of the family. I've tried calling several local dog trainers... 1 made an appointment but never showed up and wouldn't return my calls... another never responded at all to my messages and e-mails...and the 3rd flat out told me she couldn't be trained if she had fear aggression. So I am thankful for the advice and demonstrations you share with us. Though I tried speaking to my son about how to gain her trust he refuses to participate in her training. Telling me she's burned her bridges with him because she barks at him whenever she sees him. He believes that beating a dog is how they're trained. He has an American Bulldog and a toy poodle... the Bulldog shivers whenever you touch her in anticipation of being hit. Whenever someone even slightly raises their voice she runs and hides. I have to constantly reassure her that it's alright. She and the poodle are glued to my side since I moved. I wish you lived closer or I did so I could bring my dog to you... I know she would respond well to you. She just wants to know she safe and can trust she and I will be alright.

Good boy keep it up

Very Very Impressive

Great Job Tom...! Have an 8 mo. Pocket Bully. For the most part He's a good Dog ,playful and friendly to Dogs and human. One issue were having is, every AFTER eating he shows aggression and barking at us for no reason To the point I had to grab his collar and give him correction until he submit. Had seen comments saying its Neurological or Genetics .Please share if you have same experience and if you have a fix. Thank you

Nice video . From India 🇮🇳❤

These tips are just like with handling children. Parenting classes should b mandatory for all people pregnant. men and women

Once again, love the video. I am working with am working with that I have a lot of questions about that acts similar to this German Shepherd... putting the muzzle on takes him from a 10 to a 3 when he has his moments. There can be many days in a row that all is good then it is almost like starting from day 1 again. I have so many questions about his behavior and would love to hear your thoughts on why he has sudden changes in his behavior without a clear trigger. You are absolutely amazing and I have a lot of respect for what you do.

Great content! Can this way also be used if the owner is a trigger (ie the dog is resource guarding /protecting)

Incredible. Do you ever get scared?

Wow man you are just amazing at what you do. So entertaining and refreshing as well as educational to watch. I wish you featured more pitbulls on your Channel is that something we can look forward to in the future?

❤❤❤

Amazing turnaround so quickly! 😍 Wonderland handling the problem so quickly! Really good information 👍 Thanks for Sharing this video! 🙏.

Hi Tom. New to your channel. Binge watching. I love how you are straight forward and honest and I like how you teach the owner. Good job. Wish you great success

Hey Thomas, huge fan of your videos here. I do a lot of volunteering at shelters exercising dogs for many years and I think your leash training videos have actually saved my shoulder from being torn out of its socket. Long story short, I was volunteering at a hell hole shelter and ended up adopting a very fearful last-chance 2 year old female shepherd cross who has nipped someone once in her past. We've had her for a few days now and have been very clear about boundaries which she seems to be understanding (not allowed on furniture at all, not allowed in the kitchen). she sometimes gets snappy when she realizes we're trying to discipline her. Since she is very fearful we are not raising our voices, just being firm, but even just an "out" when she is in the kitchen has caused her to growl and snap. She only displays this occassionally when asked to do something she doesn't want to do. She has also growled when we have asked her to drop something that is not hers, but she isn't food aggressive otherwise. Do you recommend an ecollar for a case like this? Should we give her a buzz when she growls/snaps or should we buzz her when she is doing the thing we don't want her to do? Seems like overkill to send her a vibration when she is just in the kitchen. We have hired a behaviourist to work with us but wont be meeting with her for a few weeks, so we wan't to be on the right track in the meantime. An article I read today suggested hand-feeding her all of her kibble for a few weeks, and only on commands, so she understands who controls the resources and will be less likely to lash out. Do you agree with this method? Sorry for the novel question.

Grt man

Hi again Thomas, I want to get this E-Collar you are using here but I am not sure which model and size should it be. My dog is similar to the dog in the video Max, of ca. 35kg. I would appreciate the help :) Keep up the education and love !

Hi I love your work. Here is our question. We have an 8 months old Belgian sheperd that we are trying to train. We use a ball to get him to train. When no distractions he does fine, but when he has the ball and is distracted he forgets to listen. Any advise?

What kind of muzzle is that being used on the dog? I would like to get one for my Rottweiler, however, I want to make sure I get one that is comfortable, effective, and won't cut the bridge of his nose as I have seen happen to other dogs.

Ohh my this is my girl GSD that we rescued on 9 Jan. To a T. She is fearful and reactive. We want to be her last family. But we can’t walk her barely anymore, she barks at everything. Sometimes stops. She super freaking smart. We have taught her easily so many commands. So I know she’s trainable. She’s 2.5 years old. Fixed. Black and just absolutely stunning. We can’t take her to get her nails trimmed. She needs sedation. She’s a handful. Our neighbors are complaining at her barking and the other neighbor scared she’s gonna eat her 2 little boys. I really believe it fear and reactivity! We are in love with her and cry over the thought of having to give her up. Please help! We would come to you or you come to us. The reviews with trainers around here in northern Virginia are crappy. I don’t trust them and scared to waste money we don’t have. Love your methodical ways and your confidence as a practitioner. My hubby and I are retired Army Nurse and Infantry. We opened a gym to give back to veterans, combat injured tactical population. We were hoping we could take her to the gym with us. But it’s not working. She barks and with her curiosity she ended up nipping a few people. PLEASE HELP Us!!

Where do I find one of you in my state. I went from a really mellow 12 year old German Shepard to a crazy, fearful, reactive, BITING German Shepard puppy. She's 2 and just bit one of my friends, thankfully it was a friend, that she never met. Ugh... I'm so frustrated.

I train all my dogs to be our family dog ! Like u said they have us they don’t need friends outside of us we live in a neighborhood that’s not bad persay but if you left you door open and no dogs you’d come home to a empty house ... I have a French mastiff male 140 lbs and 8 years old a standard poodle male 60 pounds and now a female German shepherd 30 lbs 4 month old ... our dogs have jobs the mastiff pulls things he loves to show off his strength like a side show muscleman the poodle he loves being handsome and his tricks to show off and Greta the German shepherd well she is figuring out her thing which is going to be complicated as she is very very smart and super active ! But I like barking when strangers come near I like they protect us and we can shut it off with a word but my dogs do keep a eye on the strangers everyone wants to pet or hug my dogs but I tell them they are protective dogs ...and if they hold out a hand my dogs may or may not want to come say hi ... the German Shepard’s biggest job will be running with my wife for my wife’s protection we do have muggers and rapists that haunt the running trails ! This is my first time building a protection dog ... doing tons of research so I make a balanced dog not a super aggressive dog . I want a 25 foot circle around my wife that if someone steps into the dogs on alert . I’m doing the right thing , right ?

I'm tempted to tell the story of what my mom went through when a dog attacked her. Instead, I'll say that I hope all dog owners watch this guy's videos and go to pro dog trainers like him to get control of their dogs.

I was just wondering how often did you correct the doggos behavior during this video? Was it just those couple time in the beginning or were you correcting throughout?

my dog is like this as well but he's a good dog

I love watching your videos! Do you have any experience with Chow Chows? I’m having such a hard time finding someone who can help us with our Chows fear of strangers. Nothing seems to be working. :(

**Please do not try this at home** So your saying i Can try it outside of home. Got it

Great vid as always. I tried an ecollar on my dog, dig the training, etc. I tried max vibrate on my dog when she was being leash reactive. She basically didn't feel it. Are some dogs kind of immune to the collar? I've tried the stim up to 50 and she can't feel that either - I can feel it at 8. I don't want to go any higher.. Am I crazy?

I'd love to see Zac George positive train this dog lol

Hi can i ash why when i walk with my gsd outside of the house he is not paying attention to me even i have a treats or a toy. What should i do. Thank u for replying me.

Hello! I have a question about the E-Collar! Im from Sweden so its illegal here... is there any way that I can stop such a reactive behaviour without such an additional tool? is it sufficient If I for example would go "NO" + quickly jagg the leash? I sometimes have this reactive problem with my dog when we are outside, not always but sometimes.

does anyone know what e collar he is using with Max? which model and make? thanks :)

Wow I have a way smaller Schipperke Shepard Mix and I can't hold her when she's aggressive like that 😅😅😅 what does the e collar do?

At what age would you suggest to use the e-collar? I have a very insecure german shepherd puppy, almost 4 months old, she she's already bitey.....and I'm working with a great trainer.

I’d have so much respect for your training without the prong collar

alot of people should research certain dogs before they get them..every dog has a different personality..some need alot of work especially around people n some dont

7:00 Wait... Was he asking the people or the dog? haha

I caught the funky word too, lol Btw, if you wasn't using a e-collar, how would you handle this? What collar and method? Another awesome & emotional video...... ♡♡♡ Thanks for sharing.......

OMG, when he said "if the behaviorist told you to use things like hotdog and they stay at the other end of the room and don't actually touch the dog...." That was what happened when we had a behaviorist who stood in our kitchen for two hours with two baby gates between the dog and her. And still asked to put the dog in the bedroom. EHHHH, that was expensive 2 hours doing nothing but made all the situation worse for the following weeks. (We have a 7 months old 15lb American Eskimo, not 100lb German Shepherd)

omg this is my dog he is scared and reacts the same way this dog did but he is a bull arab cross...... I so need you to come to Australia

My dog isn't aggressive. He hides behind me when a stranger moves towards him and tries to pet him. But if they offer their hand and let my dog come to them then he's ok. After a few more meetings he's totally fine with them. I'm not sure what's going on.

Hi, I have a 4 month GSD. She likes to play with other dogs but when on a lease she barks at other dogs. We have been using the slip collar with corrections when she barks at other dogs. She still barks and I don't want it to escalate into a big problem. Thanks!

Where’s part 2?

I have a dog at my work who's just like this. She needs help

Please come to Sweden. My dog hates other dogs and especially cats. She can get agressive with some dogs, just growl and bark and trying to run/ jump towards them.

I have a friend who’s dog is very cute, but will suddenly attack you no reason. By attack, I mean he will suddenly begin jumping on you and bitting, and running around. Once I was just walking up the stairs and he began to chase and bite me. What should I do?

my GSD is 1 month please teach me on how to train him on those command like sit down and other more

Are you using vibrate or a 'sting' from the e-collar?